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Read lots but more confused!? (big guy)

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  • April 8, 2013 at 5:50 pm #18440
    musgrum

    I want to buy my 1st Road bike.

    Yes there are a lot of these threads but I’m still not able to answer some things… (partly as there is no right or wrong answer!).

    I’ve been riding fixed for 4 or so months, love it and will keep that bike, Alu Leader 725, Mash Bullhorns, Thomson blah blah blah. Was going to swap frame to a Mash Bolt or Dodici but instead of that I’ll put the money towards a new Road bike.

    I will be using the Road bike to get in shape riding around Richmond Park and heading out from Chiswick area to wherever. On the fixed I’m doing 20-50 miles rides easy around London (avoiding hills) and am at about a 100-150 miles per week level.

    I will do some London to Reading/Oxford type (charity) rides for fun and a Marlow event but primarily it’ll be used for riding around purely because I enjoy it (got through winter) and need to get in shape. 6’4” (193cm) & the wrong end of 16st (230lbs) but will be below 15st in a couple of months. I’ll be ‘touring’ more than ‘racing’ I suppose, give or take Strava banter at work! Therefore I’m leading towards Shimano MTB pedals and Sidi MTB shoes… for coffe stops and lunch! Hypothetically.

    I have read a fair amount (on the interwebs) and know for a fact I won’t be able to test all the bikes I am considering because I want it asap due to the Reading-London ride on April 28th 2013 and I doubt I’ll manage it fixed (even with a bit of MTFU). General questions:

    1. Buy a cheap bike, upgrade wheels or go straight to a more expensive bike?
    2. Buy a cheap bike, lose weight, and then get a more expensive bike?

    I typically like to avoid going too cheap as I will not be totally happy and end up spending £1000 only to buy another bike for £1,500-£2,000 12 months later (wife get mad blah blah blah) so I have been looking at bikes from £900-£3,000! and am starting to annoy myself…

    If you’re still reading. Here is where I am. I know they are all very different. I know I will probably be happy with any of these but still actually have to pull the trigger so if any of these bikes are a no no for a big guy or if 10r carbon is a better option over better groupset I’d be interested on feedback.

    Bikes – all 61cm (ish)
    1. Specialized Roubaix Comp Compact 2013 – £2,500 FACT 8r, Ultegra/105
    2. Wilier Montegrappa Xenon 10sp 2013 – £899 Alu, Campag. Xenon, Tektro etc
    -with Mavic or Rolf type wheel upgrade ie. £900 Mavic 2013 Ksyrium SLR Clincher
    3. Wilier Gran Turismo Centaur 10Sp 2013 – £2,499 Full Carbon Monocoque, Centaur Red/FSA Gossamer

    Wildcards
    1.Van Nicholas Ventus (or Chinook) Titanium – £2,800+ with wheel upgrade
    2.Specialized Venge Comp 2013 – Originally wanted this but think I’d like a better groupset over FACT 10r carbon for £2,500 – based on absolutely nothing!!! And the reviews say a wheelset change is needed…
    3. I think Condor type stuff is our of my league and decided to post here before looking at brands like Canyon…

    Thanks to anyone who actually got through all this,
    Cheers
    J

    Mustn’t Grumble

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  • April 8, 2013 at 10:15 pm #726927
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    musgrum

    Al’76 wrote:Just from taking

    Al’76 wrote:
    Just from taking a quick scan through your mail, you’ve got both ends of the Specialized spectrum in there…

    …Stop reading and start riding; ’tis the only way you’ll know for sure :?

    Yeah for sure. I think the Roubaix Comp is a better fit over a Venge for where I am right now although everyone seems to have them at the warehouse not in store. I’ll get one delivered to have a look. I was nervous about going Specialized because they seem to hide weights and folks at work say their low spec bikes are very heavy.

    Thanks for your help though. I’ll look at a test ride and won’t google Giant because as you say I need to get the list shorter. Wilier is out too because of another comment. See progress!

    April 8, 2013 at 9:57 pm #726925
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    Bedfordshire Clanger

    Spend as much as you can
    Spend as much as you can afford and keep on riding. I don’t think that you can go wrong with the Van Nic, I have one and love it. I have mates with Canyons and Wiliers and they all rate them very highly indeed. I think that you know that you’d like a really well specced bike and you’re planning on doing a lot of riding on it. What’s stopping you? Go out and get one and get riding!
    As you are London based, SPD pedals make sense, you could wreck road cleats just with the constant unclip and foot down that you have to do to escape the big smoke. I like the single sided A600 but you may prefer double sided for ease of use in the city. I’d watch for toe overlap too, it doesn’t matter at all on the open road but it is a pain navigating through traffic.
    150+ miles a week will see that weight flying off you. Good luck on all your cycling adventures.

    Buy an expensive bike and enjoy it.

    April 8, 2013 at 9:50 pm #726923
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    musgrum

    bashthebox wrote:Spend £3k at

    bashthebox wrote:
    Spend £3k at Canyon and make us all jealous. You won’t regret it. Your wife might.

    Well having now had a look around the Canyon site it seems they have some really nice options for way under £3k. I don’t quite know what the catch is at the moment but I can’t seem to see a dealers list so maybe that’s it. You have to buy direct from them…!? or they are old models maybe but well spec’d. I’ll def have a look further into what they’ve got. Blimey, just what I needed, a bike not on the list haha

    April 8, 2013 at 9:05 pm #726921
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    Al'76

    Simple answer is don’t rush
    Simple answer is don’t rush it…really, if you’re thinking of spending £2.5k + make sure that you’re getting the bike that is right for you.

    Just from taking a quick scan through your mail, you’ve got both ends of the Specialized spectrum in there; super stiff sprinter’s special (Venge, as ridden by Cav et al.) with a fairly harsh ride and aggressive geometry and, at the other end, the Roubaix, designed for the cobbled Spring Classics, with much more relaxed geometry and a more compliant ride. Just check out the thickness of the seat stays on each and that will tell you a lot about the bike’s intended purpose.

    To save you making a costly error, why not shorten the list a little, lay down a £50 deposit for a 48hr test ride (on a Giant Defy Advanced? [highly rated bike, full Ultegra, good finishing kit, fits somewhere in the middle of the earlier mention spectrum]) and that way you will know for sure if you like it.

    You could schedule the test ride for April 28th 😀

    Deposit is refunded if you buy the bike. I know Giant and Spesh offer this; not sure about the others.

    Stop reading and start riding; ’tis the only way you’ll know for sure 😕

    April 8, 2013 at 8:11 pm #726919
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    Gero

    I had a Grand Turismo. Rode
    I had a Grand Turismo. Rode Lejog on it and Flanders. Great bike, very comfy but the standard seat clamp kept cracking. 3 replaced under warranty. You said you’re heavy so something to watch out for. I eventually bought a cheap double BMX type clamp for it.
    Oh, watch out for Fulcrum 5’s bearings if the GT is still equipped with those?- un-greased and not sealed so soon seize in wet weather.

    April 8, 2013 at 7:58 pm #726917
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    bashthebox

    Spend £3k at Canyon and make
    Spend £3k at Canyon and make us all jealous. You won’t regret it. Your wife might.

    April 8, 2013 at 7:18 pm #726915
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    mathewshotbolt

    buy something that is the
    buy something that is the right size for you.

    All of these bikes may not necessarily be the same size and some may not work well for a guy of your size.

    Start with the geometry and go from there.

    April 8, 2013 at 7:15 pm #726913
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    musgrum

    Hmmm… I discounted options
    Hmmm… I discounted options like PX, Cinelli, Spesh SL4 Disc etc because they only (seem to) go up to 58cm frames but it does seem as though that particular PX is big enough cheers!

    I’ll play with the customise button later and see how I get on. Would you say you put groupset above frame in importance when you chose?

    April 8, 2013 at 6:13 pm #726911
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    Sandip J

    I just bought a PlanetX pro
    I just bought a PlanetX pro carbon SRAM Rival for £1k.

    I was in the same boat as you albeit have upgraded from a hybrid. Best value for money given the group set and I’ll upgrade the wheels in a year…

    Deffo worth a look

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