Jphill1301

Hello all. I am brand new to the site and am seeking some advice.

A little about me: I am 6'7 and weigh in around 290 Lbs. I ride a 23" Specialized Rock Hopper with no modifications except for a bigger seat for my butt.

I am riding a lot more lately and would definitely like to continue.

Any thoughts on my current bike? Future upgrades in components?

I have noticed while riding two items that I would like to immediately address.

1. My hands keep going numb. It has already been suggested that I visit a bike shop to make sure I am properly set up. Any other suggestions?

2. While peddling I notice I am more comfortable with my feet on outside edges of peddle. This also allows my foot to role off outside of peddle which is unconfrontable and also less efficient. I assume this is because I am wider in hips than most. Any fixes for this? A bigger peddle? Not sure if I want to go with clips. FYI I wear a 15 size shoe.

Bethany

Go to your shop and get a better fit. You may need your brakes and shifters adjusted to fit the angle of your hands, handlebar width changed, grips or other modifications. I'd look at new pedals for sure. My son is a size 13 in shoes..probably a 14 now and he has really wide pedals, some cheapie white plastic ones that he paid about 15 bucks for. I'm sure they make nicer ones that are wide, but they've worked for him.

My son also has a Rockhopper. Upgrade to a better fork. You'll enjoy the ride so much more. I'm surprised Specialized put such a crappy fork on what is actually a great bike. You may want to invest in a better crankset at some point. Not sure if it's teenage abuse or just cheap, but his needs replaced after less than a year of usage. When he gets a job, he can replace it.

Jphill1301

I will definitely look into the wider peddles. Any good online resources?

What is wrong with the fork? I'm primarily a rode / lite trail rider.

The bike is probably 5 years old now but the majority of miles have definitely been put on in the last couple of months. I've started noticing "noises" I haven't heard before from the crank region but all seems functional

Mark.from.Texas

I am 6'8 with most of my height in my torso. If you're built similarly with 'normal' legs but long torso you will probably benefit from a longer stem that will put the handlebars farther away from you. My wrists ended up at an unnatural angle and only takes 10 miles or so to get that numb feeling. Some handlebar extensions or additions that allows you to move your hands around might work, too.

chefisaac

Consider pedal extenders. They are great and worked for me. I use them on my mountain bike commuter.

Jphill1301

Thanks. Was on mile 15 today and blew out! Definitely going to carry spare tubs from now on. I was looking forward to getting my first 20miler

chefisaac

ALWAYS carry a tube with you, tire levers, and air (either a pump or CO2.... or both which is what I do). You need to be prepared!

jon c. 

If you're riding knobby trail tires on the road, that greatly increases vibration which can contribute to hand numbness. Straight bars can also be a factor as you don't have the option of moving your hands around as much. I started out riding a bike set up for trail riding and had bad hand numbness within 10 or 15 miles. Change of tires and handle bars made it go away completely for me.

Wolfwerx

I am the same height as you, and a 23" bike would have me on a pretty long seat post, with a good drop to the handlebars. If you haven't built up your core strength yet, you are going to be putting all of your weight on your hands, which is going to cause numbness pretty quickly on flat bars.

Pull the stem up to it's maximum height and see if that helps the hand numbness any. If you are at your max height on the stem, you may be able to get your LBS to swap for a longer one, or you can find inexpensive ones online for under $20. As your weight drops and your strength improves, you'll probably find that you can handle leaning forward/down much more than you are currently comfortable with.

Also, I'll second the comment that if you have knobbies, you'd be happier with a more road-oriented tire.