Which Bike for Me?

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm looking to get back into cycling
with the intent being to do a short Triathalon and eventually the
Seattle to Portland ride. I'd like to be in good enough shape to do
the Tri by next summer and the STP by the following summer.

John, if you have questions having to do with STP, or riding locally
(assuming your in the PNW), you also might want to check out:
http://www.cascade.org/Community/forum/index.cfm. You do not have to be a
Cascade member to post.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Jesus! You need to lose some serious weight before you even THINK
about cycling! It takes real determination to be so inactive, and to
eat so much, that you weigh 330! What were you thinking while you let
yourself gain so much weight? You need to go on a diet and lose about
100 lbs. before you start cycling. Start by walking.

Quoted message said:

Jesus! You need to lose some serious weight before you even THINK
about cycling! It takes real determination to be so inactive, and to
eat so much, that you weigh 330! What were you thinking while you let
yourself gain so much weight? You need to go on a diet and lose about
100 lbs. before you start cycling. Start by walking.

You posted this as a reply to Claire AND didn't quote anything. To quote
you: Jesus!

What a maroon...

Quoted message said:

1) Do you have any suggestions for a guy my size for a decent bike?

Steel frame and fork, possible disk brake on front, 36 spoke wheels,
fairly wide tires. I'd look at Surly. No nonsense bikes in your price
range. You might consider a touring bike, like their Long Haul Trucker,
it's built for heavy loading.

http://www.surlybikes.com/bikes.html

I would avoid aluminum and carbon at your weight.

Quoted message said:

2) I've noticed on the Cyclo-cross bikes and the tri bikes, they only
have 2 chain rings up front whereas the "true" road bikes have 3. Why
the difference? What am I losing without the 3rd ring?

3rd ring is for climbing. If you have hills it helps, otherwise it's
more trouble than it's worth.

Quoted message said:

3) In general, what frame size is appropriate for me? (I know everyone
is different, but I'd like to know a general target so I'm looking at
the right bikes) 58cm?

Hard to say. You need a good bike shop to support you. Your goal is not
a particular brand bicycle, but to find a shop with a good fitter who
can make adjustments as you progress.You may be changing components as
you go. For example, you may need a short reach stem now and the fork
cut on the high side to be upright and comfortable. If you lose 40
pounds and regain some torso and neck flexibility you will want a
longer stem to stretch out over the frame.

That ahole who said walk is full of [censored]. You should ride.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello all,
I've been out of cycling for quite awhile. The last bike I purchased
was a Bridgestone 400 in 1985! I'm looking to get back into cycling
with the intent being to do a short Triathalon and eventually the
Seattle to Portland ride. I'd like to be in good enough shape to do
the Tri by next summer and the STP by the following summer. As a
teenager (15 years ago!) I was up to being able to ride about 70 miles
in a day and I think I can get back to that. Here's my issue, I'm a
big guy. I mean 330 pounds and 6' 1" tall big. Huge if you will.
I've been looking to find the right bike for me. With this much girth,
I can put some serious torque on a crankset. Not to mention wheels,
etc. So here's what I've been looking at . . . I have a budget of
about $1,500 for the bike and another $300 or so for accessories (cycle
computer, water bottle baskets, etc.) The bikes that most shops have
been "steering" me towards have been in the cyclo-cross category. i.e.
The Cannondale Optimo, Specialized Tricross and the Trek XO-1. I'm
leaning toward the Specialized at the moment, but have also started
exploring "true" road bike and Tri bikes.

I have a question or two:

1) Do you have any suggestions for a guy my size for a decent bike?
2) I've noticed on the Cyclo-cross bikes and the tri bikes, they only
have 2 chain rings up front whereas the "true" road bikes have 3. Why
the difference? What am I losing without the 3rd ring?
3) In general, what frame size is appropriate for me? (I know everyone
is different, but I'd like to know a general target so I'm looking at
the right bikes) 58cm?

I think that a cyclocross type bike is great that it allows you to put wider
tires on but I would look for something with a triple chainring. The third
ring will really help a big rider get up some hills without put a huge
stress on your knees. I ride 25 mm tires in good weather and 32 mm tires
during the rainy season.

I would stay away from TRi bikes. They are designing to be aero...at the
expense of comfort.

At 6' 1" a 58 cm is a great starting place. I am the same height and ride
a 58 Specialized but am a 60 cm in Trek.

If you might want to look into joining a club, if you are close to the
Seattle area I suggest Cascade Bicycle Club. Since you are interested in
the STP you probably already know of them, but just in case:

http://www.cascade.org/Home/

I should also congratulate you for coming back to biking. I think that you
will really enjoy it!

Quoted message said:

Hello all,
I've been out of cycling for quite awhile. The last bike I purchased
was a Bridgestone 400 in 1985! I'm looking to get back into cycling
with the intent being to do a short Triathalon and eventually the
Seattle to Portland ride. I'd like to be in good enough shape to do
the Tri by next summer and the STP by the following summer. As a
teenager (15 years ago!) I was up to being able to ride about 70 miles
in a day and I think I can get back to that. Here's my issue, I'm a
big guy. I mean 330 pounds and 6' 1" tall big. Huge if you will.
I've been looking to find the right bike for me. With this much girth,
I can put some serious torque on a crankset. Not to mention wheels,
etc. So here's what I've been looking at . . . I have a budget of
about $1,500 for the bike and another $300 or so for accessories (cycle
computer, water bottle baskets, etc.) The bikes that most shops have
been "steering" me towards have been in the cyclo-cross category. i.e.
The Cannondale Optimo, Specialized Tricross and the Trek XO-1. I'm
leaning toward the Specialized at the moment, but have also started
exploring "true" road bike and Tri bikes.

I have a question or two:

1) Do you have any suggestions for a guy my size for a decent bike?
2) I've noticed on the Cyclo-cross bikes and the tri bikes, they only
have 2 chain rings up front whereas the "true" road bikes have 3. Why
the difference? What am I losing without the 3rd ring?
3) In general, what frame size is appropriate for me? (I know everyone
is different, but I'd like to know a general target so I'm looking at
the right bikes) 58cm?

Thanks in advance for any help/advice you can give.

John

I suggest you a Harley Davidson and a liposuction.

Quoted message said:

I suggest you a Harley Davidson and a liposuction.

Anonymous sock-puppet tries to deliver one little hateful line, and
completely f^cks it up.

Classic.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have a question or two:
1) Do you have any suggestions for a guy my size for a decent bike?

I started at 330 (5' 11"😉 a little over a year ago and now weigh in around
260. Still a way to go but I love cycling and look forward to it every day.
That's the key. If you don't enjoy it you'll lose heart fairly quickly and
it'll end up in the corner of the garage gathering dust until the next
garage sale.
My advice is to choose comfort over speed. Go for something faster later
when you're trimmer. As a matter of fact use that as a goal and reward.
I found a comfort mountain bike to be the ride for me and I've slowly added
things like SPD pedals and slick tyres. A good computer with cadence meter
is a must so you can set targets and track progress, and you'll probably
want a professional rebuild on the rear wheel after a month or two when
spokes start going bang with any sort of regularity.
I chose the comfort MTB because the upright riding position suits me best
for the time being (hunched over is a bad position with a big belly because
it's hard to breathe, plus you're supporting all that weight on your hands
so you'll tend to tire quickly), it's strong and I figured I was going to
wear it out fairly quickly or break it with all the weight I had on it so I
didn't want to spend a fortune.
Once I hit 220 I'll treat myself to something fast in carbon. :-)

--
www.ozcableguy.com
www.oztechnologies.com

Oh, I found this guy inspirational and echos a lot of my passion about
cycling too - http://www.bigfatgeek.net/

Another good read -
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/charlottecooper/charlotte/docs/fat/rideabike.htm

OzCableguy said:

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have a question or two:
1) Do you have any suggestions for a guy my size for a decent bike?

I started at 330 (5' 11"😉 a little over a year ago and now weigh in
around 260. Still a way to go but I love cycling and look forward to
it every day. That's the key. If you don't enjoy it you'll lose heart
fairly quickly and it'll end up in the corner of the garage gathering
dust until the next garage sale.
My advice is to choose comfort over speed. Go for something faster
later when you're trimmer. As a matter of fact use that as a goal and
reward. I found a comfort mountain bike to be the ride for me and I've
slowly
added things like SPD pedals and slick tyres. A good computer with
cadence meter is a must so you can set targets and track progress,
and you'll probably want a professional rebuild on the rear wheel
after a month or two when spokes start going bang with any sort of
regularity. I chose the comfort MTB because the upright riding position
suits me
best for the time being (hunched over is a bad position with a big
belly because it's hard to breathe, plus you're supporting all that
weight on your hands so you'll tend to tire quickly), it's strong and
I figured I was going to wear it out fairly quickly or break it with
all the weight I had on it so I didn't want to spend a fortune.
Once I hit 220 I'll treat myself to something fast in carbon. :-)

Tell "folson" to shove THAT in his smipe and poke it!

To the OP: there ya go.

Great stuff, thanks.

Quoted message said:

NOW:
.... Thanks for making this such a useful forum for
honest people looking for helpful advice. I'm glad you've got nothing
better to do with your free hand than type insults. ....

You have to start somewhere. You can take comfort in the fact that not
everyone on this newsgroup is a featherweight. Congratulations for
getting started. Good luck and I hope you will be able to relate your
own success story pretty soon.

Thanks to everyone who responded . . . with exception to the POS
mentioned earlier. :-)

I bought a bike. I started riding. I got a 2007 Specialized Roubaix
Elite Triple. I'm very happy with it. Yesterday I put a whopping 6
miles on it. Today I downloaded the Seattle to Portland training
schedule. I now have something to work towards.

Note to POS: If I see you on the road, get outta my way, I'm comin
through. :-)

catzz66 said:

Quoted message said:

NOW:
.... Thanks for making this such a useful forum for
honest people looking for helpful advice. I'm glad you've got nothing
better to do with your free hand than type insults. ....

You have to start somewhere. You can take comfort in the fact that not
everyone on this newsgroup is a featherweight. Congratulations for
getting started. Good luck and I hope you will be able to relate your
own success story pretty soon.

Quoted message said:

Thanks to everyone who responded . . . with exception to the POS
mentioned earlier. :-)

I bought a bike. I started riding. I got a 2007 Specialized Roubaix
Elite Triple. I'm very happy with it. Yesterday I put a whopping 6
miles on it. Today I downloaded the Seattle to Portland training
schedule. I now have something to work towards.

That's pretty nice for a first bike! Good for you.

The only comment I would add is that my bike (Spec. Allez Elite Triple)
likely came with the same wheels, 20 and 24 spoke Alex 295s. I put
about 1100 miles on them with no problem, but was always concerned about
the low spoke count. I weigh 215 and was a little leary about the 295s,
so I went to 32 spoke wheels, but like I said, I never had any problem
with the 295s.

Hope you wear out the Roubaix. One of my friends has one and really
likes it.

In article <[email hidden]>,

catzz66 said:

Quoted message said:

Thanks to everyone who responded . . . with exception to the POS
mentioned earlier. :-)

I bought a bike. I started riding. I got a 2007 Specialized Roubaix
Elite Triple. I'm very happy with it. Yesterday I put a whopping 6
miles on it. Today I downloaded the Seattle to Portland training
schedule. I now have something to work towards.

That's pretty nice for a first bike! Good for you.

The only comment I would add is that my bike (Spec. Allez Elite Triple)
likely came with the same wheels, 20 and 24 spoke Alex 295s. I put
about 1100 miles on them with no problem, but was always concerned about
the low spoke count. I weigh 215 and was a little leary about the 295s,
so I went to 32 spoke wheels, but like I said, I never had any problem
with the 295s.

Hope you wear out the Roubaix. One of my friends has one and really
likes it.

YO! Catzz.

215 is not little

and its spelled leEry!

Sorry about that.

HAND

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I bought a bike. I started riding. I got a 2007 Specialized Roubaix
Elite Triple. I'm very happy with it. Yesterday I put a whopping 6
miles on it. Today I downloaded the Seattle to Portland training
schedule. I now have something to work towards.

Excellent! We'll see you on the road on the way to Portland mid-July. Check
out the Cascade Training Ride Series, which usually gears up sometime after
the Chilly Hilly. It's a great way to get used to riding in a large group,
and meet other riders doing STP and other big events.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

H M Leary said:

YO! Catzz.

215 is not little

How well I know. =]

Thanks Claire! I was reading your 2005 and 2006 STP ride reports last
night. Very inspiring and a really good idea of what I'm in store for
.. . . I'm going to climb that 72nd street hill a couple times in the
coming months just to figure out what I'm in for. I've been scouring
the Cascade site looking for rides futher south on Sundays as I'm
sitting in a model home on Saturdays, but I'll figure something out!

Thaks again for all your support! See you on the road!

John

Claire Petersky said:

Excellent! We'll see you on the road on the way to Portland mid-July. Check
out the Cascade Training Ride Series, which usually gears up sometime after
the Chilly Hilly. It's a great way to get used to riding in a large group,
and meet other riders doing STP and other big events.