thebigone

I am a big man 350 lbs. I am looking for a heavy duty bike to ride and start working myself back into some kind of decent shape. I do not really care for the “beach bike” look and would like to find a comfortable “mountain bike” style. I live in an area with paved bike paths but unfortunately the streets I have to travel to get to them are somewhat rough.
I live in Nebraska so the winter months are out for riding but spring will be here soon enough. The last bike I had was a cheap bike and I found it uncomfortable to ride a long time. I am looking for something that won’t break the bank but would like to find a heavy bicycle with a good balance of durability and comfort and price. Any advice would be appreciated.

Jeff Wills

Try reading the "Clydesdales and Athenas" forum- it's there for large, economy size people. Lots of people your size and larger are there.

xizangstan

Either start with a good quality used bike that you could consider throwaway once you get a feel for what you want, or go to a larger city and a good bike store. Get fitted with a stout bike - and be prepared to lose a lot of weight. BUT YOU HAVE TO STICK WITH IT!

CbadRider

Welcome to the Clydesdale/Athena forum. You should get a lot of help here.

skilsaw

I don't know what your "break the bank" threshold is so I'll recommend what I consider to be the best value in a dropped bar touring bike right now.

The Surly Long Haul Trucker comes with a choice of 700c and 26 inch wheels. (I hope I got that right). Choose the 26 inch wheels and a tire that is 1.5 to 1.75 inches wide. This will be good for poor pavement and trails. It has strong wheels with quality hubs, low maintenance bar end shifters, and I can't remember if it has cantilever or Vbrakes. The crankset, chain, cassette and derailleurs are solid performers.

The Long Haul Trucker is perhaps the least expensive of the touring bikes on the market right now.

Peter_C

Welcome to the herd. The perfect bike for you is the one you want to get on every single day - whether for 10 minutes, or 5 hours~!

If speaking new, there are many "comfort" style bikes in the $350 to $450 price range - and of course, the used route being even less spendy.

I bought a Giant Suede DX as my first ride, and I love it. Yes, rims needed to be replaced (warrenty) - but otherwise I've had no issues. An "Electra Townie" was just bought a few days back by a Clyde - The Giant Cypress, the Giant Sedona - also possible choices - point is, yes, it can be done, but you need to ride many so you can decide which will work best for you.

My *dream* is a Surely LHT as mentioned above - but, had I gotten that in the beginning, I fear I would not have ridden it at all. Perhaps in the next 12-18 months that will be my next step.

Buy the bike you will ride today, not the bike you plan / hope / dream to grow into.

Arvadaman

Give a Specialized Hardrock a try. A very popular bicycle for beginning Clydesdales.

Mazama

I started out with a Trek (7200) Hybrid. Very affordable. That bike gave me 7,500 miles of service before the BB started to get noisy.

Juha

Welcome to Bike Forums!

Studded tyres, proper lights and good winter clothing make riding throughout the year quite possible and fun. It's a lot more work though.

--J

mpearson

I live in Nebraska too- In Omaha to be exact. We have a lot of really great local bike shops here that were super helpful when I bought my first road bike earlier this year.

If you're on a budget, one that I'd have you go look at is the Jamis Coda at True Wheel in Council Bluffs. It is a great bike for a great price that will work well for the roads and paths around here.

There are some great group road rides around here too. One in particular on Sundays is led by a larger clyde and an athena. It's really fun. The bike community around here is great!

Feel free to let me know if you want any help finding the right shop for you.

root11

give a raleigh sojourn a ride too. nice steel ride, no need to swap the saddle out (brooks b17 aged). I have a couple hundred miles on mine (so far) and has no trouble hauling my big rear end around.

wrk101

+1 Specialized Hardrock or similar. Around here, you can find one used in great shape for about $125. Find a deal, and it could be less than that (my last Hardrock cost me $10, but I look for bikes all of the time, so that is not a deal you should expect to find).

Get a MTB without a suspension. Suspensions are pretty flimsy on most MTBs, and not made for Clydesdale weight.

exile

I am a fan of the early to mid 90's non suspension mountain bikes. Some were based on touring bike geometry with 26" wheels. Most had eyelets both front and rear for racks and fenders. Being mountain bikes most were built to be pretty durable. Pricing really depends on your area though.

Chuck T

I am also a big man. I currently weigh 316. I just purchased a Giant Sedona. It feels very stable under my weight. Hopefully the wheels will hold my weight as I start my conditioning and weight reduction program. If you have a Giant dealer nearby go in and talk with them about the Sedona and other bikes they think may be appropriate for your use. Good luck.

FYI, the Sedona costs $380 plus tax. The Trek and Specialized bikes that I test rode cost approximately $50 more than the comparable Giant bike.

Nightshade

IMO , I'm a big boy too, in my experience there is but one brand of bike that is made for hard work and heavy people and that is Worksman. If you order a Worksman that is a one speed or 3 speed you'll get a lot of bike for not to much money that will take you weight with ease and all the beating off road you can dish out.

www.worksman.com

Arvadaman

I would suggest that whatever bicycle you buy, get a bike with gears, not a cruiser. As you progress you will want to go faster and climb hills. You can always ride a geared bike as a one speed but you cannot ride a single speed bike in another gear.

thebigone

My son has a Giant bike I think its a Boulder model it has a rigid frame and is a good durable bike. He was almost my height when we bought it and I might give it a try until we have snow. Now that he is 16 he is not interested in cycling anymore. I do have a good bike shop near me in Grand Island where we purchased this one. Their selection isn't the largest so I was wondering if there was something out there that they didn't sell.
Is this a solid plan?

jr59

+100
Super good post here!

Also the hardtail MTB is a good place to start as well.
But I still think Peter C. said it best, get the bike that you want to ge on and ride EVERYDAY!

Welcome to the forum.

Arvadaman

Your plan sounds good. Since your son is not interested in the bicycle right now,
you might as well take advantage of it. Sounds like a good solid bike that will get
you started and you can spend some time thinking about what you would like to
get if you get another one. You can see what works for you and get some miles
under your belt.

cyclist2000

Yes, this is a good plan. Ride that bike and when you start looking for your own bike you will have an idea what you like and don't like, or if cycling is your preferred activity.

You may want to take it to the bike shop to make sure that it fits you correctly. After riding that bike for a while you may want to try a bike with drop bars. For us clydes, I would suggest a touring bike, since they are designed to handle loaded touring.

xizangstan

I weigh 240 lbs - down from 268. I'm riding the same GT Xizang - a hardtail titanium framed mountain bike - that I bought new in 1995. Not only is she a great bike, but she's one of my favorite possessions in my life.

Just recently, I've started thinking about getting a similar bike, but with just a couple improvements. I posted a new thread under frame builders here. My thoughts are to have a brand new copy custom built, but with disc brake, rear rack and other extra lugs welded on, as well as maybe lengthening the wheelbase just a tad.

The point is, if you find a bike you're comfortable on, you may end up riding her for years before you begin thinking of minor improvements you would like. Kinda like a wife!

Wogster

If you want to get him cycling again, it's easy, just tell him if he wants to drive the car, he has to pay the difference in the car insurance Have him call the insurance company to get the quote, time it within 5 seconds of getting off the phone, he will want his bike back. Snow isn't the problem, nice aggressive snow tires, proper attire on a mountain bike, your good, they even have studded tires for ice. I don't do it around here because the city chemically removes the snow which is hard on bicycle parts, and cagers have this insane idea that a 4wd stupifying ugly vehicle can stop faster then a car, even though cars have had 4 wheel brakes for over 70 years now. I've always argued I prefer a tradition RWD car with winter rated tires, if the weather is such that it will not go, you don't need to worry about being able to stop. Check out this site if you want to know what is possible