New to Commuting
 

Hi all, im a big guy 6'8" 365lbs but i decided to take my old bike to the LBS to get it tuned up, a new chain, a new shifter cable and a new rear wheel (some how the original wheel got bent in storage).

well i have been using it to commute from my home to my gym and back 5 days a week a 12.5mile round trip to save money on gas and burn some extra calories. Ive been doing it for 2 weeks so far im down to 340lbs :)

well heres my bike i know she needs some work but she is strong!

Giant Boulder SE
http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/f...0/IMG_0566.jpg

aluminum frame
http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/f...0/IMG_0569.jpg

the forks have quite a bit of rust on them from being outside im going to see if i can sand it off
http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/f...0/IMG_0568.jpg

so far i have ordered a pair of Continental Sport contact tires in 26x1.6" and a pair of short fox biking gloves im just waiting for them to come in the mail.

i plan on getting a Brooks saddle but im not too sure if id need to do anything else to the bike after that, i dont need storage on the bike because i ride with a Coleman 2L hydration back pack and it has more then enough space for everything i carry.

anyway thanks for all the info ive learned while ive been lurking on this site i hope to ride more and more as i enjoy it more everyday

Welcome and enjoy the advantages of bicycle commuting and it only gets better from here.

Welcome Battosaii! :thumb:

thanks!

my brother has a Trek 3900 we got our bikes the same day but i dont remember what year it was, anyway ive been trying to get him to ride me, we used to go to off road MTB trails but i was alot lighter back then im afraid to go now since im so heavy im sticking to smooth roads so i wont bend a wheel

Welcome my friend!

I started commuting with a rusty old MTB. You do what you need to do to get yourself on the road. Have fun out there!

actually im looking for a good quality hand pump and tire levers that i can fit in my back pack if anyone has any suggestions that would be great

Wouldn't bother with that fork. Get a suspension corrected steel rigid fork. Surly or Nashbar are your best bet.

Giant's are good bikes. The corrosion on the fork is an issue, but like others have said, suspension is not necessary for road riding. If you can find a reasonable replacement fork, go for it, but it many be just as economical to replace the bike.

Ditto on the fork. I just replaced my front fork with this one from Nashbar for $50 a few weeks ago, has been great so far: http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...28_-1___202440

Check the link in my sig for pics of installation. I would highly advise your LBS to install the star nut and also transfer the bottom headset bearing between forks, if you want to do the rest of the install yourself.

I would also recommend some 26x ~1.5" smooth tread tires if you plan on staying mostly on the road.

Before I got the fork I did this to keep my blown suspension from compressing all the way :lol:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...e/IMG_7961.jpg

+1 on a rigid fork. Front shocks rob you of power. If your not going off road this is the first thing I'd change, except for may an uncomfortable saddle. Get rid of off-road tires also.

Should have said above that the Nashbar fork I got is height-corrected to replace suspension forks. The brake mounts were perfectly matched for 26" rims, and the axle-to-crown height almost exactly matched the extended length of my suspension fork.

You might consider gettting a blinkie and lights as fall approaches.

Levers: Find the brand called Pedros. They are great to have and easy to use.

Pump: The road morph is wonderful and very well made. Get one that has the psi gauge.

Hey Goodluck With all the riding, 22 bikes will fit in one parking spaces can you imagine what the roads would look like if we all commuted!!!
check out this awesome blog about safety and product reviews.

Mod edit: link to your blog deleted. Please start a thread in the Blogger's forum

Hey guys i got an update for you! i got a few things today like a new quick release LED front light, a led rear blinky, a smart phone caddy, a set of tire levers and a hand pump. :)

oh and the UPS guy came in with my new tires today too!

http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/f...0/IMG_0570.jpg

they were a bit tough to get on compared to the old knobby tires but the tire levers helped alot.

my first reaction to the tires was about the same reaction i had when i put new Abec 7 bearings on my skates "WOW" it rolls so smooth and im able to maintain 17mph+ easily now, not to bad for a 300lbs+ man on a mountain bike :D

Nice! Good choice on the tires. It really does make a difference.

just went out for a cool short 3 mile night ride to test out the blinky and the front light and they work great! and man so do these new tires but i almost crashed with a ninja salmon rider -_- it would have been bad too cause he was going fast and i was going 19mph haha well with this new found speed comes new found respect for my bike but i do love the ride

welcome to the forums, ride safe. do you wear a helmet, you should if your in traffic.

i use my Skateing helmet i feel it has more protection then those Styrofoam bike helmets especially if i do get hit by a car

I too use a skateboard helmet on my commuter.

I would hesitate to mount a smartphone to my handlebars. I'm not sure that they are designed to take the vibration and shocks that a bike would experience. I used to use a cheep $25 Cateye bike computer. Now I have a Garmin, but if you are on a budget, the Cateye Velo 5 works.

300+ - Have a competent shop that knows wheels tension at least your rear wheel. At your weight you will be hard on the wheels. If you keep this bike plan on replacing the wheels somewhere in the future after you start breaking spokes. Having it properly tensioned now will delay that prospect.

Love the 2X4 in the fork - perfectly frugal solution to a weak or unneeded suspension. Probably gets comments too.

Well the mount works with my case on I'm not worried about my iPhone it handles the vibration fine my 600whp turbo car vibrates a hell of alot more then my bike lol

+1. I have this, and it's everything a commuter needs. Time, current speed, odometer, trip odo, and your top speed. It's a great item, except for the trash zip ties it come with (but those are easily replaceable).