Thanks C! Seems like you described my diet quite well (minus the beer I can't drink anymore)! :D

Welcome Nikon Fan! Same for me with Nikon's.... as for riding I started this spring, over 400 lbs and I'm thinking around the 430 mark. I lost pretty fast riding and dieting using sparkpeople "dot" com and keeping within my "lose weight with no activity". Adding activity (riding) and not collecting the extra calories I lost quick, but then stopped losing for almost a month. I'm pretty sure I held the same weight from building muscle that I'd lost, after around a month I'm losing again.

My name is Rich and I am a Clyde. I will always be a Clyde, and never want to be anything more than a Clyde. 6-5 270ish and shrinking. Looking to get back to 230ish. My goal is to ride a century within the year, or early next year. Learning lots, and keeping my eyes an ears open to all this stuff.

I have weighed as much as 330. I gave up sweets, candy, most things with processed sugar 11 years ago at age 46. I lost about 85 pounds. I am usually about 250 in the biking season but have trouble in the winter and put on 20-25.

hey, buddy...a shout out from a fellow Nikon fan. You've got some cool bikes. I was like you and couldn't lose much weight, then I started using the Lose-it app. What an eye opener, now I know what I am eating and the weight started coming off.
Hang in there and ride on

Keith

6'1", 350#. Just starting to shop for a bike. I posted a full intro here:

Pre-Newbie Clydesdale just starting to shop around in Alexandria, VA

I'm 6'8", about 205 lb. Barely a "Clydesdale" by weight standards...but I feel handicapped by virtue of my height, with regard to the mainstream gear.

Got serious about cycling roughly 3 years ago after moving to Colorado.

Most of my issues relate to equipment...or more precisely, the lack thereof. It is very difficult to find a light, well-fitting, non-custom bike when you are taller than 6'5".

I rolled on my first organized ride on a 57 cm(!!!), 2001 Trek 7500 FX hybrid...with aerobars(!!!). Went on to buy a 62 cm Trek entry level Aluminum road bike, which was a step in the right direction, but still doesn't fit very well. This year, I bought a KHS Flite 747 3XL -- great fitting frame, but man, is it HEAVY (29 lb!!!). Incidentally, I'm selling that bike now (2015 KHS Flite 747 3XL 67cm Tall Est Production Road Bike Retail $1900 | eBay)

I'm likely to start racing either this year or next, and getting a decent bike is of paramount importance. If anyone has recommendations for road bikes that are larger than 65 cm, please let me know.

Morgan

I was here to introduce myself (which I will get to later) when I saw morgan's (mpbro) post. I'm 6'5" which in my family makes me the short one. Both my dad(living) and uncle(deceased) were(are) 6'8". My uncle was big into biking, and I remember his stories about how hard it was to find both bikes and components. He did have some custom built, assembled a few of his own, and bought a few off the rack. Trek was sometimes an option depending on the frame geometry. From this and my own experience I understand where you are coming from. I have two suggestions.

1) figure out where your length is and look at the whole frame geometry not just the size. Example my 6'5" height doesn't really come from my legs, I only a 35" inseam, but I have a long torso and average length arms so in looking for a frame I am interested in not just the size (seat tube length) but also the top tube length and reach, and the ratio of top tube to seat tube length. This can vary between models from the same manufacturer and between manufacturers.
2) look at a surly (they offer up to a 64cm on most frames) or a soma (I think the have a 66cm frame size)

-DarthMonkey

Allow myself to introduce myself.

I'm a 6'5" Clyde who got back on the bike in May for the first time in over 5 years. I had started a diet and gym regimen in April and after a few weeks hit a weight loss plateau, so I fixed up my bike and I worked up my endurance and earlier this month did an organised 40 mile ride. I have broken through the plateau and am now down to 342 pounds, and am continuing to lose more.

I'm currently riding a 1999 Trek 830 Aluminum, and have set a reward of a new bike once stay below 330 for a week. That will hopefully be in September and line up well with the fall bike sales.

Hello everyone....

So glad I found this forum and a group of people who can relate to being a larger person riding a bicycle. I purchased my first bike, Norco Rideau Hybrid, when I was 350 lbs in the summer of 2012. This was after I had already lost 80 lbs starting at the beginning of the year. Had some pretty serious health issues because of my weight and had to find some exercise that I enjoyed doing to keep me at it. I know weigh in at about 250 lbs, give or take a bit, and tend to be right around that weight and my height is 6 feet.

I first got into mountain biking with two 29ers that I own but found that I was crashing too much and getting hurt. Learning to ride single-track is not easy when you are still pretty heavy as around where I live there are not very many beginner type trails. So I started riding on double-tracks and local community trails that are packed dirt and crusher stone. I found that I really enjoyed this type of riding and from there started heading out onto the road and replaced my Kenda Small Block 8 tires with some Maxxis Treadlite on my 29er just to make the ride a little easier. But soon found that I needed a different bike, so I purchased the Giant Anyroad Comax (Gravel Grinder) and fell in love with it. I now have gravel grinder type tires and also a set of road tires and it seems that I have turned more into a roadie. I got myself a Garmin 810 edge, setup my Anyroad for the road and now try to get out every few days and do 40 to 60km. Longest ride I have done is a 78km ride about three weeks ago.

So that's my story and I look forward to reading and posting in this forum.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=467800

Hi, I'm Wesley and I like to ride for the fun and fitness of it. I'm currently 295 @ 6'0.5" down from 314 in May.
I have been commuting via cycle once a week since the middle of May (16 Miles each way).
I have a habit of breaking spokes on rear wheels and wearing out chains.

I recently broke 3 spokes on the back of my Northrock XC6 [Costco-Cheap-O 26"] and am now borrowing the bike at the end of my signature by a local friend that referred me to this site.

I am a father of 2 young boys (3yr, 9mo) that I want to be healthier for. I am hoping to save up money to buy my first bike store bike sometime next year and I will likely be looking for advice and creative ways to stay within a reasonable budget.

Welcome Wesley, and well done on your commute. I've done similar myself and it's a great way to start a workday.
2 Things I'd recommend:
Rather than One Big Day during the week for your exercise, it's more productive to spread out lesser sessions throughout the week to keep the momentum going. You must be and maybe not mentioned(?) in order to complete your commute without being totally wiped out.

While you do have a Cheapo bicycle :notamused: it's still worth knowing how to fix and maintain it to make yourself self-sufficient. These skills apply to most any other bike. It's very common for department store bikes to be poorly assembled and wheels are no exception.

Sheldon Brown's website is the definitive source for bike service for the both technical and "normal" people.

In the case of your broken spokes, get a local shop to fix it once and give you some extra spokes of the correct length for future issues. Then understand that (arguably) most spoke failures are due to uneven tension. This is easily checked by simply plucking each as you might a guitar string and listening to the tone. On a rear wheel it will be different for each side since you'll notice the spokes on the freewheel (gear) side are shorter and will be tighter (and their sound higher) than those on the non-geared side. But all spokes on one side should be similar in tone. Even after you get the bike back from the shop you should check this. I've built most of my own wheels (and many, many others for other folks), but the one time I had a shop build one up for me, a high-end shop building a competition-level wheel, they really blew balancing the tensions. Again, Sheldon Brown's site can provide more detail on this.

Anyway, well done on your efforts and keep on rolling!

C.

Greetings Ph4r from another recent arrival.

Totally agree with ChuckD that you it is worth your time to learn how to do a lot of the common fixes yourself. The people on this forum are really good at helping you out and pointing to good resources (like ChuckD's pointing out sheldon brown). I just wanted to pass along some advice I have gotten on here that while a good 32 spoke rear wheel should hold up, more spokes (like 36) are better. Unfortunately it sounds like your rear wheel isn't "good". If you have a good shop ask about just replacing the rear wheel, or look into doing it yourself (I think it is a great way to learn).

Glad to have you here

-DarthMonkey

I currently have 32 Spoke Wheels on this bike, and have added the idea of a 36 spoke (at least rear) to the list of wants for my next bike.

-Mechanical Disc Brakes
-700c with ability to run from 1~1.5" tires
-Drop Bars with Brifters
-Cheater Brake Handle
-Strong Frame (ChroMoly or similar) Sized to me (not one-size dept store bike)
-Straight Fork (As light as I can afford)
-Fully Enclosed Cables
-Quality Drivetrain (Best I can afford)
-Ability for a rear supported rack

I'm thinking this puts me in a CycloCross or Touring Bike, The Touring Bikes look neater, but I hate that most I've seen online have bar end shifters.

I do what I can to squeeze in another weekly ride or two, but time with my family is a premium and I almost never get Wifey out on a bike. I sometimes tow my kids around in a trailer, but not that often as I end up in lower gears and I'm trying to burn more than I am trying to build. I also have asthma and other breathing problems which makes this balance difficult.

I wish this site allowed me to put my Strava link in my profile or signature: https://www.strava.com/athletes/2645961

If you are interested in the Cyclocross option. I started a thread about looking for one to supplement my mountain bike. Some good suggestions on there.

http://www.bikeforums.net/clydesdale...ons-cylde.html

I have a Fuji Sportif 1.3C - 2014, and it meets most of your specifications.

GH

Hi, I am Rick. I live in the mountains of Northcentral PA

I got into cycling about 6 weeks ago at the request of some friends who are avid riders. I was reluctant at first since I am a Clydesdale (6', 275lb), but once I started I am hooked.
Purchased a Specialized Diverge A1 Sport recently and love it. Most of my riding is road and rails-to-trails. My biggest obstacle to riding is time, working full time 50+hrs a week and every other weekend. I am riding 50-60miles per week and hope to increase from there.

My biggest angst is these damn mountains I live in. I have a whole new appreciation for gravity. I live on the top of a mountain so any ride starting at home ends with a steep climb and just about any road has some serious climbing (other than the rails to trails). I getting up further each ride but still walking to the top of the steepest.

My bike has a 50/34 crank and a 11-32 cassette. I was thinking of getting a larger "granny gear" to help with the hills. Would going from a 32 to a 40 tooth big gear make that much of a difference on my bike. Would this gear help or should I just put the effort into more riding and losing weight?

Love the Clydesdale / Athena section, very inspiring
Rick D

I'm not sure that you can put a 40 cog on the rear wheel. It'd probably be best to ask this question in the general clyde area, the road bike area, or the Mechanics area.

Now, you can probably get a smaller small crank than 34. Or try to get a triple crank that has a granny gear in the 20's.

Do you know what group your bike has (e.g. 105, Ultegra, etc.)

GH

The Duverge A1 sport has a shimano sora crank and cassette

The largest cog on a 9-speed cassette that I see online is a 34T.

GH

What does the "T" stand for in 34T

"Teeth"

I thought that was too obvious. Is see some people and websites use this and others don't so I thought is was some special connoationa. Why don't I ever see the "T" used when describing a crank.

Sorry.... I'll take any further discussions to another place on this forum.

Not a prob. This is a great place to ask those kinds of questions. Afa your crank question; cranks will be measured in millimeters, typically 172, 175, 177.5, 180 and so on. It's the chainrings that'll be measured in teeth (among other specs). Since chainrings wear over time they're often replaced before the cranks and are thus separate items (unless you buy a whole crankset).