RAsplundJr

Last time I had a bike I was in my mid to late teens, but even then I weighed so much that I bent my rims out of round, and I stopped. Then my weight REALLY soared.
At my largest I was over 500 lbs. I managed to get it down tot he low 400s and before a knee injure last fall I was at 438. After my knee surgery I had gotten down to 427 when I started weight watchers and now down to 405. For years I've been wanting to get back into riding a bike. But I keep remembering the issue I had when I was still a fair deal lighter than I am now. I've seen bikes that claim to hold 400 to 500 lbs but they generally run a grand a pop. Being married with kids and a mortgage I can't really afford to drop a grand on a bike.

In my search for biking for the obese I came across a link to a post on this forum and figured what the hell. What have I got to lose to ask others that are or were in my same conundrum for advice.

I loved riding a bike when I was younger, and my youngest (7) enjoys riding herself, and I figure it's something else I can do to spend time with my child that isn't a video game. Currently I'm 6'4" and 405 lbs looking to find an affordable bike even if I have to buy parts and build the thing myself.

I beg you obi wan you're my only... wait wrong forum.... eh screw it close enough...

BigMo59

Trek makes a bike called Shift 4 that is "built up" to handle heavy riders. I have one and it seems to be fine. I started at 350 and now 290. The bike is rated at 350# but it' pretty hefty built. It list for $709. If that's out of your price range, most here would recommend finding an older mountain bike with a steel frame. That would probably be a good way to go also but wheels may be a problem. Good luck to ya! It sounds like your on the right track.

Willbird

I remember wayyyyy back in 1992 I bought a new Road Bike, I was like 200ish...they were like WHOOAAA there your gonna have problems being THAT heavy.

The Bike was a Bianchi Premio, and it had 32 spoke wheels, but probably only single wall wheels. I did break some rear spokes and they re spoked it with DB spokes and I was fine.

They make a LOT better wheels today....and they have double wall rims. I started at 280 with a Trek hybrid that has 32 spoke wheels and never had an issue.

I cannot speak to experience at your weight but others will no doubt....I can speak to the facts that if you log your intake, and ride every day, amazing things will happen :-).

Bill

jimmie65

I was nearly 300 when I started riding and had no problems with a older Giant Iguana I grabbed off Craigslist or with a Trek 7200 (again, off Craigslist). My budget was far lower than $1000, so it took me a while to find something that I felt comfortable with.
Give Craigslist a try and look for a heavier hybrid or a hardtail (no suspension) mountain bike from Giant, Trek, or Specialized.

Willbird

Yep my Trek is a 7200 :-).....that frame is one stiff *** brute of a thing :-).

ColaJacket

What is your budget? We might be able to point you to a bike, if you let us know that.

Also, what is your inseam? That is often as important as your total height.

Are you just going to be riding the bike on roads or paved MUP/MUTs? Gravel Paths? Dirt paths for mountain biking?

GH

PhotoJoe 

Hey, whatever it takes to lure you in, we're glad you're here! This forum is an extremely tight-knit group and you'll find a lot of encouragement here to help you on your journey!

I love riding with my wife and daughter. Those times are not as frequent as I'd like, but when they happen, they're priceless!


Yah, you'll fit in fine here!

PhotoJoe 

If you search Craigslist, I highly recommend SearchTempest: Search all of Craigslist nationwide & more. It will allow a single search of as many individual CL areas as you choose.

Too bad this isn't larger - it would be an excellent choice.

Specialized Rockhopper

MikeRides

Got a budget? Here's my suggestion:

Find a <$200 secondhand mountain bike w/rigid fork. Take to a local bike shop for a tune up and prepare to spend about $500 on strong wheels. If you're handy, you may be able to save some $$ on labor.

In the meantime, you can get started by walking and keeping track of what you eat (others on this subforum can steer you towards good software to use).

Good luck!

ChrisZog

A sturdy, steel rigid fork mountain bike with really heavy tires is a good start. You may even have one lying around in the garage (mine came from a garage sale that mother in law went to probably 20 years ago... she gave the wife and I 2 bikes when we got married and moved to Arizona. 10 years later, we busted the bikes out and started riding. A little tuneup and a new tire and I was good to go at probably 360lbs).

Trek Shift 4 is a nice sturdy bike with a suggested weight limit of 350 lbs. I rode it hard and often in the mid 300s and never had any issues. I barely finished a 28 mile ride with that bike before retiring it. If you have the money to buy a new bike it is a great ride but expect to spend around $600-800 after tax if you go new.

As your fitness increases you may want something more agile. My next step was a "fitness bike". These are straight bar road bikes. Basically hybrids with a more aggressive position, a bit narrower tires (mine is 32c tires), and probably 3 ring gearing. At this stage I went second hand since after outgrowing the shift I knew that I caught the cycling bug and would eventually want a road bike. No point in buying a new temporary bike again.

When your weight dips below 300 lbs (or you just jump the *** a bit early if you want to be a cautious rider, ready for some minor repairs, or have custom wheels built) you can go for a road bike. I'm 319 right now and am weeks from pulling the trigger on a Trek Domane 5.2. The suggested weight limit is 275 so I'm expecting to have to continue being cautious and would not be surprised to have to replace some spokes, do some truing, or maybe even replace a wheel. LBS includes a pretty nice repair package with bike purchases and the owner has been good to me this year. So I'm willing to go 10%-15% over the suggested weight limit because I'd love to ride the bike (did some test riding already and I cried when I had to go back to my Sirrus). If you cannot afford repairs just wait a bit longer. Somewhere around 240-275 (depending on the bike) you'll comfortably be able to ride a full carbon frame road bike. Personally I prefer endurance geometry (Trek Domane, Giant Defy, Specialized Roubaix, etc) because I can handle riding on the hoods easily now and can even handle a little time in the drops. When I want more aggression I'll make a few changes in the stem/bars.


--

If I started all over again my progression would be:

Starting weight: Nice sturdy mountain bike
300-350: Get a fitness bike like a Trek FX or Specialized Sirrus used. Can put a couple hundred dollars in a sturdy wheelset if needed. Shift was a nice bike but $700 for something I outgrew in 4 months was hard. At least I was able to pass it along to someone else trying to get fit and get most of my money back.
250-300: Time to support my local bike shop. Buy my road bike.

In the future I also plan to buy a touring bike. They are steel and pretty sturdy. So you could always get a touring bike instead of that fitness bike if you think you may like multi-day bike trips. Trek 520, Kona Sutra, Surly Long Haul Trucker have drop bars so they should also be good "practice" for a road bike.

RAsplundJr

Walking is part of my daily routine, taking the stairs between floors in the office, I'm logging my food (90% of the time OT makes it hard sometimes to remember to put everything down) I just had fond memories of getting on a bike with my walkman cassette player and just blowing an afternoon riding aimlessly.

Inseam is 31"

Budget right now is maybe $500ish but I'm working a crap ton of OT so I might be able to squirrel away a couple hundred more. For now I plan on mostly riding on street though the conditions of the roads around my house it will be more like a trail and some of the roads are not paved so prolly looking for a mountain or trail bike.

My Wife's uncle repairs bikes on the side so I can likely get him to help once I have an idea of what I'm looking for. Which reminds me I need to get hers, and our daughters' bikes over to him for him to tune up.

Willbird

I started out walking, but I spend my day at work on my feet , and up and down stairs, my right knee started to hurt, that got me back into bicycling.

Just my .02 but I'd never wear headphones riding, walking or running, too dangerous.

I'd bet you can find something within your budget, I'm 31ish inseam and I ride a 54 size road bike to give you a rough idea. It is worth shopping your local bike shops to see who sells what. There is a nice shop near Mishewaka called spin zone cycling, technically grainger, in maybe ? You can google them up, they sell Felt, and cannondale at least, their webpage kinda sucks, does not do the store justice at all. They offer a free guru fit for life if you buy a bike there.

If your a cyclist all we need to do is get you on a bike you can ride, then nobody can stop you :-)

Willbird

Spin Zone Cycling Outfitters in Granger, Indiana - Lifetime Free Adjustments and On-The-Spot Service

I guess they sell Giant too. I bought my resistance rollers there, nice folks. It is Granger not Grainger

Ayers

As You can tell by my join date and post count I'm pretty much a lurker, but this thread makes me want to pipe in with a few words.

By reading between the lines of your posts it sounds like you're the primary bread winner and also a father. Use that as motivation. That kid needs you. Your wife needs you. The human body is resilient to a point but excess weight will eventually take its toll and bring your health down (I've been a paramedic nearly forever and have seen many times the effects of excess weight in patients). Do something, whether walking, elliptical, cycling, anything. Just work your ass off to shed some weight so you can keep your health and be there for your family. Anything is better than nothing. I read a phrase in here somewhere that goes "No matter how slow you're going, you're still lapping those guys sitting on the couch". That phrase carried me for a lot of miles and hours of suffering and sweating. I've been there as a full blown Clyde when I started. At the rate I'm progressing I'm soon to be a sub Clyde but believe me I have worn those shoes and know how hard it is to keep the course of reinventing yourself as a more fit person.

ColaJacket

My advice would be to keep your budget around $500, and save the OT money for when you need to upgrade, or if you need new wheels. Or get the rest of the family into cycling. Set a goal for a certain weight, to get a more agile bike. Also, as you bike more, you'll have a better idea of bikes, and you can start looking at CL for a (used) new to you bike.

There's a thread on what SuperClydes are riding, so you might want to look at that thread to see what other people are riding. I weigh ~250#, and I'm riding a Fuji Sportif (endurance road bike). It has 28mm wheels with 28/32 spoke count.

GH

RAsplundJr

Everyone has a bike but me. I've been a little *** shy about bikes since my late teens from bending my wheels out of round (I'm 42 now) but my teen and wife aren't that jazzed about riding I figure if I can get something that works for me I can get them out more plus I loved riding as a kid ... A lot of the lingo is lost on me as I'm just getting back into learning about bikes

ColaJacket

I found this site very valuable in my research. Sheldon Brown's Articles for Beginners.

GH

JamesRL

Its never too late to start. I ride sometimes with some seniors who got back into riding only after a heart attack. Don't wait that long.

Lots of good advice already, get a decent used mountain bike and replace the knobby tires with smooth tires. Keep the tires pumped towards the high side of the recommended pressure. Don't jump curbs. Get a good pump and keep the pressure high.

I'm a lower weight Clyde (225) and I ride a road bike. I did switch out from 23 mm tires to 25 and it helped me. And buying a quality pump helped me avoid the pinch flats I got on occasion. Keep your eyes open for someone selling beefier wheels.

FBinNY 

IMO - the best choices for very heavy riders is a decent (not very pricey) non-suspension mtn bike. I'm not talking about a department store look alike, but one that was made for actually riding on dirt and rocks.

I don't track current offerings, and getting decent mtn bikes without a supension fork is getting harder. The reason I argue against s suspension fork, is price and quality. Decent forks aren't cheap, and they push the price of the bike up, or need to be offset with cheaper stuff elsewhere (or both). And cheap suspension forks are often the first thing to go on a low to mid level mtn bike.

If there's a co-op around, or you have a knowledgeable friend, you can get the best quality/price value in a good used bike. Unlike higher end bikes that are generally well ridden, many mid level bikes are bought by people who used them a few times before deciding bicycling wasn't for them, and sat around collecting dust after that.

Good luck, and best wishes for success on your weight loss program. Many of the folks here have enjoyed tremendous weight losses, and can be an inspiration and comfort to you as you start this journey. But keep in mind, that just as dieting alone is a hard way to lose weight, exercise or cycling alone doesn't work well. You have to attack this at both ends, burning more calories, while at the same time reducing the intake. This push/pull approach is what works best.

bassjones

You're about the same size I am and the same inseam (I'm 6'5" with a 32-33" inseam), started at 425 and am currently 295 and falling. Road bike, figure about a 60cm frame bike, and a wheelset. You can find used bikes in your price range and get a decent wheelset for $300 or so. Wheels are REALLY important at your weight. 32 spoke MINIMUM, preferably 36 or even 40 (with 40, you're pretty limited on hub choices though). If you can find a bike for $400 or so and start riding while you save for wheels, that'd be ideal. The wheels won't blow up right away, but they won't hold up forever. Hybrid, you'll want to look for an XL/XXL or 22.5-25" frame.

You CAN do this!!!

quicktrigger

Not sure exactly what you mean by out of round, but all wheels have to be adjusted from time to time. Comes with the business.

Little Darwin

I broke wheels, axles, frames and other components in my teens when I weighed 150 pounds or less.

I have been riding for 10 years at more than 300 pounds, and broken one spoke, and have gone through a few sets of pedals, and tires. I weighed about 365 when I got back into riding.

You need to get a strong bike and wheels, but if you stay away from hopping curbs and doing stupid stuff until you get down to a more suitable riding weight, you can do pretty well.

I bought a Giant Sedona DX in 2003 and put several thousand miles on it, and broke one spoke, and replaced the pedals when they got too slick from being worn out. I did upgrade the fork to rigid, and tweaked a few other components, but for comfort, not strength.

I would suggest a vintage hard tail mountain bike (as others have mentioned). Have the wheels trued and tensioned to help them hold your weight, and ride them for however long they last. A $400 set of wheels is not unheard of, and is what I paid for a mountain bike I am building... If you are serious and lose weight, the bike will be under less and less stress as you increase your mileage. 26" wheels are stronger than larger wheels, due to the physics. And this is the common size on the old steel mountain bikes.

I will keep my eyes open for you to help find potential bikes.

Cheese Head

I'm not sure where in NW Indiana you are located. But doing a quick search of Chicago's CL (many options in the Chicago area) below would be a great starter bike without breaking the bank. Allowing you to get other accessories like riding clothes, helmet, lights, water bottles, pedals and shoes (if wanted) ect.

The Specialized Sirrus has 32 spoke double walled rims. I would bring this to your uncle have him give it a tuneup, check the true of the rims and spoke tension. And ride it. As lond as you are not curb jumping/hitting pot holes you should be fine. If for whatever reason you damage a rim (which will most likely be the rear) then you still have saved enough $$ to afford an upgraded rim.

Good luck on your search and weight loss journey. Many if not all of us here have and are going through the same trials and tribulations as you. So feel free to ask for any advice on exercise diet or whatever.

Specialized Sirrus

Specialized Bicycle Components

Judi

I was riding when I was over 400lbs. You need to put thicker tubes in your tires (I use the ones with the goo inside to prevent flats) and check your tire pressure every time you ride. I still managed to break the rear axle on my bike, even though I never rode off curbs or over big bumps or on unpaved surfaces. But I just got it fixed and kept going.

A couple of things: ride your bike for fun, change your diet for weight loss. And most of us don't get over 400lbs without some underlying medical condition that makes the body hold on to excess weight, so see your doctor and have a checkup to see if there's anything you can do to make your body work better.

ChrisZog

I've been riding a 2005 Sirrus Elite and love the bike (at least I did until test riding some CF road bikes but that is a different matter). I did brake some spokes on the stock wheels but it is a 10 year old bike. Probably in the previous owner's garage for years and got a bit brittle due to Phoenix summer heat. And only broke when I hit a couple potholes on a group ride that the guy in front of me didn't point out. That was at about 330lbs. Probably a good 40-50 lbs above suggested weight limit. It is a tough old bike. At 400+ I'd probably get some custom wheels ready though.