1st Bike for 150Kg Male

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NX01

New Member
Location
Lincolnshire
Hi

New to the forum and have joined to get some advice and feedback from users.

Have not had a bike in over 20 years and living in the countryside I would like to get one again as a fitness tool. As the title says I am a ~150Kg male (Thyroid issues) who is well over 6ft in height meaning so far I have been turned away by every shop I have contacted and basically told that I am out of look. Some have said this mainly due to Covid and the shortage of bikes that they can get hold of but even then it would be a take it or leave it at prices ranging from £600 upwards. I have found ones online that get close to within 30kg which are the Trek Marlin range. They offer ones that go to 136Kg including the weight of the bike (15kg).

All I am after is something that will withstand the weight and do basically 30 minutes at a time on single track country lanes (roads not off road), nothing fancy. Given Covid I would like to get out of the gym and into the open air if I can.

Many websites that I have looked at where heavy users have bought bikes or used bikes not advertised as for heavy users are several years old now so whilst are informative the physical bike part is not due to being outdated.

Can anyone recommend or advise where to go from here?

Many thanks and appreciate any and all replies.
 

Heigue'r

Veteran
A secondhand steelframed mountain bike might be a good place to start.Covid has effected the availability of both new and used bikes though,that is for sure..Im currently trying to find something for my evergrowing younglad and also something for my better half but it is difficult at the moment.If you can track down a secondhand mountain bike,I think that is what I would go with for now and maybe if you take to it,perhaps something newer in future.
 
I've got this which is now up for sale.
Ribble aluminium.
58cm. I'm 6'2"
I was over 18 stone when I bought it; I'm not now!!
Just over 2 years old.
Cable disc.
Shimano, mainly 105.
Mavic Aksium wheels.
Pannier fixing points.
New cables.
New bb and crank set.
Middleburn Oilers.
Full SKS longboard mudguards.
Excellent condition. Never trashed or crashed.
Presently on sale in LBS for £400, but that will include his cut.
Price may be negotiable, especially if you collect.
Based in NW England.
An earlier photo, but bike is largely the same.
538499
 

HMS_Dave

Grand Old Lady
I was heavier than you when i started. About 170Kg's and 6ft2. I faced a similar dilemma and i was going to get a trike. An industrial one which can support 30 stone+ but i held off (still interested in a trike mind) and instead got my mitts on a second hand generic steel Fat Bike. They are 26 inch wheels that are very wide with a huge tyre that acts like suspension which not only will help protect your rims but also your arse.
The wheels are always the weak point. A steel frame will support you as will modern Aluminium ones most likely. But the wheels are the issue
IMG_2273_JPG-101745-500x500.jpg


This is the bike i got second hand.

I would suggest you get at the very least 36 spoked wheels or a wheel built by a wheel builder which will be stronger if you explain your situation...

All i have done is made sure my wheels are true, using a belt and braces method and i haven't had an issue as i think other than normal fatigue, wheels that are out of true put extra stress on individual spokes causing failures...

The down sides are extra road noise, extra rolling resistance and a bit of extra weight which at first will make it hard work but my thighs are now like tree trunks and i have no problems.

Not going to lie to you, it is going to be tough at first, but even if you make it only 5 minutes on it, just keep going and next week it'll be 10 and so on... This is just the way i went with beginning cycling. You may be perfectly fine on something else, but with the research i did and the minimal issues i've had, i don't think i'd change the approach i took.

All the best. :okay:
 

All uphill

Still rolling along
Location
Somerset
Old Raleighs (and other bikes) often had 40 spokes and could be used to carry big loads along with the rider.

I'd agree with suggestion of a Mountain bike with wider wheels and 36 or more spokes.
 
OP
OP
N

NX01

New Member
Location
Lincolnshire
Thanks all, appreciate your help.

When you mention "wider wheels" what are we looking at?
 

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
Thanks all, appreciate your help.

When you mention "wider wheels" what are we looking at?

Something that will take wide tyres to help spread the load - about two inches will be sufficient.

My suggestion is a mountain bike with shallow tread tyres, which will offer grip on the lanes and roll well.

Bikes of reasonable overall quality start from about £450, although it may be worth spending a hundred or two more if you have it.
 

si_c

Guru
Location
Wirral
An older steel or aluminium MTB would seem ideal to me - look for 32 or 36 spoke 26" wheels as they should be robust enough.

Learn how to keep the wheels in "true" and watch for broken spokes and the rest of the kit on the bike will be more than sufficient.

Assuming that your objective is weight loss as well as fitness then as you hit your targets then there will be less of an issue to worry about.

I was in a similar position to you about 5 years ago - 23ish stone and over 6'5" - and I used a Trek MTB to help shed around 5 stone in the first six months. Still got it never had any issues.
 

Seevio

Guru
Location
South Glos
What they all said. And I'll just add, if you're not going off-road, try to avoid suspension. Especially cheap front and rear suspension mountain bikes.
 

HMS_Dave

Grand Old Lady
What they all said. And I'll just add, if you're not going off-road, try to avoid suspension. Especially cheap front and rear suspension mountain bikes.
Yes, worth mentioning. My Fat bike has a front suspension fork and with that weight on it will bottom out all the time. Make sure if it does have front forks that it has a 'lock-out' feature which simple locks the forks in position so the suspension will stay solid.
 
OP
OP
N

NX01

New Member
Location
Lincolnshire
An older steel or aluminium MTB would seem ideal to me - look for 32 or 36 spoke 26" wheels as they should be robust enough.

Learn how to keep the wheels in "true" and watch for broken spokes and the rest of the kit on the bike will be more than sufficient.

Assuming that your objective is weight loss as well as fitness then as you hit your targets then there will be less of an issue to worry about.

I was in a similar position to you about 5 years ago - 23ish stone and over 6'5" - and I used a Trek MTB to help shed around 5 stone in the first six months. Still got it never had any issues.

Many thanks for the reply. Size and weight wise we are nearly identical so that is really helpful. If I could ask would you mind advising what activities you did to achieve that weight loss which is fantastic and about where I want to be.

I have been looking at the following bikes:

https://www.evanscycles.com/trek-marlin-5-2021-mountain-bike-EV378818?colour=6000
https://www.halfords.com/bikes/moun...ike-2020----red---s-m-l-xl-frames-366830.html

Evans only recommended a Hybrid bike with thin wheels which leads me to think they did not really read my email to them. Halfords were really helpful when I spoke with them on the phone and suggested the Carrera Hellcat as the best option. Evans for me is mail order only where as Halfords have said that I would need to "click and collect" and once they have received it and built it they would call me in for a test (mainly to check the tyres supported the weight) and if I was happy to then take it away otherwise they would refund it straightaway. He also mentioned that they would look and find a better seat.


Can I also thank everyone else who has replied all information is really helpful and helping narrow down what I need to be looking at.
 

HMS_Dave

Grand Old Lady
Many thanks for the reply. Size and weight wise we are nearly identical so that is really helpful. If I could ask would you mind advising what activities you did to achieve that weight loss which is fantastic and about where I want to be.

I have been looking at the following bikes:

https://www.evanscycles.com/trek-marlin-5-2021-mountain-bike-EV378818?colour=6000
https://www.halfords.com/bikes/moun...ike-2020----red---s-m-l-xl-frames-366830.html

Evans only recommended a Hybrid bike with thin wheels which leads me to think they did not really read my email to them. Halfords were really helpful when I spoke with them on the phone and suggested the Carrera Hellcat as the best option. Evans for me is mail order only where as Halfords have said that I would need to "click and collect" and once they have received it and built it they would call me in for a test (mainly to check the tyres supported the weight) and if I was happy to then take it away otherwise they would refund it straightaway. He also mentioned that they would look and find a better seat.


Can I also thank everyone else who has replied all information is really helpful and helping narrow down what I need to be looking at.
The wheels aren't likely to fail immediately that's the only issue. It's hard to test something that could fail in a few hundred miles time, i rather suspect Halfords know this. Whatever bike you go for, i would keep the wheels true and avoid potholes, drops off curbs and jumps of any kind. I hope however if Halfords allow you test and you bust up the wheel they consider themselves liable and if they do, give it the beans :laugh:

In any case with the information you're armed with, i wish you all the best. :okay:
 
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