Originally Posted by
bobotech
I'm bigger than your boyfriend (370-380) and I would not ride a dept store bike if only for the fact that a used bike shop bike will have quite a bit better components than the dept store bike.
Most dept store bikes use freewheels in their rear wheels and fat guys like me have a tendancy to snap axles or bend axles due to the design of freewheels. On the other hand, even a lower end Trek or Specialized or Diamondback or other local bike shop brand will have wheels that use freehubs and not freewheels. I have been riding for year now and have not bent any axles or broken an axle.
The big weak link for big people are the wheels on cheaper bikes. Other than that, its just a matter of keeping your bike maintained and working well.
I agree. I know someone who is about 6'2 and 450lbs and he asked me what to look for in a bike and I told him that he needed to find a wheel that has a lot of spokes. 48 spokes for someone who is 450lbs would be ideal, but 36 or 40 should work. The problem is, most spokes using conventional wheel design are about 32 spokes. 36 spoke wheels are getting harder and harder to find. Bigger folks who want good wheels that last will most likely have to get custom made wheels which are not cheap. But good wheels are really important so they could be worth it to you.