Bike for a Big Guy?

[DallasBigGuy]

Hello,

I'm new here. I was hoping that I could get some friendly advice from this community in regard to a new bike purchase.

I just taught my 8 year old son how to ride a bike and now he wants me to ride with him. I'm looking to purchase an inexpensive, off-the-rack bike to ride on the weekends on a paved trail. I'm 6'6" and weigh 350#. Can I buy off-the-rack? Will something from a Wal-Mart type store be suitable for me?

Thanks!

Billy
Dallas, Texas

 

[ireman_1]

Hello,

I'm new here. I was hoping that I could get some friendly advice from this community in regard to a new bike purchase.

I just taught my 8 year old son how to ride a bike and now he wants me to ride with him. I'm looking to purchase an inexpensive, off-the-rack bike to ride on the weekends on a paved trail. I'm 6'6" and weigh 350#. Can I buy off-the-rack? Will something from a Wal-Mart type store be suitable for me?

Thanks!

Billy
Dallas, Texas

Everything that follows is based on the sentece: "I'm looking to purchase an inexpensive, off-the-rack bike to ride on the weekends on a paved trail." Emphasis on: "...paved trail."

Yes, you can buy a stock bike that will be "suitable" for someone of your size. The bikes you will find at the big box stores will work, however the build quality is going to be extremely suspect (read: horrible 99 times out of 100 and bad the other time). Wheels and seat posts tend to die under fella's of our size (6'3" @ 250, down from 3 bills). Wheels and peripherals are areas the big box bike builders tend to skimp on. They hang a branded part here or there for the sake of legitimacy, but all other parts (rims/spokes/hubs especially) are pretty bad...

Most local bike shops have several new bike models that are sub-$400 and would serve you well on the paved trails for many years to come. With them you also get the backing and support of pros (if you shop at a quality shop). Many shops carry trade-ins or the occasional used bike as well. The two I frequent (read: spend my life away at) have many "townie" types or used "mtb-ish" bikes for sale most of which are below $300 and all of which come with free tunes and wheel truing for at least a year.

Unless you are going to spend mass amounts of cash I wouldn't get too hung up on the brand of bike for the use you mention. Some makers that tend to produce reliable bikes at fair prices and encourage their retailers to treat their customers correctly are: Giant, Kona, GT/Dyno, & Raleigh. There are others, but those all produce bikes that fit the bill you are asking for and produce sizes large enough to accommodate you. There is a chance you may wish to get a longer/higher rise stem (or whatever), but any shop can help out with the fit and maybe give you a "hook-up" if they/you are cool.

Anyway, lots to think about but spend your money wisely and it will treat you well. Take care.

K.

 

[DallasBigGuy]

Thanks for the info. Turns out that there's a well established bike shop very near me that does excellent work (I'm told). I was told pretty much the same thing you wrote. Buy a decent bike off-the-rack and have them upgrade my wheels and seatpost. The shop indicated that I should buy 48 spoke Sun Rhyno Light wheels and a downhill or titanium seatpost.

Thanks again for you help!

Billy
Dallas, Texas

 

[ireman_1]

Thanks for the info. Turns out that there's a well established bike shop very near me that does excellent work (I'm told). I was told pretty much the same thing you wrote. Buy a decent bike off-the-rack and have them upgrade my wheels and seatpost. The shop indicated that I should buy 48 spoke Sun Rhyno Light wheels and a downhill or titanium seatpost.

Thanks again for you help!

Billy
Dallas, Texas

No problem. Have fun riding. I'm not convinced you *need* the 48 hole rims. I love Sun/Ringle' rims though. I have 36 hole Singlewides on my "trail" bike and 32 hole Rhynolites on my XC bike and they both hold up well. It's probably fair to say that mine see more stress and opportunities to die (being ran off-road almost exclusively) getting jumped, dropped, slammed sideways, etc than paved trail riding will bring. My personal opinion (not worth much I know) is that 36 hole Rhynos built with 14 guage straight guage spokes would be just groovy for you. The "best" seat post is the Thomson, but they are pricey. Folks our size have little business on Ti posts. They are light, but flexy once we get on them. The target weight for most of the Ti posts I've seen is sub-200 (max 210 on one I was told after an email question to the company). An Easton EA 50 or EA 70 would treat you just fine as well. I'm sure there are other seatposts that would work, but the three I mention are the three I have lots of time with and have held up to my torture and size. Have fun!

K.

 

[willtsmith]

Hello,

I'm new here. I was hoping that I could get some friendly advice from this community in regard to a new bike purchase.

I just taught my 8 year old son how to ride a bike and now he wants me to ride with him. I'm looking to purchase an inexpensive, off-the-rack bike to ride on the weekends on a paved trail. I'm 6'6" and weigh 350#. Can I buy off-the-rack? Will something from a Wal-Mart type store be suitable for me?

Thanks!

Billy
Dallas, Texas

If you ever intend to cycle seriously off-road, your prime target is the Kona Hauss. It's build from stem to sterm for the "ample" gentleman.

 

[dgregory57]

In case anyone else searches for large, and finds this thread.

I weighed 365 when I started riding, and I would guess that most hybrids in the affordable range should be reasonably able to support a large rider.

I chose the 2003 Giant Sedona DX, and it has served me well for 1800+ miles (and losing 50+ pounds in the process) I was able to complete a metric century last year (after upgrading to higher pressure, narrower tires with puncture resistant tubes)