TK78

Hiya all. I have been lurking on here for a while and wanted to go ahead and post. I know a lot of this has been written in one form or another. I have a 2008 Trek 7200 25" hybrid bike. I have about 4500 miles on it. About half of those came a couple of years ago when I lost a lot of weight. I currently weigh about 330 lbs and I'm 6'8". I lost about 60 lbs riding my Trek a couple of years ago and then started a new job, really got tired of my trek and just got sidetracked. I need to get back on track! My wife just got a Giant road bike last month and I'm really ready to start pounding out miles again. I still ride of course...just not like I used to. So, I have been long planning to get a 64 long haul trucker or even a straggler. I had a buddy that had the Jones loop bars on his and I really like that. I live in downtown Fort Worth and most of my riding is regulated to the paved trails around the river downtown. I believe we have 88 total miles and it's just great. I was pretty much all in on this until a couple of things happened. I have had more than a couple of LBS tell me that Surly doesn't put as good components as they used to on their bikes, my wife got a pure road road bike bc she wants us to ride do century rides, and I saw the KHS 747.

So I started ready all about Lennard Zinn and the 747 and the main thing is that it seems like a bike made for me even if I don't really want a pure performance road bike....bigger frame, better geometry, 200mm cranks, Shimano 105 components all seem solid. I have sent Zinn my measurments and they say I am def a candidate for a XXXL. I still like the idea of getting a surly. I don't need something fast, just something that I could eventually ride a century on. I like the idea of getting a bike that I can put on a bunch of panniers and go camping for week. lol. Not sure if that will really happen but I like having that option. As far as wheels go, I go through tires pretty quick but almost everyone I have spoke too has said let the original wheels fail before you upgrade which is what I plan on doing. I put almost 2k on my original trek rear wheel before it literally fell apart apart on me. I had my LBS build me a bombproof wheel for $150 that just rocks.

At any rate, I can't ride any of these. So, I just have to trust my opinion and go for it. I want to get this done sometime in Aug so I'm still just collecting facts but 747 looks for like the way I'm heading.

bbeasley

Welcome to BF!

My riding buddy has a 747 and loves it. He's 6'6" and it fits him great. I think they're a great value with the longer cranks and 105s.

TK78

Thanks Bbeasley, I just read your post from the other day. I missed it. Thanks for you input. I think the longer cranks certainly make sense. I'm not a bike expert but pretty much everyone I speak with says that the 105's are a great place to start...don't go any lower than that in quality (on a nicer bike of course)