fdny9943

I'm 6'2" and 301 lbs. I ride a 2011 Trek 1.2 with 23mm tires. I may go up to 25 mm tires next season but for now I'm comfortable and I enjoy my bike.

Rprice54

Moving to 25mm tires was the best upgrade I've made to my bike. Much smoother ride.

amishboy51

I'm an ancient (61) super-Clyde (280, but down from 325# over the past year), who's finally back to some riding, now that the temp is consistently getting up to 50 degrees. Doing so, however, has reminded me that my butt hurts while riding; I have to stand to relieve "pressure" about every 10-15 minutes. Is this normal (after at least 50-100 hours of riding), or (as I'm thinking of doing) should I take it back to the LBS for a recheck and/or a new saddle?

FrenchFit 

At 60 and 6' I'm coming down from 235lb. I have a big wide frame which is both a blessing and a curse as it tends to hide the weight and suggest I'm fitter than I actually am. BMI don't lie.

As far as the saddle, it could well be the saddle itself but it might be your riding position and overall fit. I'm used to riding many hours at a time pain free but when I get on a more upright bike - or better said a more upright riding position - I will feel that pain in the tailbone and rear of the sitz bones in an hour or so and be a little sore the next day. When I got into biking several years ago the big aha! moment was learning to rotate the pelvis forward and torso down, made a huge difference in my endurance level, power and comfort. Ironically, when you do start riding more flat back the comfort saddles stop being comfortable, and you begin to obsess over bike fit. The bad news is there is no one easy fix, but the good news is once properly positioned and fit the prospect of riding 60 miles is no big deal...just get on and ride.

Chugosh

Been a while since I checked in. My back is still awful, and for quite a while I was leary of getting out and doing anything, but I have had enough of that, so this morning I did get outside and walked a mile barefoot over aboput half new and half old concrete sidewalks with a few macadam streets to cross. In some of the old concrete spots, I had to take to the grass on the side, but I got through my mile and even ran a couple hundred yards when I got back on the nice new smoothe stuff. It made my feet a little sore but unhurt and it was so good to get out there.

It may be a while till I can get on the bike again, but I still love it. I do not know if I will ever get to be the long distance cyclist, but I do like a ramble around the neghborhood.

And in other news, because of my diet alone, mostly, I am down to 206 pounds, which is finally in the "Healthy" BMI range. I'm 6' 5.5" and I started out at 373# in the Morbidly Obese range, (348# this time last year in the Obese range). Now I move from the losing phase to the maintainance phase of my eating plan.

I also discovered a new old book to look at called "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron, and I'm trying that out as well.

10 Wheels

Loosing weight is all about food control.

Last years Tour de France winner at 6 ft 3' 160 lbs

kristysgrille

I am looking for help in finding a little girl's bike that can hold 200 lbs. I'd like it to look like a child's bike rather than an adults since daughter is still young... hopefully with white wheels or white-walls to look "girlie". I just don't think the average "Barbie" bike will hold her (12 yr old).

goldfinch

How tall is she? Budget?

kristysgrille

I can only spend what an average kid's bike is ... about $50-$80. Height is just about 5 ft.
Thanks!

B8888S

Been lurking for a while around here, but this is my first post. I started out the year at 6' and 275 lbs. and felt horrible. I started seriously dieting and riding in Feb. I rode my old Target special Schwinn for 200 miles before buying a real bike. I was 265 lbs. at that time. I bought a Specialized Carve Comp mountain bike from my lbs and was in love. Well after some serious dieting and riding over 1600 miles, I have officially dropped 50 lbs. and feel great. I now average about 23 miles a day and racked up 560 miles last month alone. To celebrate dropping 50 lbs. my wife bought me a new Specialized Roubaix Elite Apex. I rode it for the first time today and could not be happier with it.

My goal is to ride a 50 miler this summer and hopefully complete a century by October.

StephenT 

I've been lurking around the C/A forum for some time without an introduction so here goes...

I started cycling after a arthroscopic knee surgery many years ago. My Ortho said cycling is the best exercise I could do and away I went. I bought a Centurion Dave Scott Ironman bike. I loved every minute of riding and found myself doing impromptu rides of 60-80 miles. Then life happened and I stopped riding.

Flash forward to 2009. I was then 44, 6'3" and pushing 260 lbs. Chronic knee injuries and knee surgeries had slowed me down for years. I dusted off my old MTB and started riding again. I quickly realized how much fun I was having (despite being out of breath the first dozen rides) and purchased a new Specialized Allez road bike in 2010. I continued cycling until mid 2011 when my left knee finally gave up on me and the only solution was a total knee replacement. Did the knee replacement in Nov 2011 and was cleared for cycling again in March 2012. As a gift to myself I bought a Specialized Roubaix and it did not take long before I was riding my first metric century in late June 2012. Weight started to drop off me quickly and Im now at 210 lbs. Went from a waist size 42 to a 36. I feel great and I am riding regularly with a local club and getting stronger every month.

Reading Mr Beanz ride reports with other C/A members going up GMR has inspired me to push more than I ever did before. I will ride GMR this year and I will make it to the village. I will also do a full century ride this year too.

My 12 yr old son is now riding with me and loves it. He just completed the 31 mile Tour of Long Beach ride with me in May (photo below) and Im now looking to get him a better bike.



Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone sharing their stories.

dragoncast

Hey all,
I'm 5'11, 260lbs, and broadly framed. like seriously, my shoulders are 26" or 27" iirc
I'm having trouble finding a saddle to fit my 150mm sit bones for my fixed gear commuter.
Most of the clydes saddle threads are out of date or recommend models that are hard to find now, or too expensive. I just need a good place to start to replace the junk pack-in saddle on my bike.
Any help would be appreciated by both myself, and the er....'boys' down below.

dexter9326

I'm 5'11" and 268 pounds. Trying to re-dedicate myself to weight loss that includes Weightwatchers and regular riding.

I've got 4 bikes - A 1990 Schwinn Crosscut with a straight handle bar, a 1994 Schwinn Crosscut with a trekking style handlebar, a 1994 Schwinn Crosstrail with the trekking bar, a rear rack and fenders.

The Schwinns are on the heavy side - all around 35 pounds. I use the Crosstrail when the pavement is wet as it has fenders. Both Crosscuts are super comfortable and I interchange them just to get a little variety.

I also have a 2007 Lemond Alpes D'Huez triple that I recently picked up and am just getting used to. It's super light, has the narrow racing tires a carbon/aluminum frame. I've ridden it a couple of times and it's a lot different than my Schwinns with their larger tires and wider handle bars. I'm still playing around with the seat position on my Lemond, trying to get used to drop handle bars and wondering if I just shouldn't have stuck with the Schwinns

Randolfo

I am 6 foot two inches, and I weigh 280 pounds. (I think, I do not weigh myself anymore.) I will never be below 200 pounds, because even at my thinnest I am 205. I am descending from simple, thick, East Germans, who were born to simple, thick, East German plow pullers. When I was a paratrooper and ran over 5 miles everyday, and over 10 on alternating days, I could not break the 200 pound barrier. Cycling was something I did in school, and I thought I would like to get back into it. I also learned of randonneuring, and I thought I would like to try that. Currently, I own a Magna Mountain Bike which usually maddens me during any ride. I am seriously looking at either the BD Motobecane Mirage, Super Mirage, or the KHS Flight 223.

Wut

6 foot about 225 here. 225 has been my weight since forever. I think that is the weight my body weight wants to stay at. I was at 185 pounds in the army, but that was when I was an extremely lean mean fighting machine...running 5-10 miles a day, always moving around...then I started lifting a lot. I'd like to get back to a muscular 190. I've been geared cycling for a while it's just my diet that holds me back. I love Ice Cream and chocolate, what can I say. I'm pudgy but my fitness level is decent...running an 8 minute mile, 50 push ups without resting, 13 pull ups consecutive, etc. But I just stay pudgy because I get cravings for sweets. Any way got a steel single speed to try something different after riding geared bikes for quite some time.

Rollinrock

I'll have to agree completely. I ride 25's and I love them. And I can't really tell any difference in the speed either, but I am still a newbie. Does make for a smoother ride though!

deadsmiley

I'm 5' 8" and 215 lbs. I wasn't always a butterball. Used to run cross country in high school (30 years ago). I got turned on to cycling by my son and my brother. I would like to lose about 40 - 50 pounds. Bought a mnt bike last year (Wahoo 29er) and we never really connected. Traded it for my current ride a couple of weeks ago and I am in love.

We will see what happens!

chrisrook

Well, i'm 5'6'', and weigh in at 250lbs. I've had okay health for years, but after having my second set of kidney stones and my first UTI, I really started to look at my health in a different light. I had always wnjoyed cycling, so I figured i'd get into it for weight loss. Completely cut out soda and candy, been watching what I eat, and just picked up a new to me bike yesterday. A 1998 Cannondale R200. Course, after starting this and telling my sister (she used to be a trainer at a gym) that I wanted to drop 20lbs by September 1st, I got bet to lose 30-40. So, now i'm getting really serious, then found this section.

StephenDedalus

Does anyone know of a good bike shop in Portland, Oregon that would be good at dealing with bikes for Clydesdales? I'm having a lot of trouble with my eBike still and I'm thinking of starting over finding a new bike.

amishboy51

I'm not much of a "tech guy," so excuse my ignorance, but what is this 25mm I keep seeing? What's on the Schwinn I bought "off the floor" from the LBS?

goldfinch

It is the width of the tires. Skinny road bike tires are usually, though not always, 23s or 25s. Your Schwinn likely will have wider tires. Hybrid tires are usually wider, but not as wide as mountain bike tires. The poster who mentioned going to 25mm tires was likely going from 23s. The 25s are a bit more comfortable to ride on than the skinner 23s. Thirty-twos would be even more comfortable.

Urugami

Hello, fellow Clydesdales (and Athenas)
I've been reading the Bike Forums for a couple of months, ever since I found it while looking for info on tagalongs so I could take my son riding and have him keep up with me, rather than stopping to pick things up. Saw some good things said about the WeeRide, so we picked one up at Academy and we've got about 50 miles under its wheel so far.
My bike is a '93 or so Diamondback Approach mountain bike. Still fairly stock, though it does have a new seat, and I had it serviced by the LBS a few years ago, including new tires, brake pads, and a general tune-up of joints and cables. Over the years, it's been a very reliable bike, and has never given me any problems.
Physically, I'm 6' 1'', and just under 300 pounds. The last month or so of riding hasn't resulted in much weight loss, but my goal is more fitness oriented than just numbers on a scale or a tape. That being said, I'd like to lose between 4-6 inches off my waist, and about 50 pounds. Time will tell what I'll be able to do...
So far, it's working pretty well. I can't say I've lost all that much weight, but I'm feeling a lot better; my knees have stopped hurting, shirts aren't as tight, and I'm even wearing out the kid so he's a little more willing to go to sleep at night . With him, I've been going about 4-6 miles at a time, since he really doesn't have the concept of 'balance' down, and still tends to lean sharply from side to side for some reason. I have no idea why he thinks that helps, but I've almost stopped him from doing it. Without the tagalong, I've gone over 6 miles, and yesterday managed to get a 10-mile ride in, though it took longer than the wife was expecting. I know these aren't impressive distances, but I'm still building my endurance, and once I get some routes established in my suburban environment, and get my son better trained on how NOT to toss us both into a ditch, I'm hoping to get some longer, more calorie-burning sessions in the books. I want to log at least 100 miles this month. Again, not impressive by any standards, but it's a start.
I'll post pics of the bike(s) when I take them and get them uploaded somewhere.

Thanks for the great, informative forums, and a special place for the larger participants. I'd never heard 'Clydesdale' used this way before, but I like it...

deadsmiley

I hope to be exiting Clydesdale status in 2-3 weeks. I was just over the limit to begin with though.

LabRat2k3

Hello, new member here. I'm 5'8" and 270lbs and will be 39 in a couple of days. Just started riding last week and am hoping to use this site to keep me accountable with sticking to it. First ride I though my legs were going to catch fire and explode at about the 1.5 mile mark. I'm up to doing 5 miles a day now and feeling a little better each time. Glad I found a place with others who face similar challenges. My goal is to be down around 200 lbs by my 40th birthday.

wbuttry

Well I lost a little bit of weight myself. Was 230 now down 210. Working my way torward leaving the clyde status physicaly . But mentaly i'll always be a clyde and glad to be one. I'm a diabetic was on 4 shots a day. I go doc Friday to see what my a1c is before I went on a diet it was 13.9.. Three months ago it went down to 8.0 I'm hoping it will be like 7 or below. I only take short rides because it is way to hot out side for me during the day im off off summer. And work all winter so this summer I decided I was gonna get back to my earlier body size wearing 32 waist or 36 waist. But now when I eat I feel my metabolism kick in and I get hot. It is burning that food as fuel with a quickness. I feel like after eating getting out and riding a 5 or 10 mile ride . I do all that at nite not hot and less humid .