Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Another noob checking in

Hey guys, I guess I might as well drop in as I've been lurking and searching around these forums for awhile. I just got back into riding at teh age of 32, haven't been on a bike since my old BMX 20" back in the day. I had a kinesiology class and I spent some time last summer going to gym at school, just walking the treadmill and riding the stationary bike. Thought it might be nice to ride a real bike around that moves and stuff :) So around christmas I picked up a Diamondback Transporter from the local sports authority, been riding it a bit here and there and trying to get in some kind of riding shape. I just ride the trails around here in the woodlands in houston, TX. I'm in the process of finding a nice riding gear combo as I'm going to convert the bike to single speed, I'm a simple guy who prefers things simple. In the future I may get me a road bike and keep the gears but what I'm doing now, I just want to concentrate on riding. Anyway I like the bike, it's basically a moutain bike with fenders and a bell since it's a "commuter" I got it for a steal on clearance and a door buster thing so I figured what the hell. It seems decent enough, only problem I've had is the headset seems to need some tightening again as I get a knock when I get hard on the brakes. When I first got it it knocked real bad, it was way loose. The bike tech at Sports Authority where I got it spent some time setting it up but I'm not sure how good he was. At the time I didn't know much either. I am about 5'10" and 240-250, I'm kind of up and down in that area. I was down to 225 or so when I was hitting the gym and doing my hour workout I had to do for class and I felt good. But I've always been a big guy though I haven't gotten much bigger. I was 225 and wearing a xxl shirt in 9th grade and have pretty much been the same size since, maybe a bit taller lol If you guys have any suggestions or advice I'd appreciate it

Hello :)

Ben (also newbie)

Hello,

I think you had aught to take the bike to an actual bike shop with real bike mechanics instead of whomever was availible. Have the mechanic give it a good tune and be sure to mention the knocking noise. They should be able to straighten out the issue with minimal cost.

Is this knocking a noise or does the bike shake? If the bike is shaking you likely have rims that are out of true. If its a noise the issue is probably in the headset. Either way you still should have the bike professionally tuned.

Welcome to the forums, be sure to post pictures and share your riding with us!

Bau

Hello and welcome!

Welcome to Clyde's :D We're glad to have you!

Hello to both of you, and don't bother being shy here :D .


Welcome to BF!

East Hill

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t162/dminorwa/pinkstar.jpg

Welcome back to biking. Enjoy the ride.

Is this knocking a noise or does the bike shake? If the bike is shaking you likely have rims that are out of true. If its a noise the issue is probably in the headset.

yeah I'm pretty sure its the headset again. Not sure if this is normal with a rider of my weight or should it stay pretty tight. It will only knock if I get real hard on the brakes trying to make it do it, or if I can of tilt the bike a bit to one side or the other. I do want to get it professionally tuned though, just get teh wheels trued up and maybe get the hubs adjusted and whatnot. I don't have a lot of dough to spend right now while I'm back in school but I'd rather make sure everything is right before I ruin something :) I'll get a couple pics up of the transporter, I think its a good looking bike and has some nice hardware on it, I definately would have had to spend way more to get something similar if it weren't for the deal I got.

A Great Place!