Road Bike - Bad Roads

funkhouser

I'm planning on investing in a new bike. Budget is under €1000.

I've never had a road bike before and given the length and frequency of the rides I have planned I think a road bike is preferable. However the roads locally are not great. There'll be a few bumps and definitely some dirt / gravel on some of the roads I'll be using getting to and from better roads.

The thoughts of regularly experiencing damaged spokes and punctures makes a road bike much less appealing.

Is this a realistic worry? And what should I look for spec wise in terms of tyres / wheels to mitigate the risk? I'm approximately 16.5 stone too.

Thanks.

Idleater

Have a YouTube browse for the Paris roubaix race and see what bad roads are compared to yours. That should answer your questions on durability etc.

marketty

It might be worth considering a cyclocross bike. They are similar to road bikes but are designed to be ridden off road. They have bigger clearances on the frame to allow for wider tyres, which really take the harshness out of rough roads as you can run them at lower pressures. In my experience they make an excellent commuter/winter trainer/tourer. Yes they do tend to be heavier than the equivalent priced road bike but weight isn't everything, if its a bike you are happy bringing out in all conditions you will ride it more and that's the main thing.

Here's a good example but a couple hundred over budget

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBPXUJFOR/planet_x_uncle_john_sram_force_road_bike

BofaDeezNuhtz

Idleater wrote: »

Have a YouTube browse for the Paris roubaix race and see what bad roads are compared to yours. That should answer your questions on durability etc.

Yeh buh.....dem skinny mofo's arent 16.5 Stone and riding the POS wheels
that gonna come on his €1,000 bike either lol

Idleater

Suzuki_TL1000R wrote: »

Yeh buh.....dem skinny mofo's arent 16.5 Stone and riding the POS wheels
that gonna come on his €1,000 bike either lol

On the contrary, many pros were riding 32x wheels that are pretty much identical, and possibly a bit weaker than a standard 32x wheel on a commuter.
I would also think that what the op considers bad roads is relative, also when factoring in the speed of the pros hitting the cobbles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QSpuhIQg1A

Squidgy Black

You'll be grand, I'm a little under 15 stone and I've used a road bike for a long while. Your rims will probably take wider tires such as 25-28c, and just make sure you always keep the pressure up.