I’ve been biking for a good 30 years. I currently have a custom frame aluminum mountian bike with slicks that I’ve owned for 10 years or so, the bulk of that time spent in one of two gears. I live near lots of flat bike trails, and I’d like to get a road bike.
I’m 6’5", 270 lbs, and absolutely destroyed the first cheaper mountain bike I purchased, due to the additional load my weight applied to it’s value-rated components.
The current bike is holding up well, but it also doesn’t see the abuse the last bike did.
When in shape, I’m a hill climbing monster. I’d prefer standing in the saddle climbs over high rpm spinning. A typical ride on the maintain bike was 14-16 miles, done in 34-45 minutes. (average speed 16-18 mph)
I don’t need the lightest drillium cranks, I don’t need a bike that’s 4 lbs. lighter, I don’t need Shimano’s gold pressed latinum brakes.
I realize what I DO need is a bike set up to fit me. I lucked into my current bike when a guy custom ordered it, disappeared, and the bike store owner got tired of falling over it.
So, I’m not a triathlete, I don’t want to drop $5000 on a ‘rig’, I also don’t want a Huffy.
What do you recommend for something that’s a mid-level bike, and what would I expect to pay for it?
An entry level road bike can be had for about $800 new. My Lemond Reno, which is an entry level aluminum frame bike, cost just about that. For me, it has been an absolutely perfect match. It’s good on the flats, light up the hills, and the gearing has yet to fail. I’m also 6’3" and 155, however, so I can’t vouch for how it would personally hold up for you.
A mid-level road bike would probably suit you more, and generally rings in at about $1k. Trek makes a variety of reputable bikes in this category, but so does Schwinn, Giant, and plenty of others. And they ain’t Huffy’s.
My advice as a former bike shop mechanic would therefore be to go into your local shops, talk to them, and see if they have anything that would fit you in the store that you can try out before shelling out. This is the best way to separate the things that look good on paper from the things that feel good in action.
I got my Trek 200 at the end of season clearance sales. Cost something like $300. I’m 350 lbs and 6’3" and it’s holding up (although to much lighter duty than yours).
The low end of the bike store stuff is available in tall frames, I’d start there.
Since you’re not looking for the top end of the range, you’re probably going to be buying at a price point. That’s to say, most bikes priced around $1500 will have the same attributes. They’ll all have Shimano “105” components with some slight variation - one might have an Ultegra rear der. but have no name brakes, one will be completely “105”, etc. Once you decide how much you’re willing to spend, the thing you should be really concerned about is fit. Since you’re pretty far outside of the normal range you may have a little trouble finding a store that has a bike big enough for you to test ride. (I don’t know where you live, you may not have any trouble.) Sorry for my two “non-answers” so far; the one thing that I will commit to is that you should probably stick with aluminum. Not too many steel bikes any more, but even if you did find one it would feel like a wet noodle to someone your size, and carbon is way too expensive (based on your post). Like Sunshine, I’m also a former bike shop mechanic.
Basically, decide your price point, test ride until you find one that fits. Fit, fit, fit. You won’t ride it if it isn’t comfortable.
I moved onto the road from a MTB recently, onto a cyclocross bike. I’d definitely take a look at one, they’re fantastic. If you’ve not encountered CX bikes, they’re like burly road bikes. More of an upright, comfy geometry; usually ridden with a semi-off road tyre that is still skinny, but bigger than a pure speedster road tyre. They will usually come with MTB V-brakes. THe bike is designed to be ridden on both road, and easy off-road like canal tow-paths, fire-roads in the forests etc. FOr this reason they make superb commuting bikes, very versatile.
Here is mine, a spesh tricross, I have the basic model that comes in at $1300. I did have the singlespeed, which may suit you if you’re not a man for the gear changes as you indicate. I wanted to ride full on MTB trails with it though, so swapped for the geared model.
If nothing else, swinging a leg over a CX bike will offer a nice contrast to a racier road bike - you’ll be able to compare the geometries and see what you think.
Stopped off at the local bike Store (There’s one in Parker, although Parker isn’t far from the rest of Denver and a much bigger selection of bikes.)
They sold cannondale bikes and it seems like $1300 is the pricepoint…I just have a hard time rationalizing $1300 right now. It’s not that it’s a fantastic bike (I’m assuming, they didn’t have a 63 cm bike on hand), it’s that I’m not sure if I’d get $1300 worth of additional value right now.
I want want want want a road bike, I just don’t want to PAY for it. I’ve been using this as an excuse to get back into regular exercise after a foot injury. I’m kinda in that no man’s land between being in shape and not being totally out of shape.
A real plus to cannondale, apart from being generally superb bikes, is the frame warranty. It’s lifetime, so you’ve basically got a frame for life. This might be important seen as you’re a big man, and going to be putting the frame through its paces. I don’t know about the expected lifetime of Aluminium road bikes, but I’ve cracked 3 or 4 ALu mountain bike frames over the years (and had them replaced under warranty).
The warranty covers cracks through fatigue or failure usually. If you stack it under a bus then I don’t think you can claim.
Cannondale are good for big folks. I’ve got a 63cm R800 sitting unneeded in my garage right now, but as I live in the UK getting it to you might be a hassle.
How much time before you buy? If you surf the magazines there’s always some review space devoted to your niche.
There are a lot of worthy bikes in a 1-1.5k price range, you’re unlikely to be able to check them all, but that’s ok.
Unless you know exactly what you want, and plan to do most of your own work, it’s worth it to buy locally. You get to ride before you buy, and a bike can feel right or wrong for reasons not evident in the spec sheet. Plus local customer service; true, you have to pick a good shop, but that process is the same for any specialty store you might visit (camera, guitar, computer)
Think about what features are important, the performance/comfort spectrum, rack mounts for commuting or errands.
Fit is key, but some things can be changed easily like a stem or saddle, others only expensively, or not at all.
A bike you like is a bike you’ll ride, so don’t be afraid to get ‘the pretty blue one,’ however, form MUST follow function.