6'7 guy needs help looking for a road bike for a 585 Mile 6DayCharity Bike Ride

Hey Everybody, I'm definitely a non experienced cyclist and have
signed up to do the AIDS LifeCycle bike ride from San Francisco to Los
Angeles to raise money for HIV/AIDS. I dont really know what I got
myself into. I am 6'7 220 lbs with a 36 inch inseam. I thought I would
be able to borrow a friends bike for the ride but unfortunately the
largest I found is a 20 inch frame. I'm looking to spend as little as
possible (under 500 if possible). I do not plan to continue cycling as
a sport. I just want to find a comfortable bike that fits me for this
6 Day trek. Any recommendations on where I could buy a 24inch/61CM
bike for my price range or better yet find someone who would be
willing to help me help others by lending me a bike?

Again, I am fairly new to this and any info would be greatfully
appreciated!!!


-Paul S.

Paul Sokolson wrote:
Hey Everybody, I'm definitely a non experienced cyclist and have
signed up to do the AIDS LifeCycle bike ride from San Francisco to Los
Angeles to raise money for HIV/AIDS.
^^^
Would it not be better for humanity to raise money AGAINST HIV/AIDS?

I dont really know what I got
myself into.

Yes, that is clear.

I am 6'7 220 lbs with a 36 inch inseam. I thought I would
be able to borrow a friends bike for the ride but unfortunately the
largest I found is a 20 inch frame. I'm looking to spend as little as
possible (under 500 if possible). I do not plan to continue cycling as
a sport.

What is wrong with you? Cycling is the best form of activity.

I just want to find a comfortable bike that fits me for this
6 Day trek.

Not going to happen - you need to ride regularly to be comfortable on an
upright bicycle for those types of distances. A recumbent might be seat
comfortable, but not for $500 new (or used, unless you know what you are
looking for) and would probably cause knee pain at 97.5 miles per day.

However, for a well trained cyclist in good health, this ride would not
be uncomfortable.

Any recommendations on where I could buy a 24inch/61CM
bike for my price range or better yet find someone who would be
willing to help me help others by lending me a bike?

Again, I am fairly new to this and any info would be greatfully
appreciated!!!

Fine a good local bike shop that can fit you properly, and the pain will
be minimized.

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007

On Feb 8, 7:26*pm, Paul wrote:
Hey Everybody, I'm definitely a non experienced cyclist and have
signed up to do the AIDS LifeCycle bike ride from San Francisco to Los
Angeles to raise money for HIV/AIDS. I dont really know what I got
myself into. I am 6'7 220 lbs with a 36 inch inseam. I thought I would
be able to borrow a friends bike for the ride but unfortunately the
largest I found is a 20 inch frame. I'm looking to spend as little as
possible (under 500 if possible). I do not plan to continue cycling as
a sport. I just want to find a comfortable bike that fits me for this
6 Day trek. Any recommendations on where I could buy a 24inch/61CM
bike for my price range or better yet find someone who would be
willing to help me help others by lending me a bike?

Again, I am fairly new to this and any info would be greatfully
appreciated!!!

Well... you'd probably be better off de-signing. If you're not a
cyclist now, and don't want to become one, that is. In order to get
ready, you'd have to immediately adopt a "cycling lifestyle", to a
fairly strong degree at least. Meaning, spending lots and lots of time
on the bike, and probably some in the gym to get "toughened in". Long
rides on weekends or "off" weekdays, and lots of idle time for sleep
and recovery. There's an expression:
"bike bum" g. "Roadie syndrome".

That's a "trek", all right, and you'd be hard pressed to get ready to
do that ride by early June. Ready = able to ride it and not hurt
yourself, perhaps somewhat seriously. Unless you are pretty athletic
and in pretty darn good shape right now, and even then, a tough
proposition.

I mean, one day or even two riding a hundred miles, not so bad. But
six? For someone without a lot of miles in their legs (someone who has
ridden some number of "centuries" over a period of time, some
recently), that's a pretty tall order. For newbies, and others who
don't at least somewhat regularly ride 100+ mile days, there's a
"wall" out there at about 85 miles or so (from what I've seen and
experienced myself) and hitting that six days in a row? Ow!

Bad enough if were all on flat roads, for a big guy like yourself.
Climbing hills is going to be extra hard on you.

Getting a suitable bike for an outlier like you isn't as easy as it
would be for a small or average-sized person, either. Not to say it
can't be done, by any means, but for instance, the selection among
"good used" is probably going to be slim pickings compared to common
sizes.
--D-y

On Feb 8, 8:26*pm, Paul wrote:
Hey Everybody, I'm definitely a non experienced cyclist and have
signed up to do the AIDS LifeCycle bike ride from San Francisco to Los
Angeles to raise money for HIV/AIDS. I dont really know what I got
myself into. I am 6'7 220 lbs with a 36 inch inseam. I thought I would
be able to borrow a friends bike for the ride but unfortunately the
largest I found is a 20 inch frame. I'm looking to spend as little as
possible (under 500 if possible). I do not plan to continue cycling as
a sport. I just want to find a comfortable bike that fits me for this
6 Day trek. Any recommendations on where I could buy a 24inch/61CM
bike for my price range or better yet find someone who would be
willing to help me help others by lending me a bike?

Again, I am fairly new to this and any info would be greatfully
appreciated!!!

-Paul S.

I know there's some large guys that read this group, so hopefully
they'll chime in. Unfortunately I think the only way to meet your
budget is to buy used; I do remember seeing some very large frames on
eBay a while back while keeping an eye out for a touring bike. I
suspect that even if you are already in good shape you may want to log
some miles on the bike before starting out just to get comfortable
with it and also to get comfortable with cycling in general. To just
hop on and ride more than, say, 30-50 miles in a day with no training
could be problematic. You'll also want to know what kind of seat you
prefer, what kind of bar tape, gloves, shorts, etc. before you start,
otherwise there's a potential for unhappiness unless you get it right
up front. Keep in mind that you'll also want to take some tools with
you to make on the fly adjustments to seat and bar position, and to
repair any flats that you may have or minor mechanical failures.. I'd
recommend a multi-tool, a spare tube, a "gimme" shirt pocket
screwdriver (if your bike is old enough to have regular screw heads
instead of all Allen type) some tire levers (I'm assuming you'll have
clinchers) a patch kit, a Presta to Schraeder adapter (so you can top
up your tires at the gas station) a few light wrenches in appropriate
sizes for whatever nuts you may have on your bike, and probably a
couple other things that I'm forgetting. I have all that stuff
stashed in a water bottle that I carry in the second cage on my bike,
but based on the mileage you're planning on riding you might want to
get a seat bag instead, because you may want the ability to carry two
water bottles full of stuff to drink. You'll need a pump and/or a CO2
inflator as well, unless you plan on relying on the generosity of
others if you get a flat somewhere away from a gas station. Probably
ought to have room to carry some snacks as well.

I'd say that if you don't currently have a bike, and it sounds like
you don't, if there's any way that you could get fitted for a new
bike, even if you don't buy it (might have to pay for that; I know
there's at least one LBS near me that will fit you to a bike for a
fee) that would be helpful, then you would know what frame size/
geometry you are looking for. 61 cm might even be a little small for
you; I'm 5'11" and ride a 57cm frame comfortably.

My personal preference would be for a "touring" style bike, which is
basically a road bike with wider than normal (28-32mm) tires, slightly
more relaxed geometry, and braze-ons for racks etc. but still with
drop handlebars, but again, you need to find what works for you.

nate

On Feb 9, 8:33*am, " wrote:
On Feb 8, 7:26*pm, Paul wrote:

Hey Everybody, I'm definitely a non experienced cyclist and have
signed up to do the AIDS LifeCycle bike ride from San Francisco to Los
Angeles to raise money for HIV/AIDS. I dont really know what I got
myself into. I am 6'7 220 lbs with a 36 inch inseam. I thought I would
be able to borrow a friends bike for the ride but unfortunately the
largest I found is a 20 inch frame. I'm looking to spend as little as
possible (under 500 if possible). I do not plan to continue cycling as
a sport. I just want to find a comfortable bike that fits me for this
6 Day trek. Any recommendations on where I could buy a 24inch/61CM
bike for my price range or better yet find someone who would be
willing to help me help others by lending me a bike?

Again, I am fairly new to this and any info would be greatfully
appreciated!!!

Well... you'd probably be better off de-signing. If you're not a
cyclist now, and don't want to become one, that is. In order to get
ready, you'd have to immediately adopt a "cycling lifestyle", to a
fairly strong degree at least. Meaning, spending lots and lots of time
on the bike, and probably some in the gym to get "toughened in". Long
rides on weekends or "off" weekdays, and lots of idle time for sleep
and recovery. There's an expression:
"bike bum" g. *"Roadie syndrome".

That's a "trek", all right, and you'd be hard pressed to get ready to
do that ride by early June. Ready = able to ride it and not hurt
yourself, perhaps somewhat seriously. Unless you are pretty athletic
and in pretty darn good shape right now, and even then, a tough
proposition.

I mean, one day or even two riding a hundred miles, not so bad. But
six? For someone without a lot of miles in their legs (someone who has
ridden some number of "centuries" over a period of time, some
recently), that's a pretty tall order. For newbies, and others who
don't at least somewhat regularly ride 100+ mile days, there's a
"wall" out there at about 85 miles or so (from what I've seen and
experienced myself) and hitting that six days in a row? Ow!

Bad enough if were all on flat roads, for a big guy like yourself.
Climbing hills is going to be extra hard on you.

Getting a suitable bike for an outlier like you isn't as easy as it
would be for a small or average-sized person, either. Not to say it
can't be done, by any means, but for instance, the selection among
"good used" is probably going to be slim pickings compared to common
sizes.
--D-y

I agree with everything you said, except 6'7" and 220 lbs. sounds like
he's actually fairly slim, more so than YT at least.

I'm one of those guys who looks at the height/weight charts in the
dr's office and starts spluttering "that's BS!" I'd look anorexic if
I actually met my "ideal" weight (I think according to the charts it's
around 150 or so, I think I hit that around age 12...)

nate

Paul wrote:
Hey Everybody, I'm definitely a non experienced cyclist and have
signed up to do the AIDS LifeCycle bike ride from San Francisco to Los
Angeles to raise money for HIV/AIDS. I dont really know what I got
myself into. I am 6'7 220 lbs with a 36 inch inseam. I thought I would
be able to borrow a friends bike for the ride but unfortunately the
largest I found is a 20 inch frame. I'm looking to spend as little as
possible (under 500 if possible). I do not plan to continue cycling as
a sport. I just want to find a comfortable bike that fits me for this
6 Day trek. Any recommendations on where I could buy a 24inch/61CM
bike for my price range or better yet find someone who would be
willing to help me help others by lending me a bike?

Again, I am fairly new to this and any info would be greatfully
appreciated!!!

Not gonna happen.

Start asking guys your size with a suitable bike about a
loaner/rental for a month leading up to your event. Then buy
your benefactor some new tires, tape, chain, cassette and
spiff him a hundred bucks at the end.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Per Paul:
Hey Everybody, I'm definitely a non experienced cyclist and have
signed up to do.... I dont really know what I got
myself into. I am 6'7 220 lbs with a 36 inch inseam.

I can't speak to the technical hardware details, but would opine
that no matter what the hardware you're in for some serious
insults to your body and the commensurate pain and suffering.

Even if you're 18 years old... if you're not used to riding
distances it's gonna hurt.
--
PeteCresswell

Per Chalo:
I'm 6'8" and I ride a 68cm frame.

Going tangential... what motor vehicles work for you
head-leg-room-wise?
--
PeteCresswell

Op 9-2-2010 2:26, Paul schreef:
Hey Everybody, I'm definitely a non experienced cyclist and have
signed up to do the AIDS LifeCycle bike ride from San Francisco to Los
Angeles to raise money for HIV/AIDS. I dont really know what I got
myself into. I am 6'7 220 lbs with a 36 inch inseam. I thought I would
be able to borrow a friends bike for the ride but unfortunately the
largest I found is a 20 inch frame. I'm looking to spend as little as
possible (under 500 if possible). I do not plan to continue cycling as
a sport. I just want to find a comfortable bike that fits me for this
6 Day trek. Any recommendations on where I could buy a 24inch/61CM
bike for my price range or better yet find someone who would be
willing to help me help others by lending me a bike?

Again, I am fairly new to this and any info would be greatfully
appreciated!!!


-Paul S.


A hopeless exercise if you ask me and I'm not talking about the bike. If
cycling is no fun for you everyone is better of if you just donate the
money you were planning to spent to the good cause.

Lou

On Feb 9, 1:26*am, Paul wrote:
Hey Everybody, I'm definitely a non experienced cyclist and have
signed up to do the AIDS LifeCycle bike ride from San Francisco to Los
Angeles to raise money for HIV/AIDS. I dont really know what I got
myself into. I am 6'7 220 lbs with a 36 inch inseam. I thought I would
be able to borrow a friends bike for the ride but unfortunately the
largest I found is a 20 inch frame. I'm looking to spend as little as
possible (under 500 if possible). I do not plan to continue cycling as
a sport. I just want to find a comfortable bike that fits me for this
6 Day trek. Any recommendations on where I could buy a 24inch/61CM
bike for my price range or better yet find someone who would be
willing to help me help others by lending me a bike?

Again, I am fairly new to this and any info would be greatfully
appreciated!!!

-Paul S.

The first of April is a long way off, Paul.

But, if you're serious, give the money instead of the time and the
pain.

A hundred miles in one day is a very serious distance even for
practised cyclists (I gave up the car in 1992 and have ridden only a
bike since, and I've never done a hundred miles in a day, and I was
once a professional athlete and still have huge reserves). Cyclists
call a ride of a hundred miles a 'century' for a good reason; it truly
is something to brag about. Anyone who rides five centuries in a week
is a celebrated cyclist. You just don't have the time to prepare your
body for this feat. You're going to hurt all the time, possibly to the
extent of having to drop out, and there is a strong likelihood that
you will do yourself a lingering or even a permanent injury.

The problem of over-ambition is aggravated by your size and your lack
of cycle know-how, which really requires a custom-designed, -built and
-fitted bike at a minimum of six times your budget, more likely eight
or nine times. Bikes that you can buy off the shelf are likely to be
too small and, if suitable, about 250 per cent of your budget. Perhaps
you can find a bike of the right size used and rebuild it suitably,
but you need to know what to order, and you need the right tools and
experience to fit the new components, or at your local bike shop your
budget will soon be gone on labour.

Let me give you an example. The only saddle on which I would even
attempt a 100 miles on one day is a Brooks, and not just any Brooks
but a sprung Brooks, and not just any sprung Brooks but the widest
possible sprung Brooks, the B33. That's more than a fifth of your
budget gone on just on a saddle; but this saddle is essential not only
to reducing saddle soreness but to finishing the day at all. And then
you still have to break the saddle in for several hundred miles and
adjust it just so, something you really, realy don't want to do when
you're already hurting and under pressure...

Let's take another example. The practiced cyclists on your ambitiious
tour will be riding touring bikes, which essentially look like racing
bikes with slightly sturdier pipework, racks, mudguards and so on. The
key is the drop handles. They're a speed generator, and will influence
your ability to keep up with the pack. Unfortunately they are also
instruments of torture to which is takes years of bending your back to
get used. You can't just start cycling today and in June expect to
ride drops for a 100 miles even once. If you were to take up
recreational cycling or exercise cycling, i would in fact advise you
to get flat bars or the even more comfortable North Road type that
allows you to sit upright. But that would slow you further and, while
you would come closer than on a true drop-handle tourer to finishing
the century on the first day at least. you would also be falling
further and further behind the cyclists who know what they're doing.
Also, the handlebars you choose have an influence on the type of frame
you should choose, because road (ie racing) bikes, tourers and utility/
comfort bikes have different geometries (the angles at which the pipes
join).

These confusions only scratch the complications you've let yourself in
for.

Do as Lou says, give the money, save yourself the pain and perhaps
years of hurt. Or, if you feel you want to be involved since this is
your holiday, volunteer to drive the sag wagon.

Sorry I can't help you do what you want. It's just impossible.

Andre Jute
Visit Andre's Gazelle Toulouse at
http://www.audio-talk.co.uk/fiultra/...20Bauhaus.html