Some tips needed for a more robust beginner

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biglad

New Member
Location
Liverpool, UK.
Hiya guys,

I'm new to the forums, and as such, I apologise in advance for coming begging for advice straight away. I assure you, I'm not the type of person who only ever posts questions... but this is uncharted territory for me, I do hope you guys will give me the benefit of the doubt!

I'm looking at buying my first bike in the next 4 weeks or so. My aim is to use this for riding to work, and riding for leisure, both of which come under the greater goal of losing some weight. I currently weigh in at 20 stone. I have made my hello's and introductions on the welcome mat, in this thread so should you need to, you can find out a bit more about me there.

What I want to ask is, when I head into the local bike shop I have found on Saturday, what is it I should be looking for in a bike for someone of my size? (20 stone, just under 6ft tall) Looking around, I think I have gathered that I would need to look at forks, wheels, and pedals mostly, as well as brakes. But anything beyond this, the techno-speak becomes a little much for me.

If any of you dudes have a spare few minutes, I sure would appreciate it if you could point me in the right direction regarding reputable makes, and good hardware. I have nothing to offer in return other than possibly some tips on how to paint Warhammer figures, or World Of Warcraft advice... I have trully wasted my life. haha

Cheers in advance lads and ladies.

Biglad.
 

Rouge Penguin

New Member
Location
East Berkshire
welcome aboard sailor!

What are you planning to do? Road only, some off road, mostly off road?

First guess would be to get a hybrid. Dont spend big, but don't buy cheap.

All depends on where you're going to use it. I wouldn't worry about the weight thing, bikes are built strong. Plus you're going to be losing it anyway
 

som3blok3

New Member
Location
Cobham, Surrey.
Welcome to cycle chat biglad! I only joined last December and this place is full of great people full of a lot of knowledge, stick around and you'll pick it up really quickly.

As Penguin said, go for a Hybrid, they can take a good range of tyre sizes so you be able to do road riding and some off road trails if you fancy. I'd go for disc brakes aswell, thats just MO though.

In terms of make, what kind of budget do you have? You can get a lot of bike for less than £500, just need to know where to look.

As for Warhammer, is it 40k or straight Warhammer? I've been painting/playing since 40k first came out some 20 years ago. Never joined a Warhammer forum though, those places are a bit too strange.....
 
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biglad

biglad

New Member
Location
Liverpool, UK.
My ride to work would be road and gravel paths. I can't see me using it for much off roads to be honest mate. I look at hybrid and road bikes, and look at their tyres, then I look at myself, and my spare tyre, and I wonder if they're able to take heavier weights? There doesn't seem to be a maximum weight allowance listed for bikes when I look on online cycling stores. I'm heading into a lbs this weekend though, and from what friends have told me about this particular shop, the staff are incredibly friendly and welcoming, which is really good to know... Walking in to a specialised shop when you don't know anything about what they sell can be mega-intimidating!

I think my budget can stretch to 450 maybe. Fingers crossed I can find something nice for a beginner for that.
 

som3blok3

New Member
Location
Cobham, Surrey.
There isn't a weight limit on bikes that I'm aware of, just don't do bunny hops on a bike that only costs you £99!! ;)

When I got back into cycling I got a second hand Dawes hybrid, I was weighing in at 15.5 stone at the time and the 9 mile commute nearly killed me first time I tried it. 18 months later and I'm down to just over 12 stone, still eating a takeaway once a week, still having a couple of beers most evenings, it's brilliant.

Spend £450 on the best bike you can and you won't go wrong, let us know how it goes :thumbsup: .
 

corshamjim

New Member
Location
Corsham
Whatever you go for, my advice is take it for a test ride before committing to buying it. If the saddle isn't comfortable, don't let that put you off, but talk to the shop about alternatives.

I would think your local bike shop should have something suitable in your budget. Normally I suggest the Trek 7.3fx as popular do-it-all hybrid - it's just a little over your budget unless you can negotiate a discount - speaking of which find out if you local bike shop offers a discount to members of the local cycle club - if it's say 10% that can save you £45 off the cost of a £450 bike. My local club is only £15 or so a year to join so I saved that many times over last time I bought a bike from the local shop.

Don't forget some of the extras you'll need. You might need to think about front & rear lights, mudguards, spare inner tube, lock, helmet and a can of TF2 to spray the chain with every so often, and if you need to carry stuff then some sort of bag/rack/whatever depending on how much stuff you need to carry.

If you get in to slightly longer rides, get a cheap bottle cage too and remember to take plenty of drink to keep you hydrated as you go along.

Most of all, enjoy your new bike. :smile:
 

Panter

Just call me Chris...
Please don't worry about posting questions, it's what the place is for!

Re the weight, I really wouldn't worry too much about it. I'm no featherweight and my commute takes in some really rough roads, even including a few hundred yard of unmade road and that's on my Giant SCR3.0 road bike.
I also lent the bike to a mate of mine last week to do his first ever road ride of 40 odd miles. He weighs in at 23.5stone and the bike was absolutely fine
thumbsup.png
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Welcome biglad! As others have said, don't worry about how much weight a bike can take, they are tough things. A bike wheel, unless it has very few spokes, is very strong - after all, they used the same design for the London Eye!

When you have your bike, keep the tyres pumped up well - again, its not obvious, but 80 or 90 or 100 psi in a tyre supports a lot of weight.

Treat it well (no bunny hopping or riding up kerbs), and it'll serve you well.

Anyway, you won't be 20 stone for long...:thumbsup:
 

Alan Whicker

Senior Member
Twenty stone is (relatively speaking) nothing - have a look at this:

http://theamazing39stonecyclist.wordpress.com/

very inspirational, even if you're not 39 stone!

If you cycle regularly the weight will drop off, and your fitness levels will go up more than you might imagine. Another tip is to cut out bread, which worked well for me in shedding weight.
 

Night Train

Maker of Things
The test ride is a very good idea, it will give you the chance to see if 'it feels right'. The bike shop, if good, should be able to help you adjust and change stuff as you test ride.

How far are you planning on riding?

I found when I bought my front suspension Marin Hawkhill MTB:
The saddle hurt, a lot.
The knobbly tyres were horrible on the road.
I thought that maybe rear suspension would have been better then front.
My wrists hurt.

My solutions were to get a soft and squidgy saddle and to raise the bars for a more upright position to get a bit of short range comfort. That, at least, got me out on it. I then changed to smooth road tyres as I really wasn't going off road.
That gave me a more ridable bike for the time being.
I know that someone will say a good hard leather saddle will be better, and it probably is but it is damned hard to get used to (no pun intended) and I think it would be better to just get out there with a little bit of comfort to start with. The hard saddle can go back on later.

I started off with around 3-5 miles in a park just because it meant that I didn't have to 'get' anywhere until I was ready. That progressed up to 5-6 miles on the road with a definate destination.
I had to learn to take it easy and not try to race ahead to 'not slow the cars down'. The cars can wait or you can let them pass where it is safe.

Then I stopped riding for quite a few years.

Recently I started up again and though last year clocked zero miles the year before I did a few rides of 3 miles or so. I now have an old hack bike with a hard saddle and my Marin still has the soft squidgy one from Asda! The old hack is the more comfortable to ride.
Last weekend I rode 25 miles on a recumbent trike with Arch and some others.
Linky.

Just goes to show that even someone like me who cycles less in a year then many do in a day can still get out and ride.

You will be fine, just don't push too hard too soon and enjoy it.
 

Salad Dodger

Legendary Member
Location
Kent Coast
Hello Biglad and welcome.

While you are in the bike shop, take a look at shorts - or more specifically under shorts.

If you look through the threads on this forum you will find some about padded pants - proper cycling undergarments - and they are probably the most important thing you will ever buy in terms of comfort. You see, the important thing, especially to start with, is to ride often. Maybe only a couple of miles at a time to begin with, but as often as possible. And when you do that in ordinary undercrackers the seams chafe in all sorts of bad places!

Proper cycling shorts or undershorts have a padded piece sewn in to the crotch with no seams in that area. So you wear them without pants underneath, but maybe with ordinary shorts or track suit bottoms over them.

It will still be uncomfortable to start with. I haven't ridden much at all over the Winter due to family matters and bad weather, and when I went out at the weekend for the first time in ages it was
a) tiring
b) uncomfortable on my backside

but with regular riding your nether regions soon acclimatise. And as your fitness levels increase - which they will - you can think about going further or faster.

So ride often, even just for short sessions to begin with, and don't try to ride a zillion miles in the first week, or you will put yourself off cycling.

Build gradually, both distance and speed, and don't be afraid to ask questions of all on the forum. The depth of knowledge and the willingness to share it is extraordinary.

Sorry I have gone a bit off topic, but do look for some proper undershorts. They don't have to be expensive, but they do make a heck of a difference to your personal comfort..... and that will encourage you to ride for longer.
 
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biglad

biglad

New Member
Location
Liverpool, UK.
Done!

Headed to Picton Cycles in Liverpool today and they recommended a nice Saracen Hybrid, the lads in the shop were mega friendly and great to deal with. I rode home from the train station (10-15 minute ride maybe?) and fitted a little computer so I can keep track of my distance. Then I failed miserably at fitting a bracket for the lock I picked up.

I was nackard after riding home. I really am incredibly unfit. Hopefully soon this will start to change :biggrin:
 

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
Done!

Headed to Picton Cycles in Liverpool today and they recommended a nice Saracen Hybrid, the lads in the shop were mega friendly and great to deal with. I rode home from the train station (10-15 minute ride maybe?) and fitted a little computer so I can keep track of my distance. Then I failed miserably at fitting a bracket for the lock I picked up.

I was nackard after riding home. I really am incredibly unfit. Hopefully soon this will start to change :biggrin:

Quite a few of us on here have been in the same situation. Keep it up and the fitness will come.
 

david1701

Well-Known Member
Location
Bude, Cornwall
welcome, I reckon I'm overweight at 14 stone but you really need to go some to upset a bike, think about smooth rolling meaning you have to work less hard to push the bike along then balance that against the grip you need (not much for the road tbh)

then low hears are good for hills but higher ones are faster so basically explain what you want to do at a few different shops and see what they recomend then buy it from the nicest one/most suitable bike.

I spent yesterday choosing my first road bike and the people in each of the shops were super helpful, I chatted to quite a few guys and rode 3 bikes to find the right one and they tried me on it in different sizes too
 

david1701

Well-Known Member
Location
Bude, Cornwall
Quite a few of us on here have been in the same situation. Keep it up and the fitness will come.

I spent a lot of time getting to the point where I could ride town-home without getting off and walking, then without stopping and now I'm getting faster and faster, up to now on an mtb I got from freecycle :biggrin:
 
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