(Another) fat man on a bike

[Large]

First post here, and apologies if it's too long!

Now my daughter is able to ride properly and is nagging me to take her out on short spins when the weather and evening light improves, I need to get my own bike.

I'm well over 6' tall, over 24st and last year had major thoracic surgery so, as you can probably believe, my 20-year-old Raleigh Equipe racer will probably not be the kind of machine I can use as it would be uncomfortable as I have to lean forward too much, and I would probably puncture every time I went over a bump in the road.

I have been thinking along the lines of a hybrid, due to their relative lightness compared with MTBs and due to their more comfortable riding position relative to a road bike.

The one thing that worries me, however, is punctures and I'm not sure whether the narrrower tyres on a hybrid (again, compared with thsoe on MTBs) would be susceptible to punctures, as my dear old Raleigh was. As it happens, I am a Barclays Cycle Hire member and the Boris Bikes are perfectly fine with their wider tyers easily distributing and taking my weight.

I have a budget of between £500 and (if the wife is looking the other way) £1,000 and what I'm looking for, in addition to puncture-free riding is

• Disc Brakes to stopy my not inconsiderable frame better
• Low Maintenance as I'm useless with even the basics
• A stiff, lightweight frame which goes without saying
• The ability to add mudgards in case I might use it later on for commuting (if I ever get a job close enough to home, that is)

The choice out there is bewildering and I have looked closely at Scott Sub 10; Cannondale Bad Boy; Trek Soho DLX and many others.

Any advice will be most welcome, especially from anyone with my physical, er, attributes.

Cheers

Jason

 

[Norm]

Most bikes should cope with your weight, the only weak-point might be wheels. 26" wheels are smaller and stronger than the 700c wheels which come on road bikes, so that might be a consideration.

There's a few bikes out there which have disc brakes and hub gears which should be pretty good for your requirements. I think there's even a couple which have belt drive for even less maintenance. The thing is that no amount of web browsing will help you choose, as the best bike for you is one which fits you comfortably.

Puncture resistance isn't really affected by tyre width as you suggest. Wider tyres have a greater contact area so are more likely to hit something sharp, and run at lower pressures so don't resist penetration as well, but you can get puncture-resistant tyres in many sizes.

 

[Alan Whicker]

The Trek Soho DLX that you mentioned seems to fit your bill - even comes with maintenance-free belt drive and mudguards as standard. The Bontrager Hardcase tyres are pretty good, too. Not sure how 'light' it is, but it won't be a tank.

 

[JiMBR]

As Norm said, most bikes will accomodate your weight and the best bike for you is the one that fits you the best.

(I used to be 24.5 stone, now 19.5 so I know where you're coming from).


Get to your local store and try some out and ask a lot of questions, no matter how stupid!


Hope you find your steed soon and good luck on your weight loss....you can do it!!!

 

[TheBoyBilly]

All good advice here. Try to get a test ride on a few bikes, as you say it's bewildering how many there are. Discounted 2010 bikes are still about but sizes will be limited by now I would imagine but still worth considering as, if you can find one your size, the difference from a 2011 model may only be cosmetic. You can get a decent Trek FX series or Specialized Sirrus for your budget and Claud Butler/Dawes/Raleigh have some underrated bikes that come fully equipped with racks and mudguards. I would tend to shy away from suspension forks on a hybrid as that is just extra weight doing nothing much. Decent gel gloves and good grips will take a lot of numbness from your fingers at much less cost.

Bill

 

[Large]

Thank you, all.

My budget was slashed by she-who-must-be obeyed so the Sub 10 and Soho options were discounted, along with the Cannondale Bad Boy Ultra Solo (sob!) which, ultimately, was the bike I decided I wanted.

As it turns out, I have just purchased a base-spec Bad Boy from Evans for a not unreasonable £399. I'll let you know how I get on once I've used it a few times.

Cheers

Jason

 

[Fab Foodie]

Thank you, all.

My budget was slashed by she-who-must-be obeyed so the Sub 10 and Soho options were discounted, along with the Cannondale Bad Boy Ultra Solo (sob!) which, ultimately, was the bike I decided I wanted.

As it turns out, I have just purchased a base-spec Bad Boy from Evans for a not unreasonable £399. I'll let you know how I get on once I've used it a few times.

Cheers

Jason

Excellent, just remember to take it easy on your first few outings.
Also, highly recommend a book that will help you and your daughter ride with safety, it's the Bible:

http://www.cyclecraft.co.uk/

Enjoy, Cycling's a lot of fun, healthy, exciting and good for the environment (and a whole lot better than being a Gym bunny).
FF

 

[Large]

Thanks, FF. I'll check out the book. I'll also get back on my Stairmaster exercise bike to acclimatise before hitting the road!

 

[400bhp]

If you are able to get yourself to a Decthlan store, then they have good quality bikes at the price you are looking at.

Buy a good set of tyres to reduce the frequency of punctures - also spend a bit of time learning how to change an innertube and repairing punctures. Given you are relatively inexperienced I would suggest if you do get a puncture whilst out on a ride then just change it for a spare innertube. This of course means you need to carry spare tube(s) and some basic tools. And don't forget, your daughter's bike can get a puncture too.

I agree with your wife by the way. Better to buy a relatively cheaper bike as an introduction to cycling, then if you are so inclined you can move to a more expensive one later.

 

[Large]

Thanks for the helpful tyre tips. I'll see how the standard-fit Schwalbe Kojaks go and if they're proving unreliable, I'll change them for somehing more robust. Any recommendations for 26" tyres with road tread should the need arise?

My daughters Trek MT220 is fitted with some serious Bontrager tyres and I think those and her light weight will mean that nothing other than the sharpest objet might cause them to puncture, unlike me on my old bike when a little pebble caused me to have blow-outs!

Also, I think I might enrol in one of the Evans matinenance workshops one evening so I can get the basics, at least.

Cheers

Jason

 

[I like Skol]

My budget was slashed by she-who-must-be obeyed ....... As it turns out, I have just purchased a base-spec Bad Boy from Evans for a not unreasonable £399. I'll let you know how I get on once I've used it a few times.

WHY do they always do that? Women seem to know the price of everything and the value of nothing (unless it is shoes/handbags).

That bad boy looks sweet, I wish I had spotted them when I was looking for a hybrid, don't know how they got overlooked. Having had a glance at the Bad boy 3 with lefty fork and 3 speed rear hub gears I think that would have been my choice.

Thanks for the helpful tyre tips. I'll see how the standard-fit Schwalbe Kojaks go and if they're proving unreliable, I'll change them for somehing more robust.

IMO the biggest thing you can do to avoid punctures is keep the tyre pressure up, at least 50psi and preferably whatever the max pressure is that is stated on the tyre sidewall.

The main thing is get out there and use that bike, the weather is perfect and you will soon be finding every little excuse to get out on it ("just popping to the shops dear we need some... err... porridge").

 

[Large]

To be fair to Mrs. L, she's right in her view that £1,000 is too much to pay for a bike as I haen't ridden on the road in donkeys years, much as the Bad Boy with the lefty suspension fork and the high-end componets had me drooling.


I have a portable compressor in the garage, so as long as I can get the right bit to go on the end, then keeping the pressures high shouldn't be a problem. (Always used to be on the old bike as the hand pump never got it anywhere near where it should have been).

Thanks again to you all for the encouragement. As soon as the bike arrives in the next few days, I'll be out there!

 

[Telemark]

portable compressor! beware tyres going pop

Enjoy the cycling!

T

P.S. As somebody has already said - much better to get into cycling on a cheaper bike & get fit, and then decide what you REALLY want, as an upgrade (and keep the cheaper bike for shopping/running around/parking outside the pub etc). SWMBO is just being sensible, £1k is quite a lot for a first bike in a long time ...

 

[sabian92]

Well done on getting back in the saddle.

If you are looking for puncture resistant (unfortunately, no tyre is puncture proof, so resisting the buggers will have to do ) have a look at Schwalbe Marathon Pluses. They are great, pretty well rolling (although, they are quite heavy, but you honestly won't notice the difference unless you are trying to go for maximum speed over durability) and pretty cheap. I've read of people doing about 5k a set on them, so they're pretty solid.

 

[brush3287]

Hi
I'm recently retired (OMIL) & have been riding a Specialized Soft Rock (was my son's many years ago) non suspension bike. I was clinically obese. I have type2 diabetes, high blood pressure (they are both well under control so i don't notice them now). Smaller than you but nevertheless totally unfit a year ago. I now am within a couple of kilo of what i should weigh & got fit enough so that last year I was able to walk up Mount Vesuvius (1300 feet) & leave people almost a couple of decades younger for dead!
I have a small advantage in that in my youth I did race, so while my knowledge is dated, I still have an idea about the technology.
One of the sites I found inspiring was this one http://theamazing39s....wordpress.com/ . This guy is something else. His journey effectively from near death to the present day is incredible.
It also is a good pointer to the path he took on selection of kit & how he progressed as he went along.
He's recently jazzed up his site but if you look at some of the older postings you'll see his equipment progression which started with 2nd hand stuff, so it may be of use.
Good luck.