WonkerJaw

Hi guys,
I did search for my answer for a little bit but did not find what I was looking for... So I'll just ask for opinions.

Right now I'm just a under 300lbs. My fighting weight is around 245 (where I stay normally). And my goal is anything under 220. Yeah, I checked out for a while and pack it on. But that's for a different thread.

I have a Marin Verona (w/105 group). I got it when I was 220-225lbs. The Verona has a triple-butted-aluminum frame with carbon fork and seatstays. I do not wish to damage it or me for that matter.

How much weight should I drop before trying to ride it again?

Thanks

DieselDan

Do you have 36 spoke wheels on the Marin? If so, go ride.

kandnhome

I wouldn't go taking it off curbs and drops like it's a dj/park bike, but stick to the smooth stuff and you should be fine, even if your wheels are 32 spoke.

I'm 235 (down from 250ish a year or two ago -- actually went down to 210 then back up thanks to studying for the bar -- but I passed!) and take some pretty serious terrain on my mountain bike with 32-spoke rims, and have yet to need to true them in the year I've had them. My road bike has 36-spoke wheels and needs more frequent truing, but they occasionally have to go up/down curbs (Arkansas drivers + Arkansas roads = occasional emergency exits).

But the point is, bikes aren't made of foil. Even carbon has some pretty substantial strength. If it could take you at 225 going off a curb it can certainly handle you at 300 sticking to the smooth stuff.

Turboem1

Just go for it. It will be worth it and will speed up the weight loss. I started at 280 on 20/24 spoke wheels and was fine.

WonkerJaw

Maybe I should have clarified things a little more... the Marin Verona is a road bike. My spoke count is 20 in the back and 16 up front. No curb jumping on this bike.

Thanks

Terrierman

Ride the bike. If and when you start breaking spokes, get some better wheels with a higher spoke count.

jaxgtr

I started riding on Bontrager Race Lights wheels when I was 330 and they have held up well. They are 20/24. I am presently 295. I don't think I would ride those at 300. I nervous enough on mine and on some longer rides I will use a 32 spoke set I have.

Kid-Cycle

I am in total agreement with Terrierman. I've been through this with low count bladed spoke wheels and they were fine for about 2k miles. I broke a spoke and had it replaced under warrenty and then more spokes started to pop. After surfing this site I went with a Mavic Open Pro rim laced with 32 spokes and have not had any problems since.

If you are worried about the integrity of the frame you should not be concerned. The carbon fork and stays are very strong. I ride an all carbon frame. When I first road my bike I was very hesitant because of the light weight which I equated with being 'weak'. After my few few rides I no longer think about the integrity of the frame or forks failing.

When and if a spoke pops you are not looking at a catastrophic failure. I recommend riding what you have and if the wheels cause you problems or concern then change them out. Don't worry about your frame.
My $0.02

WonkerJaw

Looks like I got some misleading info from some skinny-minnies. They made it sound as if when the bike fails... it will be catastrophic. I actually did not do a charity ride because I did not think I could ride my big heavy mt. bike 40 miles.

It's not my only bike so I am riding. My wife just got a new road bike. If she drops me while I'm on the mtb then I'll climb back on the stallion. Until then... I'll drop a few pounds just so I don't have to fix or buy new wheels.

Thanks everyone!

jaxgtr

It's always nice to have an extra set of wheels in case something goes wrong with your primary wheels. I found some on Craig's List several months ago to use as back up and recently got rid of them as my Specialized came with a set of Mavic Open Pro's. So I have been riding both my Bonty Race Lites and the Mavic to see which I like better and I am leaning to the Mavic.

Neil_B

You'll find a lot of that. It's amazing that in a society in which the media screams about an obesity crisis there are so many people that try to prevent fat people from exercising. Or bike riding, for that matter.

Terrierman

That's just wierd isn't it?

Neil_B

Yes. I have a couple of personal examples. I get stares when I wear a bike jersey and shorts in a public place. Even some cyclists have given me odd looks - but perhaps it's the scoliosis they are eying, and not my bulk. A female cycling friend told me to "put some clothes on" once, even though I'm only 20 or so pounds heavier than one of her regular riding partners.

Some of it may be the desire to classify fat people as "victims." Doing so allows you to put them into a neat little box and makes you feel better while you do it. Once you are in the box, you are supposed to stay there. I've lost 137 pounds and at least one friendship through exercise - the friendship disappeared when my helplessness did.

"Victim." What an ugly word. When I was 385 pounds I was only the victim of my own actions. Not anyone else's. And I'm not a victim now.

ScrubJ

Wonderful post! Thank you.

Keith

Neil_B

You might enjoy this as well:

https://historian2wheels.blogspot.com...-you-keep.html

Last year a monument to human gullibility was published. Rhonda Byrne's silly nonsense tome The Secret made the best seller lists and proved once again that no one ever lost money underestimating the intelligence of the American public. The book, which I have not read, discusses a allegedly universal "law of attraction" and how the power of thinking positive thoughts makes them happen for you. (It sounds like US policy in Iraq.) An excerpt of the book is available online, and in it Ms. Byrne gives advice on weight loss:

"Make it your intention to look for, admire, and inwardly praise people with your idea of perfect-weight bodies. Seek them out and as you admire them and feel the feelings of that-you are summoning it to you. If you see people who are overweight, do not observe them, but immediately switch your mind to the picture of you in your perfect body and feel it."

If this is so, perhaps you shouldn't read this blog. But while Ms. Byrne's book is bound snake oil, there is a point buried under the bunkum. Weight loss is about changing the associations you have with food, but also with people. Some of my friends with weight problems I don't see as often because I no longer do what fat people do - watch TV and eat to excess. I don't have the time, and I don't have the interest. I turned down an invitation to a Christmas party last year simply because I didn't want to be in an environment that encouraged gluttony. I could have resisted the excess food and drink, but I didn't want to look at it, and the gluttons who consumed it.

I'm not the only one reevaluating a friendship during my metamorphosis. I've lost at least one friendship as a result of the weight loss. As far as I can tell, my former friend, very fit for his age, was used to me being 385 pounds and not very active or able. Once I began to lose weight our friendship became strained. He no longer returns my emails or phone calls. It's been suggested that the friendship was based on my weakness; in other words, I made my former friend look better, stronger, healthier in comparison to me, and that as I improved, nothing was left to sustain the friendship.

There's another factor at play here, one common to the 'super obese.' You have to get used to people liking you for you, and stop assuming that friendship is being motivated by pity or charity. My friend "Miranda" has observed that my disposition is greatly improved from my 385 pound days. Aside from the fact I feel much better physically, I no longer question if friendships are motivated by any factor other than common interests and the strange undefinable magic that governs friendship. Weight loss is more than losing weight, it's gaining self-worth.

Wheels keep turning. Exercise, and bicycling, are bringing me new friendships to replace old ones, bringing me in contact with fit, and fitter, people than myself. And these people seem to be accepting me. Since people, despite the claims of some, are social creatures and mirror others, I am changing myself by looking at fit people and not looking at fat people. Not for Ms. Byrne's stated reason, of course.

WonkerJaw

Wow... What a turn from where this thread started. I agree with what The Historian is saying. The glass is always half empty when it's not your own.

I say... Keep on Spinning!