Big Guy Needs Help Finding wheels set/ bike.
 

I'm a large guy 6'4 currently 360lbs. I have a Marin Bike that I bought about 6 years ago. I keep having to get my wheels trued after 4 or 5 rides and I'm over it. Can anyone suggest wheels that can support my weight so I can ride daily for exercise and short errands around my city? I live in SF. Thanks in advance.

I'm programmed to think you are looking at a road bike as this is a Road Cycling forum. That may not be you best choice. So anyway, I'll answer for a road bike, but seems a hybrid/upright may be a better fit.

Look into the performance tandem wheels - tubulars. They exist. So do clincher ones. Most tandem options will have axles too wide for the road bike - but check/ask.
I don't mean to start another tubular discussion, but few clinchers will handle the PSI you might want, while many tubulars will without pressure on the rims.

You also did not mention budget - or bike. A company like CoMotion does single and tandems, city and road - http://co-motion.com/bikes/bikes-grid-all-singles. Call them. Not going to be cheap, but they would certainly have options for you.

Yes, it could be your weight that is the problem. On the other hand it is quite likely the wheels weren't built well to begin with and the shop you are using isn't improving them. Just making a wheel true is not necessarily setting it up to stay true. Many LBS mechanics are not truly qualified wheel technicians. If you have a local, custom wheel builder, I would consult them. Let them determine whether your existing wheels just need to be retensioned and trued PROPERLY, or whether they will never withstand the rigors of carrying you around. In the latter case I would then get a quotation from the custom builder for a new pair. They will understand the extent of your problem upon seeing both your wheels and you, and they will be in the best position to help you out. If there is no local builder, then I suppose I would get in touch with Rob at Psimet Custom Wheels, PSIMET Custom Wheels - PSIMET Custom Wheels

One other thing. Learning to care for your own wheels would not be wrong. If you can learn good wheel building practices, you may be able to resolve your own problem at only the cost of the tools for working on the wheels.

I'm sure that you'll find some help/advice here, but you might be better served in the Clyde/Athena forum, which is dedicated to larger riders - Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Bike Forums

Appreciate the quick responses, but all of this is foreign to me. Im not sure what type of bike i have because I've always called it a St bike that has about 15 speeds. Its not a touring bike because the wheels are not super thin and i know the difference in wheels for a mountain bike. I dont know what bike is best for me, im just hoping to find one that can support me and thats good for the city ( hills and such). With a quick google search i came across Worksman cycles. Thats how simple im trying to keep it, but not sure yet if they have more than 3 speed bikes which wont be too good for hills but again i dont know. My biking purposes will not replace my vehicle but will aid me on short errands (2-4 miles round trip) riding to my fiance's job (3 miles round trip)for lunch multiple times a week and just exercise which end up being 10 miles round trip.

Going off topic a bit here, but its Monday.
I think building a wheel set to handle all ranges is a big ask. I would not want to buy a wheel set that would work for a 400# rider for a 140# rider. There is too much extra material to handle such a range. So while some do not like to buy parts that have a max weight recommendation - I prefer to buy such parts. It says the manufacture was paying attention to who they are selling to.

I've ridden 24 hole on the front of my 400# tandem. It worked, but it was not a good idea.

This is my Bike aprox 6 years old.
Marin Muirwoods 29er review - BikeRadar USA

Get a custom built set of wheels. You need really good V rims like a DT swiss 565 or Velocity Deep v rims with 36 spokes 3 cross. Add some double butted spokes and I see no reason that you cannot ride a set of wheels like this. The key is to get some good solid rims that can handle the weight with 36 spokes 3 cross. I think a custom builder could do this easy for you and not really all the expensive because you are looking for what most folks what to avoid. This being a heavy set of wheels that feel like boat anchors. You are going to strong and solid.

I'm going to show this post to a bike shop and hopefully they cook this up for me. What about 40 spokes assuming more is better? Also I got a quote for a custom build but and it will be around 400 for both wheels. I was told I don't need two but I would rather get a matching set. Does that sound right in price range?

I meant ft Swiss 585 rims.

Not a bike shop! Not a bike shop! Not a bike shop! ... Get the point?

a quick google search returned this guy: Hands on Wheels

from the front page of his site: "I'm passionate about bicycle touring "self-contained," so the wheels I build are designed to carry big loads and withstand serious stress over time."

As long as you are facing increased wheel weight to obtain sturdiness, you might as well also get modern features you might normally avoid if you were keeping the weight down. So a wide and 30 mm deep aluminum rim is the logical choice. I recommend the Flo 30. That is one robust rim...or two I guess if you want both front and rear. :)

Yeah, I'd be finding a good local wheel builder who can make something to your exact specs. As others have suggested I would also invest in a truing stand and a spoke wrench, that way you can true the wheel yourself when it inevitably happens again. Ultimately it will be money saved. There are a bunch of videos on YouTube that explain how to true a wheel, and it's not as difficult as you might think. In fact, you can practice on the old wheels until you get your technique down.

No one has mentioned tires, but if you're trying to get away with skinny(ish) high pressure tires, I'd consider going larger. I've been riding for 50 years, and my weight's gone as high as 275, so I've had my share of wheel problems. Switching from (just for instance) 700x25 or 28 @ 95-100 psi to 35s or 38s @ 80 is more comfortable, more stable, won't slow you down significantly and absorbs shock that can tweak the wheels. On my commute/around town bike now I'm using cheap 700x43 Kendas I bought on Amazon at 55-60 psi. No wheel problems even jumping curbs and riding over RR tracks and grates.

Keep it simple. Have tires closer to 2 finger widths across than 1 finger width. Or larger.

Make sure your wheels are properly tensioned. Your current wheels are probably fine once tightened up. You can pay someone to do it...will probably be in the $50 to $100 range to rebuild your current wheels, or you can buy a $10 spoke wrench and $50 tensionometer to do it yourself while reading up on wheelbuilding on the Sheldon Brown website. It is time intensive....but relaxing and really not all that difficult. Dishing tool would probably be handy as well. Still...either way you're looking at around $100 to get the problem fixed. At your weight, you may just have more truing problems than other regardless of what wheels you have, but having them tensioned properly will dramatically reduce the problems i think.

Velocity also makes the Chukker rim which comes in 36, 40 or 48 spoke versions. wide enough to take a good sized tire, too. Velocity Wheels - Hand Made in USA

I built a wheelset for our tandem, 286 lb. team. I bought the parts from bikehubstore . I bought 36H Kinlin XC279 rims, CX-Ray spokes, and nipples, and laced them to our Chris King hubs, which we already had. I built the set myself, but your LBS or local wheelbuilder could do it for you. I built the wheelset in January 2014 and IIRC, I've done a minor true a couple of times. We have over 6000 miles on these wheels. These are 23mm wide X 28mm deep rims. They are very strong. We run Conti 4000 IIS 28mm tires, 105 lbs. for us, maybe 110 lbs. for you. Never a pinch flat. We broke one spoke in a paceline accident, otherwise they've been perfect.

We're a little lighter than you, but I think this build would work fine for you, with whatever hubs you feel would work in your budget.

Edit: On the issue of one wheelset not working for every weight, I weigh 145 and built a similar set for my carbon road bike, same model rims and spokes but light hubs and 20H front, 24H rear. They look really cool and are fast wheels. Yeah, wouldn't work on our tandem!

I've had a lot of wheel trouble since I started riding and the thing that helped most was finding the right builder. I was using 36 spoke MA40 wheels and I carried spokes on rides because I broke them so often. Finding a guy who took his time to build the wheels made a huge difference.

How many spokes do your wheels have? If the rims are toast you might be able to re-use the hubs.