Too Fat to Ride??? (Gear shifting problem)

[planetluvver]

Can a woman be too fat to ride? I weigh about 264, and am 5'6" tall.

When I stop, and dismount from my seat, my belly bumps against my shift levers. I have a 1980's Schwinn, with shifts levers mounted near the handlebars. The bruises are bad enough, but it is the fact that I move the levers, and I am not in my proper gear that is my concern.:mad:

Has anyone else had this problem, and what did you do?

Thanks!

[Tuckervill]

I assume they're friction shifters? Just move them back to where they were. The chain will stay in place because you're not pedaling when they move.

You could also dismount your bike (by leaning it way over) in a way that allows you to stay more upright and not bend at the waist so far.

Keep riding and you'll shrink and it won't be a problem anymore! :)

Karen

[planetluvver]

I am not bending at the waist! There is no room for my girth from front to back between the tip of my seat and my shifters. I guess I could try to lean over and stand to the side.

Or just ride more! I used to be active in the past, and I never lost weight. (However, I also had a BF then who browbeat me, and I wouldn't eat at his house, because he was so harsh. So I would scarf down Big Macs before or after visiting him.:o)

[Biciclista]

Maybe you need a bike that fits you better.

[dex]

Can you look into getting bar end shifters? Otherwise, I think you're probably going to just have to move them back into place after each dismount.

Mimi, this isn't really a "bike fit" issue. Some of us are just bigger front-to-back than side-to-side. I'm built that way--I carry my weight all out in front, but proportionally I have very little in the way of hips or butt. On some of the bikes I've ridden, this has made for very little room between my stomach and the stem when standing over my bike.

I often knock my bento box off-kilter when I stop and dismount my bike. I just push it back into place when I start riding again. Not a big deal, but a minor annoyance. I suppose I could look for a bike with more room to stand, but that would make the top tube too long while trying to ride it...and since riding is the point of the bike, I just deal with the lack of room when I happen to be not riding. *shrug*

[Tuckervill]

Oh, I was thinking it was "unstraddling" issue. Yeah, I get what you're saying...when you're just standing there, astride the bike, you don't have any clearance. That's okay, still. Just move the levers back after you get back on the saddle.

My road bike saddle hits me in my lower back right where my scar from surgery is, unless I move all the way forward so the drop bars are hitting my thighs--and that makes the bike a little unstable for just standing over it.

In addition to continued riding, you might want to start keeping a food journal (there are tons online like calorie king and SparkPeople.com) to see what your true intake and output is.

Karen

[pardes]

In answer to your question, of course you are not too fat to ride! Your spunk shows that to be true that you ARE JUST RIGHT to ride and as you ride you'll get righter and righter.

I dropped 25 pounds in about six weeks when I started riding this past summer. And believe me, I didn't go many miles (I couldn't) and I didn't do hills (I couldn't). I just pedaled for the sheer joy of it at the speed that felt good and when you become happier and more content and stop worrying about things, the weight falls off. Of course it didn't hurt that the temperatures were very high and I sweat buckets and buckets from unfamiliar exertion.

So hang in there and love that belly. It's part of you so it's about loving YOU. I loved my belly but I'm glad to see that it went somewhere else and doesn't live here any longer. Hey, wait a minute.....did my belly move into your house?

[fastdogs]

of course you're not too fat to ride a bike. I started out riding on a folding bike with 20" wheels. I always imagined I looked sort of like one of those circus bears on a tiny bike.
I still rode, and kinda learned to to not worry about how I must look riding my bike, I was just having too much fun.
I would probably have a problem with shifters in that position. I have a handlebar bag that faces toward me- it's small, only big enough for a cell phone and a can of pepper spray. I still hit that thing getting on and off. Maybe the bike shop could move the shifters?
vickie

[Aggie_Ama]

Given the wide variety of shapes and sizes I see on bikes I would say no your body should not keep you from riding. I think re-routing to bar end shifters might help and might not be too expensive of a change. I would discuss it with your LBS.

[emily_in_nc]

And there are always recumbent bicycles if you're really uncomfortable and can't find a good position on an upright.

But no, you're certainly not too big to ride! Good for you for getting out there - stick with it!

[redrhodie]

I agree with Mimi. It's an issue with your bike, not your body. You will be more motivated to ride if you're comfortable, and bikes have come a long way since the 1980s. I think you should go to your lbs and look at bikes. It will be easy to find one where the shifters don't hit your belly. I know buying a new bike is expensive, but you should be comfortable. You won't want to ride if your bike is giving you bruises! That's not good!

If a new bike is out of the question, look into having the shifters moved. Still, I think you should test ride some other bikes, just to see what has happened since the 1980s.

[lauraelmore1033]

If they make a bike that can hold a 500 pound rider (http://livingxl.com/store/en_US/catalog/browse_sku.jsp?clear=true&catID=cat40218&prodId=X1573&id=cat40218), I'd say it is not really possible to be too fat to ride.
I'm a similar size and stature and my belly also knocks my bento box askew. I don't think I'd want to deal with shifters on the tube rather than the handlebars, though. You are totally worth a new (or new to you)bike that is better suited to your body!

[RoadRaven]

... you ARE JUST RIGHT to ride and as you ride you'll get righter and righter.


This has got to be one of the absolute best things I have read for a long long time
Well said, Pardes
Wish I'd written it for Planet...

[AutumnBreez]

I agree with the others, really, one is never too big to ride a bike. You always have the option of looking at used bikes, often they are not really all that used, people get things with intention to ride or they buy a bike to find they want a different one than the one they just bought. Craigslist may be an option. If you go check out a bike shop and they help you recognize the right bike and size, and if you can't afford their price, go to craigs list with the brand and model and do a search on Craigslist. You may find a real gem just waiting for you. Meanwhile keep riding while you look for that bike. Your height is not going to change, but your body will! That new bike will be a great motivator, while you look and once you get it. Take care.

[Zen]

keep it and have the shop switch out the shifters to bar-end shifters :)

[OakLeaf]

The way I understood her post, she has bar-end shifters.

With an older bike, brifters might not be available for a 6-7 speed cassette :confused: not sure - the whole brifter thing happened when I was on hiatus :o.

And as someone else has pointed out, leaning all the way to reach down tube shifters might be an issue, too.

Maybe flat bars and grip shifters would be the simplest option.

[xeney]

I read it as stem shifters, like this:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/22/34085582_1df744b0e9.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/xeney/34085582/in/set-755272/)

Are those the kind of shifters you have? Bikes don't come with those anymore, so any new bike would solve your problem, and your bike could be altered to move those. Bar ends are a good idea.

[PscyclePath]

Your derailleurs won't actually shift gears unless the drive train is in motion... e.g., unless you're actually pedaling along. Since it sounds like you have friction shifters, just put the levers back where they used to be, and take off again. Everything will work out fine.

Several mentioned bar-end shifters. I didn't think I'd like these, but after riding with them for a couple of months, I love 'em. You get the same utility of friction shifters with an indexed feel, and you can always reset them to work on friction if something goes wrong out on the road somewhere.

And, there's no such thing as being too big too ride, if you get a bike with the appropraite frame size, saddle height, and reach measurements. So go ride, and with a little time and diligence, the rider will shrink.

One of the strongest riders I know will certainly fool ya... She's a big gal, but when she throws down the hammer, you have to hang on with teeth, toenails, and everything else to keep up with her. So don't be dismayed or fooled by body dimensions. It's the engine inside that really counts.

[OakLeaf]

One of the strongest riders I know will certainly fool ya... She's a big gal, but when she throws down the hammer, you have to hang on with teeth, toenails, and everything else to keep up with her. So don't be dismayed or fooled by body dimensions. It's the engine inside that really counts.

+1

My main training partner when I started racing way back when, was a guy about 350 lbs, and a lot of it was in his belly. He'd blow away half the field on a flat TT.

[Tuckervill]

She has stem shifters. I used to hit mine with my breasts on a long ago, too tall bike, so I knew exactly what she meant.

Karen

[Zen]

She has stem shifters.

Yep


I have a 1980's Schwinn, with shift levers mounted near the handlebars.

[Biciclista]

and she hasn't returned. :confused:

[AutumnBreez]

You may also get some relief if your seat gets positioned correctly? Purhaps it is positioned all the way forward and needs to be slid back?

[pardes]

and she hasn't returned. :confused:

Apparently not. Maybe we scared her with so many answers! You guys scared me a little in the beginning. :p A community of "problem solvers" is something to behold and a little awesome at times.

[malkin]

Maybe she's just out riding her bike!

[planetluvver]

I will update my e-mail address to my current one, so I actually see the subscription notifications! But a new post caught my attention. (I use this address for mostly low priority things. However, I intend cycling to be a high priority for me.

Yes, my shifters are like those in the picture Xeney posted, that she called stem shifters. A cycling friend suggested that I switch them to be mounted on my tube. I do not want to buy a new bike right now, unless I luck into a bargain at the thrift store. But I guess it can't hurt to browse at bike shops, and see what is out there.

My next purchases will likely be rain gear and baskets or bags. ( I am getting tired of strapping my backpack onto the rack with bungee cords.) I have slowed down my expectations of riding quite a bit, and so I am paying more attention to what I am doing. I am dismounting and walking across the street more often, and just trying to feel more comfortable with my bike. (Though, I guess I haven't ridden in about a week, Oops!)

THank you all for your supportive remarks. I am glad that I am not the only woman who has had this problem. I think the bike fits me pretty well, though I am not really sure.

[wackyjacky1]

Yay, she came back! :)

Count me as another vote for bar-end shifters. I absolutely love mine.

Good luck, keep ridin', and let us know how it's going. :) :)

[Biciclista]

Yay! she's back!

And did I hear you say you are cruising thrift shops for bikes? This stuff is addictive you know :cool::cool:

[planetluvver]

Thanks, gals for thinking about me!

I was thinking of moving the shifters lower down, onto the bike frame. (I think this was a popular spot to place the shifters. But noone has suggested that placement, so perhaps I need to look into the bar-end shifters. I will probably rejoin the PSU (Portland State University) Bike Coop, so I can have some hand-holding. I do not understand WHY I am such a wimp when it comes to working on my bike.

Though, maybe I shouldn't be so hard on myself, I remember as a kid, that all the guys who worked on their cars would have a bunch of other people hanging around, in fact, working on the car was probably an excuse for hanging out in the garage, and drinking beer.

What I REALLY need is to clean out the garage. There is still some automobile related clutter in the garage, as well as general clutter. And I haven't owned a car for several years now!

[xeney]

Moving the shifters to the down tube is probably the easiest thing to do. My husband likes down tube shifters; I have never gotten the hang of them. The reason nobody suggested that, probably, is that both down tube shifters and stem shifters (what you have now) are something you mostly only see on older bikes.

Before you do it, I would test to make sure you're going to be able to reach them easily while you're riding. If you can grab a water bottle you can use down tube shifters, though.