SeizeTech

Hi, my name is Tyler

If you don't, I'd like to introduce myself, then ask a whole bunch of questions that are on my mind. I've been reading this forum like mad over the last week, and promise to continue to do so.

Me:

I'm 400lbs 5'10" 39 yrs old.

I'm scheduled for weight loss surgery this month, to once and for all deal with something I've alway felt capable of doing the hard way with diet and exercise. Yet, my health is teetering with diabetes and high blood pressure, and I feel that if I don't do something radical, my health will be totally destroyed in the next years to come.

So I'm here to get excited about a past love of mine, bicycling. In my teens, I was a wanna-be cyclist that was quite comfortable on my bike all day if need be. My goal is to start commuting 1-3 times per week, and I'm not only motivate for health reasons, but the whole idea appeals to my interest in electric bikes. And, I used to own a harly davidson, so maybe the bike will be my new 'harley' hobby. ie spit, polish, tune and fix.

My bikes:

I have several bikes:

- a schwinn Izip with 2 battery packs. I've done all my trial rides, and I'm prepared to start using it this week to commute to work, 26 km each way.

- an early 90s Bianchi mountain bike. It's well maintained chromoly frame with no suspension. 26" wheels.

- a 1984 Maruishi Tourace road bike. 27" skinny tires. it was a $1000 bike in it's day. its in good condition, too.

- a nameless POS road bike that is complete and functioning that I picked up next to the garbage bin at work. The wheels and cranks are alloy, and the brakes are side pull.

My goals:

- run and maintain the schwinn for now.

- And, meanwhile I want to scrammble to build a suitable bike for myself.

My questions ( numbered for easy reply):

1 - at 400 lbs, I'm damn heavy, what is a cheap short term solution for tires and wheels?

2 - ultimately, what is my best solution for tires and wheels?( please no wise cracks like P235R16 )

3 - my schwinn's back tire has me, 2 batteries, and the motor(negligable) riding on it. I'm expecting it to self destruct, it hasn't in 50 miles, but it'll happen eventually. What is my best strategy?

4 - my schwinn tire is rated for maximum 65 PSI, but I'm so overloaded, I thought the tire would perform better at 80 PSI. Do you guys think this is a dangerous idea?

5 - peddles, I don't need anything fancy or pretty, are the big steel department store peddles my best bet?

6 - Safety, here's a list of what I have, is there anything I should pick up?

- helmet with mirror
- gloves
- construction worker's vest
- safety glass
- 2 halogen lamps for front
- blinker for back of helmet
- reflectors on wheels
- reflective tape on helmet and battery packs

Thank you all for you help in advance. I'm looking forward to participating on these forums. So far, i've found everyone to be sincere and helpful.

Regards
Tyler

Tom Stormcrowe

Hmmmm, I don't know a lot about E Bikes, myself. All I can offer is advice on the wheels and physical part of cycling, in that you need to watch your wheels and spoke tension when you are a heavy rider. Take it easy on rough roads, and get out there and enjoy the riding.

Now for the physical aspect: Take it sensibly. You may find that you want to go strictly human powered. It will be a process, though, so take joy in your increases of capability. The pedaling will help with your weight loss and CV health as well as your blood sugar management.

Now, the tires, 65PSI tires aren't safe at 80 PSI, in my opinion. 70 PSI should be, though. You also need to be sure the rim can handle the overpressure as well. Too much pressure can spread the rim walls and this will ruin the rim. You might look at some 100 PSI slicks, though, presuming the rims will handle the pressure.

Wogster

Okay, your questions, then maybe a comment or two....

1) A short term solution, is to make sure the existing wheels are properly tensioned and trued, you want the widest tires that will fit the rim and frame. If you find your breaking spokes, then look at upgrading wheels. For tires, air pressure is one of several factors. 65PSI is pounds per square inch, the important part of the tire is where it meets the road, this flattened spot (contact patch) will naturally expand until the pressure in the tire is equal to the weight upon it. For example if you have 200lbs on a tire, and 100PSI, the flat spot will be 2 square inches. This is why skinny tires, even for light weight riders, take very high pressures. If the spread for the contact patch is too large, then you tend to get pinch flats. Also realize that weight on a bicycle is about 75% on the back wheel....

2) Well, it depends, if your having weight loss surgery soon, and realise that it's a crutch, until you retrain your eating habits, then remember, that as you approach 200lbs it becomes less of an issue.....

3) Same as any other bike, you really want the widest tire that will fit, I suspect that E-bikes are designed more with the larger rider in mind, so it may not be much of an issue.

4) Most tire pressure limits are lawyer limits, meaning the engineering limit is somewhat higher, problem is, we don't really know how much higher, I wouldn't go beyond 70PSI.....

5) Use the pedals that are on the bike, or whatever cheap pedals you like for now, if you bend 'em then they are cheap to replace, once you get your weight down a bit, and get used to cycling more, then you can get a set of nice clipless for that nice road bike that's in your collection.

6) I would add a rear light that is bike mounted, they are required by law in many places, also a pump, tire levers and a spare tube are a good idea. Pumping up a tire on the side of the road is a drag, dragging a 60lb E-bike home is a much bigger drag.

With the E-bike, try to use pedal power as much as possible, for one your getting the health benefits, and secondly, you battery lasts much longer.

AndrewCO

I would have to say that this is the thread where Mr. Beanz needs to make a special guest appearance.

On your Bianchi, you may want to look at something like these:
https://www.ebikestop.com/surly_24_la...ack-RM0005.php
With: https://www.ebikestop.com/dt_alpine_i...x72-SQ6293.php

Just a suggestion.

Welcome to the club man! You'll find that this can become very addictive VERY quickly.

SeizeTech

Hi Tom, thanks for the encouragement. Even with an ebike, I have no doubt that I will use my peddles and get a good sweat going.

Thank you for the advice on the tire pressure, I'll drop it to 70 today, and give my spoke a good inspection just incase they aren't in tight condition from the factory.

I'll also check with the ebike forum to see if any of them have experience with high pressures on their schwinn.

I was doing some reading last night, and found some general advice about spokes. The guy was recommending stainless steel spokes, solid being preferred over plated spokes. And, the "spoke nuts?" are often aluminum, but he seems to imply that a brass version would be stronger if I'm in a position to choose.

Also, I got thinking.....LOL.....and my mountain bike has over 10 years worth of me using it, and the wheels are in good shape, whithout anyone ever doing any maintenance on them. So, it occured to me that I have a proven set of wheels already.......whuhooo!!!

Unfortunately, the mountain bike rear wheel wont go onto the Schwinn due to the custom sprocket that is part of the ebike drive train.

txvintage

Welcome to the herd!

First off, best of luck with your upcoming procedure, and congratulations on taking steps to improve your quality of life. Well Done.

The advice so far is spot on. Wheel management is your biggest area of consideration. Keeping the wheels under you lets everything else happen.

Using the EBike to get started isn't bad, but as mentioned, use the pedals as much as possible. The added weight of the motor and batteries should make for a nice work out.

+1 in the flat repair supplies too. Nothing bites more than pushing your bike.

SeizeTech

Hi everyone, thanks for all of your help so far.

I looked at the wheels on my Schwinn. They are 26" 36 spoked alloy rims, so their basically ok. But, Karma in the ebike forum has had some experience with them and feels that they are cheap.

Here's what I found for markings.

Wheel: Veronique 6061-T6 26x1.75
- I'm not a pro at visually identifying metals, but the spokes don't look like any kind of stainless steel finish that I'm familiar with, and the spoke nuts are the wrony color to be pure brass, they might be a brass alloy.


Tire: manufacturer hard to determine but its a smooth tread 26x2.00in and they are rated for 45-65psi. Again, I'm not a pro, but this time I like what I see.

SeizeTech

Update: appearantly some of the currie Izip bikes use the following:

WHEELS
Veronique 26" x 2.0" A-Type double wall 6061 Alloy rims with stainless steel spokes

But you'll notice that my bike is running Veronique 26'x1.75"

I wonder if mine are double walled?

Tom Stormcrowe

Brass is an allloy.....just so you know....it's tin and copper.

You probably have galvanized spokes. As long as you keep the tension and truing correct, and have enough of them, you should be OK for a while. 26" wheels are stronger than 700c, anyway because of the shorter spoke run, and the hub will be heavier duty anyway because of it being an e-bike.

Veronique is about the equivalent quality of Alex Wheels....not junk, but definitely lower end.

dbikingman

I'll mention this, but don't want to be the "butt of any bad jokes". I am fairly certain that you anatomy is not the same as when you were a "teen wanna-be cyclist". I would recommend a pair of bike shorts. You have some good safety gear in your collection which is good, but if you are too sore to ride then it doesn't help having the other gear.

Welcome to the group. Look forward to hearing about you success.

neilfein

It sounds like you have a pretty good idea what you need at this point. I really have nothing to say about spoke count, but 26" wheels are pretty sturdy. The e-bike forum may be able to help you out some as well.

Bib shorts are probably the way to go, since you lose that rope-around-the-middle feeling. (I personally don't mind regular shorts, but I'm a 197-lb ex-Clyde.)

Welcome to the Clydesdaye board, Tyler! I look forward to seeing some ride reports. Ride pictures are awesome as well...

Bigboxeraf

Welcome! you've gotten good info here good luck on your procedure. My cousin had it done a month ago and shes doing fine. Here's a link for some cycling clothes . They will make your saddle time alot more comfy. It will be hard and slow at first but than your progresse will kick up.

Tom Stormcrowe

BY the way, I had bariatric surgery as well, as have several here on the board. Here's a little bit of hope for you.



and today (Well, June!)

SeizeTech

Good point. Actually I have a set of lycra cycling shorts with the chamy in them.Excuse me for saying that I don't plan on wearing them as anything but an undergarment.

I like them. When I did highway trips on my Harley Davidson motorcycle, I used to wear them underneath my jeans to prevent things from grabbing.

SeizeTech

Tom, thanks for telling me, I've been feeling like I'm bit of a sore thumb on this forum. I spent a few minutes to watch your video journal on your blog. I'm inspired.

Here's my "before" picture. It was taken last thursday when I started my pre-op optifast diet. I've lost 3lbs already, and I'm keeping myseff well hydrated.

txvintage

That's enough of the "feeling like a sore thumb" stuff young man. We'll have no more of that!

It's a group of folks with common goals, some common challenges, and sometimes even common sense Sorry, it just fit too well to not use........

Anywho, as I was saying. Everyone has/had to start somewhere. Some of us have farther to go than others, but we all had to make a choice to begin. That's the hard part, the rest is a matter of sticking with it and learning to have fun while your doing it.

One thing about the group, I think it's fair to say that while most of us started riding again to lose weight, at some point we become cyclist who happen to be losing weight.

Tom Stormcrowe

Well, good luck, and you WILL achieve your goals. No, you aren't a "Sore Thumb", though, what you are is a new member of the herd that will need some friendship and support over the next couple of years, and are welcome.

Neil_B

Trust me, you are not a sore thumb. No one challenges me for my job!

Seriously, welcome. You can find a lot of good advice here, and occasionally some folks to ride with as well.

SeizeTech

thanks everyone!

I'm writing this from my desk at work. I rode my bicycle today, wuhooo!!!

22kms in 55 minutes with power assist.

I think it was 3 deg Celcius this morning. But, clear blue sky

I had to stop at a gas station for some full finger gloves, as luck would have it, they actually had some full fingered bicycle gloves. LOL don't figure, eh?

Hey Tom, can you add me to your clyde's map? I'm from Calgary Canada. And, I had such a good time this morning, I think you guys are going to see a lot more of me.

Regards
Tyler

Bone Head

I'm new here but....

To use an old military colloquialism.... "Rodger That!!"

SeizeTech

Well, 52 kms on the bike yesterday. ( I took a scenic route going home last night)

I feel good, no aches or pains.

My wife is not supporting me on the idea of using my bike every morning. We have been commuting together for last year. I am used to dropping son of at daycare, dropping my wife off at her job, then going to my work.

She sees no savings in me riding my bike, because she works downtown. Which is really close to where I work so most of the drive is to her work. Plus, the parking costs for her are about 14 dollars a day. Plus, she'd be picking up and dropping off my son everyday, so she sees that as me dumping a lot of work on her instead of sharing it.

My truck is costing me $100 per week in fuel( $5200/year!!!) and my lifestyle is costing me my health. So I'm all fired up and ready to commit to bicycling 4 of 5 days per week. Even do my best at it, this winter.

This really pissing me off. I don't know what to do. Actually, I know what to do, but it's going to piss my wife off.

Edit: just cleaned up some spelling, missing words

Tom Stormcrowe

Point out to her that it will allow you to live healthier, longer. There will be other benefits as well for her as you lose weight.......let's just say, your anatomy will improve, and Smilin' Bob will have nothing on you.

Neil_B

Perhaps you don't want an answer, or merely needed to vent, but I'm curious. Does your wife have a 'weight problem' too? if so, then she's probably upset that you are doing something, and she isn't.

If not, explain to her that you are doing this for her, and for your kids present or future. The best gift you can give her is a better you.

Bdinger, any advice for Tyler?

evblazer

Do you park for free and she pays $14? If so or if it is cheaper for you then it does hit the pocketbook some and maybe a workaround could bo done? Perhaps you could do the am trip like normal and the pm trip after picking her up take the bike off the truck and ride. Or some other combination where you get your riding and share the workload *shrug* Or maybe pickup some other work she is doing to trade like taking over watching/feeding/putting to bed the kid after you got home from the ride to free her up.

Hopefully there is some happy medium you can find to keep the riding and everyones happiness at once.

Indie

Since to her the bike represents more work and less money, are there things you can offer to do that will mitigate it? I would not chalk this up to sour grapes, it's a legitimate complaint if it's making things harder for her and more expensive. Maybe you could do more housework or something that would normally be hers, to offset the fact that she has to take the kid to school.