Weight Considerations: Road Vs. Mountain

A road bike should be no problem for street riding on good roads. I
would recommend 36 spoke wheels properly tensioned and trued. Clearance
for 28 to 32 mm tires. You will need to keep the tires fully inflated to
avoid pinch flats.

I regularly ride a 40 year old Peugeot and a Raleigh loaded up to about
280 lbs. The only problem has been pinch flats (on the rear) before I
switched to 32mm tires. You can put a larger tire (say 30mm) on the rear
and still use a smaller one on the front (say 23mm) to decrease rolling
resistance. Most of the weight is on the rear tire.

HTH,
EJ in NJ

Quoted message said:

Can I get opinions on what the maximum weight is a person should be
before road bikes become a bad idea?

Since mountain bikes are better suited for carry heavier loads, I was
trying to get an idea of how heavy is too heavy when it comes to Road
bikes? Is 240lbs too heavy?

This concerns street riding and nothing extreme.

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Quoted message said:

Can I get opinions on what the maximum weight is a person should be
before road bikes become a bad idea?

Since mountain bikes are better suited for carry heavier loads, I was
trying to get an idea of how heavy is too heavy when it comes to Road
bikes? Is 240lbs too heavy?

This concerns street riding and nothing extreme.

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

I know a 340 pound person who rides a stock Cannondale R800. 2002 year
I think. Carbon fork with metal steerer. 23mm tires. Some kind of
factory built Gipiemme wheels with a weird spoke lacing and oddly
formed/machined rim with flats between spokes. He has had no wheel or
equipment problems in the year or so he has ridden the bike. He is not
a high mileage person but at his weight, the 1,000 miles he puts on the
bike in a year would surface any catastrophic problems immediately.

I ride a couple times a week with a 230 pound person who has ridden the
same carbon tubed Specialized Epic with Dura Ace 8 speed and 32 hole
rims and 20 mm tires since about the mid 1990s. He does change the
tires when they wear out. The rest of the stuff stays the same. He is
a couple thousand mile a year rider.

"Nick Kew" wrote

Quoted message said:

Since he [cross]posted to uk.rec.cycling, a UK-oriented reply seems
perfectly in order. I have no idea what presence (if any) Dawes has
in the .. ahem .. colonies.

--
not me guv

Dawes does not currently export to the ..ahem.. *former* colonies. Nor are
Dawes bicycles exported to the other 37 states.
--
mark

Forgot to add that both my bikes run 23mm wide tires. I didn't like
them as much at first, but I got used to them over the first few hundred
miles. Mountain bike tires feel mushy to me now.

Quoted message said:

Since mountain bikes are better suited for carry heavier loads, I was
trying to get an idea of how heavy is too heavy when it comes to Road
bikes? Is 240lbs too heavy?

Not at all a problem for mine. It's a fairly [censored] road bike. Cheap
cromoly steel frame, 23mm tyres, cheapish wheels. Although it's a racer
it's been bodged up to look like a tourer and I've had long me+luggage
110kg/242lb trips on it with zero problems.

Quoted message said:

Can I get opinions on what the maximum weight is a person should be
before road bikes become a bad idea?

Since mountain bikes are better suited for carry heavier loads, I was
trying to get an idea of how heavy is too heavy when it comes to Road
bikes? Is 240lbs too heavy?

This concerns street riding and nothing extreme.

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Since I have heard of road tandems where the combined weight of 2 people
of 150lbs each would be 300 on 2 wheels I think you would be OK, but may
get more than your fair share of pinch flats. You would also have to
keep your tires near the max of 120 PSI. You might get more info by
going to Sheldon Brown's web site.
On this group you will probably get more advice than you need but at
least you will get some.
Good luck,
Bill Baka

"vernon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
:> Since mountain bikes are better suited for carry heavier loads, I was
: > trying to get an idea of how heavy is too heavy when it comes to Road
: > bikes? Is 240lbs too heavy?
: >
: 240 lbs pah! you lightweight!
:
: I have a road bike that survives my 290+ lb carcase. I run it on 700c x
25
: tyres and have not had any problems. It has a chrome moly steel frame
can't
: say if carbon would survive but there again I don't love cycling enough to
: raise a mortgage for a state of the art machine.

good for you getting out there on a bike. I have heard several people in
that size range who wouldn't dream of doing it. I give you a ton of credit!

Pat in TX
:
:

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Can I get opinions on what the maximum weight is a person should be
before road bikes become a bad idea?

Since mountain bikes are better suited for carry heavier loads, I was
trying to get an idea of how heavy is too heavy when it comes to Road
bikes? Is 240lbs too heavy?

This concerns street riding and nothing extreme.

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

No. Just keep away from the very light top-end bikes. A basic aluminium or
steel frame road/audax/tourer should cope without problem.

Cheers, helen s

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Can I get opinions on what the maximum weight is a person should be
before road bikes become a bad idea?

Since mountain bikes are better suited for carry heavier loads, I was
trying to get an idea of how heavy is too heavy when it comes to Road
bikes? Is 240lbs too heavy?

This concerns street riding and nothing extreme.

Depends on the bike and the parts it is built up with.
-------------
Alex

in message <[email hidden]>,

(') said:

Can I get opinions on what the maximum weight is a person should be
before road bikes become a bad idea?

Depends on the road bike. You don't want ultra-light frames and
low-spoke-count wheels if you're /very/ heavy, but I have a 20 stone
(280lb) friend who rides an Isaac carbon time trial bike and a
Specialized Tarmac carbon race bike, and is devastatingly fast on both.

Quoted message said:

Since mountain bikes are better suited for carry heavier loads,

What on earth gave you that impression? It's quite false. Mountain Bikes,
like road bikes, come in a variety of different builds, and many of them
are definitely not designed to carry lardy gut buckets.

Quoted message said:

This concerns street riding and nothing extreme.

If you're riding on the street you /definitely/ don't want a mountain
bike, which isn't designed for street riding and is quite unsuitable for
it.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

:: Wisdom is better than weapons of war ::
:: Ecclesiastes 9:18 ::

in message <[email hidden]>,

rdclark (') said:

Tony Raven said:

rdclark said:

[email hidden] wrote:

I was
> trying to get an idea of how heavy is too heavy when it comes to
> Road bikes? Is 240lbs too heavy?

Not at all. The main thing heavier riders need to concertn
themselves with (on any kind of bike) is the wheels. Well-built
36-spoke wheels will be adequate for riders much heavier than you.
On a road bike, I would recommend looking for one that can
accommodate 700x28c tires (some racing bikes don't have enough
clearance for tires that wide).
> This concerns street riding and nothing extreme.

I'm 220lbs and happily ride 32 spoke wheels on my road and mountain
bikes and I have 23mm road tyres that perform quite adequately. So
you don't need anything special for that weight.

I would still recommend buying a bike with sufficient tire clearance
for 28's. To need it and discover you don't have it would be
unpleasant.

I can't imagine 'needing' 28s, at least not for riding on tarmac. They're
huge, and will have a horrible effect on handling. 23 is enough for
anyone.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

Morning had broken. I found a rather battered tube of Araldite
resin in the bottom of the toolbag.

Quoted message said:

Can I get opinions on what the maximum weight is a person should be
before road bikes become a bad idea?

Since mountain bikes are better suited for carry heavier loads, I was
trying to get an idea of how heavy is too heavy when it comes to Road
bikes? Is 240lbs too heavy?

This concerns street riding and nothing extreme.

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

240 isn't a problem for a road bike, or really any kind of bike I know
of (I'm in that range and have 5 bikes, 3 road, 2 mountain).

It's particularly important to find a good bike shop, one that will
understand the needs of a heavier rider. The major issue is wheels.
Having well set up wheels (proper spoke tension, stress relieved) is
important for all riders, but critical for heavy riders. The consequence
of badly set up wheels is not so much safety as the nuisance of breaking
spokes and developing wheel wobble.

You may prefer somewhat wider tires than are typically sold with most
road bikes. Ask the shop about the maximum tire size than can be fitted
to any bike you're interested in.

in message <[email hidden]>, Roger Zoul

(') said:

gds <[email hidden]> wrote:
:> There are plenty of folks 240+ who ride road bikes. Heck there is at
:> least one Tour de France rider at 200+ lbs.

Really? Who was that? Did he finish?

Big Maggie, didn't finish this year. Won Paris-Roubaix last year (4th
this year), has won a TdF stage (stage 19, 1998). Lives in Wales.
Reputed to be a very nice guy.
<URL:http://magnusbackstedt.crazynot2.com/site/>

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

Age equals angst multiplied by the speed of fright squared.
;; the Worlock

in message <[email hidden]>, Wheels by BFWG

(') said:

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Can I get opinions on what the maximum weight is a person should be
before road bikes become a bad idea?

I've been working my way down from 1/7 of a ton. . .approaching 1/8
ton again. I like my 'cross bike. . . sort of the best of both worlds.
Plenty of gear to get up hills, lots of room for FAT tires (I ride 35mm
Panaracer Paselas on the road), plus lighter weight and more comfy than
a dedicated mountain bike.

This is ridiculous. Two out of the first three full suspension cross
country bikes at this years' Mountain Bike World Cup final stage were
under 20lbs (probably the third one was as well but I don't actually
know that). Several of the hard tail bikes in that race were under
17lbs; the two guys from my club who were racing were both on sub-19lb
bikes. Is your cross bike really lighter than that?

You simply /cannot/ make that sort of generalisation. Yes, the very
lightest real usable road bikes are /probably/ lighter than the lightest
usable mountain bike. But plenty of mountain bikes are a lot lighter
than the average road bike.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

Anagram: I'm soon broke.

"Simon Brooke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I can't imagine 'needing' 28s, at least not for riding on tarmac. They're
huge, and will have a horrible effect on handling. 23 is enough for
anyone.

You must have wonderful pavement where you live, and ride only lightweight
racing bikes.

Me, I've had more than one pinch-flat riding narrow tires on city streets,
and have certainly never noticed any deterioration of handling using 28's on
a bike designed to accommodate them (comparing like tire to like tire;
obviously a 700x28 touring tire is going to have different characteristics
from a lighter training tire of the same nominal size).

RichC

On Fri, 07 Oct 2005 21:21:49 +0100, Simon Brooke <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I can't imagine 'needing' 28s, at least not for riding on tarmac. They're
huge, and will have a horrible effect on handling. 23 is enough for
anyone.

Yeah. Cause all those people riding 37s are falling on their asses at
every corner. Handling sucks at those sizes!

Jasper

On Fri, 07 Oct 2005 21:44:58 +0100, Simon Brooke <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

in message <[email hidden]>, Wheels by BFWG

(') said:

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Can I get opinions on what the maximum weight is a person should be
before road bikes become a bad idea?

I've been working my way down from 1/7 of a ton. . .approaching 1/8
ton again. I like my 'cross bike. . . sort of the best of both worlds.
Plenty of gear to get up hills, lots of room for FAT tires (I ride 35mm
Panaracer Paselas on the road), plus lighter weight and more comfy than
a dedicated mountain bike.

This is ridiculous. Two out of the first three full suspension cross
country bikes at this years' Mountain Bike World Cup final stage were
under 20lbs (probably the third one was as well but I don't actually
know that). Several of the hard tail bikes in that race were under
17lbs; the two guys from my club who were racing were both on sub-19lb
bikes. Is your cross bike really lighter than that?

You simply /cannot/ make that sort of generalisation. Yes, the very
lightest real usable road bikes are /probably/ lighter than the lightest
usable mountain bike. But plenty of mountain bikes are a lot lighter
than the average road bike.

Plenty of lightweight mountain bikes are lighter than an average road
bike, yeah. But an average mountainbike versus an average road bike and
even a walmart level mountainbike versus a road bike at that level, the
road bike will be the lighter one. For any given price point/quality
level, mountain bikes will be heavier than road bikes. That's sort of a
necessary evil because they get loaded much more heavily as well.

You can *totally* make that sort of generalisation.

Jasper

David L. Johnson said:

I don't believe that mountain bikes are intrinsically more capable of
handling larger riders. The tires and frames look beefier, but that is to
deal with the terrain, not the rider. Mountain-bike wheels have the same
range of spoke-counts as road wheels, and a 24-spoke mountain bike wheel
will be no better for you than a 24-spoke road wheel.

Actually, 559 rimmed wheels *are* inherently quite a bit stiffer and
sturdier than 622-rimmed wheels (especially for a given weight), and
probably more durable as well. 24-spoke will probably still be inadequate,
but not by as large a margin.

Jasper

Simon Brooke said:

This is ridiculous. Two out of the first three full suspension cross
country bikes at this years' Mountain Bike World Cup final stage were
under 20lbs (probably the third one was as well but I don't actually
know that). Several of the hard tail bikes in that race were under
17lbs; the two guys from my club who were racing were both on sub-19lb
bikes. Is your cross bike really lighter than that?

You simply /cannot/ make that sort of generalisation. Yes, the very
lightest real usable road bikes are /probably/ lighter than the lightest
usable mountain bike. But plenty of mountain bikes are a lot lighter
than the average road bike.

While you can't make an absolute generalization, it's safe to say that
*at a given price point* the 'cross bike will be lighter than the MTB,
on average. Yes, there are extra-heavy 'cross bikes and extra-light
MTBs, but when you start out with a rigid fork vs. a suspension fork,
you're about a pound ahead coming off the starting line.

When you consider most MTBs are full-suspension, the discrepancy grows
even wider.

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $795 ti frame

Peter B said:

Nah, nah, nah nah..

Is this helpful or is it blatant one-upmanship?

Elaborate if you feel it is necessary, otherwise just be silent and let others
give advice that the OP can use ;-)

Ken in
Canader