I think "heavier rider" is a nominal designation, the meaning of which has shifted as bikes have become lighter and more delicate. At the elite level, riders are certainly carrying less weight these days, but not to a degree that offsets the new, super-delicate bikes. The fagile wonderbikes of today only work because top teams (and the consumersthat emulate) are willing to replace equipment more often, not because of a new race of tiny bike gnomes. In any event, I think this "not for larger riders" stuff is just an excuse that can be dragged out when 17 pound bikes fall apart under 165 pound guys. This shift in meaning is not unlike Levi Strauss slowly increasing the actual dimensions of a given nominal waist size. I heard they started to do this to mirror the expanding girth of the Baby Boom segment of their market. I'm not certain that this actually happened, but I'm pretty sure a woman's size 2 dress is a lot bigger than it used to be. My girlfrind has fit into some size 0 stuff lately. She's small, but not THAT small. BTW, check out the latest Cycle Sport. There is a buying guide in there. The weights and prices of the bikes may shock CR types. Bikes down to 15 lbs and up to $9500 (Pinarello Prince LS/Record 10/Hyperions). Tom Dalton Bethlehem, PA
Wspokes <wspokes@penn.com> wrote: I am continuously amazed at the reference of "heavier riders" by the bike industry nowadays. Indurain was 176 pounds...at 6'2". Wow, what a fattie! Years ago I went to purchase a Bianchi TSX and was asked my weight...I responded with 145 pounds at 6' and they said, "Yeah, it should work Ok." Cripes, you'd think I was as big as Indurain!
Classic content. I have a Zeus cyclocross crankset with zeus guides on my front ring to keep it from venturing too far inward or outward. Looks cool!
Walter "6' 174lb fattie" Skrzypek Falls Creek, Pa
>
> Chuck Schmidt wrote:
>
> "I saw Indurain's bike at the '95 TdF (his 5th victory) and he had tied
and
> soldered spokes"
>
> Yup, so too Bernard Hinault ten years earlier.
>
> Also, though normally equipped with sew-ups, Indurain would sometimes ride
> clincher tires and rims in the high mountains. Sew-up rims on the descents
> usually meant tire rolling problems due to hot glue, especially for the
> bigger riders.
>
> Bill Bryant
> Santa Cruz, CA
>
> _______________________________________________
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