Endurance road bike for tall, heavyish guy

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I'm looking for a road bike built for lots of km, comfortable and reasonably priced($1500). Needs to accommodate height (6'4"), weight 210 pounds. Any advice?

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  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
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    Go to your lbs. They'll fit you to something they stock
    Without the right measurements, my guess is that you'd fit either a 60 or 62 or maybe a 58. All the major companies make bikes that size
  • jhall260
    jhall260 Posts: 111 Member
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    ^ lbs is local bike store just in case!

    But that is great advice. They can help you out. Fit on a bike is just as important (if not more!) then the bike itself.
  • JLG1986
    JLG1986 Posts: 211 Member
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    Not sure about the bike, but the best decision I ever made was buying a nice saddle for my bike - gel for the win. Much better than keeping the stock saddle and buying slip on covers/pads.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    JLG1986 wrote: »
    Not sure about the bike, but the best decision I ever made was buying a nice saddle for my bike - gel for the win. Much better than keeping the stock saddle and buying slip on covers/pads.

    No, no, no.......gel seats are atrocious for longer rides........narrow, harder saddles are (I know, it's counter-intuitive) far better.

    OP go to your local bike shop to get fitted for a bike neither your height nor weight should be a problem. If you're doing longer rides and not racing you may want to consider a touring bike rather than a road bike. Typically they'll have a slightly longer wheelbase and more forgiving frame geometry.
  • Tinymeaf
    Tinymeaf Posts: 30 Member
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    I was thinking endurance bike so it's more upright and easier on my back. Not interested in racing.(yet). Definitely going to get fitted at a bike shop. Looking at Trek or Giant or Raleigh Merit. Any word on any of these brands?
  • inglysh731
    inglysh731 Posts: 42 Member
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    There are many, but essentially three types of road style bike. One is racing (shorter head tube) another is comfort/endurance (tall, sometimes very tall head tubes).The third, a touring bike could be good too, but (in my mind at least) they are built slightly heavier for panniers, and make some geometry sacrifices for stability over comfort... that said, I haven't looked at many touring bikes lately so take my comments with a grain of salt. The benefits of the tall head tube include the more comfortable position you are looking for with the benefit of multiple hand positions. Take a look at this style of bike, you might find out you like it. Many of these bikes come with 25cm tires, this is wider than the 22s or 23s that come on racing style bikes. That said, you can often go larger than 25, sometimes as high or higher than 30cm. This will get you a higher volume tire that you can run at slightly lower pressures. It will still be fast and will do a metric ton to improve comfort.

    A proper shop will take time to get you a good fit on the bike which should include saddle position, height and fore/aft adjustment as well as stem lenght/rise. A few adjustments can make world's of difference comfort wise.

    If you are not interested in an endurance bike, some of the 700c hybrids (road style but flat bar) will be quick and comfortable. There are a ton of variations on this theme and you'll run across many interesting bikes.

    Regardless of choice, make sure the bike has double wall rims. If your heavyish, or the roads are garbage like they are around here, that'll be a necessity.

    The 1500$ price point is extremely competitive. Difficult to get into a bad bike. The right bike for you is one that is comfortable and that you enjoy/look forward to riding. Take your time and ride quite a few so you can define exactly what it is you want. This will all but guarantee you'll walk out the store knowing you made a good investment.

    Good luck, have fun.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    Honestly, at that price point there are plenty of options. Everything from a racing frame to a cross bike with road tires mounted to a hybrid to a touring/endurance bike. No matter one's weight, bike fit and preference can be a very individual thing. Flexibility, preferred position, long or short legs/torso, preference of flat or drop bar all come into play.

    All of the big brands ... Trek, Giant, Specialized, Raleigh, Canyon, and more .. make good bikes. Shop around. Test ride multiple bikes. Look at where you think you'll ride early on and factor that terrain into your initial purchase ... gearing helps on inclines or off road (even relatively smooth gravel).

    Let the feel of the bike .. brand name, frame material, or alleged category dictate your purchase.
  • SingingSingleTracker
    SingingSingleTracker Posts: 1,866 Member
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    Tinymeaf wrote: »
    I'm looking for a road bike built for lots of km, comfortable and reasonably priced($1500). Needs to accommodate height (6'4"), weight 210 pounds. Any advice?

    I'm your height (ride the Specialized Roubaix in size 64 cm). I recently - as in last Saturday - tried out the Giant AnyRoad CoMax ($1900) and the AnyRoad 1 ($1300) and AnyRoad 2 ($1100).

    http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/series/anyroad.comax/22190/
    http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/series/anyroad/22191/

    Two were in size XL and one was size L. I wasn't trying them out to buy, I was just killing time while my wife was fit to her new bike so took advantage of the time to do the demo rides.

    The bikes were fun, comfortable, and if I was in the market for a comfort bike that would go on any road - I'd hit these up for sure at your budget price point. They are much more upright for endurance riding, maneuver very easily, have disc brakes, and the components are fine.

    Color me impressed and they seem to meet what you describe as your needs and budget.
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    As a couple of personal recommendations as to kit that will work for your size/shape, have a look at the Specialized Roubaix or the Cannondale Synapse (they have models in most price ranges, not too well up on american prices, but I'm sure you'll find something in the price bracket.) Reason I mentioned them, is that they both do XL sized framesets - the Cannondale's "61" size would very likely accomodate you - i'm 6'1" with long-ish legs for my height and the "58" is fine... Specialized's Roubaix SL4 goes up to a whopping "64" - I've a friend who's 6'7" and best part of 280lb's who rides one of these (albeit a couple of models up from the SL4, mainly for the better components) and it copes with his size and weight fine. Synapse is a bit "sharper" handling and less "sit up into the wind" than the Roubaix, but both are very comfortable - and i'd not hesitate to do a 100miles on either.

    Other makes will have endurance type bikes in their range as well - Trek's Domane being one of them, but I can't speak for them, as I've no actual first hand experience.

    But ultimately, the best bike is nothing if it doesn't fit well - so, what you're really doing is looking for a good bike shop, who know their stuff, and will take the time and effort to not only "measure you up" and get a bike that'll fit, but will listen to you, and what you want to ride, how far, how long, how hilly - all that kind of stuff - and only THEN will they start suggesting bikes... First of all, you're buying into a "bike shop", then you're buying the bike...

  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
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    I got a campus by Del Sol. I call it a commuter bike but I too wanted something that had me sitting up more instead of hunched over. I wanted to ride in the summer so I could have a breeze in the southern humidity. I than added big expandable Panniers for food and wine. I also added a stainless beer growler with mount so I am ready to pick up dinner, wine and beer. Oh, and get exercise while at it.
  • corgicake
    corgicake Posts: 846 Member
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    They're probably not going to design frames in your size that can't take the weight but your next pair of tires may need to be chosen wisely. My full festie packup weighs in at forty to fifty pounds, which kicks the total load up around 200-220 depending on what my weight is doing so I'm effectively in Clydesdale territory and need to ask that question. Not many are ruled out but I'd guess a similarly purposed pack for someone with a full foot on me would probably be closer to sixty or seventy pounds and that would affect options more.
    No, no, no.......gel seats are atrocious for longer rides........narrow, harder saddles are (I know, it's counter-intuitive) far better.
    Seconding this. The horrors inexplicably come with every bike I buy and need to be replaced. Typically to reduce seat height that final bit, but the one time I didn't need to I did it anyway.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    Tinymeaf wrote: »
    I was thinking endurance bike so it's more upright and easier on my back. Not interested in racing.(yet). Definitely going to get fitted at a bike shop. Looking at Trek or Giant or Raleigh Merit. Any word on any of these brands?

    I am an unabashed Giant fan. Both my road bike & MTB are Giant. Trek is a great brand too (90% of their frames are made by Giant) but I lean towards the Giants simply because (at least here in Canada) typically if you compare two bikes at similar price points the Giant will have better components. I'm also biased against Made in China products and most of the trek models are Chinese made whereas Giants have more Taiwanese made models.

    Can't comment on the Raleigh.
  • Tinymeaf
    Tinymeaf Posts: 30 Member
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    Thanks for all the great advice! I will keep you posted about which bike I went with
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    Good luck finding the one that works best for you.
  • claygone
    claygone Posts: 3 Member
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    I have a Raleigh Clubman and weight 10 pounds less. I love the bike and I have done 6 centuries on it, plus commuting. I would highly recommend it.
  • misskris78
    misskris78 Posts: 136 Member
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    My husband is about your size although a bit shorter and rides a Giant Defy road bike. It was about $1200 us out the door. He has a Trek MTB. Although he hasn't experienced problems with the road bike, he generally needs to upgrade components on the MTB. He goes through cheap hubs and brakes pretty fast. Saddles are tough. A good bike shop will have saddle samples for you to try out so you can get a good idea what works for you. He's had the best luck on EBay however, since they're cheaper and if he has to ditch a dud, he's not too upset about the price.
  • Tinymeaf
    Tinymeaf Posts: 30 Member
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    Bought the bike! It's a giant defy advanced pro 2! Had to get an xL frame. Just have it on a trainer and am waiting for the weather to get warmer.
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
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    Tinymeaf wrote: »
    Bought the bike! It's a giant defy advanced pro 2! Had to get an xL frame. Just have it on a trainer and am waiting for the weather to get warmer.

    Lovely bike.

    If you have it on a turbo you might want to consider getting a cheap training wheel which you can swap out when you want to ride it on the road back to the original. Some turbos can eat through the tread on tyres and I'm sure you would prefer to keep your baby in pristine condition.
  • Tinymeaf
    Tinymeaf Posts: 30 Member
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    Yep! That's all part of the master plan.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    Tinymeaf wrote: »
    Bought the bike! It's a giant defy advanced pro 2! Had to get an xL frame. Just have it on a trainer and am waiting for the weather to get warmer.

    Great bike (I have an older Defy model and love it......) I'm hoping to get mine off the trainer soon.