mingsta

I have a friend at work who's 280+ lbs and 6'5, thats frickin huge by British standards, though I'll prolly get 50 guys pop up on this thread say "280 lbs, thats nothin' yer pipsqueak!"

He's looking for a new bike for commuting, up to 600 GBP, prolly equivalent to about 900 USD in real terms. He reckon's he's going to have to resort to another mountain bike as he doesn't feel that any hybrid or road bike could take his weight. The roads out here in surrey aren't exactly silky smooth either.

I'd love to prove him wrong and introduce him to the joys of a sleek road machine. His current commute is only about 6 miles, but having a proper road bike/hybrid could open up so many possibilities for longer rides. The problem is, I'm a whippet like 5'8/148lbs and haven't got a clue about whats out there in that price range for a clyde. If money were no object I could have pointed him in the direction of a custom steel or Ti number and some 36 spoke handbuilt wheels, but obviously at that price range this is not an option. Anyone got any ideas?

squeegy200

At 6'5" he's probably going to ride a frameset larger than 62-63cm. That's usually the largest production road frame offered by most manufacturers.

Regarding weight
Great article on this very subject in last month's Bicycling magazine. Its specific towards weight issue only. BUt it covers subjects such as bikes, equipment, clothing, and work out regimens.

May be of interest to you. May find some insight on gear that is specific for big riders with physiques outside of the norm.

nova

Youll want to look at the touring bikes fromt he various brands. Cannondale has alot of touring bikes for example cannondales t800
https://eddys.com/site/itemdetails.cf...=39&sort=Price
qouted from site
"The aluminum tubing in the T800's rear triangle is incredibly light and flex-resistant to withstand the stresses of fully-loaded touring."
A rider + touring related items can easly go above 200 Pounds

mingsta

Thanks, good call - I never thought of touring bikes, but it makes sense. Keep em coming! I'll also see if I can source that magazine in UK.

bob the nailer

as everyone knows your main responsibility in this, and one not to be taken lightly, is to make sure he spends more money than he can afford buying components he really doesn't need, ie dura ace instead of ultregra, etc etc etc. buck up trooper, you can do it!

nova

Other options would be a older mtb frame prior to when the geometry was alot diffrent from road bikes and convert that frame to a road bike. At his weight one thing to remember he wotn be that heavy for long. Say he looses 10 per month. In a mear 8 months hes down to a respectable 200. Even if it takes a year to drop 80 thats not all that long of a time period. So you want to help him pick out somethign he will like and enjoy today and a year or so from now. Thats why id go with the touring bike with say 700x30 or 700x35 tires. As he moves from the touring set up to a more strait road set up he can simply change out tires to the smaller tires 700x28 or 25s or what ever feels right for him.

Best of luck to you and your friend.

douchebagonwhlz

I disagree.
get on ebay and go to the 64-65 and XL frames. way more bang for the buck. and get a steel bike. once he falls in love with cycling, then destroy him financially.

MasterSezFaster

His main concern should be getting a frame large enough for him. At 280 he is not the heaviest rider but at 6'5" he will be close to the tallest. I personally know guys that are well above 300lbs on all carbon bikes and have been for years so a decent alloy frame will support him fine as long as he leaves his mountain bike style on his mountain bike .

You/he should call around the shops near you and find the largest frames you can and then go check out how they fit. He might be able to fit a 63 or he may have to get a 65. It depends on the geometry of the bike and the make up of his body, i.e. inseam length, torso length, arm length, etc. etc. etc.

Shorty

maybe a mtb with a 29" wheel if he balks at a road bike. Or a cyclocross bike.

AndrewP

Get something like a mid range Dawes Discovery hybrid (costing 400-500 pounds). Spend the balance on swapping out the wheels for ones with 30 mm deep rims and 36 spokes. Make sure the spokes are properly tensioned and stress relieved. 32 or 35 mm wide tires should handle the road cracks, and give easy cruising.

mingsta

Thanks for the input guys. After all that I spoke to him today and he's decided to renovate his current ride. But the info will come in handy should I ever end up having to buy a bike for a new girlfriend who's 6'5 and 280lbs.