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    I want to buy a road bike

    I have no idea what language that bloke is speaking. I think it might be dutch with an Australian accent, because I can make out about one word in every four.

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      I want to buy a road bike

      For anyone interested in buying road bike, here is a good compare list of new models
      https://www.bestadvisor.com/road-bikes
      As for me, I am thinking of buying Schwinn Phocus 1600. It looks nice, and technical details are pretty good as for its price. If someone already used this bike, please share your experience with me

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        I want to buy a road bike

        Haven't got a chance to look through that page right now but I hope it includes the Trek Emonda ALR 5 because I've just bought one and it's brilliant. Lightweight alloy frame, 105 set, good geometry, perfect.

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          Part V in the occasional series of Animals vs Cyclists: kangar-oof!
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTaIvrhT7OE


          Part I - the sheep - here
          Part II: the llama
          Part III (ostrich): https://youtu.be/kotWv4MCxNI

          Part IV (magpie): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tEvDO94iXY&t=24s


          Last edited by Kevin S; 30-01-2018, 11:56.

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            Trying to persuade the nearest and dearest to get a road bike, I have conned her into riding The Ardechoise this year with me (3 days only about 1000m oop each day, although average 120km per day).
            She is holding onto the idea of using her MTB with road tyres .OK it's a 29", and the gearing helps her; but it is 50% heavier than a basic road bike and the front sus forks boings around (useful on a single track; but energy wasting on the road.)
            So the good news about this I can look at kit.

            Her issue is being too stretched out on a road bike - she isn't that much smaller in height than me; but my Medium frame Canyon Ultimate to her is far too stretched out in reach.
            So options are:
            1. Canyon Endurance - probably the AL version; but tempted for the CF version - issue with Canyon, is although we can be in Koblenz in 2 hours we would want a bike fit before buying . I think from the on line guide , that S is her size, I suspect she might be better with a XS and play with stem sizes., and we don't want two trips or pay for the Canyon box/posting
            2. Liv (Part of Giant) bike forget the model; but low down the range - only company I can see that actually advertises they do more than just stick a padded seat add some pink on lower size men's frames and call it a woman's bike. - I will suss them out if that is true.
            3. Trek Domane - AL again (oooh Lance shudder)
            4. If I can find a Spesh shop around here, a Ruby - but rather expensive. same with Cannondales

            of course with the list after the Canyon, she can get a fitting in a local bike shop; but from my experience that can be rather a mixed bag.

            The thing is, I have become such a bike snob looking at some the of the weights, components etc, I keep gravitating up, when I need to keep discipline on budgets.

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              My wife has a Liv hybrid and would vouch for their claim that they design women's bikes properly.

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                I ride with two girls who have Livs, and they really like them.

                My wife has a Trek Silque, which is theoretically the women specific version of the Domane. It's very nice, but probably way outside your price range.

                Remember not to freak out at weight, or lack of stiffness from the Al, considering that the alternative is a MTB with road tyres and squishy front forks.

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                  Right, so I'm told this might be the gentlest bicycling thread we have. So, I'm a big old bugger, and haven't ridden for years and years. But I've been trying to eat more reasonably and trying to do more stuff, and as part of that I've got this idea in my head that I'd like to get back into pootling around on a bicycle a bit.

                  Trouble is, a half-decent bike for a man of my calibre (and when I say calibre, I mean weight) would be a million pounds. And I don't know as I'll really enjoy it like I hope I might, or whatever. And while I've always been happy throwing money away, these days I tend to try to do a bit more thinking beforehand at least.

                  I'd imagine that fat-bastard bikes don't have much of a secondhand market either really, right? I mean, they're all fucked, no? Or maybe people buy them and don't use them?

                  Any thoughts, anyone?

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                    Sorry TonTon, I'm not stalking you. Honest!

                    What type of bike are you looking to get? I have a mate who got a mountain bike when he weighed 19 stone, and he didn't have any problems. He lost all sorts of weight through riding it too.
                    Better qualified people than me on here will tell you about road bikes.

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                      I've been up at 16 stone - not far from that now, tbh - and been absolutely fine on a fairly high-end lightweight bike rather than a special for-fatties bike. Mountain bikes are even better designed for dealing with us lardies, and often have better gearing for getting our fat arses up hills (although a decent bike shop can sort that out on a road bike, too). But they do weigh a lot more which you'll actually notice if you ride on roads. The biggest issue is wheels - super fast wheels have fewer spokes and lower weight, and therefore break more easily. So make sure you get a fairly sturdy pair of wheels.

                      Anyway, the key thing is that you basically don't need to worry about the bike taking your weight. They (almost) all will. Now, as Billy asks, what kind of riding were you thinking of? Staying on the streets? Going down towpaths? Going flying down mountains at breakneck speeds?

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                        So, first up, and genuinely, thanks for responding, both. I probably should have been clearer.

                        My understanding is that there are quite a lot of bikes rated as taking up to 300lbs without issue. While I hope that might be suitable for me in the not-too-distant future, at the moment it certainly wouldn't be.

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                          You have to remember that bike manufacturers are going to be super cautious, so that 300lb rating is almost certainly bollocks and the "real" number will be much higher. Particularly if it's a metal frame rather than a (more expensive) carbon frame. They're also rated at that weight for nutters bombing downhill at 40mph and putting all kinds of torque through it, not for people just pootling around the city or some country lanes at a gentle 10 or 15mph.

                          You will probably want relatively wide tyres on the bike, which will help preserve the wheels, which are probably the real limiting factor - if you get a road bike get one that fits 28mm width tyres at least. Hybrid or mountain bikes have no problem with wheel size. Wheels are the thing that's most likely to fail, and then a spoke will break and the wheel will buckle, rather than anything more catastrophic. Make sure there are lots of spokes in the wheels of the bike you buy - 32 or 36, probably: more spokes = more dispersion of force, means one spoke is less likely to break (or upgrade the wheels, but that's always an expensive change).

                          But, to be clear, I often see guys and gals who are clearly in excess of 300lbs out on normal carbon road bikes which are - in theory - the most fragile ones. I wouldn't be too worried about nominal weight limits until you're way in excess of them.

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                            I'll add one caveat: I'm a total amateur, so could be talking complete shit. (This applies across all threads, not just this one).

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                              Thanks, that's interesting and does make some sense. I guess I don't want to waste a lot of money, when I've not been on a real bike for 20-odd years. So I am hoping there could be some kind of secondhand option that might not be ridiculous.

                              It is deffo pootling I'm interested in. No bombing. Round the park up the road maybe. The odd country lane if I get a bit of confidence.

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                                Nominal weight limits exist in elevators, too.

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                                  I don't want to be prescriptive, but it sounds like a second hand hybrid is probably close to what you want and should do the job just fine.

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                                    Originally posted by Sporting View Post
                                    Nominal weight limits exist in elevators, too.
                                    And I wouldn't travel in one with a limit less than my weight.

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                                      Secondhand hybrid. Metal frame. Wide tyres. Lots of spokes.

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                                        Yep, that's sound advice. Hybrid tyre sizes tend to be written as 700c x 28 or similar. The 700c is the size (the diameter of these wheels is actually 622mm though, because why would things be simple? Maybe that's the approximate diameter once you include the tyre).

                                        The other number is the width in millimetres.

                                        I'd say 28mm was about average-to-thinnish for a hybrid and would class anything under that as narrow width. My wife has 700 x 35 on hers and finds them a more comfortable ride. You can get the width up to 40 I think.
                                        Last edited by Kevin S; 12-08-2019, 22:43.

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                                          Hybrids will almost certainly be metal (aluminium) frame, anyway. Also, anything carbon is going to be 1000 quid or more, so probably not what you're interested in (and entirely unnecessary for pootling cycling).

                                          On a hybrid, I'd probably go with Kevin's 700x35, or maybe 700x32 tyres. But that's almost certainly what will be on the bike when you buy it, anyway.

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                                            I'm in much the same boat as you TonTon - wanted to grab a bike for just pootering around the neighborhood after a 10+ year hiatus from cycling. I would go with San B's advice. I got myself a second hand hybrid off craiglist a couple months back for $60 US, a Schwinn Trailway. Does the job just fine.

                                            An unintended consequence of me getting back into cycling was that my daughter asked to accompany me on rides around the neighborhood and having developed an enjoyment of cycling she wanted (and was due) an upgrade from her little kid "Hello Kitty" bike that she has had since she was 6 and had frankly outgrown.

                                            I suggested a mountain bike or one of those around town leisure type bikes but she was insistent on wanting a "Tour De France" bike (her words) so I ended up buying this Giant cyclocross bike for her. Naturally she kicks my ass as we ride around town, I just can't keep up.

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                                              Has it only been five years since I started this thread? Seems like a lot longer.

                                              Since buying that Cube Peloton I've bought four more road bikes, sold one, had one stolen, ridden almost every <=80km route out and back from Lancaster plus a few longer ones, crashed twice, chain-ganged on a racing circuit, ridden on the velodrome at the NCC in Manchester, hit a sheep and eaten countless horrible energy bars.

                                              Still not cycled on the continent or participated in a competitive race yet.

                                              For all the invaluable advice offered at the start of this thread, it's this from meregreen that I would pass on:

                                              Originally posted by meregreen View Post
                                              If you're like me and suffer from bike envy, I'd recommend you work out your absolute maximum budget, and then get the next level up

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                                                I'm preparing for the winter bike tour - second time I've done it. This time it's from San Diego which makes the logistics much easier, but there's going to be lots and lots of climbing. I've started training a little more - adding a couple of weekday rides along with the two weekend ones, 16 miles and 1600ft of climbing before the gym, a leg workout in the gym, and a 5 mile, 700 ft climb home, is good for working the legs when they're fatigued. It's not going to be enough for the climb - with baggage - over Mt Palomar before descending down to the desert on the other side, so I've also modified my nearly 20 year old Cannondale and stuck a mountain bike derailleur on the back which gives me enough range to put a 34 tooth cassette - and thus has a 30:34 ratio in my lowest climbing gear. Of course, the best way to make the climbing easier would be to lose about 30 lbs, but I'd have had to start way earlier, and it would mean eating and drinking less.

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                                                  I'm going on Wednesday to get measured for a new bike at my LBS (Race Scene in Barnsley).

                                                  I've got a few questions before I go.
                                                  They say it will take about an hour and a half. Does that seem about right?
                                                  The plan then is that they'll build a bike around what I need it for. Hills or flat, racing or leisure, etc. Has anyone else had a bike taylor made? Is it noticeably better than just a regular size 56 from Wiggle?
                                                  I'll have to make financial choices about what goes on the bike. Where would you spend extra/ cut back. Frame (cf or alu)? wheels? group set? disc brakes?
                                                  It's a 'proper' bike shop. How do I avoid looking like a fraud?

                                                  The only two things I know I want are a compact group set with a big cassette and black bar tape. Any advice would be really helpful. £2000 budget.

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                                                    Never had a custom frame, if that’s what you’re asking. Choosing your own components is nice. I have (mechanical) disk brakes and while I like them I don’t think they’re essential. Might be more worthwhile if you ride in the rain a lot.

                                                    I’d totally recommend a larger rear cassette: I have a 32 on my road bike and 34 on the touring bike and having that extra gear to spin out with on hills is very nice.

                                                    Carbon frame is nice. But it’s only necessary really for fast riding. Alu is actually better for if you ever want to load up panniers.

                                                    You never need the highest end components, no matter what bike douches tell you.

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