RKDauph

Thanks, corrected the nomenclature.

I like the bike, only had it a few days and only done about 15 miles so far.

I had several "when I"s to trigger the stop smoking button. For me, it was a conversation with my 4 year old granddaughter who asked me if I would come to her wedding. I said yes of course; then latter decided I had to make some changes if I really wanted to be there.

I used Chantics for the first 30 days, it did help.

Good luck,
Ray

cycle man

I am a newbie to biking. But I Love it. current weight is 230lbs. 6'2" tall. Ride a motobecane immortal team carbon bike. Question, is there a frame ( carbon ) that is designed for my size and doesn't flex maybe as much. I see all the Trek's, Specialized, Giants, ect. and wonder if they ride that much better than my bike.
Any information would be helpful .
Thanks,
Cycle Man

RichardGlover

Bike quality goes through several stages:

1. Just About Perfect: You don't own it yet, but everything you see about it makes you think it's The Answer to your problems.
2. Beyond Perfect: You just bought it; Revel in the self-rationalization of your expensive purchase!
3. Just About Perfect: You've owned it for a while, everything's tuned in just exactly how you want it; you are One With The Machine.
4. Pretty Darned Good: You've owned it for a while, but have started to notice a couple of things. Still your best friend, and you love it's little idiosyncrasies.
5. The Good Bike: Those idiosyncrasies that used to be cute are starting to become annoying. And multiplying. But your love and admiration for it, plus the good times you've shared, makes you willing to overlook most of those things. Plenty of good times ahead with it, even though it can't do everything you want to do anymore.
6. OK, It's Got Some Problems: The number of things you'd like to change about it has started to exceed it's replacement cost. Maybe some maintenance would fix things, but you're starting to wonder.
7. That D$#%^# Thing!: There's another bike, and everything you see about it makes you think it's The Answer to your problems.

Note that how long it takes to go through these stages varies wildly; sometimes it can go from phase 1 to 7 in a matter of days.

Also note: Replace 'bike' with 'significant other', and the list also works.

NRZ

5'10" here at 215 down from 235 when I started riding in late July last year on the road with a Cannondale CAAD9. I mountain biked for 10 years before that but it was on and off towards the end only getting in a few rides a year. Hopefully with the success of the road bike I can manage to buy a 29er and get back in the woods and I really loved riding the singletrack.

massi

brilliant. do you think men have always been like this?
Maybe stoneage man drempt of upgrading his flint axe .....or adding another spear to the 6x that he already had in the back of his cave

massi

248 Lbs and 5'11" here down to 5'8" .....if I lose any more I shan't be able to reach the pedals lol

Sorry just feel in a silly mood this morning .That is a pretty impressive weight loss NRZ well done!.

I see that you have a Cannondal CAAD9 . i have lusted after one of these for a little over a year now and they are in such short supply in the UK. I bought a new frame from the US on ebay but the seller then refused to sell it .

Like you I found it difficult to keep consistant motivation. I keep thinking that if I had kept up the start that I made back in September last year I would probably have lost 20 lbs by now instead of putting on another 8lbs

Good luck with your dream of getting 'back in the woods'

motob

Great frame for big guys is a cannondale CAAD 10. Its alluminium alloy, but its construction give it a comfortable ride with a tight response. Not as harsh as most alluminium, especially with a load of 230 plus. Cannondale also has a nice geometry for tall and big clydes with a 63cm frame available for someone my size 6'4" 235. If you must have carbon, look at cannondale super 6, same geometry at CAAD 10 just moe money. Both also have the bb30 bottom bracket that is beefed up compared to other bb. Dont get duped into durace or scam red and the recreational level, stick with 105 and possible ultegra. One last thing, your uber-light racing rear wheel set on the motobecane will not last. You will start to break rear spokes after a few thousand miles and could spend losts of money in repairs. Get a master wheel smith to build a custom rear wheel (velocity deep v 36 spoke with 105 hub). Check the weight rating on the rear wheel set, you are most likely over and put out too much power.

Oh and btw, there is nothing wrong with your motobecane in general. I put 11K miles on a motob immortal force and loved it. Did many fast group club rides centuries and double centuries. I did wear out the sleeve in the frame around the bottom bracket (makes a loud squeaking noise). New bike is is super 6 with the bb30 bb. The old motob will become the new winter bike. If your motob is new, just ride it to the ground, rebuild the rear wheel set when you start breaking spokes and smile at the guys on the high dollar bikes as pass them up. At your level of recreational riding, the $7,000 bike does not make you faster. Just allows someone to push their chest out and hold up their bike like medal they have won.

Allez3

6'3" 230 to 240 range. Flexed from 160-180 forever depending on the time of year and how much ridign I could get in. First, I stopped ridding because work kept me too busy. Then I got Married which led to better food. Then we had a kid which took away the rest of my time. Next thing I knew I had a gut.

Have three rides now put together for varying conditions and saving to build a bike from the ground up after I lose my clyde status.

Allez3

#8. Some SOB stole the bike out of my garage and now I have to go back to #1.

F15Todd

Just retired from the military and somehow my weight shot up to 220 lbs, you could say I was shocked. I knew I was putting on weight, but was shock to see it had gone up so fast. So started last weekend on a diet and even though the temps are still hanging in the 30s during the day I have dusted off the bike. If this cold weather doesn't end I might need to make a trip to REI and get an indoor trainer.

NorCalVelo

6'0" 255 down from 263 at the end of December. Just bought my first new bike since 1975. I'm 49 and hope to ride 50 miles on my 50th birthday in October.

Here's my bike.

jethro56 

Norcalvelo:
Nice looking bike. Wish I'd bought an FX. What fenders does it have? I'm looking for some for my Trek 7300

NorCalVelo

Those are a set of Bontrager NCS Road Fenders They run about $50

LACamper

Hello from New Orleans.... I too am in the heavier end of the Clydesdales at 300 and 5'10". At 42 that isn't healthy. As I posted in another section, I work insurance so I spend 8 hours a day sitting. We flooded for Katrina, rebuilt, sold that house, moved, bought another old house and remodeled that one. I've been busy and active but not the right kind of active. Living on fast food and junk hasn't helped (living in NO its tough to not gain weight- the food is fantastic). I decided to try to do something about it. Jogging isn't for me (how often do you see joggers smiling like they're having a good time?). I dug the once flooded bike out the shed. It was virtually new when the flood hit and was only under 5' water for about 2 days. I had rinsed it off and sprayed it down with breakfree right after we got back.
It had some light rust, which I spent a day working on recently. The shift cables were shot though. Most bike shops won't touch a flooded bike but I found one that agreed to look at mine (we were outside the city so it was pure lake water not the chemical laden sludge in New Orleans). A new set of shifters and cables and I'm back in business.
Its nothing special, its a schwinn sidewinder 2.6fs. Once I start riding regularly, and make sure I'm going to stick with it I'll step up to something nicer.

So, who else is based in SE LA?

earthirv

I'm a rider. I started out at 270#s down to 240 something. I agree about the the food in NO. Tough town to keep trim. I ride a Cannondale Caad5 and a Scott CR-1. I try to 15 to 25 a day but it doesn't work out that way with normal every day life. We should start a Clyde club in NO. I usually ride the levee or Audubon Park. Drop me a line. I do the Tammany trace occasionally.

LACamper

Will do! As soon as I get comfortable on a bike again... I'd like a few dry days to get started.... doesn't look like that's going to happen anytime soon.
I'm not far from Lafreniere and will probably end up riding there daily. I also want to try some of the spillway trails.

dwellman

Dang. It hurts to have to post this, but yeah. . 5'10" . . 246. I Started at 282, ran my way down as low as 220 and then crept back up to 230 ish and stayed there for about 18 months. Developed fairly chronic sesamoiditis, which put the kibosh on regular running starting around October of last year, so now I gots 15 pounds to the plus in 2 1/2 months.

During those two months I just didn't feel like it was worth it many more. Run 28 to 32 miles a week just to STAY at 230? That sucks and sucks a lot.

So we bit the bullet and took my wheels in for a relacing and the rest of the bike for tune up. Maybe adding riding to the mix will help.

Meanwhile, I pledged to a buddy who also started riding that I'd run the running leg of a mini-tri in 9 weeks. Cycling for the XT days.

The only fly in this ointment is that I replaced the cassette on this bike at a time when I was riding 125 miles a week around the hills of central VA. . . Well see how I handle a 21-12T block, now.

bbeasley

So, who else is based in SE LA?

I live in Hammond. I alternate weekends on the Trace and with the Baton Rouge Bike Club (great group rides for all abilities/days/times).

dwellman

Yeah, maybe.

I have a line item in my budget called "Fitness - Equipment" It's been dominated by running shoes for the last few years. I use em till they can't be used no more.

We Interrupt This Post For an Important Announcement
Just this very second a PSA voiced by Dave Ramsey (of Debt Is Dumb fame) announcing a Share The Road plate for TN (in support of the Jeff Roth and Brian Brown Bicycle Protection Act of 2007 / 3 foot passing law). Heh. Jeff Roth Cycling Foundation sponsoring these plates. Hmm. . . anyway.

[we now return to our regularly scheduled post already in progress]
So, for me, for right now, bike is "equipment". A tool. A means to an end. I'll ride it till it becomes unsafe to ride. Maybe that just means I'm stubborn.

Or poor.

frenchbikefan

I am 5'4" 210 down from 230, played football and rugby, knees are shot (I'm 23) pretty much riding my bike and cycling classes are the only things that don't seem to hurt me. Really got into riding because I love building bikes and well since I am around them all the time might as well ride them. currently my bike is a Peugeot pl-8.

CraigB

Welcome, frenchbikefan. Back in the '80s my brother had a Peugeot, and I had a Gitane.

rick458

I'm Pushing 300 at 6'2" grew up riding bikes for fun, and spent the last 20 years riding Schwinn Cruisers at the Plant.
I test rode a Specialized Hardrock 29er Sport Disc last week and I really liked it, I felt like a kid again.
I need to lose weight and running/jogging is out of the question due to knees.
They have put in lots of bike trails and paths around home and I aim to utilize them.

Mr Sinister

Ok, I started riding again for the first time in years this past summer. I went from weighing 270 pounds down to 205. I stand 6'1" tall. My goal is to get to about 180-190, and I am somewhat close to it, but with it being winter and all, it has put me in a partial holding pattern. I do some jogging on a treadmill so I can feel it's not a total loss for the season.

I was given my bike from a friend and that is what has brought me into the road biking craze. I have a blast on it. Its a 2006 Podium 1, from Diamondback, and since it was free its perfect for me for now. In a year or 2 when I get better I might trade up and get a better bike, but like I said, for now its perfect.

https://www.bikepedia.com/Images/Defa...ck-Podium1.jpg

rick458

My wife and I have our 25th Annivesary this year and we pledged to get down to fighting weight
I want to get to 225 with power, I am giving up coke and pepsi (a major weakness)
at 6'2" that should be a good target for me.
She want to be at 145 and at 5'8" she feels and looks great at that weight. hopefully I can get her into it.

dwellman

Firstly: congrats.

Secondly: I do believe that empirical data suggests more success at weight loss and maintaining when couples cooperate towards the same goal, than either going solo. So good job there, too.

Thirdly: Ah giving up the HFCS and the Partially Hydrogenated? Welcome to the club.