Hi,

I want to buy a bicycle for recreational riding on pavement. I am a large guy (240 lbs) and am wondering about frame strength and the such. Would larger diameter wheels tend to want to bend or go out of round with a heavier rider?
Any input greatly appreciated. Thank you

Rob

My advise to you would be get a steel bike with 700c wheels. More important to you than rim diameter would be spoke count. Find a bike with a 36 spoke, 3 cross wheelset.

Hi,
I weigh a little under 260. A lot depends on your budget. I rode a $500 hybrid last year, and the steel frame was too flexible. This is not to sway you against steel, typically I am only interested in steel and titanium frames.
Try a Specialized Seqouia, it has a lot going for it; and may refine your thoughts as to what you want in a bike.

Hi

I ride a stock Trek 7200 with 32 spoke alloy wheels. It is an amazing bike and I have encountered no mass related problems. I had problems with the back wheels but it was spokes installed incorrectly. I once slipped a chain while standing which transferred my mass onto the fornt wheel. The tube popped reulting in a out of line fornt rim. I fixed it myslef and the bike is now tip top. We also ride tandem. Our combined mass is 420 lbs.We have an aluminium framed tandem and started out by using 36 spoke Campy Altlanta wheels and had no problems. The wheels were very old and a rim cracked after we hit a pothole. The rims are out of production and we recently changed to 40 spoke DRC alu rims with Mount tandem specific sealed bearing hubs. After initial problems... wheel builder problems all is now sorted out.

Keep those wheels spinning!!!!

Big H

I'm a little guy at ~240 also. I've got an old 10 speed that has a lot of miles on it a mtb with a couple of thousand and a new Banchie Velope. All are fine. I guess I would stay away from the lightest fastest pure road racers and you should be fine.
Joe

I'm about your size and I started riding last year after a 13 year layoff. I started out with a Gary Fisher Utopia because I thought I'd get a ride that could handle easy trails as well as pavement. It did both very well even though it has an aluminum frame and Bontrager Select wheels, which are a low spoke count wheel. I had no problems with either the frame or the wheels and they both took a lot of abuse - nothing extra punishing, but a lot of dirt roads, trails, and potholes. I was amazed that the Bontragers came through about 800 miles with no problems - I think they're bomb-proof. So if you're looking for a hybrid, I'd recommend the Utopia or its Trek brother, the 7500FX. Having said all that, I realized after a season of riding that I'm a roadie at heart and wanted to go faster and further than a hybrid would allow. I'm now riding a Bianchi Veloce, a steel frame, and have had no problem with the frame flexing under my mass. The faster & further part is coming along...There is a noticable increased smoothness with the steel frame, but the shock on the front fork of the Utopia helped smooth out the aluminum harshness. I still ride the Utopia when I ride with my wife so we're all happy. Bottom line, talk to your LBS guys and test ride a wide range of bikes. You'll be surprised how much weight a bike will take. You'll know what bike is right for you - it'll sing to you on the test ride.

I have about 100 extra pounds, 40 of which have departed since beginning of July when I started riding again, and I keep reading about high spoke counts, but can actually attest to slotibartfast's suggestion for the Trek 7500. Mine has the bontrager rims with a lower spoke count and has performed flawlessly under the load! If I had known what I know now though I would have forgot about the suspension fork just for maintenance sake! I also second his hybrid comment in that it is not built for speed, but very comfortable on long rides, not a speed demon, but certainly a work-horse!

I have varied between 220 and 245 the past 5 years, and all that time I have ridden a stock Lemond Buenos Aires with standard Mavic 32 spoke wheels (6,500 miles) and a standard Specialized Rigid Hardrock with standard 36 spoke wheels (8,000 miles) and I have never broken a spoke nor had a wheel come out of true.

I think we make entirely too much of a biker's weight. Ride and enjoy.

To translate the above...(and not meaning anything mean)...SHUT UP AND RIDE!!!!

The bike won't break!

Go for it, man!!

Originally posted by 1oldRoadie
To translate the above...(and not meaning anything mean)...SHUT UP AND RIDE!!!!

The bike won't break!

Go for it, man!!

You said it a lot better than I did.

Go for it, man. Ride and ride and stop worrying.

Thanks for all the good information/input guys. I am probably going to go with a cheapie bike, Schwinn Sidewinder looks up my alley for as little as I will be riding.

I am about your weight and have had problems in the past with cheap rims going out of true. I now have deep section aero rims, which have a double wall at the bottom of the U, and have had no problems with the rims going out of shape in the last 3 years. I also have 36 spokes.

To quote the Cannondale rep. "Our bikes have no weight limit, the frames are warrantied for life, if it ever breaks under normal riding conditions, it will be replaced free of charge". I asked the question, that's the answer he gave me. There is no ride weight limit on these bikes and we have some really large customers riding them without problems.

I'm 240-ish ride an 01 Sirrus Pro with an aluminum frame and hasn't failed me. Also, it has under 30 spokes (not sure how many as I type this) and haven't has any issues. Get a bike you like and ride it - late mentioned a Specialized Sequoia as a choice - excellent choice.

I was 265 when I bought a 2000 Sirrus Pro with the Ritchey Zero System wheelset. The rear wheel would go out of true in 15 miles. The dealer tightened the spokes and it stopped going out of true, but I broke 2 rear spokes in 2 weeks time, so they put mavic CXP 36 hole wheels with Wheelsmith tandem spokes; the kind that are thicker at the rim and thinner in the middle. Worked great for me after that.