Bike for 500lb Person?

Quoted message said:

What bike(s) would you recommend for a 500lb rider, who's about 6'2 in
height? He's been able to ride the Electra Rally Sport, although he
bent a crank on it, and he broke a crank 3 times

He should definitely look into tubular cro-moly cranks, usually tailored to
BMX. These will be quite a bit stronger than the cheap cranks found on
cheaper bikes.

Quoted message said:

and warped a wheel on
the Electra Townie.

Again, BMX style 26" rims laced up to strong hubs will do the trick if he's
using rim brakes. If discs are an option, downhill rims will work well, and
will also be more available. If he's riding single-speed, he should look
into the KMC 510H, which is a thicker chain than most.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

Quoted message said:

Hi,

What bike(s) would you recommend for a 500lb rider, who's about 6'2 in
height? He's been able to ride the Electra Rally Sport, although he
bent a crank on it, and he broke a crank 3 times and warped a wheel on
the Electra Townie. He was considering an adult trike, but he'd
prefer the better speed a bike would offer.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Consider the Greenspeed GTE Expedition Trike. Greenspeed has custom
built these for 400+ pounds of rider and luggage, so it should hold up
for a very long time, at which time your friend may weigh a lot less due
to the exercise of riding.

<http://www.greenspeed.com.au/gte.htm>

--
Tom Sherman

Quoted message said:

Hi,

What bike(s) would you recommend for a 500lb rider, who's about 6'2 in
height? He's been able to ride the Electra Rally Sport, although he
bent a crank on it, and he broke a crank 3 times and warped a wheel on
the Electra Townie. He was considering an adult trike, but he'd
prefer the better speed a bike would offer.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

I'd take a decent steel mountain bike frame and equip it with the
fork, wheels, and other relevant bits from a tandem. A Nexus 7-speed
rear hub instead of a der would be a good idea, so that the wheel
would not need to be built with a dish. I would probably use one of
the forged BMX cranks that are meant to survive hard landings. You're
not going to need to be concerned with making this thing light, so
build beefy.

Alternately, see if anyone in your area has any of the "industrial
biikes" available that are used for in-plant transportation in places
like refineries. They're not elegant, light or stylish, but they're
generally as close to unbreakable as a bike gets.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
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Werehatrack said:

...
Alternately, see if anyone in your area has any of the "industrial
biikes" available that are used for in-plant transportation in places
like refineries. They're not elegant, light or stylish, but they're
generally as close to unbreakable as a bike gets.

McMaster Carr sells these industrial bicycles.
<http://www.mcmaster.com/ctlg/DisplCtlgPage.asp?ReqTyp=CATALOG&CtlgPgNbr=1127&CtlgEdition=&sesnextrep=430373251041958&ScreenWidth=1024&McMMainWidth=817>.

Or <http://www.mcmaster.com/>, catalog page 1127.

--
Tom Sherman

Tom Sherman said:

Werehatrack said:

...
Alternately, see if anyone in your area has any of the "industrial
biikes" available that are used for in-plant transportation in places
like refineries. They're not elegant, light or stylish, but they're
generally as close to unbreakable as a bike gets.

McMaster Carr sells these industrial bicycles.
<http://www.mcmaster.com/ctlg/DisplCtlgPage.asp?ReqTyp=CATALOG&CtlgPgNbr=1127&CtlgEdition=&sesnextrep=430373251041958&ScreenWidth=1024&McMMainWidth=817>.

Or <http://www.mcmaster.com/>, catalog page 1127.

Not to discredit you, but if those bikes come with those 1-piece cranks
pictured, I hardly believe they can support a 500lb man.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

Squid-in-Training said:

Tom Sherman said:

Werehatrack said:

...
Alternately, see if anyone in your area has any of the "industrial
biikes" available that are used for in-plant transportation in places
like refineries. They're not elegant, light or stylish, but they're
generally as close to unbreakable as a bike gets.

McMaster Carr sells these industrial bicycles.
<http://www.mcmaster.com/ctlg/DisplCtlgPage.asp?ReqTyp=CATALOG&CtlgPgNbr=1127&CtlgEdition=&sesnextrep=430373251041958&ScreenWidth=1024&McMMainWidth=817>.

Or <http://www.mcmaster.com/>, catalog page 1127.

Not to discredit you, but if those bikes come with those 1-piece cranks
pictured, I hardly believe they can support a 500lb man.

That's the only thing I'd be worried about; the Ashtabula crank is a
weak link. On the other hand, swapping the BB to one that would
permit the use of forged BMX cranks would, in my opinion, be the only
mod needed in order to overcome it, and the result would seem likely
to fit the bill.

Chalo could probably make a more concrete recommendation.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
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Squid-in-Training said:

Tom Sherman said:

Werehatrack said:

...
Alternately, see if anyone in your area has any of the "industrial
biikes" available that are used for in-plant transportation in places
like refineries. They're not elegant, light or stylish, but they're
generally as close to unbreakable as a bike gets.

McMaster Carr sells these industrial bicycles.
<http://www.mcmaster.com/ctlg/DisplCtlgPage.asp?ReqTyp=CATALOG&CtlgPgNbr=1127&CtlgEdition=&sesnextrep=430373251041958&ScreenWidth=1024&McMMainWidth=817>.

Or <http://www.mcmaster.com/>, catalog page 1127.

Not to discredit you, but if those bikes come with those 1-piece cranks
pictured, I hardly believe they can support a 500lb man.

Dear Phil,

In any case, the A and B models (the others are tricycles)
are listed with a capacity of only 350 pounds for rider and
cargo combined.

Carl Fogel

Quoted message said:

That's the only thing I'd be worried about; the Ashtabula crank is a
weak link. On the other hand, swapping the BB to one that would
permit the use of forged BMX cranks would, in my opinion, be the only
mod needed in order to overcome it, and the result would seem likely
to fit the bill.

If the bike maker is short-sighted enough to put one of those cranks on a
bike designed for industrial/heavy use, then I wouldn't be able to believe
that they put a lot of thought into strengthening the bike where it counts.

If 330lb Chalo can bend forks at will, a 500 lb man may do significantly
more damage, so-to-say.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

Werehatrack said:

Quoted message said:

Hi,

What bike(s) would you recommend for a 500lb rider, who's about 6'2 in
height? He's been able to ride the Electra Rally Sport, although he bent
a crank on it, and he broke a crank 3 times and warped a wheel on the
Electra Townie. He was considering an adult trike, but he'd prefer the
better speed a bike would offer.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

I'd take a decent steel mountain bike frame and equip it with the fork,
wheels, and other relevant bits from a tandem. A Nexus 7-speed rear hub
instead of a der would be a good idea, so that the wheel would not need to
be built with a dish.

That is not really true. There is some dish, even with a nexus hub.
Actually, I have one of those on our tandem, and am not, today, real happy
with it. It failed us on a very minor upgrade. Would not shift, and
the arm holding the shifter cable rotated down and fouled the chain. No,
the locking ring on the axle did not fail. I plan to scrap it for a
derailleur. We did not have _that_ much force, or weight, and there was no
way it should have done this.

Quoted message said:

I would probably use one of the forged BMX cranks
that are meant to survive hard landings.

Most BMX stuff is junk. Mountain bike stuff would be more likely to be
well-built.

To the OP: Talk to Chalo Colima, on this NG. He knows what you need.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | And what if you track down these men and kill them, what if you
_`\(,_ | killed all of us? From every corner of Europe, hundreds,
(_)/ (_) | thousands would rise up to take our places. Even Nazis can't
kill that fast. -- Paul Henreid (Casablanca).

Quoted message said:

What bike(s) would you recommend for a 500lb rider, who's about 6'2 in
height?

For a ready-made solution, check Schauff Sumo:
http://www.schauff.de/schauff2002.de/index.php?language=e&action=fahrrad&typ=XXL%2FXXS&jahr=2005&id=361

It says "weight allowance 200kg" (whatever it means), which is just
your range.

Konstantin.

Konstantin Shemyak said:

Quoted message said:

What bike(s) would you recommend for a 500lb rider, who's about 6'2 in
height?

For a ready-made solution, check Schauff Sumo:
http://www.schauff.de/schauff2002.de/index.php?language=e&action=fahrrad&typ=XXL%2FXXS&jahr=2005&id=361

It says "weight allowance 200kg" (whatever it means), which is just
your range.

200 kg is approximately 440 pounds.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
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440 lbs is pretty close to 500 lbs. I think if the person wants a 2 wheeled
bike this is most likely one of the better options available.

good luck

david

David L. Johnson said:

Werehatrack said:

I would probably use one of the forged BMX cranks
that are meant to survive hard landings.

Most BMX stuff is junk. Mountain bike stuff would be more likely to be
well-built.

To the OP: Talk to Chalo Colima, on this NG. He knows what you need.

"Most" mountain bike stuff is junk too but you have to compare like with
like. Higher end bmx stuff will be stronger than higher end mountain bike
components.

quote='Werehatrack'On 24 Oct 2004 17:48:32 -0700 said:

Hi,

What bike(s) would you recommend for a 500lb rider, who's about 6'2 in
height? He's been able to ride the Electra Rally Sport, although he
bent a crank on it, and he broke a crank 3 times and warped a wheel on
the Electra Townie. He was considering an adult trike, but he'd
prefer the better speed a bike would offer.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

I'd take a decent steel mountain bike frame and equip it with the
fork, wheels, and other relevant bits from a tandem. A Nexus 7-speed
rear hub instead of a der would be a good idea, so that the wheel
would not need to be built with a dish. I would probably use one of
the forged BMX cranks that are meant to survive hard landings. You're
not going to need to be concerned with making this thing light, so
build beefy.

Alternately, see if anyone in your area has any of the "industrial
biikes" available that are used for in-plant transportation in places
like refineries. They're not elegant, light or stylish, but they're
generally as close to unbreakable as a bike gets.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.[/QUOTE]
If the trike option forces itself into play,
Worksman and Trailmate make some heavy duty industrial trikes.

islandsportshop.comPage41.htmOpen ↗
www.trailmate.com

Worksman also makes heavy duty cruisers-might check their weight capaciety.

HPM makes an industrial recumbent trike with a 700 lb cargo bed:
efn.orgtrihaul.htmOpen ↗

There’s a lot of multiperson quads out there that would have a frame that could handle the weight.

Back on the two wheel approach:

Aside from the customizing of the mountain bike, what about tandems ridden solo?
They’ve been designed for two riders, so the frame and wheels have been designed to accommodate the weight. Might need go to beefier cranks and seatpost, but probably need less customization.

Quoted message said:

What bike(s) would you recommend for a 500lb rider, who's about 6'2 in
height? He's been able to ride the Electra Rally Sport, although he
bent a crank on it, and he broke a crank 3 times and warped a wheel on
the Electra Townie. He was considering an adult trike, but he'd
prefer the better speed a bike would offer.

I suppose by now, you have come to appreciate how it's surprisingly
difficult to accomodate so much weight using commercially available
products.

I have been an active cyclist at body weights from 230 to a little
over 400 pounds (at this time I weigh about 375), and I have learned a
lot about bike options and structural engineering in the process. I
am not going to assume that at 400 lbs, the issues are the same as at
500 lbs, but I think I can help.

Wheels and cranks are priority #1, as you appear to already have
discovered. Use 48 spoke wheels, preferably with rims like Sun Rhino
Lites or (even better) Rhynos if you can find any. 3 and 4 rider
bikes have used Sun Rhynos almost exclusively. If you contact
Sun-Ringle, they may be able to tell you who stocked them last.

Spoke gauge is not important, and I have had good results even from
15/16ga butted spokes in 48 hole rims. But in this case, you'll be
using a rim that can support an appropriate tension in 48 straight
14ga. spokes, so I see not reason not to use those.

Fat street tires like the Maxxis Hookworm 26x2.5" or Schwalbe Big
Apple 26x2.35" (which are both the same actual width) will spare both
the wheels and the rider a lot of high amplitude bump loads, and won't
require serious overinflation to work acceptably.

I highly recommend using a quality BMX crank with a 22mm spindle. My
favorite is the Primo Powerbite, and I have no doubts whatsoever that
it will work fine with a 500 lb load. Primo make a British Standard
threaded bottom bracket for it as an option, though it was originally
designed with an American pressed BB.

http://www.danscomp.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi?action=DETAIL&item=451057

I have seen better results from cranks that pinch-bolt to the spindle
like Primos, than from cranks that use a fine pitch pressed spline,
like Profile Racing or these cranks by Industry:

http://www.danscomp.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi?action=DETAIL&item=451200

Either kind is a whole lot stronger than anything made by Shimano, for
instance.

As David Johnson pointed out, there is a lot of sloppily manufactured
junk in the BMX market, but the higher-end stuff is usually very
robust and very good value. BMX cranks, headsets, stems and
handlebars are all likely to be applicable to your project.

BMX stems are short and heavy, making them very rigid and strong. BMX
handlebars add back the height lost to the stem, and can be angled
forwards or backwards to simulate different stem extensions. The fact
that such bars are usually made of sturdy chromoly steel and have a
welded crossbrace should help their durability and safety in this
case.

Seatposts will bend under a 500 lb weight unless the overhanging
portion is kept quite short. Thomson posts have proven to me to be
the strongest generally available. Another option may be to have
someone with a lathe turn a straight seatpost out of solid aluminum
rod. This is the only thing that allows me to use a 22.2mm seatpost,
for instance.

Saddles become a major problem at weights over about 350 lbs. They
must be large for comfort, but most large saddles are sprung for a
much lighter rider, so they sag and bottom out annoyingly. Plain
saddle rails usually bend under the load. Coincidentally, the Electra
stock saddle is one of the best I have ever tried. It also appears to
be retrofittable with stacks of rubber washers to replace the coil
springs. That would make for a firmer spring support. My Electra
saddles still work sort-of-OK for me, so I have not tried this
retrofit just yet.

Do not forget the pedals. I have trashed a lot of them lately, just
by pushing on them. My favorite so far are Snafu sealed bearing
pedals, which have a thick and well-supported axle that I have so far
not managed to bend or break. It looks like it might be the same axle
used in Redline, Haro, Ringle, and Primo sealed bearing BMX/freestyle
pedals as well.

http://www.danscomp.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi?action=DETAIL&item=465088

Atomlab make a pedal called "Trail Pimp" that has a stubby 12mm
diameter spindle running in plain bearings. It looks like a good last
resort for me, and it might work well for a 500-pounder. At $60 to
$80 they are rather pricey, but if that's what it takes...

A last note-- Big mass requires big braking force. For me that means
cantis or linear-pull brakes with a booster arch and Kool-Stop
"Salmon" pads, or else a disc brake with an 8" rotor. ***But there's
a catch!*** The more braking available, the more likely the fork
and/or frame will fail from the load. (I buckled the downtube of a
highly respected manufacturer's touring frame by braking only 3 weeks
ago, and broke both my arms. So take heed!) If the rider is not
taking the bike on steep hills, it might be a better idea to set him
up with good strong normal brakes that won't exaggerate the bike's
structural shortcomings. If he hasn't had really strong brakes
before, he won't miss them.

Good luck. Feel free to contact me by email or in this thread for any
more information.

Chalo Colina

"Phil, Squid-in-Training" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

If he's riding single-speed, he should look
into the KMC 510H, which is a thicker chain than most.

All 1/8" chains and most 3/32" chains are several times stronger than
they need to be. I have only ever broken Shimano chains, and I
abandoned that brand many years ago.

Chalo Colina

"Phil, Squid-in-Training" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Not to discredit you, but if those bikes come with those 1-piece cranks
pictured, I hardly believe they can support a 500lb man.

Forged chromoly 1-pc cranks have worked fine for me, though I admit
oversized BMX 3-pc cranks give me much more confidence. I have only
used them at weights up to 400 lbs, but they are much more reliable
than square-taper or ISIS cranks!

The main issue I see with one-piece cranks is that the pedal stud is
smaller at 1/2 inch (scary), and I have bent every 1/2" pedal I have
tried. :^(

Chalo Colina

"Phil, Squid-in-Training" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

That's the only thing I'd be worried about; the Ashtabula crank is a
weak link. On the other hand, swapping the BB to one that would
permit the use of forged BMX cranks would, in my opinion, be the only
mod needed in order to overcome it, and the result would seem likely
to fit the bill.

If the bike maker is short-sighted enough to put one of those cranks on a
bike designed for industrial/heavy use, then I wouldn't be able to believe
that they put a lot of thought into strengthening the bike where it counts.

If 330lb Chalo can bend forks at will, a 500 lb man may do significantly
more damage, so-to-say.

I'm about 375 lbs nowadays, and up to around 400 lbs fairly recently.

I bend forks with braking force, and I get that braking force by going
to extreme lengths with my brake equipment and setup. I expect that
an ordinary non-boosted linear-pull brake would not be able to
generate enough braking torque to bend most forks equipped with one.

But it is something to be aware of.

Chalo Colina

David L. Johnson said:

There is some dish, even with a nexus hub.
Actually, I have one of those on our tandem, and am not, today, real happy
with it. It failed us on a very minor upgrade. Would not shift, and
the arm holding the shifter cable rotated down and fouled the chain. No,
the locking ring on the axle did not fail.

I have had very good results with SRAM 7-speed hubs, which are
effectively dishless. I take care to use 4 tabbed washers where
possible, one inside and one outside each dropout.

I will only use a Nexus hub on a 20" wheel, as the geartrain and
reaction torques are reduced in proportion to the wheel size. I use 2
tabbed washers for these, one per side.

Either sort of hub will not shift under pedal load, but finds its gear
when the pressure at the pedals is interrupted.

Back when I was getting into 48 spoke wheels and having good success
with them, I knew a competitive strength athlete who weighed something
over 300 lbs and had gotten relief from chronic rear wheel failures by
using a Nexus 7-speed hub on his Cannondale MTB.

Chalo Colina