I need a strong bike for road duties, I above the average weight so want to stay away from carbon.

I have 1k and need to buy from halfords or ll

What do i need to look for?

Going to be a Boardman something or other really. I like their Hybrids myself.

I'd be looking at Wiggle- and their FOCUS range.

Im 6ft, and 18 stone, and have a FOCUS CX, and its been spot on for the last 4years..

I also ride a DeRosa Merak, but that is outside your £1k budget..

But why not go down the CX route?? Its all good..

You can order on-ones through halfords and they have always stood up well to abuse

You could save a packet and go for something like a pompino and go on a biking holiday with the change 🙂

I have 1k and need to buy from halfords or ll

I'd be looking at Wiggle- and their FOCUS range.

😆

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_515307_langId_-1_categoryId_165710

or

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_736229_categoryId_165710_langId_-1?cm_vc=IOV4PDPZ1

How heavy is above average? I wouldn't have thought it would be that much of a problem really. I certainly wouldn't be put off carbon as many carbon bikes are stronger than aluminium ones. Just perhaps stay away from mega lightweight stuff and go for stiffness you should be fine.
It it's 1k from Halfords then it's probably going to be a Boardman.

Carbon forks, don't they have a weight limit

Oh, and if you're really that fat, you might struggle with pure race bikes as your belly will get in the way of a tuck position.. 😀
The point is, make sure you go for something you feel comfortable on. Fit is everything with road bikes.

why are you trying to avoid carbon? It's strong enough for F1 cars and jet planes….

also I doubt you're gonna put more forces through carbon than Chris Hoy

carbon forks should be as strong, if not stronger than aluminium.

well made carbon is strong ….

cheap carbon well – it gets you a carbon is shit reputation when it fails …..

I don't have an aversion to carbon, but remember seeing some forks that i wanted for my ht build and they were only recomended for 85kg riders

why are you trying to avoid carbon? It's strong enough for F1 cars and jet planes….

also I doubt you're gonna put more forces through carbon than Chris Hoy

I doubt Chris Hoy's carbon bike cost £1000 though. Also, Chris Hoy doesn't tend to ride into kerbs and pot holes.

Some aluminium products come with weight limits too.
If the bike you are interested in has a weight limit, you can find out. Usually only applies to proper weight weenie bits though, not 1K complete bikes.

IME the wheels, not the forks, are the weak point in a budget road build,. Because high-end road bikes have fancy wheels with a tiny number of radially-laced spokes, cheaper bikes seem compelled to follow suit. I have some Shimano RS10s on my 'cross bike and they are horrible – near-impossible to true, little to no weight saving and take weirdy straight-pull spokes that are about £3 a pop.

If you can build up something like a Surly or a Pompino with conventional 32 spoke wheels for your budget, I'd go for that. Something like a Genesis Croix de Fer might be good too 'cos of the disc brakes. Calliper and canti brakes are fine in the dry but can be a bit hit and miss in the wet.

cool cheers, can't build a bike as it needs to be off the peg from halfrauds, i know its not a road bike the the jake the snake looks good.

16st here, & for the past 2 years have been expecting my spindly old 23c tyred steel roadbike to fail spectacularly. Still going strong but I'm not an out of the saddle thrash-master though. The bike has spent all its time with me towing two children in a trailer also. Only part needing attention is the rear wheel where some dozy cow hit it with her car. If I couldnt get steel I'd go for an alloy frame / carbon fork.

And if your Halfrauds are sticklers for the rules then find another one who will help you out with getting something suitable.
I'de use carbon forks before I'd use alloy. Some of those "hybrid" types they have nowadays look good also.
Pace RC31's are limited to 85kg, but I'd thrashed some around for a month or mnore before I realised. 😳