Hey! New guy that needs advice!!

[MjMart85]

Hello All,
My name is Matt and I am from s. Florida. I have always enjoyed mountain biking when I was younger, and I used to ride for hours upon hours per day. I am now 22 years old and I am wayy over weight. After graduation in 2003, my weight balooned because I was not training or working out everyday for football anymore. Needless to say ,I am here now because cycling was always a love of mine and I have done a bunch of spin classes lately and I would like to buy a road bike, to be able to do more cardio and enjoy doing it. My question is this. I am just over 300 pounds (down from 350) and I need to know of a good bike to look into? Am I too big for a road bike? I have been looking at TREKs. My budget is pretty much $1500. I look forward to any advice I can get.
Thank you,
-Matthew

 

[kdelong]

Hi Matt, and welcome to our world! First, you are never too big for a road bike. You just need to find a road bike equipped with wheels that will carry your weight. I would definitely go to my Local Bike Shop (LBS) to get fitted to a bicycle and follow their recommendations for a suitable bike. Shop around a little bit and try out different brands of bikes to find the one that you like best. You are going to have to get wheels with a fairly high spoke count, sort of like loaded touring wheels, to handle your current weight. As you lose more weight you will be able to upgrade to higher performance wheels. The big thing is to get with your LBS. They are a little more expensive than what you might find on the internet, but your situation is not typical and the online sellers can't really help you like your LBS would. You should also consult your doctor about riding just to be safe.

 

[JoakimT]

Hi Matt, welcome and gratulatuion to a 50 pund weightdrop! That makes you feel pretty good, huh?!

I have lost some 20 pounds this year and looking forward to drop some 20 more - cycling is at great way to get in shape!

You are not to big for a good quality road bike (read kdelong above), and it seems to me you can afford one. Remember you need shoes, helmet and so on, separate budget?

Keep at it, good luck!

 

[MjMart85]

Thank you very much for the quick feedback!! My girlfriends dad is a longtime recumbent rider and he is very much involved in that whole facset of recumbent life. One of his friends owns a bikeshop and I know that I can get FUJI bikes at a relatively good price through him. Is there any recommendation in model?
Also, my height is about 5'10.
I deffinately felt great that I've lost 50 pounds so far! I just want to continue down the path to a healthier lifestyle!
-Matt

 

[JoakimT]

From what I have seen (European market), Fuji is great bikes. But don´t buy it just because you know some dealer, look around and try multiple bikes if you have the opportunity!

 

[kdelong]

Fuji Bikes are nice bikes, but as Joakim stated, look at some other brands too if you can. Bikes are not widgets. Each manufacturer has a little bit different design and uses slightly different materials, so the ride between different brands of bikes will vary. I have been riding for 40 years now and have ridden a large number of bikes. I personally prefer Raleighs for my aluminum frame road bikes and Univega for steel frame bikes. I don't have a CF bike because I cannot justify the expense for the type of riding that I do. Once you start riding different bikes, you will see these differences.

There is one caveat with Fujis. Make the LBS remove the tire and tube from the rim, and put in a good grade rim tape. The only major weakness that I have found with Fujis is that they tend to use bad rim tape which can lead to a flat if the rim tape slips and allows contact between the tube and the spoke nipples.

 

[Yojimbo_]

Contrary to the others, I don't believe you need to do tons of research and try out a bunch of different bikes to determine which one you like best. If you actually try to do that, you will become paralysed with choice.

I believe all well known bike makers are reputable and make good products. Find something you like, and go for it.

 

[Fujiman]

Fuji's are a great bike but as everyone has said look around at different bikes, I rode a Fuji S12S for close to 30 years and it still rode nice when I sold it to a friend at work and he is still riding it, I am now riding a Carbon Fiber Fuji, I would think your first concern would be a good strong wheel set and maybe a Chrom-Moly frame that is what my first Fuji was and it held up all these years!!!

Keep on riding and good luck on your goals!!!!

 

[rparedes]

Hello All,
My name is Matt and I am from s. Florida. I have always enjoyed mountain biking when I was younger, and I used to ride for hours upon hours per day. I am now 22 years old and I am wayy over weight. After graduation in 2003, my weight balooned because I was not training or working out everyday for football anymore. Needless to say ,I am here now because cycling was always a love of mine and I have done a bunch of spin classes lately and I would like to buy a road bike, to be able to do more cardio and enjoy doing it. My question is this. I am just over 300 pounds (down from 350) and I need to know of a good bike to look into? Am I too big for a road bike? I have been looking at TREKs. My budget is pretty much $1500. I look forward to any advice I can get.
Thank you,
-Matthew

IMHO Treks are overpriced, when compared to other similar quality brands (cannondale, giant, scott) I would look for a "sport road bike" to start with; good components (maybe 105 group); 25mm tires (smoother ride, more load capacity); carbon fork and seat post. You should be able to find a VERy good bike for around $1,000

 

[oldbobcat]

I deffinately felt great that I've lost 50 pounds so far! I just want to continue down the path to a healthier lifestyle!
-Matt

For $1500, Fuji makes fine bikes. Get a good fit and you won't go wrong.

Avoid super-lightweight wheels, though, with 32 or 36 spokes. And use 25mm tires, not 23s. Until you get your weight down to around 200. Trust me, I've been through this too.

 

[dgregory57]

For road bikes, you may want to consider a touring bike. That is what I did. Because they are built for carrying loads, they tend to have a longer wheelbase for the load, and will typically have strong wheels.

Also, there is a forum for Clydesdales (riders over 200 pounds) over at bikeforums.net and you can get a lot of good information there by reading, and asking.

Especially with this being your first move into road bikes, you want to make sure that what you get will be with you long enough to lose the weight. Then, if you are the type, you can get a sportier faster bike.

 

[Juanito]

Hello All,
My name is Matt and I am from s. Florida. I have always enjoyed mountain biking when I was younger, and I used to ride for hours upon hours per day. I am now 22 years old and I am wayy over weight. After graduation in 2003, my weight balooned because I was not training or working out everyday for football anymore. Needless to say ,I am here now because cycling was always a love of mine and I have done a bunch of spin classes lately and I would like to buy a road bike, to be able to do more cardio and enjoy doing it. My question is this. I am just over 300 pounds (down from 350) and I need to know of a good bike to look into? Am I too big for a road bike? I have been looking at TREKs. My budget is pretty much $1500. I look forward to any advice I can get.
Thank you,
-Matthew

Matt,

At 5'8" & 180 lbs. my doctor told me to loose some pounds. So, after being away from it for ten years I'm getting back on my road bike. The one thing I need to change is the gearing as I can't push the big gears as I once did.

If you want a road bike for fun and fitness I would suggest a steel frame touring bike with big & comfy 32mm tires. You'll need strong wheels and tires and a racing/sport bike will not have the proper clearance for fat tires. Also, the standard spoke count these days on the lightweight bikes seems to be 32 or less. Not a good thing with 10spd dished wheels and skinny race tires.

The Fuji Touring bike looks good to me... http://fujibikes.com/2008/bikes.asp?id=422# and you will be well within your budget.

More info on touring bikes at http://downtheroad.org/Equipment/Bikes/Touring_Bicycle.htm.

Good info on wheels at http://www2.bsn.de/Cycling/tubulars.html.

Good luck in your quest and keep us posted.

 

[kdelong]

Matt,

At 5'8" & 180 lbs. my doctor told me to loose some pounds. So, after being away from it for ten years I'm getting back on my road bike. The one thing I need to change is the gearing as I can't push the big gears as I once did.

If you want a road bike for fun and fitness I would suggest a steel frame touring bike with big & comfy 32mm tires. You'll need strong wheels and tires and a racing/sport bike will not have the proper clearance for fat tires. Also, the standard spoke count these days on the lightweight bikes seems to be 32 or less. Not a good thing with 10spd dished wheels and skinny race tires.

The Fuji Touring bike looks good to me... http://fujibikes.com/2008/bikes.asp?id=422# and you will be well within your budget.

More info on touring bikes at http://downtheroad.org/Equipment/Bikes/Touring_Bicycle.htm.

Good info on wheels at http://www2.bsn.de/Cycling/tubulars.html.

Good luck in your quest and keep us posted.

Wow, that Fuji Touring Bike is nice. I want one to go along with my racing bikes. It would be great for multi-day touring and also for commuting. Geometry looks comfortable and the components are nice entry level for the price!

 

[stevecycles]

Hey Matt,

I started cycling a year and a half ago at 370 pounds. Bought a quality bike at 340, went to my LBS, and bought the recommended Specialized Tri Cross. The Tri Cross is a Cyclocross bike, but the reason it was recommended is it can handle the weight, it is also designed for touring, etc. I have had the bike over a year, have over 2300 miles on it, and am down to 277.

I'm sure there are many good bikes, but I highly recommend visiting a good bike shop to get their advice and to be properly fit for the bike. Good luck, and hope you have great success!