new bike for fat lad

GLOYT
GLOYT Posts: 10
edited July 2015 in Road buying advice
hi all
wanting to buy my first road bike in over 30 years but in need of some good advice, i tip the scales at 135kg so as you can see it will need to be strong, im not too bothered about the weight because hopefully when i get fitter and lighter will changing it next year anyway, will be using it for commuting to work and weekend runs of hopefully upto around 60/70 miles in hilly terrain around the yorkshire dales and the hilly areas around kirklees and calderdale which is mostly hilly, will have a budget of around £600/£1000, any help will be much appreciated

Comments

  • timothyw
    timothyw Posts: 2,482
    You could do a lot worse than the Genesis Volare 10, currently widely available for £500 - given your weight you'll want to budget to get some handbuilt wheels to go on it from a reputable builder, you can try the stock wheels but I doubt they'll last long (i'd suggest a 36 spoke rear - something like H Plus Son Archetype rims on 105 hubs is a good bet and fairly cheap).

    I'd suggest getting the handbuilt wheels immediately in order that you can sell on the stock ones and get something for them (or keep them for when you lose the weight), rather than demolishing them over a few hundred miles - I speak as a big lad with experience.

    The advantage of the Genesis bike is the steel construction, which should be better able to absorb the extra load than aluminium (which ultimately cracks due to fatigue) or carbon fibre (which also cracks). I've broken both Alu & CF frames but haven't yet broken a steel. The Genesis also comes with a lifetime frame warranty, which means you are covered if the frame does break - most other cheap road bikes come with perhaps a 5 year frame warranty (or less).

    Given you haven't ridden for a while, you'll also probably want to buy a cassette with a wider range for getting up hills, depending on the terrain where you are - something like an 11-32 or 12-32 for around £20 will help. If you still struggle you might want to swap out the 52-36 chainset for a 'compact' 50-34 model - you might find someone willing to trade with you on the classifieds.

    One thing to point out though, the Volare is more 'race' oriented as it goes, so you might struggle if you want to fit panniers or mudguards, and it might take a little while to get used to the low position - you shouldn't struggle with what you've mentioned, it's more if you get into doing 200 mile audaxes it might become an issue.

    Good luck with it anyway, I suffer from being a 'gigantic bastard' so despite over two years of riding I'm still breaking stuff, but at least now I seem to be breaking it with power rather than just weight. I should have taken up rugby instead of cycling....
  • dombhoy
    dombhoy Posts: 147
    I would echo the previous comment however if you want a slightly less agressive position i would suggest looking at the genesis equilibrium.
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    Or what about the Ribble steel frame? Then you have plenty of money for decent groupset, finishing kit and some robust, handbuilt wheels.

    http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-track-bike/frames-frames-audax-winter-ribble-winter-audax-525-frame/ribbfraw240

    Or the Planet X London Road? Pretty rugged, and with the benefit of disc brakes...

    http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXLDNRIV/planet-x-london-road-sram-rival-22-road-bike
  • seanorawe
    seanorawe Posts: 950
    Im also a bit of a tub, and ive just pressed the button on a Planet X London Road. When I ordered it, I rang the store and they swapped the fulcrum wheels for their own PX wheels as they have 32 spokes on the rear. A bit heavier than the fulcrum wheels, but weight on a bike means nothing to me.

    Also, the London Road has decent spec for your money
    Cube Attain SL Disc
    Giant CRS 2.0
  • antonyfromoz
    antonyfromoz Posts: 482
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19651913#p19651913]dombhoy[/url] wrote:
    I would echo the previous comment however if you want a slightly less agressive position i would suggest looking at the genesis equilibrium.
    If your budget can stretch a bit and the sizes fit you, for £1239.99 you could also consider the Genesis Equilibrium in stainless steel - and it comes with 32 spoke wheels and shimano 105 hubs too http://www.ukbikesdepot.com/m16b185s6p15243/GENESIS_Equilibrium_Ss_Stainless_Road_Bike_2015/RS_GB/51790
    http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/road/a-road/equilibrium-stainless

    RRP on this bike is £1999.99
  • timothyw
    timothyw Posts: 2,482
    Unfortunately, the wheels having 32 spokes to start with is no guarantee that they'll last any better than any other wheel - the wheel build is just as (if not more) important.

    I've just had to drop off the rear wheel from my latest bike for a rebuild - it had 32 plain gauge spokes (which you'd imagine would be very strong) and being single speed the wheel is less 'dished' than a standard rear so you would think that'd make it even stronger, but in practice I've just popped a third drive side spoke in a little over 500 miles - I'm getting it rebuilt with new DT comp spokes at my local bike shop, once this has been done I fully expect it to last thousands of miles without issue.

    Unfortunately if you're 120-odd kg this is the reality, stock wheels are not built with us in mind.
  • antonyfromoz
    antonyfromoz Posts: 482
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19653959#p19653959]TimothyW[/url] wrote:
    Unfortunately, the wheels having 32 spokes to start with is no guarantee that they'll last any better than any other wheel - the wheel build is just as (if not more) important.

    I've just had to drop off the rear wheel from my latest bike for a rebuild - it had 32 plain gauge spokes (which you'd imagine would be very strong) and being single speed the wheel is less 'dished' than a standard rear so you would think that'd make it even stronger, but in practice I've just popped a third drive side spoke in a little over 500 miles - I'm getting it rebuilt with new DT comp spokes at my local bike shop, once this has been done I fully expect it to last thousands of miles without issue.

    Unfortunately if you're 120-odd kg this is the reality, stock wheels are not built with us in mind.
    You are correct but my understanding is that butted spokes, as found on the equillibrium's wheels, are stronger than plain guage - and the use of brass nipples should also avoid potential corrosion issues that might occur with aluminium ones. There can be fairly major differences in what is meant by 'stock wheels' as the ones that are often being specced on bikes are low spoke count and built to a price as the manufacturers know that a lot of purchasers will quickly replace them. The wheels on this bike look to be made with more thought than that - they are using sapim butted spokes, brass nipples and wider rims along with shimano 105 hubs. As you mentioned though, the quality of the build needs to be good too.

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