[email protected] wrote:
>
> I am 6'7" tall,about 450-500 lbs? Anyone know where to get a bike?
> What model? What company? I already went to a bike shop, but they
> couldn't tell me anything.
>
> http://www.supersizedcycles.com/site/1554167/page/809245
>
> this site looks good, cept they are all sold out. anyways.. i like to
> create a local group for those who are like us. My objective is to
> lose the weight when i get this bike. so.. can anyone help me?
I'm skeptical of the offerings at supersizedcycles.com. There are
some decisions there that suggest to me that they are better at
dealing with 300-pounders than with 500-pounders. For instance, disc
brakes are less valuable than symmetrical front wheels, which disc
brakes prevent. And they must be on drugs if they think that saddle
is fat-person-friendly.
Schauff of Germany offer a bike called "Sumo" that not only carries a
440 lbs weight rating, but stupendous frame sizes available-- 60cm and
70cm. The bike's true weight capacity is even higher, in my opinion,
if the bike is ridden modestly.
http://schauff.de/schauff2002.de/index.php?language=e&action=fahrrad&typ=XXL/XXS&id=490&jahr=2007
It appears that there are no North American distributors for Schauff
bikes. I suppose you could contact them and ask whether they have a
dealer who will ship internationally.
Co-Motion makes a bike called the Mazama, which is basically a single
road bike built to tandem spec. I don't think that road-bike-sized
wheels are a very good choice for you, and I don't think that the
parts package of the Mazama is really up to the task. And it's pretty
expensive. But it's there, and you can buy just the frame if you so
desire (for $1375, which could also buy you a simple but purely custom-
built frame from a craftsman builder).
http://www.co-motion.com/mazama.html
It is completely feasible, however, for you to build up a serviceable
bike using all freely available parts. You'll have to find an
accommodating dealer who appreciates a challenge and is willing to go
beyond anything he or she has done before. There are a lot of
critical parts on a normal bike that are not suitable for your use,
and I will help you out by telling you about some that will work for
you and not cost unnecessarily much. Understand that any bike built
up from hand-picked parts will be substantially more expensive than a
superficially equivalent off-the-rack model.
Wheels are the foremost issue, but not the only issue. I recommend
the Gusset Jury hub, which Dane previously mentioned. Get it in 48
hole for sure. I mostly favor gearhubs for myself, because they allow
dishless rear wheels. I am a sub-400 lbs. "middleweight", though, and
I have occasional problems with tearing out the anti-rotation washers
they use. I don't think the axles or the gearboxes would hold up too
well for you either. The Gusset Jury is incredibly robust and
reasonably priced, and it uses pretty economical 8-speed sprockets.
I'd stay away from 9-speed parts, as you'll be wearing out more than
your share of sprockets and chains. 8-speed will be much cheaper to
replace as necessary.
Rims are critical. The only one I know of that is plenty strong
enough for you and also available in 48 hole is the Sun King Pin.
Contact Sun-Ringlé directly if your dealer can't find these rims. Use
the 26 inch size.
I recommend Schwalbe Big Apple 26 x 2.35" tires. These are reasonably
fast street tires that I can run at just 30psi. You might want to use
more like 40psi. The benefit there is that you can get a cushioned
ride that's gentle on your body without giving up a lot of
efficiency.
After wheels, the seatpost is probably the part that will give you the
most problems. The best defense against bent seatposts is to use a
tall frame, so that the post extension can be kept to a minimum. The
Thomson Elite post is the strongest commonly available post I have
used. For an unbendable post of 1" or larger in diameter, you can
have a machinist turn a rod of 7075 aluminum to the appropriate
diameter and add a section of .875" diameter on the top 2 inches, so
that it will accept a standard "seat guts" saddle clamp. If you go
this way, have the machinist make it long enough to keep at least 8"
in the frame for reinforcement.
Cranks are very important, not because they fail frequently, but
because failure is so likely to cause serious injury. I busted up my
face and lost a handful of teeth to a crank spindle failure. Shimano
Saint cranks are probably the easiest, most intercompatible option for
you if you want to use triple chainrings. (If there are many hills
where you live, you probably want triple chainrings). They are
expensive and, to my eyes, homely looking. And the rings are probably
spendy to replace. But they'll work.
I use some sort of high strength BMX cranks on every one of my bikes.
My favorite is Primo Powerbite, but the 22mm spindle diameter
obligates the use of a threaded bottom bracket with four very thin
bearings, which might not hold up too well for you. But they've been
OK for me so far. Profile Racing offers a respectably strong crank
with a good warranty-- though I'm not convinced any manufacturer will
necessarily honor a warranty for you if they know how big you are.
Odyssey 41 Thermal cranks and Odyssey Wombolt cranks are stupidly
strong and come with a good warranty-- though the relatively light
Wombolts have the same 22mm spindle issue as Primo cranks. Redline
makes a variety of welded chromoly cranks, any of which should work
fine for you, as several have for me. The Redline Monster is probably
your least expensive safe option.
There are ways of fitting two or three chainrings onto a BMX crank by
using an adapter spider. These are hard to find lately, though, and
it may be easiest (and cheapest) to just use a single ring and a nice
wide-ranged rear cassette. If you get a BMX chainring with a guard,
that will help keep the chain from bouncing off in the absence of a
front derailleur.
The saddle will probably be a sensitive matter for you, as it has been
for me. Big guys like us carry a lot of weight there. The best bet I
have found thus far is the Electra Townie saddle, which can be ordered
direct from the Electra Bikes website if you have no local Electra
dealer. It has the supportive curved shape of Electra cruiser
saddles, but without the springs and frame that are unreliable under
heavy loads. I'm not crazy about the stitched top, but otherwise I
think it's as good as saddles get for big guys.
Put your handlebar up good and high, so you don't overload your
hands-- grips don't get bigger as riders get bigger, so you have to be
careful not to put too much weight on them. Four inches higher than
your saddle is an OK starting point, but don't hesitate to go higher
if it suits you. An 8" tall BMX handlebar not only provides lots of
rise and lots of strength, but it allows you to tune in the overall
reach by tilting the bars forwards or backwards as you like. Get the
longest BMX stem you can find-- they'll all be too short, but that
will get you started safely and inexpensively so you can decide
whether you really need a custom stem. You can fit a BMX bar into an
MTB stem by using shims, but that can allow the bars to slip when
pulled hard by a strong person.
Only now do I come to the matter of the frame. It's actually not as
big a deal as most of the other things I've addressed, because there
are so many decently strong frames out there at low prices. Just
about every other part of a bike is weak compared to the frame,
especially when you're talking about just regular old inexpensive
bikes. Frame stiffness is relatively important, but not as much as
you'd think once the cranks, stem, and handlebars have been
fortified. The main issue for you with the frame will be finding a
suitably large one. Large frames seem to have fallen from style even
though people don't seem any shorter.
The Surly Instigator would be well-suited to your use, but it doesn't
come in a big enough size. Kona used to have a bike called the Hoss
whose frame would have done the trick, but it looks like it's out of
production. Maybe you can find a leftover 2006 model-- but mind you,
it's a complete bike from which most of the parts would not work for
you. And either the Hoss or the Instigator would have you using a
long seatpost, which in your case is not a good thing.
The best deal, hands down, on a frame that could potentially work for
you is the chromoly steel MTB frame from Bike Nashbar. It's available
in a reasonably tall 23" size and it's pretty beefy. Only $50! There
are drawbacks, though-- the top tube is really too short for a guy
your size. If you're sitting pretty upright, that's not too big a
deal; it's characteristic of old-fashioned city bike geometry. You'll
probably need the custom-made seatpost I described for this one. The
frame does not come with a fork, but Nashbar's matching fork (also
$50) is big and heavy enough to be a pretty safe bet. If it fails, it
will bend but not break. If it bends, replace it with a Surly
Instigator fork before pursuing more elaborate options.
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?sku=14736
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?sku=13284
DO NOT be tempted by a suspension fork. It won't work for you!
Instead, use the fattest, smoothest tires you can fit, and don't put
too much air in them.
Brakes are pretty easy. If you get the big rims I suggested, than
they provide both a good braking surface and generous heat capacity
that you'll need. Get _simple_, non-parallelogram linear-pull brakes
(Shimano Deore V-brakes are an example all bike shops know) and put
Kool Stop pads on them. Use caution and good judgment descending long
or steep hills; both your momentum and your terminal velocity are much
more than bicycle brakes were designed to deal with.
If you have to get a custom frame to get a decent fit on a stout bike,
consider looking at Thick Bikes (
http://www.thickbikes.com ) of
Pittsburgh. That guy has his notions about low standover height and
such that might not work in your favor, but he can surely build you a
frame, fork, seatpost, whatever-- that no mortal man can destroy.
Chalo
