Bikes for big guys

[carrie]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the site, although I've dropped in before to read things. I'm a cycling fan but my boyfriend has been put off the idea because of his size. He's 6ft 7in and weighs about 16 stone.

The last time he owned a bike he spent a fortune fixing flats, another time a wheel actually buckled under him. He wants to buy a bike with solid rubber tyres which I'm not sure even exists. Can anyone suggest a good-but-not-too-expensive bike for a heavy (but fit) guy?

 

[mickle]

His weight wont cause a problem, any half decent bike will take his 16st, but finding a bike big enough for such a freakazoid might be a challenge.

What kind of bike does he want? Companies with significant sales figures in Germany and Holland always make bikes for tall folk.

 

[Alan Whicker]

I bet the likes of Kettler do at least one to fit. I used to live in Munich and everyone is about 8 feet tall, and they all seemed to ride Kettlers.

There's also this.

 

[Jugular]

Get a large (perhaps custom) touring frame and good handbuilt touring wheels, don't kerb jump and everything should be fine.

- Jugular (6'4" and, until recently, 16 stone)

 

[rh100]

Weight doesn't seem to be an issue, there are plenty of cyclists on here over that weight (me included). I ride a bog standard hybrid and I just keep the tyres pumped up firm.

 

[mickle]

Sorry but he simply doesn't need custom or touring or hand built. He's only 16st ffs. An off the peg mountain, hybrid or road bike is perfectly capable of holding his weight.

The question is where to find a bike big enough.

 

[TheBoyBilly]

I'm with mickle on this one. I'm just under 19st and my Langster, Boardman Comp mtb and even my beloved Brommie have no problems carting me about. If it's a mountain bike he's after he won't go far wrong with a Kona Hoss but we don't know what budget we are working to here. (two grand isn't 'too expensive' to some....£150 is to others)

 

[mickle]

Wow, thats two people agreed with me in one day. I'm on a roll!

Though one of them was Jimbolee, does that count...?

 

[g00se]

What sort of riding will he be doing? Off road or around town?

 

[Browser]

What is his inside leg measurement? I've just taken ownership of a new bike (look for a post by me in this section) and I am 6ft 4in tall and weigh just over 15 stone. I'm guessing here, but you'd probably find that the wheel buckled under him because it wasn't a particularly high-quality item? It really is worth paying more for a decent bike as the parts are better engineered.

 

[PrettyboyTim]

Two things about the tyres:

a) It sounds like he might have been having problems with pinch punctures, which happen when the tyre isn't inflated to a high enough pressure. It's worth getting a track pump with a pressure monitor - they make it easy to get up to the right pressure.

If it's punctures from debris on the road, get some puncture resistant tyres - I put Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres on my bike and I haven't had a puncture since, around two and a half years and 7000 miles later.

 

[Cathryn]

My husband's 6'4 and 17 stone. He has a touring bike and has never had any problems with it. Maybe they're robust enough to carry him, I don't know, but it's definitely possible.

 

[MacB]

agreed with most of the others, decent wheels and frame and no problem, assuming that he can get an off the peg that goes big enough. There're plenty of bike shops that'll flog him too small a frame though.

 

[Jugular]

Precisely my point about a custom frame, it wasn't for strength but for sizing, the only bike I've owned or tried that fit my height was a custom built Terry Dolan (and I'm only 6'4"). I get fed up with people trying to sell me bikes that are too small and there seem to be very few manufacturers prepared to build bikes large enough, same with shoe makers, they're destroying the postures of thousands. The illusion of choice has only made it harder for the unusally sized to get stuff that fits.

 

[g00se]

Out of interest, what is the inside leg of someone 6'4" or 6'7" - so we can get the idea of the standover height needed on a frame?