HELP!!! What equipment should I get???

Hello all!

Need some help. I've decided to start riding, since I've moved to a place next to the beach that has good infrastructures, and allows bicycle practice.

Since I haven't riden in a bit, I'm lacking on equipment info.

I'm a heavy guy: height 5,90 - weight 286 pounds

I was thinking of getting a mountain bicycle with rear spring suspension, but don’t know if it's the ideal choice bearing in mind my weight??

Possible solutions I taught of:

- Change the spring for one more adapted to my weight?

- Change the spring for a compressed air suspension?

- Just by a bicycle with no rear suspension?


Please also bear in mind that I’ll be cicling 1 and ½ hours a day, so I’d like a comfortable ride.

Should I also pay attention to tires? I’ll always be riding on asphalt, but was thinking of getting fat tires to absorb the weight?


So basically what I’m thinking of getting is a bicycle with:

- front suspension
- rear spring suspension
- 26 inch wheels with fat tires

Hope you guys can help me out!!

I'm going to use biking and gym to loose weight.

Thanks in advance.

Luke

PS. Sorry to be double posting. Think here is more appropriate.

Hi Luke.

Well, as you correctly observe, you are a heavy guy, and your choice of getting a mountain bike is the correct one - most road bikes would really be struggling under your weight (no offence meant or anything, it's not my intention or my business to do that - I'm just stating facts). Also, mountain bikes are in general comfier to ride.

A dual-suspension mtb will certainly help to take some of the sting out of bumpy/imperfect road surfaces, but as you correctly observe, there may be issues with the components not being designed for your weight. Better quality stuff is usually weight-adjustable, so all you need to do is find shocks with the right range - a decent bike shop will be able to tell you about this.

As far as tyres go, wider ones are comfier but not as fast (i.e. it takes more power to make them go at the same speed as skinnier ones). However, if you are riding for fitness, speed isn't important - all that matters is that you burn energy, so in a sense, wider tyres could be considered a good thing, because they will make you spend more effort! If your riding will all be on asphalt, "slick" tyres, i.e. smooth ones with little or no tread, are actually better than the knobbly ones you often see on mountain bikes, although this is mostly a speed issue, which as I mentioned, isn't much of a priority. Although, on hard surfaces, slicks corner better, so they are a little safer.

If you do manage to cycle for 1½ hours per day, the weight should fall off really fast (providing you don't eat 6000 calories per day of course!). Long, medium-paced rides are better for burning fat than short fast ones, so you've got exactly the right idea there. Good luck!