AKITASGT

Hi brand new poster today! I am a fellow clyde, i went from 295 to 270 in about 2 months pushing my heavy Giant ds3 mtb on pavement. its a killer but you get results

ChuckD6421 

Hey dude, welcome!

I'm also a fan of longer cranks. I come from a competitive background, many moons (and pounds) ago a Cat. 2 roadie. I live and ride in a pretty hilly area where my shortest rides of ~20 miles still have >1000' climbing. I'm 6'1" with a 32" inseam and I never felt better than when I had 177.5 cranks. In my racing days I got to try 180's for a couple weeks and found them to be a bit too much for me.

Sounds like you've got the saddle time to know what you want. Ever hear of Lennard Zinn? Find him on Velonews, if not. He's a tall rider too and sells cranks and builds bikes for your species.

Chuck

Thattalldude

Thanks Chuck!

Yeah I heard about him a few years ago, and is what lead me to the khs 747; it has 2 sizes now
sizes xxl (64cm) & xxxl (66cm) with 200mm cranks... It's based off Zinn's bikes geometry & cranks for taller folks... I think it is for people like 6'4" to maybe 6'8" or so...

I measured my inseam a few times and get between 35" & 36", so that corresponds cranks 187mm to 198mm.

The khs 747 200mm cranks gave me a little pain in right knee at the top of the stroke. That knee gets sore from time to time from a little wipeout a few years back. Also it was a short test ride only maybe 15 minutes and the seat should have been at least 1/2" higher; it took me a few weeks to get back there to do another ride with seat up, but it sold.

So with the knee issue I figure 185s or 190s is probably what I need; I guess I need to do some test rides...

All the long cranks seem to start around $300 or $400 and go up from there (except ird, but they only make 180s, 200s, & 220s) so am thinking if I am gunna drop that much cash why not get something badass, so am looking at Lightning carbon cranks. They go up to 190mm and have a HD version with a 285lbs rider weight limit, but I need to do more research on them.
Thinking of pairing them with a 61cm specialized roubaix might work well to make great endurance bike that mostly fits me; the 64cm would be better but those models cost way way way too much...

Anyway more research needed...

Jesse

Astaal3

Very Cool thread. Just signed up. I'm a 6'6" rider. was 310 but down to 270 because of my 40 day juice fast (On day 30 today). Was a bit scared to ride my old road bike but after lightening up I have been hitting the Santa Barbara Coast on my old steel 63cm Centurion which I am realizing is far too small. Hoping to get to 250 before summer. Below that and I'm not sure I'll have any meat left for my big boned self. Looking forward to checking out all the forums and getting back into the sport after 25 years off.

sirknight

Im 36 years old 211 lbs 6 ft. tall. I love to run, cycle, and weightlift. I believe anyone who goes out and tries to better themselves have earned my respect. No matter what shape color or size they are.

Rodsram

Hoping to have a long and fruitful relationship.

First bike in 30 yrs, did 37 miles yesterday for a first ride and loved it.

Loveless4577

New to the forums and after a couple of days I realized that I am a Clyde and should post here.

I'm 37 (soon to be 38), 5' 11" and 215lbs (down from 277lbs a few years ago).

I started biking as a way to change the pace of being in the gym to lose weight and I fell in love with it.

My goal is to continue to improve my riding and overall health and if I can accomplish those goals at the same time.....perfect!

Looking forward to being an active participant.

Thanks.

ChrisZog

First real sense of progression today in terms of weight loss. I started measuring on Feb 28th and am down 16.8 lbs. But numbers feel very weird when thinking of progression. Sure I set goals like 2lbs/week of a year, 25 by end of April, 50 by end of July, and be about 260ish by January so I can buy a road bike. But today I grabbed the t-shirt that we got from our charity ride on the 28th. And it fit! Normally I wear 3XLT t-shirts because 3XL are a bit short in the gut and 4XL are too wide in the chest. This is a 3XL. So essentially 1/2 of a size.

And 30 minutes on the indoor trainer (old mountain bike on an indoor stand) is getting easier. Pedaling at about 80-100 RPM for 30 minutes and both breathing and heart rate felt better than I ever remember after any work out. Knees were a bit tired but that was probably a little faster pedaling than outdoors and no coasting to lights/stop signs. Only about 10% done with the weight loss but that first 10% certainly feels good.

1VeloFellow

I consider myself more of a giraffe at 6' 6 1/2" tall and 210lbs. It's always been a challenge to find a bike that truly fits perfectly until I ordered a custom fit ride. Night and day difference. That being said I'm forever on the prowl for a quality vintage steel lugged frame that would fit my long ass giraffe self, 66cm ish. If anybody out there knows of one for sale or is selling one themselves please do let me know. And no matter how old this post becomes I'll always be interested. Cheers!

Waizujin

5'11" 450 pounds.

Probably at the upper weight for people on this forum, but I just purchased my first bike. A Trek Shift 4, which will be here later this week, and I hope to be a part of this forum and post frequently as I am biking.

deamera

Might as well introduce myself, too! Athena, 5'6'', started at 405 a bit over a month ago, now down to 386. Getting my Ridgeback Tradition this week, and I'm hoping to be active on these forums, updating as I go along!

chester74

Hi all. Haven't got a bike yet, wondering if I could big y'all for advice first. I'm 6'1" and 310 lbs. I really had my heart set on a road bike, but I'm wondering if I'm too fat for it right now. Will my stomach get in the way? Can I buy a cheap box store bike to try out?

MikeRides

The only way to find out is to drop by your LBS (Local Bike Shop) and personally try out a few bikes. At that weight, finding a shop that would be OK with you testing out bikes may be problematic but shouldn't be impossible. Personally I think the biggest concern should be how well the wheels will hold up underneath you (hence why you wouldn't see me recommend a big box store cheapie). Keep in mind if you get a road bike, you don't have to ride in the drops, you should be able to ride upright until you start losing weight.

chester74

Yeah my LBS kind of ignored me. Maybe I need to find a different one. Less L, lol.

1RHopkins

Hello, I will be 53 next month, and was 238 pounds at @ 5'-11" a couple days before Christmas. I am now 215 and would like to get down to 205, then think about sub 200. I have been walking and eating better, just started riding my hybrid a little now that weather is breaking. I would like to get an aluminum frame carbon fork road bike to continue to improve my health and fitness and reduce my weight.

billiamUK

hi there,

I'm Billiam

I'm 35 I'm 6ft 4ish and I honestly have no idea of my weight.

What I do know is that I'm in the XXXL range of clothes and that has to change as there's a history of diabetes and high blood pressure in my family. I brought a bike 2 years ago and haven't used it since, however I'm hoping now with some fancy new apps and a some more self confidence from other stuff in my life going right, that I'll be able to use my bike for a daily 20-30 minute ride.

My goal is to get to a comfortable weight and get back into standard clothes sizes i m also hoping that by the end of the summer i'll have built enough endurance back to cycle the 14 km to work the aim being to be able to do that next summer. I did my first bike ride of the year yesterday a mere 4km and it took em all of 20 minutes but that's already a 3rd of the distance i rode all of last year.

so wish me luck and I hope to speak to you soon

Thanks

Billiam

ChrisZog

Definitely. Anyone looking to buy a bike should be someone that the LBS listens to. I've been to about a half dozen in the Phoenix area this year while we were looking for our first bikes (went comfort at first... specifically Trek Shift which had a bike that was a 350lb weight limit with stock specs) and then when we started looking around at something a bit faster but cheap to hold us over until my weight is low enough for a nice road/endurance bike. Every shop I was greeted at. Most I test rode something before leaving. One even offered to help with me with my Craiglist ad on my Shift because he knew I needed to sell that before buying a hybrid.

In the end one shop stood out and I go there for minor repairs and kit. The owner recognizes me and my wife now and he KNOWS that he'll be selling me a Domane next year. And after all of the honest (and I do mean honest. He talked me down to a cheaper saddle that he thought I'd like more, he's given small repairs on the house, he told my wife to try changing seatpost height or saddle angle before upgrading saddles, talked into slightly cheaper but more effective sunglasses, etc etc) advice I've gotten I know that when I go back and ask which model I want, he'll help me out the best he can.

There was another shop that sold Specialized bikes that we also liked that my wife will probably go back to because she wants a Ruby.

The ONLY thing I will say is that some owners understate the capability of certain bikes. I told owners that we did a 28.27 mile charity ride on Trek Shifts and they tell us that comfort bikes are only for like 5 miles. 28.27 was a stretch. It hurt. We fell apart in the wind at the end. But 20-25 with a good break was fine. I've had owners tell me that hybrid bikes like my Sirrus is only good for 10-15 miles. Previous owner of my bike specifically bought it for a 160 mile ride which he finished. I've cracked 20 with it 3 times and 25 once so far. I'm planning at least 23 miles Sunday, 15 next Thursday, and 25 next Saturday in addition to shorter daily and/or recovery rides. I feel like this bike may not be ideal for the 100 mile range. But with the bar ends, 32mm tires, and a nicer saddle that I should be able to pull a 40, 50 and maybe even a metric century out of it before retiring the poor bike to being a trainer next year. Owners are cyclists too. They probably have their preferences and those biases MAY come out when making suggestions.

But any owner worth your time should be willing to make a suggestion. Find one that will. Look for websites of local bike clubs to see if any have a favorite shop. Check Yelp or Google reviews (not foolproof but can certainly be a good starting point). Ask people you see that are out riding if you think they'd be willing to talk.

billiamUK

so since this morning I want to boots and got some cold hard reality... I am 193 cm tall (6ft 4) but i weigh more than i thought I did, I'm 137Kg (21 stone and 9lb) which gives me a BMI of 36.9 suddenly I realise that I really need to do this and it's not going to be easy...

MikeRides

I'm glad you realize that's all bull****. I bought a urban/"comfort" hybrid as a temporary solution to get back into shape, mainly with the assumption I'd only be riding on a gravel towpath, little did I realize at the time how much I'd truly be riding(2000+ miles annually). My minimum distance for a real ride is now 25 miles, I'm comfortable doing up to 65 miles on this bike. I like my local bike shop but the owner can be a bit condescending sometimes, he never seems to believe I've been riding long distances on a bike "built for running short errands in town." Especially at the average speeds I manage (up to 16 mph on a 25+ mile ride). I'm convinced it's all about the engine, so long as you can spin the cranks for hours a bike no matter it's style can take you ANYWHERE. Obviously something light and more aerodynamic may be more comfortable when battling headwinds or 2000' of elevation.

ChrisZog

I figure what owners are really telling me is that "xyz bike" is ideal for "xxx" distance. So him telling me that comfort bikes are 5-10 miles is that they are made and intended for 5-10 miles. I can go farther (and did) but it will run into issues. When we did the charity ride we kept up with the pack for 25 miles. Then we hit a stiff headwind. It was our longest distance. We were in comfort bikes and used to riding as a couple at 10-11mph and had been riding with a group going 14-15mph. We fell apart and I finished about 10 minutes after all but the last couple people.

Same with my Sirrus. I'm enjoying the 20-30 distance now. I'm sure it'll take me 100 if I want it to. I would rather go over that 100 mile hurdle (and the climbing involved) in a nice endurance road bike. But when an owner says that hybrids are for 10-25, they mean that are ideal for that. Mostly these are people trying to help you while knowing very little about your habits, style, endurance, etc. So for the average person pushing 50 miles per ride, a hybrid probably is not the best place to suggest. Unless, while talking to the customer, they find out that it may be a good fit. A great owner will listen and make a suggestion with that in mind. In my case, I'd expect an owner listening to me to point me towards an endurance road bike... MAYBE a cyclocross bike (if they were at least listening to our current riding activities and maybe just assumed I'd never actually make it to that 60-100+ distance).

Or the owner wants to sell you a bike that feels good today and wants to see you back next year. In my opinion I'd rather wait and get a great bike next year and be good enough (hence the used hybrid instead of new) now and a good bike later. Thankfully local Trek shop understands that and is trying to make sure I keep enjoying riding while dropping weight. He knows he'll have an easy sale next year if I'm still riding.

ziggydcat

Hey there, fellow clides,

This is a reintroduction for me. Started this journey about 6 years ago, 100 lbs. heavier, severely diabetic (300-400 sugar levels) and immensely unhappy. Today I find myself at a still heavy for my 5'9" frame, 250 lbs., and a controlled type II diabetic! (off of most medications and controlled by diet) I have been off the site for several years but decided today that the motivation that it gave me was sorely missed.

I live in the thumb of Michigans lower peninsula and enjoy the backdrop of beautiful Lake Huron on most rides. With the combination of paved and dirt roads and trails I wanted a bike that could pull duty all around. I started with a Specialized Tricross and have moved up to a Specialized CRUX cyclocross bike and it is absolutely the best bike I have ever owned!

I was off of the bike for most of last year due to surgery and a knee issue. This last weekend I was finally able to get back in the saddle again. A 14 mile ride up M-25 on Saturday and a speedy 6 mile run along the local MUP! Let me tell you, it felt great!

jaranth

Howdy Folks!

When I was growing up, my mother cooked the best fried Southern food you could possibly dream about eating. I've struggled on and off my whole life trying to avoid the foods I love the most. Currently I'm on a pretty good streak trying to lower my weight down... and biking is the biggest part of that.

I'm sort of new to road biking, and I just recently figured out the meaning of "Clydesdale", and I suppose I am exactly that! I'm 6 foot even, and up to about a month ago I was 220+ pounds. I say a month ago, because I have already lost nine pounds (still a Clydes, but on my way!). I have a lot of questions about bikes, diet, etc. that I'll start other threads on, so I'm really glad to see this forum.

I have an old mountain bike, but recently switched to road biking because all my friends have. For my first road bike, I went against common advice and splurged on a pricey new carbon endurance bike, instead of going the cheaper route. It's a really good fit, and I love it... no regrets on the high price tag yet!

Anyway, glad to see this forum, and I'll be checking in often. Time to hit the trails again!

jaranth

ColaJacket

I'm getting back into cycling after at least 25 years without riding a bike (other than at Key West about 10 years ago). I am getting a bike for fitness and to help lose some weight.

I'm 50 yo, about 5'5" and around 250#. And even though I'm short, I've got an even shorter inseam (28"). So when I went out ro road test bikes last weekend, the pickings were kind of slim on what I got to test ride. I did get to test ride the following bikes: Trek (52 cm); Giant (52 cm); Specialized (52 cm); Cannondale (54 cm); Fuji (49/52 cm).

Of those the Trek, Specialized, and Fuji (49 cm) felt the best when riding. Since all 3 are supposed to be pretty good frames (Aluminum with Carbon Forks), it came down to what was the best component set for the money. I ended up choosing a Fuji Sportif 1.3 c - 2014. I had to order it, and it came in this past weekend. I got the bike fitted for me, and I also bought a few accessories: Giro Monza helmet; Bike Shorts; Bike Gloves (fingerless); Bottle holders (2; White w/Black Trim) and Bottles; Bike pump; and a tire fix kit (a guy at Performance helped me put it together); and Pedals;

I got the Sportif 1.3 C with an aluminum frame, because at my weight, I figure I need to shave pounds off my frame, before I worry about shaving ounces off the bicycle frame. Also, since I'm just getting back into cycling, I figure that I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between an aluminum frame and a carbon frame until I have at least a few hundred miles under me. I wanted disc brakes, because I was in a pretty bad bike vs. car accident in college, and I wanted as much braking power as I could get. I got Tiagra 10 spd components (which from what I can tell by reading up, should suit me for many years). I didn't get the clip-on/clipless pedals, because I want to get used to riding the bike a little bit before worrying about clipping in. And the whole bike (minus the accessories) was only $799. I used a 20% off coupon, so that the accessories above were only a little over $200. And I hit the Performance sale, so I'll have right at $200 in a couple of weeks that I can use on some of the things that I want (but don't need for safety), such as the clipless/clip-on pedals and shoes, a bike computer, and maybe some cycling lights as the summer starts to wane. If I get down to under 200#, I may treat myself to some regular bike shorts (lycra) and a jersey. Until then, I figure that the baggy shorts and a t-shirt will do.

I've taken the bike on 2 short rides. My apartment comples has a horseshoe shaped road around it, that is a little more hill than I realized. The whole circuit around the horseshoe and down the street (across the open end of the horseshoe) is between .5 and .6 miles. So, I've been able to do 2 laps on each ride. I'm trying to keep a cadence of around 60-70, which is a little more than I'm used to. I'm hoping to work myself up to about 5-6 laps per ride before I venture out of the apartment complex. I didn't realize how bad out of shape I was, but the 2 laps had me out of breath.

GH

iamwilco

Hi guys. I just discovered this forum (specifically this Clydes area) because I want to get into biking for health reasons and I have never been able to find a bike that could hold up under my weight; I'm 27, 6' tall, and ~330lbs.
My best friends just got road bikes so I would finally have someone to ride with, but they are both smaller people who were able to just run into the LBS and pick up a bike and go with no problems. So now I'm trying to do the research to find a suitable frame/wheel combo and built out from there. I can't afford to get a used Sequoia or the like on ebay, as my budget is closer to $500, not $2k. I really like the attitudes of all the clydes and athenas in here so I registered for an account and would love to keep up with you all over the coming years! Maybe even going on some rides or tracking through strava or what-have-you.
Thanks for being so supportive and I'll be sure to post somewhere in this area when I finally get a bike purchased/built and start riding.

- wilco

TerraCottaGamer

Welcome - let us know when you get a bike. I started out at 5'10" 375 and bought a Trek Marlin 7. Retail is around $700 or so I think. It is an MTB style. It held up with no problems whatsoever so you would be fine with it. Just about any mtb style will do you fine really. A couple of suggestions would be to get at least 32 spoke wheels and avoid full suspension. Partial/front suspension is fine. Other that than just about any mtb will work for your size as most are rated to 300#. But keep in mind that is for hard off road riding. So easy road and light trail is no issue. The downside of course is that an mtb is heavier and if you do road riding almost exclusive you will want to get slick tires instead of knobs.

Read through the forums and others will have more advice on other kinds of bikes. I think most hybrids will do fine for you too at your current size.

My thought process was get a good strong bike that will hold me and then when I work the weight off I will go in for a flash roadie.