Carbon Bars and Wheels for A Heavy Rider

Bill Mulheran in Manchester is not a small guy and has been riding a mountain bike, but he wants to get out on a road bike again. He wants to hear our thoughts on carbon bars and which wheels we would advise for the larger rider.

Question:
As a 17 stone rider who usually rides an mtb, I need some advice on what make/model of wheels to buy for a road bike I am currently building. My first road bike for over 20 years.
I am using kinesis K2 frame, FSA or Cinelli carbon bars stem and seat post with Campag centaur drive system. I am buying the parts as I can afford them. I need the wheels to be usable for at least 2 years until I get my weight down by 4-5 stone and can graduate to something lighter.
(Are the carbon bars etc suitable for a rider of my weight?)

Hi Bill.

Good for you Bill. If you stick at the new road bike you’ll soon lose that weight!

Carbon Handle Bars

Carbon bars are strong and obviously light, I wouldn’t worry too much, but they do flex that bit more than alloy, depending on which alloy bars you compare them too. I have had alloy bars that flexed so much it was scary, but they never broke I’m glad to say. If you are worried about using the carbon bars then buy a cheaper set in alloy until you lose the weight then go back to the carbon.

Remember that more weight is on the saddle than the handle bars, the main worry with all handle bars is if you crash they can be damaged without seeing any obvious marks. If you suspect that there is any damage to handle bars then change them as it is not worth taking any chances.

The Wheels

I would say all the big wheel manufacturers build a strong wheel, like Shimano, Campagnolo, Mavic and Fulcrum. Then there are Bontrager, Corima, DT Swiss and SRAM, these are all top quality and are all worth a look.

Personally I would make two suggestions. First go for as many spokes as you can find, stick with alloy rims and hubs and don’t go for thin spokes, double butted are as strong as plain gauge where it matters and are a little bit lighter.

The second suggestion is to have a pair of wheels built to your specification. Choose your hubs, in your case probably Campagnolo, then the spokes; DT are the best and the rims. Amongst the strongest and hardest wearing are the Mavic A719 and the DT Swiss RR 1.1 rims. Look for a double eyelet as this makes the rim much stronger.

I hope this helps? Let us know what you decide on in the end.