New bike for a big bloke to race with , what to look for ...?

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Tiny01

Darren on Bkool
Location
Essex
I'll be in the market for a new bike early next year so I can continue my critt racing & also looking to make a debut in a few Cat 4 road races .

Currently own a Giant Defy advanced 2 size XL ( with a lot of seat post ! ) that I love & since purchasing in April this year I'm just over 3000 miles with it , but it's a bit heavy & has disk brakes so I've been knocked back on a few race entires as they're currently banned .

I'm a big lad 6' 5" & just under 16 stone , want to buy a nice new bike to race / compete with & keep the Giant for my winter / spare bike .

Tickets booked at the NEC for the bike show so hopefully can see a few different makes & models & hopefully try a few out .

Any suggestions , I'd love a fast , stiff , light bike that will enable me to get the power down through it .
 
I don't know your budget, but giant TCR?
 

Cuchilo

Prize winning member X2
Location
London
The TCR is a nice bike but i think has disk brakes this year :wacko: Odd they are selling racing bikes that you are not allowed to race !
 

outlash

also available in orange
I think your bike would be fine for cat 4's. I know plenty of people who race and do well on 'lesser' bikes than that. IMO (and there's no easy way to put this), I think the amount of weight you would save by spending well into 4 figures for a new bike, you could get double the weight savings by losing some of your body mass. I'm 6" 3', 13 stone and I could lose another stone easily. Maybe spend a few quid on the bike and look into nutrition and conditioning? Drop a couple of stone, get yourself as good as you can be and look again?
 

S-Express

Guest
The TCR is a nice bike but i think has disk brakes this year :wacko: Odd they are selling racing bikes that you are not allowed to race !
Some of the range has discs, some have calipers. Disc equipped race bikes might be 'race ready', but they're not currently 'race legal'.
 
Cannondale Super six or a caad12.

Or if you really want a power monster;Ridley Noah,S-Works Venge,Giant Propel,Cervelo S5.
 

S-Express

Guest
Any suggestions , I'd love a fast , stiff , light bike that will enable me to get the power down through it .

That's most bikes then. If you are already on Giant, then TCR would be a safe bet and would be as good as anything else out there. You'll see plenty of unfeasibly high spec bikes in 4th cat racing, like the aforementioned Venges, Propels, S5s, etc, but how long they spend at the front of the race depends on the rider.
 
OP
OP
Tiny01

Tiny01

Darren on Bkool
Location
Essex
I think your bike would be fine for cat 4's. I know plenty of people who race and do well on 'lesser' bikes than that. IMO (and there's no easy way to put this), I think the amount of weight you would save by spending well into 4 figures for a new bike, you could get double the weight savings by losing some of your body mass. I'm 6" 3', 13 stone and I could lose another stone easily. Maybe spend a few quid on the bike and look into nutrition and conditioning? Drop a couple of stone, get yourself as good as you can be and look again?


Good advice & I've heard that a few times , the bike is my treat , I was touching near on 25 stone this time 2 year ago so a loss of just under 10 stone thanks to my new eating habits & love of my bike & my motivation to stay in shape so I'm fully aware of nutrition & conditioning !
 
OP
OP
Tiny01

Tiny01

Darren on Bkool
Location
Essex
You're a lightweight, so no problems with durability or design max payload etc. What's your budget?

Guess after spending an hour is so in the local specialised store a few weeks back I'll be looking up to a budget of £5k approx I'd guess , want to buy right this time & fit must be right , loads of time to do my homework of witch this is the start

Loved the S Works Tarmac frame sets & can't wait to see the options for the 2017 range that'll be my favourite choice currently but only as I've not looked at anything else as of yet
 

outlash

also available in orange
Good advice & I've heard that a few times , the bike is my treat , I was touching near on 25 stone this time 2 year ago so a loss of just under 10 stone thanks to my new eating habits & love of my bike & my motivation to stay in shape so I'm fully aware of nutrition & conditioning !

Fair play to you, that's a fantastic result.
 

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
Guess after spending an hour is so in the local specialised store a few weeks back I'll be looking up to a budget of £5k approx I'd guess , want to buy right this time & fit must be right , loads of time to do my homework of witch this is the start

Loved the S Works Tarmac frame sets & can't wait to see the options for the 2017 range that'll be my favourite choice currently but only as I've not looked at anything else as of yet

About £5K?

That's going some.

If it was me, I'd be hanging around the likes of Sky to see about getting a team bike.

If you could spend a day or two at the velodrome in Manchester you could probably buttonhole Brailsford or one of his minions/riders.
 

S-Express

Guest
About £5K?

That's going some.

If it was me, I'd be hanging around the likes of Sky to see about getting a team bike.

If you could spend a day or two at the velodrome in Manchester you could probably buttonhole Brailsford or one of his minions/riders.

Got to agree with this sentiment. Spend half that on a new bike (you don't even need to spend that much) and buy some coaching with some of what's left over.
 
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