kanyewesttx

Hello everyone!
Longtime lurker, first time poster.
I need some advice on buying a bike for exercise. The doc says i should begin exercising and change my eating habits to avoid diabetes.

I'm 5'10" / 305 lbs... 25 yrs old
I really do not have much $$ to buy a bike, but craigslist is my friend
There's a Trek 4500 for sale $265. Will this bike support me?
Or y'all can recommend any bike that might be in my spending range $500 the most most.
Thank you for ur help.

jethro56 

A 4500 should do fine. $265 seems reasonable. If you do mainly road riding it won't be your fastest choice but if your not riding now It's much faster than walking. Welcome to the herd.

bautieri

That bike will be just fine for you. Your weight won't hurt anything.

That said, budget an extra $100 for a full tune up at the shop. Make sure this tune up or overhaul includes having the wheels de-stressed and retentioned. I'm not 100% certain if the 4500 came with a lock out fork or not, it would depend on the year and if it is still stock or not. If it doesn't, you may find that the fork bobs under your weight while you pedal. This robs you of forward momentum and generally makes the suspension worthless You can solve this problem with a good lock out fork ($$$) or by replacing the fork with a suspension corrected solid fork. It will make you faster and be way less expensive.

Oh, at 5'10 you're probably going to want a bike frame size of Medium. Around a 18''. That is just a guess though, there are many online bike fit calculators. If the Trek is the wrong size, don't buy it.

kanyewesttx

Thanks gentlemen.. the advice is appreciated..

thcri

If the bike fits you and you are comfortable on it, get it. Diabetes is a "No Fun" thing. I was diagnosed just a year ago at the age of 53 and I can't imagine a person at 25 getting it and having to live with it the rest of his life. I have adjusted to it, have gotten off of all medications due to a change of eating habits and riding bike. Do yourself a favor, listen to your Doctor and start exercising now. Ride, take walks and change your eating habits. If you get diabetes the expense per year will be way over the price of that bike. A year later and after you drop 100 pounds you will be wanting another bike so don't feel like you wasted your money on this one.

Ok the fatherly figure just came out. Sorry.

kanyewesttx

ok so the Trek 4500 was sold.....
so now im looking at a Specialized Rockhopper for $250??
or a trek 7.2.fx alpha for $225
any Good?

jethro56 

Trek Fx good

gjosuem

FX would be what I would get

bikemanbob

If you are considering a new bike, Giant offers the Revel 2 for $380 (our shop sells it for 361). It has double wall rims that will support your weight. Used bikes can be great values if you can do the work yourself. If you can't, I would highly consider a new bike. New bike gives you a year warranty on parts and lifetime on the frame. The primary consideration in a new bike is the rims--are they double walled? Double walled rims provide double the strength. Also, consider the geometry of the bike. Comfort/Hybrids are more comfortable. In the Trek series, the Navigator 3.0 and 7300 will provide double walled rims but will likely exceed your price limit. You should be able to find a mountain bike within your price range that will suit your weight. Good luck in your search!

Aahzz

Giant Cypress should be about $360 new, and has double wall rims as well. Same with the Sedona. Cypress DX upgrades a lot of components and comes in at $489, so still in your "up to $500" range.

Me, I like to buy new, since I don't know enough about bike mechanics to appropriately evaluate a used bike. The LBS should give you the service that could be needed is you buy new from them.

kanyewesttx

Ok guys.. UPDATE.. my budget went up to $700.. what bike would be recomended now?
Remember 5'10" 305 lbs. Will be riding in the street.. and in the park (trails) maybe.

TysonC

While I'm not the guy to take advice from on what bike to get I will say that for your first purchase going through the LBS to get properly fitted and have some place to go if parts degrade, tune up time, etc where you have established a relationship is pretty important. Therefore, Craigslist just aint the best place to look.

I'd say take your $700 budget and add some for protective gear/accessories, put that to the side. Check out a few LBS' and see who you like talking to, who would you want to buy from. Check out the bikes and ask questions about fit and function. You'll know when its right.

bautieri

I'd look for a Trek 7.2 FX https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/bike_path/fx/72fx/ and put your left over money towards a better rear wheel should you find you're breaking spokes. If the $700 dollar budget was for the bike alone, then grab the 7.3.

Either way, keep some money available in case you need a better rear wheel built up like a 36 spoke Velocity deep V.

kanyewesttx

so visited 2 bike shops today. one was selling me Giant and Specialized... the other Trek.
so the employees told me the 17.5" 29er was what i should be looking for...
i told them about me wanting the wheels to be double wall and have 36 h (spokes).. and these were their recommendations...

Trek - Marlin 29er
Specialized - Hardrock Disc 29er
- Rockhopper
Giant - his store didnt have the one he wanted to show me (which were the Boulder and Revel)
so he didn't tell me about them.

so what do u guys think??

bassjones

standard answer... ride them all and buy the one you like best.

exile

Pretty much sums up my sentiment.

What you want is a bike that fits and you enjoy riding. You won't know it fits until you go for a test ride and see how it feels. You won't know you will enjoy riding it until you go out for a ride. You probably won't enjoy riding a bike if it doesn't fit.

We can only give you estimates on bike sizes. At 5'10 you are looking at mountain bikes 18 - 20 inches or road bikes 56 - 60 cm. For example i'm 5'9 and ride a 19" hardtail and 54cm touring bike (sized small). You could probably go +/- 2 on those sizes.

Big Boy

Yes, I have a late model Trek FX7.2 for my work commuter and it holds up to my weight just fine. And I weight 320. Look on Craigslist, I picked this bike up along with an old (but ridable) Miyata 610 both for $200.

c_m_shooter

You said you were going to be riding mostly streets, but all the bikes you listed are mountain bikes with suspension. Suspension just slows you down on the road, and at your weight wouldn't help any off road. You should be looking at a road based hybrid, something more like this.

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...t_city/monona/

bassjones

Don't neglect the Cannondale Bad Boy... I may be buying one to use as a winter/bad weather commuter by late fall this year. The basic, non-suspension version should be available in your price range.

Nightshade

I'll suggest that you keep looking for two reasons. The wheels are 32 spoke count and the front fork is a shock fork. The spoke count for a heavy person should be no less than 36 spokes per wheel and the front fork should be a simple rigid fork. You'll get better service with less repairs if you look for a bike with those features.

Arvadaman

Maybe a Giant Seek 2?

Arvadaman

Or maybe a Gary Fisher (Trek) PDX? Or a Wingra?

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/urban/pdx/pdx

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...t_city/wingra/

motobecane69

Sorry, but I got a giant last year with the "double wall rims" and 8 months later the rear was being replaced under warranty because the rim was cracking at the eyelets. the good news was that the wheels didn't have any problems with staying true but I was also no more than 250lbs on that bike and was usually closer to 235. at 300+ lbs wheels are gonna be a major issue on just about anything.

I also agree, stay away from the mtb's. suspension fork is just gonna add more weight on to the bike and be relatively useless and your gonna be riding the bike on the street so that stuff is gonna slow you down and take some of the fun away from riding

kanyewesttx

Update...
i have a bigger budget $1000 ... im impressed i raised this money in 2 days... i u can read in the OP i started put with $300 or so.

Today i went to 3 more shops.. one recomended the Jamis Komodo the other a no big name brand but with pretty much alot of the same components as the trek and giant.. and at the last shop they talked to me about the Marin and an KHC i think. They were all within my price range because I have a bit more money now. None came with 36h rims, but they were double wall. Some were 29ers and others were 26ers.... Now i dont know if i should go 29er or 26er.. i rode them all(except for the jamis komodo) but i dont know why the only one i can remember feeling good was the trek marlin... but it was probably because it was the first one i tried.

Now that the budget is higher and the indecision of 29er vs 26er... I need help again..
Sorry for the long post..

Sent from my EvoKneivel

Aahzz

If the Trek Marlin is the one that felt good, that's what you should buy.