Bents for 300 + guys

(George Tadeusiak) said:

My brother is looking to get a recumbent to lose some weight. He is 6' 5" and 310 pounds, he has a
limited budget $1200.00 and below. Any suggestions?

I had a Linear LWB when I was 260lbs and it held up OK... but the long wheelbase can be a pain in
the city. Discontinued, around $700-800 typically.

I'm now looking at the better BikeE models (FX,/XL RX/XL) with suspension. If he goes with a BikeE,
make sure it's an 'XL' sized model.
--
Nobody but a fool goes into a federal counterrorism operation without duct tape - Richard Preston,
THE COBRA EVENT.

go with a Rans V2 with Aerospoke Wheels Thank you Earl GRR,RANS V2 Ti Rush,Ti Pursuit

Based on personal experience, I would suggest your brother lose at least fifty or sixty pounds and
then purchase a recumbent both as a self-reward and a great way to achieve fun and fitness.

Quoted message said:

My brother is looking to get a recumbent to loose some weight. He is 6' 5" and 310 pounds, he has a
limited budget $1200.00 and below. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

As a pretty big rider, but not as big your bro, I would suggest in a SWB a Bacchetta Giro, Rans
Vrex, in used they are around that price. They both have a pretty good frame design come in XL size
and would probably handle the weight. The rear wheel may not hold up, but a well built and
maintained wheel probably will. I have toured with a 99 BikeE Ct loaded with rider at nearly 300
pounds. I wouldn't look for a suspension in any bike as most if not all of the suspensions max out
at 275 pounds. In the LWB the EZ sport maybe rugged enough and the price in the range. I don't think
most frames are that much of an issue, the rear wheel however, may have to be upgraded to a 40 or 48
spoke tandem wheel if they start to break spokes. Good luck on the quest Hopefully it will be the
best under 1200 bucks your brother has ever spent. Denny in Sayre, Pa "Bent but not Broken
www.recumbentstuff.com

"Vol" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Based on personal experience, I would suggest your brother lose at least fifty or sixty pounds and
then purchase a recumbent both as a self-reward and a great way to achieve fun and fitness.

Quoted message said:

My brother is looking to get a recumbent to loose some weight. He is 6' 5" and 310 pounds, he has
a limited budget $1200.00 and below. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

I think that you can use the biking activity to loose the weight. A reasonable rate of aerobic
excerise constistently will help him lose pounds. But on recumbents, I would recommend that when he
starts he should just pick very flat routes to get his body burning the fat and losing some weight
and building his leg strength. Going uphill will be very difficult. I am 5'7" and 180 lbs. I can
climb reasonably okay on my bent, but I can imaging would it would be like pulling another 120 lbs
behind me.

Down hills do not give you any excercise. Gravity helps you a lot.

"Vol" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Based on personal experience, I would suggest your brother lose at least fifty or sixty pounds and
then purchase a recumbent both as a self-reward and a great way to achieve fun and fitness.

Quoted message said:

My brother is looking to get a recumbent to loose some weight. He is 6' 5" and 310 pounds, he has
a limited budget $1200.00 and below. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

[email hidden] (DrRecumbnt) wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I'd suggest a LWB low BB like a Sun EZ Sport (steel version), lose weight, save bucks for a 2nd
bike down the road.

I wouldn't recommend a BikeE suspension. The suspension pogos with big riders. No XL, or XXL frame
size or air in the shock can solve this.

Some mfrs will custom build that is actually suitable for a #300+ rider. My first stop would be
Lightfoot and the Ranger.

Bob Bryant recumbentcyclistnews.comrecumbentcyclistnews.comOpen ↗

At 300lbs you will flex most frames enough to get a very cushy ride. No suspension needed. I was
close enough when I got my first bent, a BikeE CT, handled me with no problems. THen a Rans V²,
again no problems.

[email hidden] (George Tadeusiak) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

My brother is looking to get a recumbent to loose some weight. He is 6' 5" and 310 pounds, he has
a limited budget $1200.00 and below. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

Hi, I'm a 300+ pounder myself. A used EasyRacer tourEasy should be a fine bike. And,perhaps a
Lightning T-Bolt also. Lightning does make a seat frame to hold us full sized men. All the lighter
folk are fullsized too.. just built to a smaller scale. Paul Milner

I'm 6ft and was 245lb. I ride a Vision R-54. I replaced the factory tires 20x1.35 and 26x1 with wider, but still high pressure tires 20x1.95 (Maxxis Hookworm) on the front and 26x1.5 (Specilized Nimbus) on the rear and enjoyed the ride much more (better handling and far fewer flats). I would avoid "racing" type recumbents with narrow wheels and tires.

To stay within his budget, buying used will allow him to buy a better bike for roughly 1/2 to 3/4 of the new price. Many people buy bikes, ride them for a bit and then let them collect dust, so a little searching of the internet (ebay as well) should yield some deals.

However I would caution that he posses basic bike mechanical ability for buying used. Changing tires, cleaning the chain, adjusting and replacing brake and derailer cables and replacing brake pad and all skills he should posses. If that's too intimidating, buying from a full service local bike shop is probably the best bet.

I appreciate all of your replies. I have forwarded them to my brother who has been looking at long
wheel-based bikes. He has had a chance to test drive some at Prestige Cycles and seems to be getting
excited about riding. He thanks you all for your help.

"George Tadeusiak" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I appreciate all of your replies. I have forwarded them to my brother who has been looking at long
wheel-based bikes. He has had a chance to test drive some at Prestige Cycles and seems to be
getting excited about riding. He thanks you all for your help.

Would that be Prestige Cycles in Clinton Twp, MI? If so, Andy will take care of him. BTW, Easy
Racers LWBs like the EZ Sport or Tour Easy might work.

My wife and I are both large bent riders. We started the 1st of this year. We had a pair of custom
built RANS V2 with upgraded components and Aerospoke wheels. We got a wonderful deal ($1500.00 each)
from Mark Powers at Power On Cycling. 813-737-3001 or poweroncycling.com. Just as a note of
encouragement I have lost over 20 Lbs. and now have about 650 miles on my bike.

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

My brother is looking to get a recumbent to loose some weight. He is 6' 5" and 310 pounds, he has
a limited budget $1200.00 and below. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

Cast my vote for the Vision R-40 SWB (either OSS us USS). Brand new bike for $1200. The 2" chromoly
frame is fairly stout, yet gives enough flex that suspension is not necessary on relatively smooth
roads. Vision officially recommends a 275 pound weight limit for this bike, but I'm pretty sure it
could handle 310 without any problem. With the seat skewer in the rear position, there should be
plenty of boom adjustment for your brother's long legs. I'm recommending a SWB bike because IMHO the
basic design is stout and lightweight. I certainly would NOT recommend the LWB or MWB version of the
R-40 because I believe that's too long a run for a heavy person on a monotube frame. Also, the SWB
design yeilds a nearly 50/50 weight distribution, depending ultimately on the seat angle. I used a
bathroom scale to determine this. With me on it, with the seat in the rear position, I measured 55%
rear and 45% front. A CLWB bike like a Bike-E tends to put most of the weight on the rear wheel. One
of the unique features of a Vision is their no-dish rear wheel. Instead of dishing the spokes to
acommodate the cassette, they build the frame itself slightly off-center so that the wheels run true
without dishing the wheel. This yields a very strong wheel. I was 255 pounds when I got this bike
(I'm 215 now). I've got over 4000 miles on the bike and have only trued the wheels once (and that
was a very minor adjustment that I was able to take care of myself). Never have broken a spoke.

Now having said all this, you're still talking about a rider who is 35 pounds heavier than the
recommended maximum weight (including water, tools and luggage) recommended by the manufacturer. But
in the real world, it's not the static stresses that break things, but the dymanic stresses, like
potholes, curbs, stairs, jumping, etc. No matter what your weight, the more whacks your bike takes
the more likely it will be to develop stress cracks in the frame and wheels or to break spokes. I
guess what I'm trying to say is that a 310 pound person who's kind to his bike (riding smooth roads
and bikepaths, avoiding potholes, not riding down stairs and curbs, not jumping things [yeah
right!]) will get more damage-free miles than a 250-pounder who abuses his bike. This is why those
crazy downhill mountain bikers break so many parts (and bones).

On the subject of weight loss, I have never found cycling to be effective at weight control by
itself. I have always needed to combine exercise with diet in order to be successful. Has your
brother tried Atkins?

Bill Anton 2001 Vision R-40 SWB OSS Lubbock, TX, USA

[email hidden] (George Tadeusiak) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

My brother is looking to get a recumbent to loose some weight. He is 6' 5" and 310 pounds, he has
a limited budget $1200.00 and below. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

"Bill Anton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Cast my vote for the Vision R-40 SWB (either OSS us USS). Brand new bike for $1200. The 2"
chromoly frame is fairly stout, yet gives enough flex that suspension is not necessary on
relatively smooth roads. Vision officially recommends a 275 pound weight limit for this bike, but
I'm pretty sure it could handle 310 without any problem.

Agreed except I was 260 and had an R-50 but I'd bet it could take 300. I now am at 210 with about 40
to go and ride an Optima Baron

Quoted message said:

On the subject of weight loss, I have never found cycling to be effective at weight control by
itself. I have always needed to combine exercise with diet in order to be successful. Has your
brother tried Atkins?

I found cycling alone to be VERY good at weight loss, never tried to diet.
🙂