ricebowl

Fixed a friend's broken front spoke then I found another one in the rear. Him and his brother have broken things like crankarms , pedals, rear racks, etc. Their bikes always seem to be suffering some kind of ailment. I'm always lecturing them to try riding more smoothly, they ride angry . But maybe breaking stuff is just a fact of being 6'5" foot 240 pounds? Or is it riding style?

Torrilin

It's riding style. About the worst my partner has done is get the odd flat. He's 245, 6'2" and one of those guys with short stumpy legs... 31" inseam. His natural tendency is to mash - ride in a silly high gear and pedal slowly, but even then, he does a decent job of pedaling in circles. And over rough terrain, he rides fairly lightly. Most of the Clydes who break stuff do it when they're new. And the most common thing to break is spokes. Usually if someone breaks a crank or a pedal, there was a manufacturing flaw or the poor thing was abused.

Lecturing won't really help with the riding smoothly. Encourage them to join you so they ride more, and encourage them to go on rides where it helps to use good form. After all, clunking around on a mountain bike trail like a sack of potatoes is no fun. You've gotta learn to ride light and keep your weight balanced. Hilly rides might work well too, since hills are a lot less fun when you lurch all over the place and are too out of shape to do anything but stand on the pedals. Your friends aren't idiots... they can do better, but if they're always doing riding that lets them get away with bad habits? They won't try to do better.

Mithrandir

Yeah I would say either low quality parts or riding style is to blame.

I've got a chromoly frame and 36 spoke wheels, not once in 7 years has anything gone wrong besides the occasional flat, and a shifter that was defective.

volosong

Breaking "stuff" is NOT a fact of clyde riding. Can't remember ever breaking anything. It's their "style".

IAmCosmo

In the probably 7 years that I've been riding "seriously", the things I've broken can be counted on one hand. A few spokes (mostly on my mountain bike, and turned out the wheel was poorly built and got replaced free) and a hub flange on my road bike (which was deemed defective and replaced free).

I get the occasional flat here and there, but flats don't discriminate by weight...

zjrog

I must have been the most unlucky Clyde then, many moon ago when I was only 225 pounds or so, I'm 6'3" so Clyde for life. I broke lots of stuff. Road and MTB. Pedals, bottom brackets, frames, two forks (one MTB!), lots of spokes... The list goes on. I did prefer the hammer method, high gear and pound it, spinning just didn't feel right to me. Does breaking the electronics on a Lifecycle stationary bike count?

I HOPE I don't break things now, simply to keep from crashing. I've become a bit more comfy with spinning, but its still not natural. But it is something I have worked on since my knee replacement.

CliftonGK1

At my biggest I was 260-ish and I've never had problems with destroying parts. It's truly about riding style, because I've got some tiny friends (like sub-150) who bust crankarms and wreck wheels like nobody's business.

I've worn out brake pads, worn through rim sidewalls, worn down tires, worn out handlebar tape and brake hoods, worn out cables, etc... See where we're going? I wear things out, not break them. And I'm not particularly delicate with my bikes.

I broke a rim once, but that was during an accident avoidance and I slammed straight into a curb.

ricebowl

Thanks for the replies, thought I might not be understanding things from their perspective. All I ever have to do is fix the occasional flat and I'm not that light at 170.

pdlamb

Somebody's got to argue the other side, and I guess it's me!

I think it's more a question of how much your ride, and less a question of how you ride. I've broken a crank (looked like decent quality, plus 12,000 miles, as the crack had propagated slowly for a while); a pedal (18,000 miles, rebuilt 2 or 3 times); two frames at 8,000 and 12,000 miles, one just ahead of the dropout, one was the dropout, which led the mechanic to blame overheating during the build; a bunch of spokes - usually poor build / low tension / not stress relieved; a derailer (killer stick on a trail); and a couple of chains (waited too long between lube); and a freehub (sealed bearing wasn't sealed well enough!). There's a couple other things I'm sure I've missed. Shop owners and mechanics have told me most, if not all, of these are wear from use, and (except the frames) are considered replacement items.

Rather than trying to lecture them, why teach these guys how to conduct preventive maintenance?

exile

It's neither!

Its quite obvious that they just like your company . Do you keep the fridge stocked with beer or food? How many cable channels do you have? Is that a Shiatsu massage chair with the built in heater and vibrator in front a a 50" plasma TV? Is your wife or girlfriend hot ?

Come to think of it I've been have a few problems with my bikes, where do you live again ?

Mr. Beanz

What level bikes do they ride? If I ride a $300-$400 bike, it's shot in a month. Many riders think $1,000 for a somewhat decent bike is too much but expect 20,000 miles out $300 bike and its components.

sillygolem

I ride old cro-mo and hi-ten bikes with one piece cranks. They're heavy, but I have never broken a spoke. I did have a series of pinch flats smacking into rocks on the dirt road around here: A little more dodging and higher tire pressure ended that problem. I do burn through bb bearings fairly quickly, but that's as much a dirt problem as it is a weight problem.

WonderMonkey

I am 6'2" and 250lbs and I don't break anything. I ride paved bike trail type surfaces though.

zandoval 

Not normal - Somethings wrong - Sounds like abuse - Call the police Stempy...

llmercll

I ride very carefully and have an encountered a few issues so far, in my 1 month of cycling.

The front wheel came out of true (though that could have been causing by my brother knocking the bike over), and my BB was creaking. I just fixed the BB by regreasing and tightening.

So far no broken spokes, but I'm sure they'll come. I picked up a few spares for that fateful day. Thankfully it's a pretty quick and cheap fix =)

Pinyon

I've been on both sides of this one. When I was younger, I lifted weights a lot, and used to do things break teeth off front chain-rings and rear cogs, chew-up cartridge bearing sets on the rear hub, snap pedal axles, killed a fair number of bottom brackets (cheap/old bikes without cone bearings), etc.

One time, I bent one side of the handlebar pulling up on it, while trying to sprint up-hill.

I miss being young and dangerous... I have not broken anything besides a titanium seat rail and some spokes in years.

Spokes really depended more on the quality of the wheel, and whether or not I kept up with truing and tensioning them.

Never broke a crank arm. Freaky.

Crazydad

If it was the same component that was breaking each time I could see it possibly being attributed to weight. But if it a different thing each time, I have to believe it is riding style more than anything else. If, like Beanz suggested, it is a cheap bike then it is a combo of style and cheap parts.

semperfi1970

Tell your buds to get bikes built for the larger rider. A purpose built bike would be the answer. You can spend thousands and still have the same issues if you build to a lite road spec. I build road bikes stout enough for fully loaded touring and just ride them as a road bike. Loose the road componets, I would like to see any rider break a Shimano LX, SLX or XT drive train. If you are breaking spokes you have poor wheels or the wrong wheels for the weight being carried. More so than not the more you pay for a bike or componets the less they weigh, this does not make them stronger just lighter. Some think getting a mountian bike is the answer, well the same applies to mnt bikes as well. Most mnt bikes off the bike shop floor have poor wheels to start with, they may look good but they are still lacking. I am a big guy and I know I will never get under 240lbs so I have come to the realization i need a bike built for me and my heft. Here is a road bike I built using mnt componets and tandam wheels, not light but very strong. I built it using the strongest componets without being silly. I went with LX hollow axel outboard oversized bearings and forged crank arms. LX rear derailer and XT front bottom swing all based on a 7 speed XL rear and tripple front using bar end shifters. I have sence put r540 peddels on her. 48 spoke tandam front and rear with 35 tires. The tought part was finding road levers to give me the throw for mnt brakes (Cane Creek). At 29lbs she will support me and not fail me no matter what I decide to dish out.
In short its not there riding style, its a ill fitted bike to there needs. Some day the cycle manufactures will realize we like to ride too.

semperfi1970

Right to left regarding wheels. 16 spoke racing wheel (forget it), 32 spoke cycle cross wheel (getting better) 48 spoke double wall tandam wheel and hub (the ticket).

contango 

Being seriously overweight is going to result in more breakages but what you're describing sounds extreme.

I'm 6'4 and wasn't far shy of 290 when I started riding. I wore out a bottom bracket in about 800 miles which the shop replaced under warranty. I broke four spokes in as many months, after which I bought a new back wheel. Aside from that all I've had to change are things that are consumable anyway - a tyre, chain, cassette, brake pads etc.

It could be they've got bikes that are rated for a much lower weight although I'd be surprised. At 240 pounds I shudder to think what they must be doing to break crankarms and pedals.

zandoval 

Bravo - Sweet bike...