Too heavy for carbon? planet x carbon or ribble aluminum

[owen1]

hi,
first post from me seeking sage like advice/knowledge!!!

Currently riding flat bar hybrid, twenty to thirty miles every 3 dys, looking to loose some weight.(260lbs) current bike is fine but require some thing a bit faster. saving up about 1k and have been looking at planet x pro carbon with sram rival at £999. Then some one said google busted carbon and got concerned and had a look at ribble 7005 ultralite race with sram force at£ 1085. Appreciate that force is better group set than rival but any suggestions on "which bike?" or suggest any other in 1K range.

 

[gaz]

It might be worth while keeping on a heavier hybrid and up your mileage a bit. Keep working hard and lose more weight and also save so more. Then treat your self to a really nice bike!

 

[dellzeqq]

ask Planet X if there's a weight limit on the bike.

 

[Parrot of Doom]

Owen, if you have the phone for it, may I recommend two apps? One, a GPS tracking app to help calculate how many calories you burn per ride (a bluetooth heart monitor is a good addition). Two, "Myfitnesspal".

I've lost a stone in the last two months with these two apps, and trust me, it's easy. No starving yourself, just lots of good cycling and decent meals every day.

 

[Fletch456]

Owen,

Maybe there is a Trek that will be in your price range cos their weight limit I just looked up and found to be 275lbs. They also give a life time warranty on their carbon frames, the others I don't know about.

Trek FAQ on weight --> My link


I've tweeted Chris Boardman for the hell of it to see if his bikes have a limit as I think you get a lot vfm with his bikes. There is a fair bit of discussion in here about if there are very good...people can be snobby about them..and they are sold be people who often don't know a lot about bikes and fitting but you do get a lot for your money with them.

I lost some weight earlier this year - a stone in about 14 weeks. I had to deny my sweet tooth but talking myself out of those things on the shelves got easier. I shifted a lot of my eating to morning and lunch time and focussed on eating 1/3 meat / fish, 1/3 cooked veg and 1/3 fruit and raw veg. Definitely appealed to me more than calorie counting and was chuffed with the results and for the first time I've needed to loose weight. :-)

 

[smokeysmoo]

FYI, Focus don't have any weight limits on their frames

But do you really need carbon? I know you probably feel it's a logical upgrade, but it is unnecessary to be brutally honest. A good alu bike will be just as quick, (if not quicker), and then you don't have the potential pitfalls of having to replace the frame if you go over a sleeping policeman to quickly either

 

[Fletch456]

I'd also think about second hand - there are some well looked after bargains in the back of cycling weekly fairly regularly. Knowing more about bikes now, though being 6'4" something 2nd hand is rarely available, if I needed / wanted a new one I might take some time finding for one there and places like here.

For me aluminium gives a hard, uncomfortable ride and am glad I could afford carbon earlier this year but not all bikes are created equal so my advice is find a friendly bike shop and try a couple of different bikes. Or even non-friendly but try one or two. Even if you buy from a distance such as a Ribble, it could well prove a useful experience.

 

[owen1]

thanks very much for all your advice, back on the bike tonight , going to hold off purchasing till a bit lighter. Got a goal to aim for though as been asked to join charity ride next year from channel to med. so got something to get my teeth in to.

 

[Fletch456]

thanks very much for all your advice, back on the bike tonight , going to hold off purchasing till a bit lighter. Got a goal to aim for though as been asked to join charity ride next year from channel to med. so got something to get my teeth in to.

Good to have a target - makes the miles go faster.

Chris Boardman tweeted back and said there are no weight limits on his bikes. So they are an option when you're ready.

 

[smokeysmoo]

For me aluminium gives a hard, uncomfortable ride and am glad I could afford carbon earlier this year but not all bikes are created equal

I know exactly what you mean, but you are spot on when you say, "not all bikes are created equal".

I can ride considerably further with the same fitness level on my CAAD10 than I ever could on my Focus Cayo Pro