When I was in my late teens and early 20's I rode a MTB as my only transportation. I stopped once I got a car at 21, and briefly rode again in the early 2000's for like a month. Last year I was well over 600lbs and hating everything and I've lost over 100lbs since then from healthy living and exercise. I have finally lost enough weight to get back on my 20 year old Kona Hoss. I gotta say, I don't remember my bike being so squirrely. It was quite an adventure getting it road worthy and re-learning how to ride it. I had to replace both tires and tubes due to dry rot. Had to find my helmet amidst all the junk in my garage, and had to inspect and get the bike road worthy. I still almost face planted going down my drive way the first time, but saved it. That was Thursday. Today is Saturday and I rode half a mile before breakfast, got my helmet sorted so got it 9-13mph and it felt really good man. I feel like I've unlocked an achievement for low impact cardio. I plan to start riding every day early in the morning and slowly building up my fitness again. Today I did 2 laps around the block, tomorrow 3, then 4 etc.

My bike is a Kona Hoss and while it's not specifically made for big people, it's made for a normal weight person to launch off cliff walls and not implode on landing so I think it can handle street use and static loads for me. That was why I bought it back in the 2000's anyway. I'm slowly getting my bike arms back and getting better tight turning control. I still can't reach the ground while sitting on it but I can at least get on and off it without a curb in an emergency.


Kodi's Journey
https://www.youtube.com/@Kodisjourneys

Best of luck to you Kodi.
Time in the saddle ought to be your primary focus for now. Not speed or tricky handling - just ride.
Your bike sounds fine - but keep an eye on the wheels and watch out for frame cracks.

Speaking of saddles hehe, I can already tell I'm going to need a new seat. I have one of the wide-ish gel ones. My butt started to go to sleep around 5 min into my ride this morning. I've heard there are special seats at bike stores you can sit on and they indent around your bones to help determine what shape seat you need? I'm having to restrict my rides to early morning because of the Texas heat but I plan to ride every morning until I get my bike skills back and am comfortable on it. Each time it's more controlled and less seat of my pants.

Good luck my friend. When I was 50 I weighed 360 lbs. I'm 6'2. I started riding a little and dieted down to 170lbs in about 18 months. I was riding about 100 miles a week then, but I messed up and injured myself with a double hernia somehow. I'm fixed now and getting back in shape after everything.

I wanted you to understand I know a bit about how you feel. I'll say this. You have to know you are still extremely heavy and you need to understand that this is going to be a long journey back to health. Take it slow and under a doctor's supervision. Outside the health issues you are heavy enough that you don't want to fall at any speed. Chances are you will fall at some point, and you need to know how not to break your wrists if you do take a spill for whatever reason. I've taken a few bad ones at 180lbs. It would have been much worse at even 300lbs much less 400lbs plus.

You have to consider that every component on that bike is being maxed out. There are likely much safer bikes out there. I'm very happy you are out there cycling. That's what you should be doing but I would suggest working on very slow balancing movements and slow climbs to get your exercise in. Maybe look into very heavy weight rated bikes. I don't know what's currently out there. Something like a Surly Big Dummy comes to mind. Just take it easy on the fast stuff for a while my friend. It's actually surprising how good of a workout you can get just learning to track stand in the yard and all those balance tricks that don't stress things too much at your weight. Take things slow and listen to the voice if it tells you to slow down before you kill yourself. That goes for speed or effort. You can probably lose 100 lbs. a year but listen to your doctors. Just realize this is a slow journey that you can accomplish if you don't give up or get hurt by taking things too fast. Good luck and best wishes

Congrats on getting back on your bike. Keeping riding and you'll get more comfortable and confident again.

Good luck my friend and on days you don't feel like riding nothing wrong with a brisk walk.

Good luck to you!

I would watch for cracks at the holes where the spokes enter the rims of the wheels, as well as obviously broken spokes.

Also, at 500 lbs. of system weight the momentum/inertia you have to stop with your brakes is four times that of a small person/bike at 125 lbs. I would leave lots of room to stop.

Cycling has begun a life journey for many. Keep at it. Inspect the bike regularly. High Speed is not usually your friend

I remember a Tom S's stories. On this Forum, I think.

Kona Hoss Deluxe

Kodi
Wow! You have already accomplished so much.
Congratulations!
Remember, it´s a Marathon, Not a Sprint.

I have been off the bike for too long, surgeries and loss.
The other day I inflated the tires, headed to the pharmacy for a pick up.
Three blocks, sucking wind, bailed out, drove the car.

Hang in there.
Not to put too fine a point on your situation.
You are very likely saving your life.

fat biker

You may want to check out the subforum https://www.bikeforums.net/clydesdal...-200-lb-91-kg/ on this site. Some of the people there may have answers to your questions that we who haven't experienced what you are doing may not know.

Kodis Journey I checked out your youtube channel...very inspiring!

Congratulations, and keep at it! Your greater weight now will account for the "squirreliness" you describe. As the weight comes off, the squirreliness will correspondingly decrease.

Your bike should be fine, as long as you don't abuse it by launching off cliff walls and such. Being able to plant your feet on the ground while remaining on the saddle is not an important or even desirable characteristic. There are "crank-forward" frame designs to allow that, but they sacrifice pedalling efficiency and long-term comfort for the dubious advantage of being able to put your feet on the ground while remaining in the saddle. Instead of doing that, when you come to a stop, slide yourself forward and off the saddle to put your feet on the ground. When you start up again, put one foot on a pedal to use it as a step to lift your body enough the get back on the saddle.

I don't have the agility on the bike, especially with my wide seat, to do the slide. Instead I just let the bike tilt a bit to the side and plant my foot so my leg acts like a kick stand, then I swing my left leg off the saddle to dismount. I've started to get used to it again, and I can also get on it by tilting the bike, without a curb. I just have to re-learn the muscle memory to make those effortless. Thanks for the great tips though. And yeah I got a few hundred pounds of weight loss ahead of me before I start taking my bike off some sick jumps hehe.

That is a thing of beauty. Mine is grey

Thank you so much. I'm excited for the future. Ive been riding every day and made it a mile today before breakfast

Thanks. I don't plan to take many risks. I'm experienced riding at 400lbs when I was in my early 20's and thankfully the weak link on most bikes are the spokes. I would pop them occasionally and carried spares. I was riding for transportation back then and at high speed but thankfully I'm just riding for pleasure now on flat asphalt. My bike is over built and uses a T6 aluminum frame and specialized welding to survive extreme dynamic loads like jumping off cliffs. Thankfully I need about 150w of effort just to go 10mph and it goes up exponentially with speed so I should have a good workout on flat ground well below 20mph. I don't want to take any spills but I have a helmet and thankfully still remember how to fall. It's a little risky, but I think the benefits are worth it, and god it feels good to get out and ride after being a prisoner in my own body for the last 20 years.

I'm so sorry to hear you've had some hardships. I consider myself very fortunate that I'm in reasonably good health all things considered, and that riding my bike is even on the table. I don't need to ride to lose the weight as I already found that with weight lifting and calorie counting, but it feels so good to ride and embrace that freedom that I am very much looking forward to it. My new morning routine is to wake up, get dressed and do laps around the neighborhood on my bike. I made it a mile today. Tomorrow I'm going even further and I'm going to keep pushing every day. It's the highlight of my day.

YOU ARE AWESOME and INSPIRING

My early 2000's Kona Hoss "Prison Sex"

I've been riding bikes for a long time, but not always very seriously. Over the years I started picking up weight, it seemed to have gradually snuck up on me. It didn't hit home how much I had gained until my daughter's best friend said I looked like I was going to have a baby. Kids are honest, if nothing else. So, I started to put more miles on my bike, cut out the sugar and carbs, and began following a ketogenic diet. I lost 25 pounds in about 3 months, and have lost more since then. My weight gain had snuck up on me slowly enough that I didn't notice it so much, but the weigh loss was quick, and very noticeable. In February of 2024 I was doing rides of 10 to 20km. So far, for May 2025, I've managed to ride 948km, and should pass 1000km tomorrow.

If I were to give you some advice, I would recommend you ride slow but pedal fast, that means using a lower gear. This will be easier on your knees and muscles, and better for your lungs and heart. Also, find a goal you would like to reach in a year's time. This could be a cycling event like a metric or mile century, or to take part in an organized cycling event. Don't focus on riding fast, focus on riding far. I ride enough that I get an endorphin rush during my rides, your body releases these to reduce the pain caused by exercise. If you ride or otherwise exercise enough that your body associates exercise with releases of endorphins, you'll find that it isn't hard to motivate yourself to get on the bike or go to the gym.

few years ago met a guy on a similar journey

he had surgery (gastric bypass surgery or similar ?) and bought an E bike … rode the bike multiple times per week

he had lost 145 lbs when we met him

Good Luck !

I couldn't ride yesterday due to severe storm damage, downed tree limbs everywhere and power was out for 22 hours. This morning I got a ride in before breakfast while the rain let up a bit. I made it a mile and some change this time and did it faster and at a more consistent speed than before. My limiting factor is going to be my seat and cutting off blood supply to my groin area from the pressure. I really need to get a seat fitted to me. I filmed todays ride and will put a video up on my youtube channel later.



Thank you all for the kind words of support!

What you are doing is beyond impressive. Respect and best always.

Best of luck to you, sir! Hope you find joy on two wheels!

One thing that I did this winter was buy an indoor trainer. It's made it easier to get on the bike and ride when it's cold and wet outside. If you live in a climate with less than perfect riding seasons, an indoor trainer may supplement your outdoor riding on your journey. There are always plenty of used options on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.

Once again, best of luck!

I know it has for me. Cycling is the only type of exercise I actually enjoy, and being in my mid 50's and overweight, it's best that I keep it up. Had I not taken up cycling about 10 years ago I'd likely be really worried about a heart attack by now.

And OP: Good job and keep going. But as others advised here, take things slow and best if you do it under doctor's advice. But you'll get there.