Jeff T said:I need to lose allot of weight so part of my plan stop driving to work (desk job) and start
biking.. roughly ~20km each way and going off-road on trails on the weekend with my buddy. Since I
know _NOTHING_ about bikes your opinion is valued greatly! first off I'm 6'3 and 300lbs (told you
I was fat ) I want something that's not going to crumble underneath me when I over some bumps, and
I want some stopping power when going down hills. I plan to spend 1500$ Canadian. I know that's
not allot of money but I'm fresh out of college with allot of bills.
so what should I look for? what make/models anything is helpful 🙂
There're lots of good bikes out there that'll handle your weight. I started off at 300 lbs about 3
years ago and lost 80-90 lbs my first year. I started with an old (used) steel frame GT and moved on
to a Cannondale CAAD4 aluminum when I found that the GT just wasn't cutting it.
But, go to several bike shops. Talk to the sales people about what you want and how you ride.
Compare their answers and see which ones are trying to work with you vs. trying to sell the stuff on
the floor / giving you hype instead of experienced answers. Ask about after sales support: free
tune-ups for how long, free installation of components that you buy from them, priority treatment
when you bring your bike in, etc. Ride lots of bikes. See which ones fit you and feel good. Ride
bikes over your price range to see what you're missing and or to get ideas on a couple of things the
you might want to upgrade at the time of the sale. Choose the bike the fits the best from the dealer
that seems the most likely to work with you and give you good after-sales support. Decide what
components you want to upgrade (typically the seat and to a stem that fits you, and maybe a seatpost
suspension), and what other add-ins you want (helmet, water bottles, hydration pak, small emergency
trail tool kit, tire patch kit, pump, presta adapter, lock...). You can usually get a better deal on
these at the time of the sale (ie, you can usually get a good discount to close the sale).
Enjoy your new ride 🙂 David