I need some advice from the experienced users in this forum. I'm looking for a mountain bike for use in an urban environment and i have some special characteristics to consider. First off, I weigh 300 pounds, which is a considerable amount of weight to put on a mountian bike. I have ridden some bikes in the past, but my wieght always seems to warp the tires and the spokes. I'm also concerned about the possible stress to the seat post. If any one has any good suggestions about a bike that will work for me despite my fatness...
I am about 250#, and ride a GF Ziggurat (hardtail aluminum). I ride hard, and she has not failed me yet, although the fork gave out within a week. My LBS is sending away the faulty fork and gave me a loaner. I am not sure if I will blow out the replacement shock or not, but I won't change the way I ride. If it blows, they will just have to replace it again.
Check out steel frame hardtails. Do a google search and go from there. I would'nt worry about more expensive bikes with racing components which are lighter than conventional components. Talk to your LBS and see what they recommend.
I am a pretty big rider myself and I have lost a bunch of weight from trecking around on my bike. I bought a TREK 4100, which is a hardtail and I have had no problems with any components except my forks and handlebars. The forks are the original InSync Spring forks and they are absolute [censored] so their lack of effectivness is expected. I am about to upgraded to a really awesome set of Answer Manitou dual dampening 100mm travel forks. Not the top of line but considerably more effective than the [censored] I am currently riding with. The handle bars are the other thing that I am have troubel with. I am on my third set of bars because I keep bending the [censored] out of them. I am also in the process of upgrading those to Cro-moly Steel. If that does not work then I will go to Ti-Tec. More money but well worth it in the long run. I kept replacing them with cheap thin aluminum ones that is the other reason I kept bending them.
Don't worry about the seat post. If you are doing any off road riding at all you should get into the habit of standing up on the pedals whenever you are encountering any road turbulence. this will transfer the stress to your legs and front forks, not to the rims and seatpost.
When I started riding I asked the same questions you are and I was told to not worry about breaking or bending components...every aggressive rider does. Focus instead on getting on your bike and having fun and change components out as needed. The flip side to that is...spend the money on nice replacement parts though don't skimp like I did on my handlebars because you will end up spending more money then if you would have done it right the first time. Ebay and Nashbar are great places to get awesome bike parts dirt cheap!!!
I have well over 220 miles on my trek(according to my comp) and I am so glad that I finally found something I really love to do to exercise.
Well I'm a fat guy too! I started out on a wal-mart bike, it was all I had. I now have an older Specialized RockHopper, large frame. I am also about 300lbs, and 6'2" to boot. The important thing is getting a bike with good wheels, and probably a steel frame (most steel frames have lifetime warrantees). Don't go full suspension. Get a hard tail and if you get a new one that has shocks, get good shocks. My wal-mart bike shops all but quit working within 2 weeks of regular riding. Anyway enjoy, and use the bike to get some miles under your belt, lose the weight, and then when you get down to a lower weight, you'll have a bike overbuilt for you and be ready to totally romp!
Well I'm a pretty fat kid too. I am 5' 8" amd 180 pounds( I don't seem fat but if you look at my picture, than you know). I ride a 2003 Specialized Hardrock , with 17" frame. Everytime I do stunts, my rear tire bents off. I have to remove my quick release and adjust it every time. The bike seems fine to me, but the tires always 'run off'. Once I even bent the spokes too. Should I stick to quick release or change it to nut and bolts?
I'm just shy of six feet and weigh in around 245 pounds. I've had good luck with the TREK line. I began serious cycling about ten years ago using the TREK 830 as a road bike. I've cycled from Connecticut to New Orleans, to Los Angeles and to Key West, Florida. The only alteration I made was to experiment with road tires instead of knobbies. It's got something like 15,000 miles on it. I've had it packed out with close to 50 pounds of camping and photographic gear. I'm still riding that old 830. It's been reliable with minimum maintanence. I will probably upgrade this year and when I do it most likely will be to the TREK 7300.
I'm 6'1" and about 270. Look no further than the Kona Hoss deluxe. This frame is actually designed for the "gentleman with the fuller figure" in mind. I spoke to a guy from Kona and he said the frame is good up to about 350 ibs!!
The only other problem you might have is forks. I have gone for the expensive but excellent Pace RC-40
I ride the "regular" Kona Hoss and love it! When I started riding last October, I was near 300 pounds myself. Now I'm down near 230 and the bike's still great. The only mods I've made are the addition of Crank Brothers "Candy C" pedals and a different (more upright) stem. This bike has truly been rock solid through minor jumps (a few feet), lots of XC riding and even bike path/road riding. Give it a look... 🙂
