Recreational & Family - Noob that needs helo

I am looking for like a mountain bike type that i can use to ride to the beach and the boardwalk. Im a big guy is where i think the problem starts... Im an athletic 6'0 245. Im active with the weights and exercising. My question is what should i look for in the bike that could be able to hold me consistently. I like the shock bikes but i can imagine that wearing out.

Im looking at local forums for NY for a cheap bike...cheap being under like 300. Thanks for any info you can give me...and please leave models that i can look up and try to find locally... Thanks

Silentbob

Helo

I am looking for like a mountain bike type that i can use to ride to the beach and the boardwalk. Im a big guy is where i think the problem starts... Im an athletic 6'0 245. Im active with the weights and exercising. My question is what should i look for in the bike that could be able to hold me consistently. I like the shock bikes but i can imagine that wearing out.

Im looking at local forums for NY for a cheap bike...cheap being under like 300. Thanks for any info you can give me...and please leave models that i can look up and try to find locally... Thanks

Silentbob

I would say buy any old steel MTB in the $80-$200 range that fits and ride it. If the wheels give out, you'll have a little money left to buy some stronger ones. Pretty much any (non-wal-mart type) mountain bike should be able to handle a 245lb rider on boardwalks and bike paths. Mountain bikes are designed for the rigors of off road riding and should easily handle a larger rider. You may want to wait for someone who weighs more than 150lbs soaking wet with rocks in his pockets to chime in though. :rolleyes:

Helo


hehehe.

i weigh 225 myself, and i ride MTB -- specifically, a Jamis Dakar XLT 1.0, frame from '05, my own parts build. for your size and physical capabilities, start in the category of "all-mountain" -- sturdier than the average MTB, while not heavy as a car. Yes, check used bikes. best on your search, and hope you love your new hobby! (BTW, my MTB is my road ride/commuter/trailbike, the first I've had that didn't feel 'twisty' under me)

Cheap suspension stinks, IMHO. Try out a high end bike at your local shop so you can feel what good suspension feels like. It will help you decide if the suspension bike you are thinking of is worth it. I don't think you could wear out a good suspension. Even if you did, the better ones will be repairable, cheap ones will be throwaway.

The MTB will be fine for beach and boardwalk. If you want to start doing some distance riding, maybe check out cyclocross, fitness and road bikes. No suspension on them but they will be faster on the road. The cyclocross could do offroad duty but it will not have suspension.

The used market is a great way to get more bang for your buck. However in the MTB realm there are more things to worry about because of the harder riding the bikes get.

Good Luck.

Couple of suggestions from a 6'4"/230 pound guy (but I've been as high as 270):
--245 isn't enough weight to worry about. Any half-decent used mountain bike with 36-spoke wheels (even 32s, if you're not going to be crashing potholes and catching air) will hold you. To protect the wheels, run fairly large tires (no smaller than 1.5 road tires, and 1.9 would be better).
--for the kind of riding you've described, suspension is an unnecessary complication. It adds weight and, while it's pretty reliable, it's one more thing to maintain and to break. I'd look for a rigid bike and put on fat tires at a fairly low pressure--that will give you all the suspension you need for just riding around town.
--All my bikes but one are steel, and I prefer steel, but there's no reason you have to have it. If you find a decent, brand-name aluminum bike that fits and works, I'd snap it up. Around here (Reno, Nev.), it wouldn't cost more than $150-$250, and you could cut that by two-thirds if you luck out at a thrift store. I bought my wife a Specialized Hard Rock for a mud/beater bike, in great shape, for $15 at the Salvation Army last fall.