Commuting - Any Clydesdales out there?

Clydesdale = big/hefty bike riders. I'm one myself (~240lbs), and my LBS bike-fit guy is one too. I did the Reach-the-Beach last weekend (103 miles, Portland, OR to the pacific). I did it alone, and there was some headwind to contend with and along the way had a guy riding my draft. He made a comment about "picking my pocket (through the headwind)", and said it was like riding behind a barn, no wind at all! Kind of a compliment, I guess.

Anyway, I only noticed a slight wobble to my rear wheel toward the end, but after the finish line the wheel actually locked up along one of the chain stays. Took it into the LBS, they re-trued it (second time in about a month). Anyway, I asked my bike-fit guy about getting a new wheel, he recommended one with more spokes. cha-ching.

Just curious whether there were other clydesdales out there with similar stories.

Lots and lots of Clydesdales around here.

I am down to 224 from previous 245 lbs. Heading down to 200 by the end of summer, I hope.

I ride

1. A Lemond Buenos Aires (road bike for longer trips - 32 spokes, 7,600 miles).

2. A Windsor Leeds (I keep this in the back of my hatch back for fun after work rides - 36 spokes, 1,000 miles).

3. A Specialized Hardrock (36 spokes - 8,500 miles).

Fortunately, even after total of about 17,000 miles distributed among the above, have never had any kind of wheel problems.

My goal - become a non-Clydesdale, or at least a modified Clydesdale.

I also do a lot of weight lifting and power walking.

I see by your profile that you are just a real young guy!

Welcome.

Hi,
I was coming down a sweeping turn at something over 40 last year. I hit a huge pothole that was in a shadow. Didn't have time to blink. Knocked a couple spokes a little out of true. I loosened the brakes and finished the ride. The rims are CXP33. There is another way. You can reduce the stress on the wheel a little by using a saddle with some shock absorbtion.

http://www.bikemannetwork.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=BIKEMAN&Product_Code=SA5208&Category_Code=COMPSASI

There are other saddles that would do that job. Koobi and Brooks come to mind.

Anyway, I only noticed a slight wobble to my rear wheel toward the end, but after the finish line the wheel actually locked up along one of the chain stays. Took it into the LBS, they re-trued it (second time in about a month). Anyway, I asked my bike-fit guy about getting a new wheel, he recommended one with more spokes. cha-ching.


You don't say what your riding, but I'll throw my two cent in, being density challenged also (~240 lb)

On my MTB, I'm using Sun Rhyno-Lites (32 spoke) with Deore hubs, The Lemond Alpe roadie has Rolf Vectors (20/24). The fixer and singlespeeder are both 36 spokers. I've had little if any truing problems with any of these wheelsets.

More spokes can't hurt though. Kinda like belts and suspenders.

At my heaviest this winter I was 256, and am down to 225 now. I rode my fixies all winter with slight truing problem with one of the wheels I built, a 32 spoke Surly hub to an MA3. Not a big problem I'd broken a spoke and had to retrue the whole thing. I did have one that all the spokes seemed to have loosened, but that didn't cause any problems. I ride a roadie (Raleigh Technium) with Rolf Vectors on it, no problem. I have a Rolf on the fornt end of my commuter fixie without any problems.
With the exception of the Rolfs, I have built all the other wheels. They've stayed true. I have some cross cycling wheels that are way off, really bad spoking, especially the rear, and I can't get them to true up, these were factory made. I've wanted to rebuild them but I don't ride the cross bikes any at the moment, so there isn't a big need for the wheels.
So the problem may not be your weight or size, it could be the manufacturer, Bump up to a better wheel, learn how to build one yourself, or find a dude that will build a wheel set that will stand true, they are out there.

I go 215 - 225, depending on how the riding is going. My favorite wrench weights in at about 265, and has lots of good advice about componets for heavier riders.

My Fuji came with non-eyeletted rims, and I found cracks around 9 consecutive nipples after a hard ride. I'm glad I cleaned the bike that day! I figure I was just a few bumps from a zipper failure of the rim. Rebuilt with an eyelette Sun rim, with little truing problems.

The spec for my next bike includes 36 spoke back wheel. I stay away from the light, sexy racer stuff. If you dig through the fine print on a lot of the high end stuff, you will often see something about not recommended for riders over 185 pounds.

Hello there I qualify I guess at 225 down from 285 2 yrs ago. I have ridden everything from x mart bikes up to my current trek 7100, and the only rim problems happened on an x mart bike pulling my son and several lbs of groceries. I was racing my step daughter at teh time, hit kind of a half curb, and taccoed the rear rim, LOL over loaded trailer and going too fast plus bad judgement combines to a repair/ replacement bill I guess live and learn. the 7100 has been as good as gold, all i can say is i wear brakes faster than thinner riders. wish me luck getting down under 200 by summers end as well. with my feet, the dr has advised me the only thing for it is to lose this extra weight. wants me sub 200 asap LOL.

Hello there I qualify I guess at 225 down from 285 2 yrs ago. I have ridden everything from x mart bikes up to my current trek 7100, and the only rim problems happened on an x mart bike pulling my son and several lbs of groceries. I was racing my step daughter at teh time, hit kind of a half curb, and taccoed the rear rim, LOL over loaded trailer and going too fast plus bad judgement combines to a repair/ replacement bill I guess live and learn. the 7100 has been as good as gold, all i can say is i wear brakes faster than thinner riders. wish me luck getting down under 200 by summers end as well. with my feet, the dr has advised me the only thing for it is to lose this extra weight. wants me sub 200 asap LOL.


Good luck nemo. I know that is why I got back into biking. I lost 30 pounds last summer form biking back and forth to work( Gained it back over the winter :( ) But I am hoping to shed some of my 275 this year. It is great exercise and feels so refreshing. You'll get to two bills in no time. :)

Does 6' 2" and 250 lbs qualify me as a clydesdale? I'm actually down from a high of 275 lbs. More riding and lower weights in the gym have helped. I'm trying to get to my college weight of 225 lbs. I ride mostly aggressive xc and haven't had too many problems with wheels and stuff. When I was younger and riding bmx bikes I broke wheels and bent cranks on jumps and tricks. I guess I do go through bottom brackets (my year old commuter neads a replacement) and my Mavic 223's (rear) spokes loosen frequently after a hard ride. Other than that I haven't had any real weight-related problems. It was good to hear "dude you truck" last weekend after being all over a guy's rear wheel on a climb. I probably had 80 pounds on him.

Good luck nemo. I know that is why I got back into biking. I lost 30 pounds last summer form biking back and forth to work( Gained it back over the winter :( ) But I am hoping to shed some of my 275 this year. It is great exercise and feels so refreshing. You'll get to two bills in no time. :)

thanks my best friend and i have a race going on now she just had a baby 2 weeks ago and wants to loser around 30 lbs...so i am racing her to lose 30 lbs LOL. GO WHITE BOY GO WHITE BOY

I'm about 275 right now and I've been riding a Trek 200 since Sept. Actually this is my first bike in probably 15 years. I havent had any problems yet. I don't do really hard riding, though. Just a short commute (7m rt, 3x/wk avg) and weekend rides once in a while. I did 10 miles all at once recently and thought I was going to keel over ;) I am working on getting my fitness level up and I can tell I'm getting better. I'm glad to see there are lots of heavier riders. I read on here about people doing centuries without a 2nd thought, well that will be me someday :)!

Clydesdale = big/hefty bike riders. I'm one myself (~240lbs), and my LBS bike-fit guy is one too. I did the Reach-the-Beach last weekend (103 miles, Portland, OR to the pacific). I did it alone, and there was some headwind to contend with and along the way had a guy riding my draft. He made a comment about "picking my pocket (through the headwind)", and said it was like riding behind a barn, no wind at all! Kind of a compliment, I guess.

Anyway, I only noticed a slight wobble to my rear wheel toward the end, but after the finish line the wheel actually locked up along one of the chain stays. Took it into the LBS, they re-trued it (second time in about a month). Anyway, I asked my bike-fit guy about getting a new wheel, he recommended one with more spokes. cha-ching.

Just curious whether there were other clydesdales out there with similar stories.

I'm down to 220 from 240ish. I've ridden a trek 400 (steel, many-spoke mavic somethings). A Trek 7500 (hybrid, bontrager somethings) and a felt F30, Krysriums (sp?). I've never head wheel problems (knock on wood). I knew weight was an issue, so when shopping for a roadbike, I looked carefully at wheels, and the kryriums had a reputation for strength. The 400's wheels needed to be retrued about once a season, and the 7500 has been good from day one. I think the LBS guys recommendation is a good one. I don't think you need to ride a high-end wheelset, and a good wheelset with many spokes can be had fairly inexpensively.

Lets see earlier this year I was at 345, and I'm now down to about 315, maybe 310 haven't checked lately. I'm biking to lose weight. The longest ride I've done yet is 26.5 miles, last weekend. I hope to break 30 this weekend! Then 40, then 50.... I'm trying to do another 10 miles every weekend until I can't go any more. Not to beat myself to death but this summer I want to do a century ride, I don't care how long it takes me. I also have been commuting to work, 12mi round trip, as often as possible. Would've done so today, had I not had food poisoning last night :mad:

Anyway I haven't had any wheel problems yet on my wal-mart special mongoose but time will tell! I do ride hard!

6', 225ish here. Heaviest was around 245 early last year (an international move and associated frustration had me off the bike for more than 12 months).

I've not had any problems with the 26-spoke Ritchey rear wheel on my roadie, though I wouldn't be disappointed with the rim if it did complain. I bought the bike knowing the wheelset could be a weak spot. If and when it does give out, I'll replace with something nice and strong. I've had to tweak the rear-wheel on my MTB (26-spoke), but it's never been anything major. I had major problems with a 36 spoke rear on my hybrid-commuter, though I think this was more a factor of the quality of the rim/hub and the age of the wheel than anything else. I kept breaking spokes at the hub when accelerating away from traffic lights. It finally gave up on me a few weeks ago... never like the bike much anyway, so am replacing the whole lot!

More spokes will help, but just as important is a good build. Does your LBS have a good wheelbuilder in-house? If you can't afford the new rims now, it may pay to have your existing wheel rebuilt in the interim while you save up the money ($250 should do it for front and rear Ultegra/Open Pros).

After buying my cannondale, rode 200 miles in 4 months,
I started to pop spokes,
so LBS & cannondale fixed me up with a heavy duty rim and spokes (like the one on a fancy tandem) actully makes my bike look better & have had no problems since- 900 miles later.
& I am a bit bigger than you- 6' 4"- 310 #

Another Rhyno Rider (250+) checking in. And oh yeah, JediLady, send me a PM. I'm in Sarasota too!

I ride mountain and road, and used to race BMX. Probably will race/ride BMX again when my son gets into it (if he does, I hope, I hope).

The biggest problems I have are my wheels on my mtn bike. Probably due to my BMX background, I tend to jump things when I probably shouldn't. I've tacoed my fair share of wheels. Yep, even Sun Rhyno Lites! Good thing I'm a mechanic and know how to build a wheel.

I have also gone through saddles. Any saddle with Ti or Magnesium or other than chromoly rails just don't last. Good thing, because seat with chromoly rails are usually cheaper!

Suspension forks and rear shocks. I always have to buy the stiffest spring and replace them right out of the box.

Tires, if my lightweight buddies are riding 1.95's, I'm on a 2.25!

My road bike is a LeMond Zurich and I have Rolf Vector Comps. I don't like these and spend a lot of time retruing the front wheel. Maybe I just have a bad wheel, but it always seems to need truing after 2 or 3 rides. I'd much rather have a set of Ultegra hubs laced to a Mavic CPX33 rim.

My biggest problems are finding clothing that fits without me looking like a kielbasa!

L8R

Oh yeah, that reminds me. I broke a seat about a year ago. I landed akwardly from a 2' drop and bent the front of the seat down 90 degrees. Fortunately, when you consider what part of my anatomy could have hit the seat, I only had a bruise on my left thigh just below my butt.

LoL
Man, I just have this image of all of us Clydesdales in a herd, er pack, thundering down the road. Look out you cars!!!!

I'm at 245 and 6'2", and loving every minute of it.

Clydesdales have lots of benefits:
We don't count measly grams when we buy accessories for our bikes. (seriously, who cares?)
We carry way more "spare" energy with us.
Cars think twice before hitting us.

I'm sure I could think of a lot more, but the coffee is done, and there's a danish calling me.

220 5' 8" I have broken spokes on my mountain bike before and have to true the wheels once in awhile never had one get that bad though maybe you broke a spoke??

225 6'2" 23% body fat. And it's coming down. Something I've found with being built like an ox is that I can bike and bike and not loose much weight at all. But the thing is I've gone down from 30% body fat to 23%. That's where it counts though. I always travel with a ton of gear to get ready for tours and I love how it doesn't affect me too much. Being this big just makes hauling stuff that much easier.

I've had my most problems with wheels coming out of true when I mountain bike. I have a hardtail so I've just learned not to do any huge drops or jumps untill I can get a freeride bike. Hell, I bought a truing stand to save money they came out of true so much at one point. Peace.

At 200 lbs, down from 270 thanks in great measure to my 22 mile round trip daily commuting, I consider myself a clydesdale. I popped a few spokes along the way. A while back I picked up a pair of Mavic T519 48-hole touring rims from Nashbar on clearance for 20 bucks each and had two rear wheels built up. One is on a Shimano tandem freehub, the other on an inexpensive Suzue freewheel hub so I can set it up singlespeed or with a 5-6 sp. Interestingly, I haven't had any trouble with those wheels. :D

240 right now.. For wheels, get 36 hole Open Pro or CXP 33's are your truing days will be over.. Both of these wheels are solid and bullet proof...

Shimano and Campy both offer 36 hole option.. At a minimum go with 36 hole in the rear, that is where most of the weight is being placed..

I had the same problem with my rear wheel going out of true. I ended up buying a good truing stand and learned to do it all myself. I make minor adjustments to the real wheel every two or three weeks.

5'9" here, 235lbs.

Was 250 back in january...i was down to 228, but since I went to using a higher gear than usual, my weight has been goiing up again...fortunately it's only muscle weight...

But yeah, I would love to see a whole group of us on the road one day, would be great seeing the looks from the packs of twigly folks :D

I'm big and use the Mavic open pros. No problems at all.

6'0, 221 here, and I'm on a 99' Stumpjumper a lot of the time, due to the fact that spokes continually go on my 00' Trek 1000, (Aluminum frame, blue Airliner wheels). Then I blow tubes because i don't propery tape off the Spoke stems after replacement.
Been riding for four years now, logging rides of 30-50 miles, and also like to push hard. Besides the set-up being rather entry level, any ideas on why spoke problems would continue in both the front and rear wheels?
If my problem is the wheel itself, any ideas for a good clydesdale wheel that won't break spokes (dangerous) or the bank (just as dangerous, wife kill me)?
Alex

Mavic CXP33 rims are very tough. If they can survive me, they can survive anybody. 32 straight gauge spokes in the back, 28 DT in the front, hubs are your choice (I have DA).

Mavic CXP33 rims are very tough. If they can survive me, they can survive anybody. 32 straight gauge spokes in the back, 28 DT in the front, hubs are your choice (I have DA).

Thanks "late," a little slow on the uptake here though, what's the DT or DA stand for? Any idea on the general price?
A

DT = DT Swiss DA= Dura Ace

Why do just the big guys get a name? If you guys are Clydesdales. I think my kind should be termed Greyhounds. I'm 6'2" and 147 lbs. Def. not a typical rider weight either. :rolleyes:

Greyhound (http://www.geocities.com/jwolt@sbcglobal.net/jasonbikes.html)

Mine were hand built at my LBS and cost me $400. That's a little high for those wheels. I just looked at your post again. These wheels have a fairly stiff ride. Nashbar has some wheels on sale. Cane Creek AeroHeads. I haven't ridden these, but when I was talking to my LBS about wheels that had a nicer ride he suggested Aeroheads. Check these out...
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?sku=8293

Why do just the big guys get a name? If you guys are Clydesdales. I think my kind should be termed Greyhounds. I'm 6'2" and 147 lbs. Def. not a typical rider weight either. :rolleyes:

Greyhound (http://www.geocities.com/jwolt@sbcglobal.net/jasonbikes.html)
You do have a name. We call your kind "Swizzle Sticks" :D

I just call you twigs. Heck I used to be a twig myself...same height, 160lbs, and a 29" waist. I never want to be that skinny again though...it just didn't look healthy. I'd rather be at the 190 I was when I left high school...at least there I looked good.

Thanks "late," I will look into the Nashbar rims. Anything to stop hearing that scary pop sound when a spoke finally gives way.
A

You do have a name. We call your kind "Swizzle Sticks" :D

That's not very nice. ;) I prefer Greyhound, thanks. I am pretty sure a Greyhound can outrun a Clydesdale any day of the week. Ain't nothing sleek about a horse (or human) with Cankles. :D

I looked into those Wheels. Is going less than 32 spokes ok for big riders?
A

Hi,
that is what I was told. Some are supposed to be quite rugged.
I haven't tried them, so I don't really know.

I'm 6' 2" and about 250 pounds, I guess I qualify as a clydesdale. I did the N.C. Reach the Beach last year with my bro and have done many other single and multi-day charity rides and tours. I've always done them on a converted mountain bike but this year's MS 150 will be on my new Cross Check. I built it with Mavic Open Pros on XT 36 spoke hubs. I've been riding the bike for a little over a week now and they've stayed tight and true-I don't anticipate problems with them. On the other hand, the Mavic 223's on my mountain bike (32 hole with 14 and 15 gauge spokes) seem to loosen up all the time. I'm currently building a replacement set of Rhyno Lites on XT hubs in a 36 hole configuration. They should hold up to my weight and riding style.

[QUOTE]Just curious whether there were other clydesdales out there with similar stories.

I was bending a rim over and over on a hybrid, hen after two hundred dollars I figured out that nobody at the bike store was going to say -you're too heavy! So, when I figured that out I went to my LBS and first thing I said was "I need a bike that can support my weight!" I got a mountain bike and it has been good to me rims are sturdy -total for the bike was US$ 330.00. I've toured the pacific coast with forty extra lbs of gear and the bike is nothing but a blessing to a Clydesdale like myself. It looks like Clydesdale status is not going to be for me soon! I'm real happy about that because I'm tired of being fat!

I have to confess to being a bit confused. I weigh in at 245 and am 6'2". I ride a LeMond nevada city, and have put over 2000 miles on this summer so far. and probably 1000 miles last fall which is when I purchased the bike. I have never had my rims bend or even needed truing. I ride urban, country and bike trail.
Why / what is bending all these rims? The only thing I can think of is that I am always careful to stand up a bit and distribute my weight on rough patches.
Thoughts on this?

Why / what is bending all these rims? The only thing I can think of is that I am always careful to stand up a bit and distribute my weight on rough patches.
Thoughts on this?[/QUOTE]

My problem with snapping spokes (6 feet, 221) on my road bike appears to be a result of my weight, the cheapness of my wheels, and the fact that I push hard while climbing, or sprinting.
My 1999 Specialized Stumpjumper I have had no such problems, maybe due to the fact that MTB have more surface area touching the ground to distribute weight and force?
I dunno, just a thought...

I have a bad habit of warping rims..not badly, but every 3 months I have to take my wheels in for re-truing.

But I do put on significant mileage on my two bikes. The new one only has 120 on it so far, but that bike is only a week old :)

How big do you have to be to be a Clyde Mare? I'm '5"6 and between 160 - 170. Haven't been near a scale lately, but according to my jeans and my friends I've lost some in the last couple months.

I ride purely junk bikes. I don't think I've ever paid more that $50 for a bike (my current one). My old man actually bought me a brand new London Drugs $89 special but it got swiped within two months. Most have run under $20, with the other two current ones checking in at $5 and free. I'm bringing this up because I can't believe the amount of trouble you all are having with new, expensive bikes!

I've been up to 195lbs in the past and I've never, in almost forty years of riding, broken a spoke. The only chain I broke was on a freebie that was mostly rust and totally oil-less. I've popped a few tires, granted, but most have been of the "wake up to a flat" variety.

Now, I have to admit, I'm not a fixer. If it needs more than a new inner tube or a few adjustments, it's off to the scrap pile. Most of the retirements have been due to rust, accident or the effects of letting my teenagers ride 'em. Anyway, you'd think at my weight, on my rolling disaster areas, I'd have a lot more breakage. Go figure.

By the way, I favour guy's bikes but probably half of 'em have been ladies and they're everything from 1 -18 speeds.

5'10 - 220

I ride mostly offroad and I have destroyed MANY rims. Mainly from dropoffs, logs, and rocks. I have endured countless pinch flats as well.

I'm really not a parts geek so I don't know that much about gear. I picked up a set of Mavic rims on ebay last year and I'll probably get a good set of hubs and build them up. I'm thinking about building a SS so I'm sort of waiting on that.

In any case, I do a lot of weight lifting and my bodyweight fluctuates quite a bit. Biking is good exercise that is fairly easy on my knees. It's good every day cardio.

6'1" 340 pounds, 55 mph, down an extremly steep road in suburban salt lake city. Is it bad when your brakes catch on fire?

6'1" 340 pounds, 55 mph, down an extremly steep road in suburban salt lake city. Is it bad when your brakes catch on fire?


Who is John Galt? :D




And yes fire is bad.




I am personally thinking of getting a new mountain bike because i have trued my wheels so much I can't any more (spoke too tight, stripped nipples) and it is a 7 speed, so the new rims would be 8 or 9 and require new shifters. Start adding it up and a new bike might save me money. But the bike I would build if i fix the frame i have (Cannondale super V) would be sweet. Just no disc brakes. :(

I am personally thinking of getting a new mountain bike because i have trued my wheels so much I can't any more (spoke too tight, stripped nipples) and it is a 7 speed, so the new rims would be 8 or 9 and require new shifters. Start adding it up and a new bike might save me money. But the bike I would build if i fix the frame i have (Cannondale super V) would be sweet. Just no disc brakes.

You could buy a used 7-speed mountain bike and put its wheels on your (old) bike, and then you'd have lots of spare parts. Probably cheaper than a new wheel.

How big do you have to be to be a Clyde Mare? I'm '5"6 and between 160 - 170. Haven't been near a scale lately, but according to my jeans and my friends I've lost some in the last couple months.

If you're competing in a race that has a Clyde/Athena class, it's 150 lbs for women. I'm surprised more women don't sign up for Athena classes - guess it's that cultural thing against telling anyone how much one weighs. I'd rather compete Athena than against the skinnyfasts in the 35-40 age groups, though :)

(Hi, I'm new here - 250 down from 280, ride a Diamondback Response MTB, just started riding recently with an eventual goal of living 75% carfree in Boston. Please don't bite ... )

Shouldn't be hard...I'm 100% carfree, and it does get cumbersome at times, but once I get room for a trailer, and an oldschool roadie to put my rack and panniers on, I shall be set.

Plus once your totally carfree your weight seems to jsut plummet for a while. You also find you put ungodly amounts of mileage on your bike as well. Just going to buy a new pair of jeans can easily put 40 miles on my bike :)

I'm 5' 10" 220 and I have been using a pair of performance Titan's (Deep Rim Bladed spoke) on my Gunnar Crosshairs bike for the past yeat and have not had any problems with Wheel or spoke problems. Of course skinny tires is are another issue, nothing lighter than a 700/28 and solid tread.