I am on my second Carbon Bar. My first was a Specialzed Sworks ergo. I am 250 lbs and found the bar to be very stiff but forgiving for road vibration. I recently fell over and broke the bar at the bend. If it had been alloy it would have bent. Either way i would have had to replace the bar. as a replacement I choose a 3TTT ergosum Team carbon. It is less stiff than the Specialized but I like the shape better. I have had an alloy Ritchey WCS in the past…Hated it. As for stems. Carbon Stems are over-priced and dont provide any added value other than appearance. I paired my new 3TTT bars to the 3TTT team stem which is alloy w/titanium bolts. This seams to be an ideal combination.

As for wheels…So many choices. I ride Mavis Kysrium SL. Bomb proof wheels on every lousy stretch of pavement there is. I would not pay the rediculos

I am 107 kgs and those tyres are absolutely fine. I’d suggest a 25cc rear for you at this time, and make sure you keep both pumped up to the allowable limit.

I have used, without any problems whatsover, two sets of wheels. Never had a broke spoke, bent rim or any other wheel problems, and have gone through potholes and jumepd kerbs aplenty!

On my Carbon summer bike I have a Campagnolo Vento G3 wheelset with 24 spokes on the front and 27 on the rear. You can get these at a little over £100 off ebay or online stores.

On my steel winter bike/commuter I have a set of Rhodi Airline Evolution, 32 front and rear. You can source these from Kinetic-One or ebay at about £120 a set.

Neither are super light, but that shouldn’t be your primary concern at this moment.

(I did prang a set of FSA wheels that had a 20 front, 24 rear spoke setup. One spoke snapped on the rear when I went through a pothole on my way into the wilds of Essex!)

At a mere 17 stone, I can assure you that either of the wheelsets I have suggested will carry you with no problems whatsoever. Campagnolo Khamsins would also serve you well.

I concur with the experts, and would suggest that you have minimum of 27 rear. On the fron, which shoulders far less of the weight, you would be safe with a 20 spoke pattern.

I am now going to get a lighter set for my summer ride as the muscle weight I built up over the years drops off.

You will be fine, and I wish you very good luck wit your new passion. It will grab you!

In response to the heavy rider, I have been around 110kg to 125kg, and my
Mavic Ksyrium SL road wheels on my Giant TCR0 Composite, 2004 model road
racer have served me very well. I have done over 16,000km on the wheels and
still in good condition and perfectly round. Naturally I do not go looking
for potholes, drain grates, and take it easy crossing railway lines, but so
far so good. The flat bladed zicral spokes add much needed strength to the
wheel reducing side flex.

My riding buddy has a Campagnolo Zonda wheel, and the manufacturer would not
guarantee the wheel above 80kg rider weight.

Hope this helps.

Regards

I also have carbon bars (Kestrel) with an aluminum stem and a carbon frame. Again, no problems. I did notice more flex in the bars with my higher weight so I adjusted my riding position to reduce the weight I put on the bars.

My real problem in the beginning was with tires. They required replacement wih less than 1500 km when I was heavier. I am now getting a season or more before I am seeing wear deeming replacement. I would suggest looking at heavier duty touring rather than racing tires until you shed some weight.

Mike

Regards,
Gary