Large adult son wants to ride

[SandyLS]

I got a great call from my son last week. He is interested in starting to ride and has asked me to do a supported tour with him Sept. of 2009. The guy is about 6'3" and around 350 lbs. Do any of you have knowledge about buying a bike that will work for someone his size. I am so glad to see he is trying to take control of his health and excited about having another of my kids to ride with.

[Blueberry]

Lots of the touring bikes would work - a shop should be able to work on the wheels to make sure they're properly tightened, and sturdy. That would owrk well, too, given your goal. He may still break spokes - and may eventually need hand built wheels. Most bikes would actually work - I would worry more about the wheels than anything (though there are those who say that even the low spoke wheels work).

Kudos to him for wanting to ride - and what fun!!

CA

[farrellcollie]

He might want to check out the bikeforums.net clydesdale thread - it has a lot of encouraging information for larger riders including bike choice info.

[Eden]

As long as he avoids ultra light weight parts he should be OK - so no carbon or light weight aluminum on the breakable parts - handlebars, seatposts, cranks. I agree with CA, a touring bike would be a good choice. The wheelset is likely to be the fragile point for him, so high spoke count wheels would be the thing to look at, 36 spokes, which is what is often used on tandems should be fairly trouble free for him. (my 190 lb 6'4" husband used to break spokes on his touring bike, esp when the bike was loaded, until he got the heavier wheelset).

A hard tail mt bike with a pair of slicks might also be a good starter, as they are sturdy, but he'll may "out grow" something like that pretty quickly.

[KnottedYet]

One of my patients has similar needs, and was looking at the Surly Long Haul Trucker. (wheels are 36 spoke)

[sundial]

Ok, I'll shoot.....

We southerners have a tendency of running the gamut in sizes, particularly in the larger sizes. ;) With that being said, I have known Clydesdales and Athenas that ride carbon fiber bikes. The trick to this is getting properly fitted bikes and then splurging on nice, bomb proof rims. A rim with more spokes will work better for the larger rider or a bomb proof rim with fewer spokes. I like the Mavic Ksyrium rim for road bikes and Mavic Crossmax for the mtb because not only are they super sturdy, they are virtually maintenance free. The spokes won't need truing for at least a couple of years. :) One gentleman who is 6'4" and 280 lbs rides with the Ksyriums and swears by them.

Hope this helps and it's nice to know your son is getting bitten by the cycling bug. :)

[Trek420]

www.konaworld.com/08_hoss_w.htm

[maryellen]

sometime in the last year or so, Bicycling mag had a piece on a guy who started riding at a similar or even higher weight. maybe you can find it on their website. might provide info re sturdiness of equipment as well as provide some inspiration for your son.

[SandyLS]

You gals are the greatest. Thanks for your suggestions. I'll keep you posted on his decision for a bike and his progress.

[Triskeliongirl]

FYI the surly long haul trucker is now coming prepackaged with s/s couplers (or actually I think it is the cross check, called the travelers check: http://www.surlybikes.com/files/Surly_CatV2_2008_lo_res.pdf), so if travel is in the future for him, its something to look into. From what I have seen, I concur with most of what has been said, a sturdy steel frame and high spoke count strong wheels are the two most impt. things to look for.

[SandyLS]

My son called every Surly dealer in Michigan. It seems everyone was willing to to order a bike for him if he wanted to purchase but not a one had any in stock to test ride or even view. Seems like a lot of money to spend sight unseen. Anyone in the Great Lakes area know of a dealer that actually has these bikes on site? I guess we could take a road trip to test one if necessary. Any other other suggestions for a bike for a big guy (350lb 6"3"tall) that wants to start some distance riding? Each bike shop we go to suggests that one of the bikes they sell will do the job for him. Usually a non-steel frame cross bike of one sort or another. I sure don't want him to have his first bike be one that is not strong enough to take the punishment his present weight will give it and discourage him from reaching his goals by being bothered by repairs all of the time.
I know most of you recommend testing lots of bikes to find the right one. What do you think about buying the Surly without testing it first? I know it is usually not a good idea, but I think his options might be limited. It seems most of the big name brands (Trek, Specialize ect.)around here don't even make steel any more. Oh, the Surly has bar end shifters. Any one have experience with those? Thanks for your help.

[Trek420]

Anytime I drool, stare or even glance sideways at a bike in my LBS if it's not in stock in my size they happily offer to order one. I decline saying I'm just looking, have more than enough bikes, don't need another, love steel just lookin' at the puhrty carbon etc blah blah.

More smiles and assurances from them that it's ok, if they get it in stock and built up they will sell it. I'm 5 foot nuthin'. It's not as if I'm the only short female rider around.

Same applies to your brother, it's not like he's the only tall big fella around.

It's all about great service. Find a local shop that treats him right!! He must try the bike.

[Blueberry]

I have bar end shifters on 3 bikes (including a surly cross check) and love them. True, you can't shift as quickly in a pace line, but otherwise (and since I don't generally do that kind of riding), they're great- a little less fiddly (and you can always shift the rear to friction if it gets out of adjustment). I find them more robust than STI.

I bought by Surly off ebay - and had never ridden one. I lucked out with fit - bought it off a couple of key measurements. I think it could work for your son to order one sign unseen *if* he has a local dealer that will do a fit kit on him. They should be able to tell if it will be a good fit for him, and they may be able to duplicate the geometry on the fit kit and/or let him try a bike that's similar in fit. When you order a custom bike, you can't really test it either. The key is finding a dealer he can trust. I can only think of 1 shop within 4 hours of me that ever stocks built frames - I think most buy sight unseen. Good luck!!!

CA

[Trek420]

CA, when folks here say "I lucked out with the fit" most are speaking from a ton of experience. My LBS keeps all the measurements of my bikes on file. Whether a bike is on TE, Craigs, Ebay .... I can check against his measurements and think "sure, close enough for government work". :D not that I want/need another bike :rolleyes:

But for a new or newer rider, one with some health concerns I sure wish he could try the bike or similar. :o

[OakLeaf]

y'know, this just occurred to me, and pardon if I'm being rude - at his size, will his belly make it difficult for him to reach the drops, and thus the bar end shifters? And/or does he have back issues? Bar end shifters might not be the best idea for someone who can't lean very far forward.

Re: frame materials, I've known two very large guys with carbon frames who've had no problems at all. Wheels and spokes, yes - frames, no.

[tulip]

Have you called Surly directly and talked to them about your dilemma? Surly customers are a close lot far as I can tell, and maybe they could get in touch with one of their customers in your area and arrange for your son to try out a bike.

[Eden]

Re: frame materials, I've known two very large guys with carbon frames who've had no problems at all. Wheels and spokes, yes - frames, no.

Yes, carbon is quite strong, but when it fails it can fail rather suddenly and spectacularly (some poor fellow took a face plant in a different field at a race I was in when his carbon front fork failed and I'm guessing he wasn't a huge guy either), so I think its one of those things that you have to decide if you are up to taking that risk.... When you are rather large having a bike that weighs 24 lbs instead of 18 isn't going to make that huge a difference to your ride, so perhaps better to stick to stronger materials at first. Not to mention that no company will honor a guarantee for a broken frame if you are over the weight limit that they set.

That's not to say that aluminum and even steel cannot fail. My husband cracked a lugged steel frame, but steel will at least usually give you some warnings before it goes completely.

btw I don't think a cross bike is a bad idea. They aren't too much heavier than racing bikes (probably in the same weight range as touring bikes), but they are still sturdy. They are made to take off road punishment (and frequent falls), so they tend to come with sturdy wheels and the components tend to be made for relatively easy maintenance and to take a beating without failing. (oh and a slightly higher end one will come with disc brakes which may be much appreciated by a larger rider)

[dex]

Speaking of steel frames and disc brakes, do you have any Kona dealers in your area? If you do, the Sutra would be worth checking out. It's their touring bike, and isn't horribly expensive, but is a pretty comfy ride.

I think he would be best getting to try out the bike before buying, unless you think it would be easy to sell if it doesn't work out for him. My experience: I very much wanted a Surly LHT, but when I went to test ride them, no matter what we did to the bikes we couldn't get one that felt/fit right. (2 different sizes, five different stems, 2 different seat posts, and many adjustments in between--I found a shop that was willing to fiddle with the fit all day.) I still like the bike, and recommend it to people looking for commuting/touring/sturdy bikes, but it just doesn't work for me.

[Tuckervill]

I feel your pain. My husband is 6'7" with a size 13-14 foot. He would like to try clipless pedals, but he has foot issues and shoes absolutely have to be right. No one carries shoes that size that he can try, and even if they did, they'd be in one style, one make. Similarly, his legs and arms are very long and no one has bikes his size just laying around. The largest stock bike (about 64 cm) is still probably too small for his particular needs (he also used to weigh over 300, so that was an issue too--but now he's down to 255, thanks to spinning and riding his bike and other exercise and eating right).

There is a compromise here on your son's bike. It's a make-do compromise, and it's one we face all the time and if you don't hold your standards up too high, it all works out all right. Time's a'wastin', when your son could be riding! Try to find an old steel touring bike--and you can probably get one for $100. It will probably have 40 spokes on the rear which will help. (Alternatively, get the heaviest giant-saddled hybrid you can find, even if it is aluminum.)

Centurion and Trek and Scwhinn all made touring bikes out of steel from the 70s. Change out bars and saddles or what-have-you to make it semi-comfortable. And he just needs to get out and start riding! He's never going to start riding if he doesn't have a bike. Capitalize on the interest and get on one and go. Then the decision of what is the best bike for him can be put off while he learns something about his body, his motivation, and maybe loses enough weight to make the decision simpler.

Just buy one and make-do. Not every bike decision has to be either wrong or right. Some of them can just be eh. :D

Karen

[SandyLS]

I knew I could count on all of you for good ideas. Oakleaf, I don't think your comment was rude at all. It is certainly something to consider with a rider my son's size. Trek420, I know you are right. He must try out the bike before he buys. I sure wish I could find a shop like yours. When he called all of the Michigan Surly dealers last week not a one was willing to order a bike his size without a commitment to buy. Some dealers even told him, Oh yea, we sell a ton of those"! So why not order one to try? Karen, I don't even want to start thinking about trying to find gear for my son. He also has size 13 feet. You are right, he needs to be riding, not shopping for the perfect bike. He hopes to put a lot of hours in on a trainer over the winter, so maybe a good enough bike would be, well, good enough! Bike shopping is so much fun, that would give him a chance to do it twice and a much bigger variety to shop from when he's lost some pounds.

[Trek420]

To a point I'd just want to get him on a bike, any bike. It has to be safe and you want it to fit well enough that it doesn't turn him off riding.

How many of us have heard "oh, I tried riding once. But _____ hurt and I stopped". :(

I would not worry about the perfect fit because as he gets fitter, looses weight and/or inches what fits him now will change. The we can obsess with you over dialing it in :cool: ;) :p

I'd think safe, acceptable fit and .... let's go ride!!!! :D :D

[Blueberry]

CA, when folks here say "I lucked out with the fit" most are speaking from a ton of experience. My LBS keeps all the measurements of my bikes on file. Whether a bike is on TE, Craigs, Ebay .... I can check against his measurements and think "sure, close enough for government work". :D not that I want/need another bike :rolleyes:

But for a new or newer rider, one with some health concerns I sure wish he could try the bike or similar. :o

Yep - agreed. I also knew I could re-sell the bike if I needed to, and was willing to take the risk. I still think he's be OK, though, if he went to a shop that could do a fit kit on him to make sure that bike would work - or find something in stock that was close to the geometry so he could get a feel for it. The long top tubes of cross bikes can be a challenge.

On the bar end issue - I can't ride comfortably in the lowest part of the drops and pedal. But I have no problems shifting.

CA

[SandyLS]

Son and I finally went shopping for his new bike. After reading all I could find about Clydsdale riders we decided to order the Surly long haul trucker. A new shop in E. Lansing Michigan, Revolution Bikes, http://revolutionbikesllc.com/ had the best prices of anywhere we checked. They do mostly internet mail order sales. They seemed to know what they were doing when they measured him for the bike. The bike should be in next week. My son was invited to come back while they set it up for him so he can learn a little about the bike. They also run a weekly ride out of the shop in which he was invited to participate so they could help him learn about proper pedaling and such. I'll post again after the bike gets set up for him.

[sbctwin]

It sounds like your son is on his way to a good ride. Great job!!!

[Blueberry]

Yay!!!! Sounds like the shop will give him just the kind of support he needs to learn to love biking!!!! Please keep us posted on his progress:)

CA

[KnottedYet]

I like the shop already: Surly and Kona! My two favorite brands!

Sounds great that they are inviting him in to come watch the set up. (bring them some beer, beer makes happy wrenches! Tom's party store on the north side of Grand River, right at the East Lansing/Okemos border has the best beer selection.) I hope he goes on the weekly ride, there is nothing like riding with other folks to help you learn!

Hooray!
(and even though it's not *your* bike, we want pictures of course!):D

[boy in a kilt]

If he's that big (and I'm sure that'll change), don't let them talk him into the following follies:

-any weight supporting element that involves carbon fiber
-As eden said, wheels with less than 36 spokes. I'll add a bit and say he would do well to go with wider rims that can handle 35C tires or better.
-I would almost recommend he go with upright (e.g. moustache) handlebars. If he's that large, he will find the upright position much more comfortable. He can go with drops later if he's so inclined. Might even be a good motivational tool.