Originally Posted by
RiderofRohan
Hi all, new member here. I’m a super Clydesdale (Percheron to be exact
) near 350 currently ride a rockhopper 29er, but have developed arthritis and my bumpy trail rides are over. I am riding on pavement and hard packed trails now.
not sure where to start, my first thoughts were to swap out the tires on my current bike to some lower profile or semi slick tires like the specialized armadillo.
while at my LBS got to talking to them they asked what my goal was, I talked to them about the arthritis and riding more on roads now. He said that an endurance bike would have a better geometry and be more efficient for me.
I told him that wasn’t ready to spend that kind of money and asked if getting a used bike was a smart idea, he said absolutely just to make sure to have it checked out before I buy it.
Any suggestions on what type of bike to look for?
All of the slicing and dicing of bicycle categories start to get hard to follow (and has not a little serious overlap). One category of bike to look at is old school touring bikes. Long wheelbase, stable ride, made to handle loads, relaxed geometry, capable of handling wider tires, etc. Bikes to look for are Surly Long Haul Trucker, Trek 520, Cannondale T series, as well as others. The Surley and Trek are steel while the Cannondale is aluminum. Don’t think you
have to have steel…the Cannondale’s are excellent bikes and tough as any steel bike. Anyone of these is capable of carrying a lot of load. Me and my touring load are approaching your weight and the bike carries it with aplomb. I actually have two Cannondale touring bikes (and a frame in reserve)
This is a 2010 T1 that has almost 4000 miles of mostly loaded touring on it. It’s a robust machine that is a great ride.
This is a 2003 (ish) T800 that has been repainted. I only have about 1000 miles on this one but I’m looking forward to years of service.
Another option is a cyclocross bike. A little shorter, a little less relaxed, and a little sportier. This one is retired (but I still have the frame and fork) right now but it has around 22,000 miles on it in all kinds of weather. It was my commuter bike from 2006 to 2020 and got ridden more than any other bike I’ve owned. The fork is the OEM fork and I have no issues with riding it even if it is almost 15 years old and has that many miles on it.
And, finally, this is my first Cannondale touring bike…a 2003 T800 (not the repainted one)…that had almost 10,000 miles on it before I put it into semiretirement (it’s my reserve frame). There was nothing wrong with it, I just wanted a different color.
My bike 12 by
Stuart Black, on Flickr
On thing to notice is that none of these have disc nor do I feel the need for them. Even with loads and seriously stupid speed, the cantilevers have served me well. Good bikes for consideration.