Commuting - Too Fat to Commute

I ask this as a serious question for opinion. How fat is too fat to commute on a bicycle?

<<shrug>> I would guess that you'd be too fat to commute if you couldn't get out of the sofa, or your house without assistance. As long as you're still self-mobile, you can commute by bicycle ... or walking ... or some combination of public transportation and cycling or walking.

You know your to fat to commute when you sit on the bike and crush it with your weight. Just kidding I weight 270 lbs and I have no trouble riding my bikes. Take the time to check with your doctor if its ok and then go to your L.B.S. and let them help you find a good bike that can take your weight buy it and then do as they say " ride it like you stole it ". I enjoy every ride like it may be my last.

My guess is when there aren't a single pair of brakes able to stop your bike at 15 mph in a resonable distance. Or when there aren't a single pair of tires and wheels that are able to withstand a 2" deep pothole.
My guess is somewhere around 7-800lbs.

You can't be too fat to commute by bicycle. You could always find equipment that would stand up to the extra demands.
I think that, given the health and weightloss effects, you COULD be too fat to not commute by bicycle.

If you can't move and Jerry Springer has to come to your house with construction workers to remove the entire side off your house and get a crane to lift you out of the bed to take you to the animal hospital, then weigh the ambulance with you in it and subtract that from the weight of the ambulance by yourself.

Otherwise, you're never too fat to commute. How else are you supposed to drop the fat anyway? If that is what works for you, then go for it!

Koffee

<<shrug>> I would guess that you'd be too fat to commute if you couldn't get out of the sofa, or your house without assistance. As long as you're still self-mobile, you can commute by bicycle ... or walking ... or some combination of public transportation and cycling or walking.


What about the safe weight bearing capacity of the bicycle?

Stock bikes by Bike Friday are rated at 200lbs. Most of the popular folding bicycles on the market are rated at 230 lbs even the 26 inch full sized folders by Dahon. So the common folders are ruled-out for >230lb riders. For full size standard bikes, around 250 lbs seems to be a common weight limit.

Does anyone know of any stock bikes rated at over 300lbs?

If you can't move and Jerry Springer has to come to your house with construction workers to remove the entire side off your house and get a crane to lift you out of the bed to take you to the animal hospital, then weigh the ambulance with you in it and subtract that from the weight of the ambulance by yourself.

Otherwise, you're never too fat to commute. How else are you supposed to drop the fat anyway? If that is what works for you, then go for it!

Koffee


Markedly obese individuals need specially constructed bicycles. Walking is probably a better and safer alternative for most morbidly obese individuals. The most extreme example of a heavy weight biker that I've run across is that of a Cleveland fellow who was 28 yrs old, 6 ft 4 inches and an astouding 540lbs when he took off to Europe for a 6 month bicycle tour to lose weight. Unfortunately, the trip did little to reduce his weight, his 61 inch chest, 63 inch waist, and 68 inch hips. Still you have to give him credit for the ride and for finding a bicycle durable enough to carry him for 6 months around Europe.

Does anyone know of any stock bikes rated at over 300lbs?

Touring bikes are a fine example. I'm not sure of limits, but I've loaded up aluminum, steel and carbon framed bikes easily+300lBs when my weight is added.

What about the safe weight bearing capacity of the bicycle?

Stock bikes by Bike Friday are rated at 200lbs. Most of the popular folding bicycles on the market are rated at 230 lbs even the 26 inch full sized folders by Dahon. So the common folders are ruled-out for >230lb riders. For full size standard bikes, around 250 lbs seems to be a common weight limit.

Does anyone know of any stock bikes rated at over 300lbs?

I can see folding bicycles having a weight limit because of they way they are constructed, but a good solid mtn bike or touring bicycle should be able to carry much more! My 400lb EX occasionally rode a department store mtn bike and it didn't collapse beneath him.

I've had my little sport touring bicycle loaded with something over 200lbs, and it was OK.

I weigh 330lbs, never stopped me. Yeah, I've killed a wheelset or two. But I've also learned to ride as soft as possible and be easy on the bikes. I commute every day.

Your weight shouldn't be a problem, except on a suspended mountain bike. In that case, you would need a suspension tuned to your weight, not to the weight of a 125-lb person.

In your case, the key components are the wheels. If your roads are very rough, get a 36-spoke rear wheel rather than the now-common 32-spoke wheel. But even 32-spoke wheels, if they are well tensioned should be enough, unless you weigh 450-500 lb or your potholes look like craters.

But the most important factor is tire size. For a 300-lb person, 700x32 tires would be high-pressure slicks to use on very smooth roads, and 700x37 to 40 would be better sizes. Or 26 x 2 to 2.25" slicks.

Does anyone know of any stock bikes rated at over 300lbs?
PWRDbyTRD was 450lbs when he joined after buying his Kona Hoss. Other than poping a spoke now and again and having the springs in his forks upgraded to a firmer model he's been fine

I think the people that are too heavy to ride a bike aren't asking themselves if they're too heavy to ride a bike. They've probably got other more serious concerns.

I don't want to venture a guess, but I'd guess that if you can get your leg over the top tube, you can ride!

Just ride. The exercise will help you lose weight, you'll feel really positive and want to keep going and lose more, also you get fresh air and save some noney on fuel. There's not one reason why you shouldn't, but numerous to why you should.

I agree with much of what has been said above. If you are mobile and have reasonable use of your legs you can probably bike. Obviously extremely overweight people should check with a doctor for other health issues before starting. It also makes sense to start slowly and work up to longer distances and tougher rides, so as to avoid injury or strains. On the bike side of things I would definitely recommend going to a good LBS and getting their help with finding a bike with a solid rear wheel. At 280lbs I killed off a few rear wheels and axles on cheap bikes before buying a Fuji Hybrid. It has a 36 spoke rear wheel that the LBS owner had used on a tandem bike that routinely carried 340 or 350lbs between the two riders. So far I have about 200 miles of commuting on the bike with no problems.

What everyone else says + Kona Hoss. I hear it's good for large people.

It's easy to come up with excuses. The challenge is developing solutions.

Just ride. The exercise will help you lose weight, you'll feel really positive and want to keep going and lose more, also you get fresh air and save some noney on fuel. There's not one reason why you shouldn't, but numerous to why you should.


I second that.

Ride. Before you know it, the weight will be gone.

Big folks have a hard time on hills. No big deal, dismount and walk the bike up the hill. No where is it written that people have to stay on bike at all times while commuting.

I've seen some pretty big people on mountain bikes, although they are probably better off without any suspension.

I struggle with weight. One thing for sure, you will stand a better chance of burning off some fat on the bike than in your car. The main obstacle is image. The fat is much more exposed on the bike. Don't wear spandex. Wear baggy clothes. Go as far as you can on recreational rides and keep on stretching the distance until you can go your commute distance. Then do one commute a week. Work up from there. You can do it.

Touring bikes are a fine example. I'm not sure of limits, but I've loaded up aluminum, steel and carbon framed bikes easily+300lBs when my weight is added.

I hate to say this but my bike, gear and me on my last major tour weighed in at 303 lbs. And that was before I started carrying a weeks worth of food at a time. (Try finding food in the Missouri Valley between Souix City and St. Louis. It kinda hard. :mad: ) And I was riding on rough roads and trails. On an aluminum bike.

Bikes are very simple, very strong machines that can easily take many times their weight in load.

I struggle with weight. One thing for sure, you will stand a better chance of burning off some fat on the bike than in your car. The main obstacle is image. The fat is much more exposed on the bike. Don't wear spandex. Wear baggy clothes. Go as far as you can on recreational rides and keep on stretching the distance until you can go your commute distance. Then do one commute a week. Work up from there. You can do it.

Hang image! I am not a skinny guy. I'm not overly fat either but I don't look that great in lycra but I do wear it because of function not style. If someone has a problem with me in lycra, they have to deal with it - often times while watching my fat butt dissappear in front of them while they are trying to retreive major organs they lost while trying to keep up :D

I ask this as a serious question for opinion. How fat is too fat to commute on a bicycle?


Can you make it to work safely, and still have enough energy to do your day's work?

That alone is the single question that determines this.

For weight, there are bikes that can take it. A Kona Hoss can take about anything you throw at it, just put some nice slicks, fenders, and maybe a rack depending on your side of the pannier/backpack thing, and go at it!

For what it's worth, I'm 230lbs, 5'8", and riding a roadbike...no problems at all, I only get winded when I'm running late :p


oh, and be wary of winds...crosswinds and headwinds still give me hell...let's put it this way I'm just not that aerodynamic yet....now for tailwinds....wheeeeeee!! :)

EIther way, the pounds will practically melt off you the first few months, after that you gotta really work for it. I'm still losing weight, just not at the insane pace I was. Part of that is you will grow into your riding, meaning that ride won't be as much of a workout, so go do longer rides on the weekends, etc.

when u cant get to work on time I would sugest taking the suv or quit work and cycle all day..

Seriously...you might not be able to make it all the way to work and back. On your day off, ride as far as you can, and keep track of the distance. Ride every day (or at least every other day). Each week, try to add about 5% - 10% to your distance. Eventually you will be able to commute every day. See the weight loss thread on the Training and Nutrition forum for more info and encouragement.

My guess is when there aren't a single pair of brakes able to stop your bike at 15 mph in a resonable distance. Or when there aren't a single pair of tires and wheels that are able to withstand a 2" deep pothole.
My guess is somewhere around 7-800lbs.


A co-worker of mine, who is a pretty big boy, outfitted his cross commuter bike with hydraulic disk brakes to get better stopping power. He said it made a world of difference.

How much do you weigh? The main thing would be not giving a **** about what other people think.

If you're physically able to ride... Do it.

Yeah, disc brakes are a very good idea. I only have them on my mountain bike, but I do notice how my roadbike is slow to stop compared to my mountain bike, which stops on a dime.

You'd have to be-- literally-- so obese you'd be bedridden before you would not be able to bike commute!

You would not be able to do so on a really light road bike...which is NOT really suited to "utility" riding anyway. Any good touring bike or converted MTB will do nicely. So will a "middleweight" (standard or "Traditional") or "heavyweight" (more like a high performance "super cruiser"/"city" bike) hybrid.

If the bike is "sturdy"...it will do!

If you need to walk up hills...do so! Who cares if it takes a while before you can actually climb them on the bike? You are not Lance! If other riders laugh, then...that's their problem!

Forget the Spandex for awhile...or wear it as "underwear" . (No kidding!)

Gearing (especially MTB gearing!) is your friend!! So are really good brakes (such as disc brakes or "V's", if your bike will take them!).

Carry any load on the bike ...not you! (You are carrying enough weight around already!!)

You have an advantage if you ride in winter ...or anytime the roads get "slippery": TRACTION! Remember that the REAR WHEEL is the DRIVE WHEEL . Your weight will help keep it in contact with the road in bad (or loose-packed) conditions; you will be able to keep going, where a more lightly-laden bike and smaller rider may not be able to do so. (Those who ride heavily-laden touring bikes on bad roads may have noticed the same thing, no matter what they weigh.) Just slide back on the saddle a bit so your weight is more over the axle if needed.

Fat tires (as fat as will fit the bike ), and running those tires at lower pressure, will make the ride more comfortable (and help traction as well).

Don't fight the "aerobelly": sit the bike with your body held at an angle that's comfortable for YOU, not "racerboy". You'll get more "aero" as you lose weight and get fitter.


Take your time: If you wanted to rush, you wouldn't be on a bike!! ;)

when I started to lose weight I was well over #400. I started riding again at around 375.I am around 330 now. my only problem has been minor spoke breakage,and the bike i ride most is an 1991 cheap, made in tiawan, haro hybrid with 300 lx components. i recently upgraded to a 40 spoke wheel and have been riding an old cannondale mtb with 26x1.95 conti top touring tires. its not as fast as the haro,but it makes the rough streets alot easier.

My guess as how much is to much? It must depend on the individual person,cause trd was at 450 and I was close to that as well and we did it. others do it all the time at 280,250,230, etc . so like onother poster said,if the bike doesnt pysically colapse when you mount up, you can do it

when I started to lose weight I was well over #400. I started riding again at around 375.I am around 330 now. my only problem has been minor spoke breakage,and the bike i ride most is an 1991 cheap, made in tiawan, haro hybrid with 300 lx components. i recently upgraded to a 40 spoke wheel and have been riding an old cannondale mtb with 26x1.95 conti top touring tires. its not as fast as the haro,but it makes the rough streets alot easier.

My guess as how much is to much? It must depend on the individual person,cause trd was at 450 and I was close to that as well and we did it. others do it all the time at 280,250,230, etc . so like onother poster said,if the bike doesnt pysically colapse when you mount up, you can do it


I very much appreciate and find it very helpful reading these first hand accounts of heavy bikers. In the golden age of cycling now more than 100 yrs ago a fat man's bicycling club was formed in Brooklyn, New York. Qualifying weight? 250lbs.

PWRDbyTRD was 450lbs when he joined after buying his Kona Hoss. Other than poping a spoke now and again and having the springs in his forks upgraded to a firmer model he's been fine

Did he finally solve that with hand made wheels?
Might it be worth it to a begining heavy rider to maybe start with hand made wheels?

Did he finally solve that with hand made wheels?
Might it be worth it to a begining heavy rider to maybe start with hand made wheels?
my guess would be no. hand built wheels can get real expensive. just starting out,a heavy rider might get dicouraged and give up.

I also rode my wifes cheap trek navigator 50 last year for around 400 miles. plus what she put on it. she is also big,bigger then alot of the guys here. the wheels on it are cheap,machine built and the shop tensioned them when new and at a 60 or 90 day free tune up. and thats all so far. there is over a thousand miles on them so far and not a broken spoke yet(knock on wood). even cheap wheels will hold up if prperly tensioned and kept true. I learned how to do it myself along time ago when I rode mtn bikes in the wood. I knocked a wheel out of true every weekend back then(96-99) even then I was considered bigger then most and I was alot smaller then than I am now.

I am currently trying to scrape together some extra money for some 48 spoke hubs so I can build some heavy duty wheels to tour on. I have been riding again now for a little over a year,being pretty consistant,so I feel it is worth it for me in the long run. for the price of the set,I could probably get 2 sets of cheaper ,although well built. 36 spoke wheels. also for alot of beginers,a set of heavy duty wheels like that could cost more then the complete bike($235 for chep trek navigator 50...$450 for custom built 48 spoke wheelset)

I'm around 300 pounds at 6'5". I ride a lot, about 4000 kilometers last year. I have been through equipment and kind of know what works for us "full figured guys". Your biggest hurdle is wheels. Forget the wheels that came on your bike, if buying a new bike ask to swap out the wheels. I run Sun Ryno Lights laced to XT hubs (have used LX) 36 hole 3 cross, and the rear wheels are tied and soldiered, and the most important thing hand built by a good wheel builder not a machine. The last set I had lasted me 4 years with no truing before the hubs wore out. Frames well this is going to cause some discussion, but I would forget steel and go with Aluminum, you will flex a steel bike too much. Look for a hardtail mountain bike with big tubes. Depending on where you are riding you don't need to go with really fat tires I run 1.5 on dirt roads with no problems. Forget bike weight, you are looking for strong parts, if you wat to save some weight, skip lunch. If you need Titatanium get some bolts for you water bottle holders.
And finally you need to ride, it the beat exercise available to us big guys. My knees are so bad from past injuries that I sometimes have a hard time walking but I can still ride. Forget what you think you look like and ride, remember the cool dude in the SUV giving you the look hasn't just ridden 25 lilometers to work. Good luck.

450lb and I commute, though it is a short ride to work 5 miles round trip I normally extend my ride by as much as an additional 15 miles if it's nice out...I think I'm pretty capable of commuting. Just my 2 cents.

Just some additional notes...the 32H rear machine built wheel didn't last for diddly, I now run a 36H rhynolite handbuilt that is staying in good shape. I upgraded my springs in my fork, they've kept me from severe bobbing, but I am still going to a rigid fork in the near future. Brakes...DISCS enough said, even 8" rotors maybe be necessary, my rear is 8" and it helps with the fading issues quite a bit. Otherwise my bike is stock as far as function goes.

450lb and I commute, though it is a short ride to work 5 miles round trip I normally extend my ride by as much as an additional 15 miles if it's nice out...I think I'm pretty capable of commuting. Just my 2 cents.

At 450lbs your two cents is an extraordinarily powerful and exemplary testimony. Thanks for sharing.

At 450lbs your two cents is an extraordinarily powerful and exemplary testimony. Thanks for sharing.
does that mean my two cents is worth like 6 or something? :p

We ride together quite often... not just commuting, but we regularly put in 20+ miles on our off days just riding around town. Obviously he wasn't able to do that right off the bat, but he's gradually worked up to it and now he's comfortable doing 15-20 miles no problem. I agree with the sentiment that if you're able to stand up and walk, you can cycle commute.

does that mean my two cents is worth like 6 or something? :p

you provided your 2 euros, not your 2 cents ;)

We ride together quite often... not just commuting, but we regularly put in 20+ miles on our off days just riding around town. Obviously he wasn't able to do that right off the bat, but he's gradually worked up to it and now he's comfortable doing 15-20 miles no problem. I agree with the sentiment that if you're able to stand up and walk, you can cycle commute.
the first day we rode 5 or so maybe 7 miles...I got home and was so sore....my whole body hurt...I just fell into my bed.

now 5 or 7 miles is a warm-up ride. :p I told you that you'd end up getting used to it and putting in a ton more miles. maybe one day you'll be able to keep up with me on the hills. :p

now 5 or 7 miles is a warm-up ride. :p I told you that you'd end up getting used to it and putting in a ton more miles. maybe one day you'll be able to keep up with me on the hills. :p
kiss ass..... :D

450lb and I commute, though it is a short ride to work 5 miles round trip I normally extend my ride by as much as an additional 15 miles if it's nice out...I think I'm pretty capable of commuting. Just my 2 cents.

Just some additional notes...the 32H rear machine built wheel didn't last for diddly, I now run a 36H rhynolite handbuilt that is staying in good shape. I upgraded my springs in my fork, they've kept me from severe bobbing, but I am still going to a rigid fork in the near future. Brakes...DISCS enough said, even 8" rotors maybe be necessary, my rear is 8" and it helps with the fading issues quite a bit. Otherwise my bike is stock as far as function goes.

Do you have much mileage on the new wheels? Do you have butted spokes?

Do you have much mileage on the new wheels? Do you have butted spokes?
the new wheel has about 150 miles or so on it...I was tending to my machined 32h every 50...if I was lucky, sometimes 30, my rear wheel was in the shop weekly, it was such a hassle. this wheel is still true and I've been hopping onto curbs with it, which was a disaster with my last wheel.

the new wheel has about 150 miles or so on it...I was tending to my machined 32h every 50...if I was lucky, sometimes 30, my rear wheel was in the shop weekly, it was such a hassle. this wheel is still true and I've been hopping onto curbs with it, which was a disaster with my last wheel.

That sounds like an improvement worth the trouble all ready. I've noticed people asking about strong wheels lately. Thanks.

That sounds like an improvement worth the trouble all ready. I've noticed people asking about strong wheels lately. Thanks.
speedgoat can build a 48H rhynolite....300 bucks for the wheel though, but christ, I could go hucking with that wheel.

I'm just over 500lb and am seriously considering a Kona Hoss (standard) , but with an added wider seat and replacing the toe-clip pedals with standard flat pedals. I'm wondering what else I should consider adding? My commute is only about a mile each way, though I'll ride further as I get more comfortable with everything.

I've seen a couple other big guys comment on having replaced the fork the standard Hoss ships with for something sturdier. How important is this and should I be concerned? Or just stick with the original?

Any tips/guides would be very appreciated. I'd rather pay more now and get as much as is necessary than have to deal with the trips (it's pretty far) to the bike shop (especially since I don't have any free time, because of my work schedule).

Thank you.

One thing that really heavy guys should consider are tandem components. Tandems are built to take 2 large adults with a combined weight approaching 500lbs, more for touring bikes.
The hubs can take more than 32 spokes and have wider flanges (and axles) for a stronger build. The new Rivendell Buffalo bike uses a lot of tandem parts, including a Co-Motion tandem fork.
If you are just heavy within the normal range, than a handbuilt 36spoke wheel will do the job. You dont ned to get high-end components to make the wheel stronger. Even the lower-mid range Shimano hubs are strong enough (but heavier). Hollow steel axles are not weaker than solid ones. Axle breakage is virtually unknown with modern freehub systems.
Solo and tandem wheelbuilding costs from a decent, respected LBS can be found at
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/tandemparts.asp

I know/have known two bike riders who are over 250 and female. I'd say listen to powrdbyTRD he's a really nice guy and really helpful. And just ride what he rides.

What about the safe weight bearing capacity of the bicycle?

Stock bikes by Bike Friday are rated at 200lbs. Most of the popular folding bicycles on the market are rated at 230 lbs even the 26 inch full sized folders by Dahon. So the common folders are ruled-out for >230lb riders. For full size standard bikes, around 250 lbs seems to be a common weight limit.

Does anyone know of any stock bikes rated at over 300lbs?


Kona Hoss

Supposed to be very strong. Check out their web site

MichaelS