Too heavy for my bike....dilemma?

[lucklesspedestrian]

Hi

Late last year having spent 9 months in born again mode on my indestructible old Raleigh hybrid I took the plunge and bought my first proper road bike a Forme Longcliffe 3.0 like this!

http://www.rutlandcycling.com/153514/products/forme-longcliffe-3-0-2013-road-bike.aspx

It sat in the garage until springtime and since then I've been trying to get used to it.

Unfortunately so far on relatively modest use and despite having replaced the standard rubbers with 28c Conti touring tyres, the back wheel keeps going out of true and the last straw tonight was 2 spokes on the back wheel snapped whilst I was out on my evening ride.

I'm 6'2" and was 21 stone but felt pretty chuffed with myself when I dropped to 17 stone and am kind of stuck there at the moment. I'm guessing that I'm still too heavy for a road bike (Mavic CXP22 Rims) and am basically looking for suggestions as to what to do? ("stay off the pies you fat B******* I hear you cry!!)

In all seriousness I an going to try to shift another couple of stone but wondered whether or not to give up on the idea of a road bike and trade it in for a stronger new hybrid? I tend to do 10/12 miles every night on country roads and the odd longer weekend blast of 20/30 miles. I suppose I could just get stronger wheels for the Forme (do such things exist??) but to be honest I've never really adapted to the road bike, prefering the riding/brake position on the hybrid.

Do local bike shops typically take trade-ins, obviously I'm going to lose a fair bit on the deal but I'm okay about that I suppose.

Could anyone recommend a sturdy but quickish hybrid which might serve my needs better or come up with any other suggestions?

thanks in advance

Steve

 

[Beebo]

Dont be silly loads of people on here a heavier than you and ride road bikes.
Some ride them a very long way.
Why do you think you are too heavy? The wheel must be weak, any good wheel should take your weight. Maybe get a wheel with more spokes.

 

[PatrickPending]

Any suggestions... don't worry too much keep riding. I'd say there was something wrong with the wheel - if the rim and hub are ok I'd get a good wheelbuilder to rebuild with quality stainless steel spokes - that'l last for ages!

 

[Hip Priest]

I'm 6'2" and was 21 stone but felt pretty chuffed with myself when I dropped to 17 stone and am kind of stuck there at the moment. I'm guessing that I'm still too heavy for a road bike.

Err...I'm 6'2" and only half a stone lighter than you and I do time trials!

 

[Supersuperleeds]

If you can afford it I would keep the road bike and go get hybrid (possibly second hand?), odds are as you shift more weight you will go back to a road bike.

I've a specialized Sirrus hybrid and that is a lovely bike

 

[Learnincurve]

I did some googleing on those rims and it does look like they should hold your weight however there do seem to be some quality control issues. Some people are saying they are built like tanks, some are saying they bend too easily or the welding on the spokes are off, you having some from a bad batch would explain everything, as would them being dinged about in transit if you bought online.

My go to on recommending hybrid bikes is the Ridgeback hybrids but you can't go wrong with the giant ones as well, but I think you may want to look at front suspension mountain bikes with a pair of wider hybrid tyres, ideally 2.10 instead. My pick would be the one I bought which is the Specialized hardrock (you can find them under £200 second hand easy) I think you are going to be more confident on the wider tyres and to be honest the slight loss of power you will have with the front suspension (should be noted that the hardrock weighs less than most hybrids which is one reason I recommend it) going up hill isn't going to make much of a difference until you hit around 12 stone but by that point you will probably be using it on trails and have switched back to the road bike anyway.

 

[Hip Priest]

I've got Shimano R501 wheels. Cheap but solid. I've done 3000 miles on them and they've never been out of true.

 

[uphillstruggler]

Take the wheels back to the shop, sounds like they are faulty.

Stock wheels are sometimes a little on the cheap side, it may be worth upgrading them anyway.

Post a Question on the what bike section regarding wheelsets and you'll get some decent advice.

 

[lucklesspedestrian]

Thanks for all the really helpful replies. Will probably go down the wheel upgrade route or possibly even a rebuild.

Steve

 

[subaqua]

from a former fatty ( who is starting to head that way again as not riding nearly enough) , the problem is the wheels not your weight. upgrade and get better ones and enjoy your bike.

 

[cityfan247]

definately a fault with the wheels or spoke tension.

i am 6'4" and 17 stone+- i have ridden mavic cpx 22 and had no problems with them, even gone over the odd pothole and they still run true. Currently have mavic open pros (32 spoke) and these are seem equally as tough.

there are plenty of wheelsets out there durable enough for this weight range

dont give up the riding.

 

[jowwy]

Im 5ft 10" 16st 10lbs and ride full on carbon clinchers on both spesh roadbike and speshTT bike - zondas on the Ti

Never broken a single spoke - the wheel is the problem not your weight

 

[byegad]

Perhaps buy some touring wheels for you bike. At least until you shed another few stones pounds? That said I'd have expected the original wheels to be OK. I had a new bike that broke spokes on piece in the back wheel. It turned out the wheel was badly built and a rebuild, at the dealer's suggestion and expense solved the issue.

 

[Profpointy]

I'd be inclined to just buy another wheel - with a few more spokes in and explaining to the wheelbuilder you're a big lad. Something suitable for loaded touring perhaps - maybe 36 or even 40 spokes - the wheel guy should be able to advise.

 

[Keenbfb]

I'm 6ft 3" and the wrong side of 20st. As everyone has told you it's the wheels that are at fault have them fixed and put them away while you use a set of stronger ones the more spokes the stronger it will be. I regularly ride over 100 miles at a time, 162 is my furthest in a day and this June I completed LEJOG, my wheels are heavy and I'm not going to feature in the top ten in a TT but I can do the distance safe in the knowledge that my equipment will get me there, by the way get into the habit of checking the spokes have the correct tension before every ride you can nip a lot of problems in the bud with a quick tighten of a loose spoke rather than waiting for it to snap.