Fat guy getting a brand new bike!!! Opinions on what I am being suggested

Ok, long story short, my wife recently left me after 2 years to pursue a career in partying with friends, got an email saying she was filing for divorce and I had to move out of the house we were renting. So now I live with a family member till I can get my own place but I now have MANY miles of beautiful roads to get out and exercise on. I will be going to the gym soon but I also want to finally get my own bike and get out and take advantage of the area god has allowed me to be in.

Few stats about me:
27 years old
6'6" almost 6'7"
355lbs
Looking to lose the extra weight and biking seems like a casual way for me to get out and enjoy the area I'm living in now as well as get some light cardio before I hit the gym at night for full work out.

I will be 99% on pavement and already know I will be spending a good ammount of money for a bike. I have called a few places and the one place where I actually got a response other than "come in and we will talk" pushed me towards the bike I will be listing below. I think just due to the great customer service I experience over the phone I will be sticking to this shop which is local to where I'm living.

Bike suggested and some reasonings which I jotted down to get more feedback on:

KHS Urban -Xcel
23" frame with road tires

Disc brakes- not a huge deal here, but I know the importance of stopping power and that the more load you carry the more power you need..lol

32 wide tire with K-shield anti-puncture- he explained this a bit to me and said this was a good stock choice in tire due to width and overall strength.

Double wall rim- yet another feature which he liked that came stock was this rim choice due to its strength and stability of the double wall feature

He also pointed out that the tires would be set around 90psi which I understand due to my weight and said the suspension fork on this model was great for me to help reduce overall uncomfort while riding.

The overall package is $650 which is pretty far out of my budget right now, but I am going into this knowing i need to spend the money and if I do spend the money I will definitely keep my commitment to staying on it and getting off the pounds.

Now my questions are:

A) does the bike above seem reasonable?
B) The bike comes in a XL frame size, is this big enough for my height and weight?
C) Any other suggestions on what to maybe look at before commiting to going with what the bike shop recomends.

Thank you in advance

 

It seems reasonable for you and for casual training or commuting but I suggest not falling in love with the first bike you see. Shop around a bit if possible and make sure the salesman knows how to fit a bike to your style and measurments.

 

If you have already joined a gymn then see if that gymn offers spinning classes. If not join a different gymn with a spinning class offer. The spinning class will give you the cardio you are looking for and then the weights are there as well. Try to lose 10 pounds before going out on the road.
Purchase a Heart rate monitor if going to spin class. Purchase spin sneakers.
Purchase a helmet cause "stuff" happens on the road.
Next, if you have not bought bicycle shorts buy them!. You can also look into buying mtn bike shorts. Why? Padding in the crotch! Use the shorts for spin class.
Look for a 30 minute spin class beginner if possible.
Why the local bike stores told you to come in. That is a common request from LBS people. They would like to see you on a bike they might have and make better suggestions. To make suggestions over the phone...well things might change once you see them in person.
Sounds like they are showing you a hybrid bike.
The psi in tires is of little concern but the rims and the spokes is what you should be concerned more about. However, the rims and spokes also have to do with your cranking power. I do not think you should over think the rims and spokes at this time.
I hear you "brother" about the wife thing. Cycling is for you, not her, not a divorce thing. Cycling is your time. Do not work out to lose weight and make her sorry she left you. Do it for yourself, enjoy all aspects of it. Take photos of your cycling trips. Good luck!

 

Mike,

Thanks for the advise and words of encouragement, the reason I'm looking into biking now is because I now have access to some amazing routes around me which I see everyday and just remember what it was like as a kid riding thru this same area. It really has nothing to do with my divorce, my friend wants to start riding his bike more and I wanted to hit the gym again, so we comprimised and decided to encourage eachother to do both by him getting a membership with me at a local gym, and I will be purchasing a bike soon to hit the road again.

I've already lost some weight from just life in general, depression sucks and is not a good way to lose some pounds, but I have noticed a difference and I want to keep shedding some pounds but do it safely. I have been looking into what else I need to buy for riding my bike, and shorts were first on my list along with a heart rate monitor and some good shoes. I must also mention I am clueless as to what kind of shoes work best for biking, I wear a size 18 shoe so I'm sure my available "type" i'm looking for is very limited, any help would be appreciated.

I understood the reason for coming in, it was the way the LBS guys reacted to me asking if they could help me find something, it was more of a "just come in and we will see" instead of the nice guy who actually asked to put me on hold so he could look up something so I had a reference point to give to whoever was there when I walked in, he just seemed nicer. I plan on visiting a few places, but the one I really like seems to be the front runner right now just due to customer service and overall demeaner on the phone, plus they are just down the road and I love spending money locally when I can.

The gym I'm going to has spin classes, I'm looking at doing some of them as well, the main reason for a gym membership for me is weight training and being able to do my cardio stuff when its not good outside, plus a little extra on days I do ride as well. I will definitely do spin stuff once winter hits, I really want to put my all into this changing in my life, I'm going back to school as well so I figure I might as well do a complete makeover this year, all of this has been planned, but now that I'm separated from the wife its just kicked up even more with all the extra time I have to devote to me instead of her...lol