Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - New Here

Hey everyone. I'm new here. I've been a lurker for quite a few months. Anyway I'm a super clyde, currently this morning I weighed in at 358.8 lbs, down from a high of 413 lbs. I'm also around 6' 1" tall if that helps. :) I have a blog about my weight loss, feel free to read it here if you like : fat guy nutrition blog (http://fatguynutrition.blogspot.com/)

Anyway I'm thinking that I may now be able to get on a bike again and not crush the tires. I'm on a very strict self designed diet regimen and I'm loosing almost 4 lbs a week on average, but I want to be healthy, not just skinnier. So as the weather gets better, I'm looking for a decent bike. I was originally planning on getting a recumbent exercise bike, but I really am leaning more towards a roadgoing bike than an exercise bike.

I don't have a ton of money to start with, but there are a couple bikes I'm looking at currently. There is a Giant Yukon for sale locally on Craigslist for $50. It's probably a mid 90s model. The ad claims that all it needs is a rear derailleur cable. I'd of course go over it with a fine tooth comb once I bought it as I like to tinker, and I'm a pretty good mechanic.

Would this be a decent bike? It's a chrome moly frame, so that's good right? Anything I should look at upgrading right away?

Any other tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated as well.

Hello and welcome!

I'd say the Yukon is a good choice for you at that price point, as long as it fits. The recent models have a suspension fork, which is not ideal, but it should work OK for you to get started on. Being a tinkerer will help a great deal.

Welcome :)

Get whatever you can afford and ride the wheels off of it!

Welcome jleiwig, it is nice to have another Ohio "fat guy" to hang with. The Yukon should be a good bike for you if it fits, if not it could be torture. Looks like you've been making some great strides towards your summer goals, keep up the good work, I'll be watching your blog for progress.

First off welcome jleiwig!

If you can post a link to the bike you are looking at. The mid 80's to 90's rigid mountain bikes make excellent bikes. Beefy frames, stable geometry, and ability to fit wide tires make it an excellent all arounder.

Without a link to the bike or knowing anything specific it's hard to say what it will need. First off make sure it fits. If you are 6'1 you are looking probably for a frame size between 19" to 22".

As 10 Wheels would say: "Welcome to the Herd".

Fit is a hugely important issue. Can't be stressed enough.

If you get a bike that's significantly the wrong size, you'll hate riding, and give up.

Go to a Local Bike Shop and browse. Let a salesperson size you on a bike. Ask questions about how bike fit works. Do internet searches for 'bike fit', and read up on it. Basically, get informed before you buy. If you're going to buy a used bike, you're going to be on your own on whether it fits or not.

When you do go check out a Craigslist bike, bring tools - adjustable wrench & a set of metric hex wrenches. You'll want to see if the seat can adjust for your height if the bike is a touch small.

As a very rough starting point, based on your height, you might want to look at 58cm frames for road bikes, or about 20 inches for a mountain bike. That's a very rough guess with no knowledge of your inseam, or whether you have long or short arms (reach to the handlebars typically increases with taller bikes).

Again, google up some information on the subject. Knowing is half the battle.

Welcome! Checking out the blog as we speak (type). :thumb:

Welcome to the Herd

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. The bike is an older model with no suspension that I can see from the single picture (which isn't a very good picture in the first place, hence why I didn't post the ad). There is no info as far as bike size or anything attached to the ad, so again, no real point in posting it unless we all want to an exercise in futility and guess as to it's size.

From my research it appears to be a mid 90s model. It looks to be white in color with red lettering, and I found a couple pictures from the mid 90s models that match that fairly close. I've sent the person two emails, and have heard nothing back as of yet, but I also have a friend who rides competatively and moonlights at a local bike shop on the look out for a good used bike.

I did plan on going today to a couple different LBS to check things out and get fitted for a bike. Luckily I live in an area with a good concentration of bike paths, bikers and hence, bike shops.

I had already bought one bike off of Craigslist previously, it was a classic huffy Santa Fe cruiser bike, but the pedal brake wouldn't stop me at all, and I almost rode into an oncoming car, so I sold that pretty quickly. Hopefully my next experience goes much better.

Again, thanks for the warm welcome and I look forward to being a productive member here.

Welcome!

Welcome... I'm a newbie too looking for a bike for fitness and exercise. Don't get frustrated. A loss of 2 pounds or so a week is excellent. You don't want to lose faster than that because it won't stay off. I highly recommend keeping a food log. I use http://myfitnesspal.com which is a free website (and iPhone app) that tracks everything you eat. Or just go low tech and do it on a memo pad... but DO IT. Keeping a strict log will help you reach your goal. I don't eat anything - and I mean anything that I don't plan or record in my daily log. In the past 6 months I lost 63+ pounds. You've done terrific so far with your weight loss. Keep it up.

Bob
bornagaindiabetic.com