Bike for a fat guy
 

Question for you bike gurus. I'm looking for other stuff to do besides walk for my cardio. Walking on the treadmill is great but gets kind of boring and also as I mentioned I have some tendonitis in my left foot that tends to flare up. Over the summer I can swim but that doesn't help now. Riding a bike sounds like it would be an ideal low impact thing for me but I'm not sure if I'm too heavy for a bike. I'm currently at 298. I also don't want to spend a ton of money.

My gut feeling is that I should probably wait until I drop another 50 lbs or more but wanted to see what you guys think.

I would go with a mtn bike but put some smooth tires on it since I'm guessing you will mainly be riding on the road. Buy some good shorts so your butt doesn't hurt and you may want to start out with standard pedals but look to moving into some clipless ones down the road. Good luck.

The Tick should have some good ideas. He was a big guy when he did the Cycling merit badge with the scouts. All least that is how I remember it.

Just don't go out looking like this http://bikehugger.com/images/blog/fa...andex-1-01.jpg

i see fat dudes on bikes all the time, try craigs list

Being a fat guy I am the one you should listen to here. How much do you want to spend?

If you go with a mtn bike I suggest a hardtail. If you go with a road type frame, I strongly suggest a touring frame and touring wheel set. Seriously, they are designed to carry one human and a bunch of crap and so do fine with one big human like us. you do not need to wait to drop more pounds. Buy one now. It will be good to have some diversity in your aerobics.

The keys to looking for a bike for you are these:

1. Avoid super lightweight racing frames. Get a sturdy but well built frame. This doesn't mean heavy, necessarily, but it needs to be strong enough for you. I do not suggest titanium or carbon fiber. The extra weight cause some issues, usually, with those materials. Arch and others may disagree with this opinion, but they have never been as heavy as you and I, so they have no clue on this matter. Trust me. A good mountain bike frame (hard tail) or a good steel or aluminum touring frame would be just fine. You can also consider a good cyclocross frame, as they are also meant to be very sturdy.

2. Get strong wheels. Assuming you have a decent frame, the real difficulty you will have will be in your wheels. Here is what I suggest: get a touring wheel set and then get them built/re-built by a local wheel builder who has a very good reputation among the bike crowd (maybe Waters can help you out here). Sturdy, properly built wheel will last for years and years. Crappy wheels will be out of true before you get back from your first ride. Any wheel poorly built will leave you unhappy. Understand what I am saying here. Even if you buy an off the shelf bike, I think it is worth having a good wheelwright re-true or even re-build the wheels. Form the manufacturer you are almost ALWAYS getting machine built wheels and they just aren't built strong enough for a clydesdale.

Btw, if you want to poke around the web for more info, the term frequently used for heavy riders (the big and tall crowd) is 'clydesdale.'

Also, do not buy a bike from Wal-mart or target or sears, etc. Go to a bike shop and get a decent one.

You promised you weren't going to post that picture of me!!!

I also echo the advice about a good pair of shorts. SHop carefullym, however, as XL does not mean the same thing to all manufacturers (I ahte those stinking skinny Eyetalians).

I also suggest you get into clipless pedals asap. They will make a big difference, and they will allow you to pedal 'round' as oppsoed to 'square', mneaning you will be able to use your leg to pull up on the up stroke as well as to push down on the down stroke, which is good for you aerobically as well as for muscle strengthening.

That was the trick. Found some good sites.

Just make sure the clip isn't too tight that it is too hard to unclip. One of the first times I riding with my clipless pedals I rolled into town and came to a stoplight and stop. Could not get my foot loose and fell right over on my side. So then I was laying on the ground with people staring at me and my feet were still stuck, clipped into the pedal. you may want ot practice clipping first.

You were using spd pedals? Try speedplays or eggbeaters, both of which are much easier to get in and out of (in fact with speedplays you have to use good form or you risk popping out; they release very easily and over a very wide range of movement). Prcatice is always a good suggestion when new to any clipless pedal ,however.