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creekster · 02-28-2008, 06:04 PM

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.

02-28-2008, 06:04 PM	#5
creekster Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: the far corner of my mind Posts: 8,711	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. __________________ Sorry for th e tpyos.