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Any heavyweight roadies out there (130kg+)?


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I'm dabbling with the idea of getting a road bike. Been on MTBs all my life so have zero knowledge of road bikes. The question is whether there are road bikes out there that will hold my weight? I'm sure most frames will last, but it's the wheels I worry about.  Based on my experience with MTBs I have always had to resort to custom wheels as the OEMs never lasted (Mavic Crossmax, Flow Ex), so can I expect the same with road bikes?

 

So will I find a bike with OEM wheels that will last?  If not, can anyone recommend a strong enough wheel set.

 

Any other advice will be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

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I am in your weight and have also tried the thin wheels. The standard wheels on a cannodale caad 8 and giant tcr alu didn't work for me. I would make 40-50ks then a spoke will go and as soon as one goes the wheel bends enough to hit the brakes (even when opened).

 

The only wheelset i had which worked for me was a mavic ksyrium elite wheelset. I rode them for over a year without issues, even borrowed the bike to my bro who was tapping the 150s without issues.

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Hey, man!

 

You won't find stock wheels that will handle your weight. I have heard tell of this and that rim being fine, having no weight limit (Bontrager comes to mind), but this is not true in my experience...

 

I tried, and eventually resorted to a custom built set - 36H, DT Swiss stainless spokes and good quality hubs.

 

Your rear wheel will have to have a high spoke count, and the less dish the better.

 

For people in this weight range, a few grams in component weight means eff-all, so I suggest robust, durable and serviceable rims and hubs.

 

I went with DRC St19 rims, but Velocity, the 36H Open Pros and a few other offerings have a chance. Basically, good quality tandem rims will be ideal.

 

Phil wood hubs are the holy grail here.

 

I would further suggest rims with a wider internal width, and a higher volume tyre - worked for me.

 

I would suggest a metal bike too.... ;)

 

Good luck!

 

Remember: we get 'em on the downhills :D  :D  :D

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Race you down hill.....

 

Jokes aside, when I started riding road, I was 120kg had to use custom wheels. They were very close to tandem wheels. Never had a days problem.

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Thats pretty heavy but I have two family members who ride on road bikes - one your weight and the other a tad lighter. The lighter guy rides a Cannondale full carbon with Mavic cosmic carbon wheels and has zero problems. 

 

He did encounter a problem in the UK on his new Synapse however. The rear wheel collapsed after 87 mi due to a factory spoke tension issue. Not sure of the wheel set.

 

It can clearly be done, even on a lightweight carbon bike...

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I'm 115kg and i use the Easton SLX Alu wheels on a Cannondale Carbon bike with no problem. 

The Easton SLX has no rider weight limit and if i'm not mistaken all the Easton ALU wheels have no rider weight limit. 

If you a heavy rider it's best to reinforce your wheels. 

For 1 change over to brass nipples. 

Edited by venom1
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Weigh 110kgs without any kit. So feel your pain!

 

First rule is to ignore lightweight parts, go for strong and reliable. Don't push limits, not for riding issues, but it sucks having that little niggle in the back of your mind every time you hit a bump or go over 60kph,ehich happens a lot at our weight.

 

I ride a ritchey road logic steel frame with carbon fork. I've done Chinese carbon without issue, marin carbon, and all without any issues. But the steel frame is the one I ride with absolutely no stress.

 

Wheels, I'm riding 38mm carbon Chinese wheels. Doesn't make sense, but I feel like the carbon rims are stronger and stiffer than anything alloy. 24 spike count on both wheels, and have never broken a spoke, however the spikes that come with them are bladed, and heavy. They lose trueness maybe once a year, but they also are stress free for me.

 

Braking is something to consider, don't skimp on brakes and the pads you use, you need to have any extra power you can because you will pick up speed quicker than anyone else.

 

Other than that, keep your cockpit and seat post alloy, saddles are all about comfort, however I'm on a carbon railed spez and again, no issues.

 

Enjoy though! Love being a heavy roadie when the road gets flat, and always fun to kick a skinny guys butt up a hill when you're fit and trained.

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something to consider...it is not only your weight that is an issue...the amount of pressure you put on the back wheel while riding...

 

i found the wheels would be fine so long as i didnt stand and pedal...i believe the amount of pressure you put on a wheel as you stand not only distorts the wheel out of shape it is also the torque applied that broke my spokes.

 

i have respoked my old trek wheels with thicker spokes and they seem to be fine.

 

just think of how much power is required to get a 130 kg cyclist  going compared to a 70kg cyclist...i cant find any actual data...but logic would tell me...a flippen lot more.

 

we were joking about this today while out on a ride...someone comments about how i pull forward when i accelerate...i indicated that it is like using one of those egg shaped cranks...all i do is stand a little...my weight on the pedal compared to him is huge which gives me a forward boost...no scientific proof just *** praat.

 

my spokes would either break when i stood and accelerated or when i forget i am riding the road bike and not my mtb ;) 

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Weigh 110kgs without any kit. So feel your pain!

 

First rule is to ignore lightweight parts, go for strong and reliable. Don't push limits, not for riding issues, but it sucks having that little niggle in the back of your mind every time you hit a bump or go over 60kph,ehich happens a lot at our weight.

 

I ride a ritchey road logic steel frame with carbon fork. I've done Chinese carbon without issue, marin carbon, and all without any issues. But the steel frame is the one I ride with absolutely no stress.

 

Wheels, I'm riding 38mm carbon Chinese wheels. Doesn't make sense, but I feel like the carbon rims are stronger and stiffer than anything alloy. 24 spike count on both wheels, and have never broken a spoke, however the spikes that come with them are bladed, and heavy. They lose trueness maybe once a year, but they also are stress free for me.

 

Braking is something to consider, don't skimp on brakes and the pads you use, you need to have any extra power you can because you will pick up speed quicker than anyone else.

 

Other than that, keep your cockpit and seat post alloy, saddles are all about comfort, however I'm on a carbon railed spez and again, no issues.

 

Enjoy though! Love being a heavy roadie when the road gets flat, and always fun to kick a skinny guys butt up a hill when you're fit and trained.

Like Mr Red Dragon here I am at about 110kgs in the buff so I am at his fighting weight.  

 

Lowest racing weight ever was 91 kgs.

 

They call us Clydesdales and that is kind of the label you will never get away from .

 

Myles had an excellent blog from a guy in the states that was at our fighting weight. Here it is. Lots of very good and very funny information here.

 

http://theclydesdalecyclist.com/

 

 

As he says - don't skimp. You are pushing a lot more force through everything. Wheels - go 32 spoke and get them built straight gauge on the back with a good wheel builder doing the build. That way you will never worry.

 

And if you dont listen and try to push the envelope with weight weenie builds you will end up breaking the wheels. I have pretzeled many MTB wheels where they were 95 kg limit as it looks like you have. Road is a lot less intense on the rims though, but a failure at speed is a much bigger disaster and lead to a big crash. Wheels don't collapse when not under load so they only normally throw a tantrum when you hit something solid when going fast.

 

 Off the shelf doesn't come close in strength and being able to tweak to what you need. Get Ruan Deysel from Spokeworks to build you a set

 

 I have a tandem as well and my wife is about 78 kgs so the two of us are not exactly light and he builds my wheels but that is slightly different.

 

WRT Frames a carbon frame is not an issue just dont go weight weenie. My Colnago C 40 is 16 years old and has never flinched. Its a real carbon build and is lugged, not a minimalist build.

 

The old maxim - weight, strength and price - pick two. Listen to that because you will always be exploring the limits as clydesdales are rare on bicycles. So the kit is designed for stick insects and not for us. You need to always look at the design envelope you are working with and when they tell you about a limit be aware of it.

 

If you are seriously looking and can build a custom bike then try and get discs. The stopping power over rim brakes is much better and for your weight will really make a difference. Hydraulics even better. TRP HyRD for disc brakes is what i use on the tandem and the CX bike. Even better is the Shimano R785 levers.

 

And use 160mm rotors on the road. You can also then build a carbon wheel using a wider rim and use a wider tyre - 28 to 32mm which will be a lot more comfortable and result is a more pleasurable ride. Carbon is strong and build at 28 to 32 hole with a good builder and some serious hubs (Hope or something like that or even an MTB hub from Shimano works great) they are awesome. They wont collapse. Nothing is completely idiot proof though. 

 

And as a side note the strongest "built" wheels i have ever ridden are Campagnolo. Even their climb dynamic Nucleons were bulletproof. These are their light, climbing wheels, and at a race weight of about 95kgs mine never went out of true in years. Truly the best wheels i have ever used. I still use a set on my Colnago. I swear by Campy wheelsets.

 

As per Mr Dragon i also have a chinese carbon frame - a CX build with discs - it has wider bars (460mm) which were a revelation. If you are a big guy try and get wider bars. It helps.

 

Also look for wider pedals (SPD SL have a 4mm wider axle) which helped me.

 

As I said everything bigger and stronger. 

 

Steel is awesome and very much a good idea IMHO for a frame for your fighting weight. You can get a Ritchey with Disc tabs at a great price and you will never worry. Its also very plush. 

 

Go get a road bike and enjoy. On the flats if you are a proper Clydesdale you will annihilate most people and if the road tilts downhill you will be dicing with tandems....

 

And unless you are seriously masochistic always check the profile of the ride before you commit :-).

 

Enjoy.

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Mavick open pro 36 hole, never had to replace a spoke in the 5 years I've had them, including surviving a T Bone with a metal monster. 

Yes to this - Rode a set of Open Pro (and a also a set of CXP 30's in another incident) through potholes and things that i thought would surely have shattered the rim on one off road excursion to avoid an oncoming car.

 

Were spoked and built by a good builder.

 

I don't think i even trued them up after that.

 

In fact many TdF teams rode these for many years - hand built and tensioned by an artisan. Right in to the modern era aka Lance's time.

 

I know I keep banging this drum but you cant stress how different a well tensioned set of wheels built by an artisan are compared to off the shelf. Carbon has really usurped these simple builds now, but a good set of carbon hoops built the same way - they are art.

 

Simple is strong.

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  • 1 month later...

If someone tries to tell you that 24 spoke wheels will be ok, don't believe them. I'm only 95-100kg, and I have a small collection of cracked Au rims.

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