seandidk

Recently decided to pick up riding hopefully again just because I want to get back into shape and enjoy life. Right now I weigh around 400 lbs and just getting tired of it. I always enjoyed riding a bike when I was a kid and haven't in a long time. I have been creeping around the forums looking at different post but I am so lost in choosing a bike. I have seen a lot of the trek bikes talked about, and the kana hoss. I am more interested into a mountain bike but just really looking for anything. I am currently 6'1" little bit tall. Tell me what y'all recommend please.

Thanks!

FrenchFit 

When I got back into riding 6 years ago I hopped on a mid-90's mountain bike, we had old Trek & Specialized MTBs. I rode the heck out of that Trek the first year, it was probably worth all of $350, less now. Now I have 8 bikes in the garage now, a couple in storage, from C&V to carbon fiber. I think starting with a bang for the buck old MTB you find on CL or eBay is a great way to get restarted, don't go spending money on something that will lose half it's value as soon as you roll out of the LBS, and your prefeences are going to change in six months anyway. You can have alot of fun on an old bike, and ticker to your hearts content. No big loss if your "hopefully" doesn't stick.

imacflyr3

Sean,
Unless you're planning to ride almost exclusively on trails, I would suggest something in the hybrid style or the cyclocross style bike over a full-on mountain bike. You'll be much more comfortable riding these on the road. I started with a cheap bike shop Schwinn hybrid. I put just under 1000 miles on that until I bought my road bike last spring.
Now, with that being said, I wanted to point out that I was in the exact same boat as you weight-wise just 2 years ago. One thing that I figured out early on is that you will never exercise your way out of a bad diet. The best thing you can do to help get your weight under control is to get your diet under control. My preference is for Weight Watchers. It's worked very well for me. Your mileage will vary. My point is, find a plan that you can stick to. Make the exercise a part of that plan.
Best of luck to you on your journey!

gh

BamaBulldawg

I'd look at a hybrid as well if your riding the roads. Where do you live? Is there a bike store in your area you could visit?

seandidk

Dallas Fort Worth area, so roads are really a no go. Parks and mountain bike courses are probably where I will be riding the most.

I am actually sort have gotten my diet under control. Biggest thing is I just moved out recently (lol I am young 20) and started eating healthier. I just dont like going to a gym and lifting weights and running on a treadmill. I have a good friend that is a room mate, hes smaller then I am but has put on the pounds and we both are starting to work out. He already has a bike and goes riding every once in a while. I am looking to get one my self just so we can go riding together and I think that would be a lot funner.

c_m_shooter

Where at in the Metromess? There is a lot of good riding on the Fort worth side of town, the roads and Trinity trails allow you to get just about anywhere by bike. There are lots of easy mountain bike trails too if you want to venture off road. Check out Dorba and the FWMBA for trail maps and conditions.

c_m_shooter

Oh yeah, here is a good start.

https://dallas.craigslist.org/mdf/bik/3481115164.html

https://dallas.craigslist.org/mdf/bik/3459213873.html

c_m_shooter

Here's another

https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/bik/3461900316.html

seandidk

North Arlington. Around DFW south side around 183.

Podagrower

If you haven't yet stumbled across Bikepedia, it's a great site to get a better idea of the value of a CL bike. I wound up buying 3 bikes for my wife and I (so far), with the intent of reselling the extra one, I bought 2 bikes from the same guy selling a set of Trek 7100s for what I was willing to pay for one. Someday I may sell it, but I don't hate having a spare bike around.

xbenedict

Oooh. That's rough. Arlington hates anyone not in an SUV.

There is the Fish Creek Trail. It's only 7 or 8 miles, and it's in SoArl, but it's paved.: https://www.traillink.com/trail/fish-creek-trail.aspx

For best results, load your bike up and come over to Ft. Worth on the weekends. The Trinity Trails will keep you busy for hours.

Definitely keep an eye on Craigslist. I've seen a ton of hybrids over the past few weeks, and there are some right there in your neck of the woods.

goldfinch

The bikes on Craigslist that cmshooter linked to are good choices. They are non-suspended mountain bikes and should be good and strong. Look for these older types of mountain bikes without suspension forks. If you are looking at new, a similiar new bike may be this Kona: https://www.konaworld.com/bike.cfm?content=unit

Put slick tires on for riding on the roads and save the knobby tires for the trail.

If you want something less mountain bike like and more of a hybrid there are also lots of choices. Like the Trek FX, the Kona Dew, the Giant Escape, the Specialized Crossroads, and many more. Again, stay away from the suspension fork.

c_m_shooter

You are close to River Legacy then. They have a paved multi use trail and a nice easy mountain bike trail there. Ihave ridden to the park from the end of the Trinity trail near Gateway park and the roads didn't seem bad.

Myosmith

Pick up a copy of this month's Bicycling magazine. There is a big section of stories about riders who lost 100-200+ pounds riding along with a whole bunch of training tips.

I wouldn't rule out older steel MTBs for a fitness/commuter. Just put on some hybrid or semi-slick road tires. My first bikes when I came back after more than 20 years were a 1990s Trek 800 and a 1990s Gian Yukon, both had 26" 36-spoke wheels. I used Bontrager H2 eco tires in a 1.5" width and rode the heck out of those bikes. Even did a couple of my first C group rides on the Yukon. A lot of people use them for touring or as their Plan B bike once they get a "real" road bike. The older MTBs are inexpensive, tough, and easy to find parts for.

xbenedict

Here's a great Trek Hybrid, for a reasonable price, even if it means driving to Mesquite.

https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/bik/3480222058.html

dexmax

I recently got back into cycling, and got a cannondale trail 7 MTB, the cheapest hardtail from cannondale.

Despite riding roadbikes before I got really big, I thought the more relaxed posture (upright) and some form of suspension would make the start comfortable for me (being nearly twice the weight as I was). I wanted to be in a relaxed position and take advantage of having more time on the bike. Comfort was of my primary concern, and the 2.1 tires can really cushion much of the bumps.

What I love about the cannondale hardtails; it is more comfortable than other hardtails bikes that I have tried recently. The LBS guy mentioned that the c'dales were more comfortable because of the "SAVE" chainstays, but I just thought it was just for marketing. So me and my friends did an experiment and put my wheelset on another hardtail (I won't mention what frame) and rode for 10+kms on the same trail.

* I am not an expert rider and cannot comment on performance and stiffness, but the c'dale felt like it had some sort of suspension at the rear. I cannot really explain, but it offered a more comfortable ride. This might be one thing to consider.

However, there were some drawbacks.
- In just a few rides, I destroyed the pedals
- I replaced it with shimano pedals, and after 400+ kms, it already has issues.
- Replaced the cranks and BB with stiffer ones, the stock one felt as it it would bend
- Replaced the handlebars, too short.
- Replaced the front forks with air forks for more comfort (but this was more of a "want" rather than a "need")
- It only came with 3x7 gears, which made transition from gear to gear (especially on the steep climbs) very hard. Went for a better groupset to get more gears (3x10).

Here's the bike.

seandidk

The Kona and the Trek FX look nice and reviews are showing great things. Next question is what is a good frame size for my height also? I am around 6'1 to 6'2.

seandidk

I have actually been out to River Legacy a couple of times. Really nice park.

seandidk

Hmm gotta look into that Bicycling magazine. Do you know what the cover has on it so I can pickup the right one? Also I really love MTB's nice solid bikes.

c_m_shooter

For road riding, you should be on the biggest frame you can stand over. For off road you want smaller, probably about a 20". Cockpit length is actually more important than the seat tube length, but for some reason the seat tube length is what is advertised.

seandidk

Okay gotcha. Now since you SORTA live close to DFW Paradise is quite far haha was wondering do you know of any bike shops around here that are good and have a good selection? I just kinda wanna go there and see what fits the best in height and what not. After I know that I am gonna start looking at craigslist more.

Also C_M_Shooter thanks for all the help and everyone else here.

c_m_shooter

For price, its hard to beat Performance. For the best service go to Colonel's. I work in Fort Worth, so I am in town every day. I ride the Trinity trail from Marine creek to Benbrook pretty regularly and the mountain bike trail at Sansom Park. Oh yeah, Paradise is actually within biking distance, I used to commute by bike a couple times a week to train when I was trying to race.

xbenedict

This month's has Patrick Dempsey on the cover.



Yeesh....I know.

You should find a local bike store. I've used Bicycles Inc. The Arlington store is located at Green Oaks and I-20. I think there is a Performance somewhere in Arlington as well.