? about fore/aft saddle position and other ? for a non-cycling enthusiest

[Brina]

I just got a road bike and spent hours in the shop getting it fit. in addition to my road bike I have a hybrid and I am pushing my husband to get a hybrid so that the family can go on rides (2 six year olds on bikes and a 3 year old in the burley). So far he has only visited one shop, but I did not let him buy the first bike he rode and I told him he needs to visit other stores and try other bikes.

I have two main questions:

1. the guy at the shop (sells mainly kids bikes and low to mid-range adult bikes - cruisers, hybrids - with a price point of $300-$600) talked about using the saddle rails to adjust comfort and reach. I was told when buying my road bike that the fore/aft positioning of the saddle should not be used to adjust reach, rather it is set to create a proper knee angle and that is it. I am trying to give the guy at the local store the benefit of the doubt - maybe when you don't have clipless pedals, or even toe clips, the positioning of the saddle is less important. Please let me know.

2. dh is a big guy. he needs to lose quite a bit of weight, although he is a big guy even when he is in better shape. the same guy as above recommended disc brakes. his rational is that if dh is bumping the bike around a lot there it is less of a problem if the wheel goes out of perfectly true. I know nothing about disc brakes and have no idea if they are better suited to a heavier rider, for the reason given or for any other reason.

Thanks in advance for your input. I am trying to both get dh exercising more and find a way to get the family out exercising together.

[Dianyla]

Seat fore/aft position should be all about getting the proper knee angle, not abused to make up for an improperly short or long top tube. Different stems and front bars will help with frame fit to make finer reach adjustments.

And as for the disc brakes, I've ridden my brother's mtn bike that had them and while they are nice, I wouldn't exactly claim that they're necessary. All I noticed was that it was a lot easier to lock up the tires and skid with the brakes fully applied - you're limited by tire traction. It might help on extremely sharp descents with heavy weight. But still, plenty of 300-400+ lbs people are out there using conventional brakes.

[SalsaMTB]

I agree w/ Dianlya about seat positioning, I wouldn't use it for adjusting reach. He should look at different stems for that.

Disc Brakes: It's true that if the wheel comes out of true the brakes are not affected. I'm not sure how more likely it larger person is to cause a wheel to come out of true than a smaller person, but the fundamental idea of the brakes not rubbing is correct.

The only draw back I see to disc brakes are price and break in time. Obviously they're more expensive, but I do feel they're becoming more popular right now and the price will drop. There is a beak in period with the brakes so they will not feel perfect when you first get them. You need time for the pad to wear on the rotor and make an optimal rubbing surface. There was a nice article written about this recently in a mountain bike magazine, I can't remember which one right now though...

Overall, I like disc brakes. I think the design is a good solid design that works better than V brake in wet conditions. Once you get past the break in period, in my experience they feel better than V brakes. I currently ride w/ V brakes though, DH has disc.

In saying that though, I would not let that be a deciding point. I would just get the bike w/ the best fit and comfort. If the bike has disc brakes, that's an added bonus, or if the frame is disc ready you can upgrade later. I don't think I would personally not pick a bike because of the brakes.

Another idea: you may want to post some questions on the mtbr.com forum. They have a forum for clydesdales (heavier riders) and they would probably offer you good advice on solid bikes for larger people. They might have more experience with the brake scenerio also.

[Tuckervill]

I'm in a similar position with my husband. He's large and tall (6'7", about 290). He hasn't owned or ridden a bike since he was a little kid (sad, ain't it?). But, just as he can't fit in just any car, he can't ride just any bike. He needs a tall bike.

Since our son and I had been riding casually for a couple of years (mostly in town, but sometimes taking week-long camping trips and trips to Vermont to mtb, etc., with the Buicks in tow--so we're pretty serious about our casual riding), Son and I thought it might be good for Dad to have a bike. On our last trip to Vermont, I spotted an extremely large bike for an extremely reasonable price (less than $300). It was a Raliegh, so I knew it was decent. (I'd been doing some research.)

Dad didn't know we were getting him a bike. I know buying a bike is a personal decision--but that wasn't a decision he was willing to spend his time and energy on. Exercise is not his cuppa, if you know what I mean. But I knew he would like it if he just had decent equipment, and he always needs an opportunity to hang out with Son and I. A bike for him would bring us together, more, if he chose to ride.

So I bought this giant bike and brought it home from Vermont on the back of the Beetle. I knew there was a possibility he would *never* ride it, but I was going to give him every reason to want to ride, and make opportunities for he and Son and I to ride together. (For instance, we choose the less hilly routes when he's along, but we won't always have to.)

I could have spent a lot of time nagging him about more exercise, or taking him to bike shops and having him sit on the many too-small bikes and having the LBS guy try to sell him on ordering a way too-expensive custom bike that fits. But instead, I just bought him a freaky ginormous bike at a reasonable price. He needed more height on the bars, so we got a new headset, and a longer seat tube to accomodate his 38" inseams. Now he feels comfortable on his bike, and like I said in another thread, last night I caught him going out to ride without a bit of nagging or coersion or even encouragment. (This from a person who never volunteers to exercise.)

Buying a bike is a personal decision, sure, but what good is a special expensive bike if he never rides it? I'd much rather he have something "good enough" that he rides because he wants to, than something expensive that he rides because he feels obligated due to the cost. He can buy something special when he's interested, like I did.

Alan Alda said in his book, _Never Have Your Dog Stuffed_ "Other people's passions are boring." I don't want to push my passion on him (well, sometimes :::blush:::). I want him to see how much fun we're having and want to come along.

Karen

[madisongrrl]

I just got a road bike and spent hours in the shop getting it fit. in addition to my road bike I have a hybrid and I am pushing my husband to get a hybrid so that the family can go on rides (2 six year olds on bikes and a 3 year old in the burley). So far he has only visited one shop, but I did not let him buy the first bike he rode and I told him he needs to visit other stores and try other bikes.

I have two main questions:

1. the guy at the shop (sells mainly kids bikes and low to mid-range adult bikes - cruisers, hybrids - with a price point of $300-$600) talked about using the saddle rails to adjust comfort and reach. I was told when buying my road bike that the fore/aft positioning of the saddle should not be used to adjust reach, rather it is set to create a proper knee angle and that is it. I am trying to give the guy at the local store the benefit of the doubt - maybe when you don't have clipless pedals, or even toe clips, the positioning of the saddle is less important. Please let me know.

2. dh is a big guy. he needs to lose quite a bit of weight, although he is a big guy even when he is in better shape. the same guy as above recommended disc brakes. his rational is that if dh is bumping the bike around a lot there it is less of a problem if the wheel goes out of perfectly true. I know nothing about disc brakes and have no idea if they are better suited to a heavier rider, for the reason given or for any other reason.

Thanks in advance for your input. I am trying to both get dh exercising more and find a way to get the family out exercising together.

Disc brakes are nice, but if your husband doesn't intend to race or ride gnarley single track, then you really don't need them. They are more expensive and require more maintenance than traditional brakes. You need to bleed them which requires that you spend money on a bleed kit and learn how to use it. And adjusting disc brakes is much harder than adjusting traditional brakes...at least that is my personal experience (I'm having a heck of a time trying to dial in my Hayes Carbon 9's.)

And like someone else previously stated. The fore/aft adjustment is not to improve your saddle reach....you need to choose the right size frame with the correct headtube/seattube angles and a proper fitting stem.

[susanm8048]

Sorry to go on a tangent here, but could someone please refer me to a good article or thread reagrding fore/ aft positioning and how to adjust the saddle properly.

I must confess that I have prevoiusly just put the seat forward so that I could reach the handlebars better. What a confession!!:eek:

[Brina]

Thank you ladies or reaffirming what I thought was right. Like i said, i gave the guy the benefit of the doubt since I thought maybe it didn't matter with regular peddles.

Salsa, thanks for that link - you are right - great resource for investigating the right bike for him.

The disc brake question is an interesting one. Our LBS (not the one referenced above, but also not the one from which i bought my Ruby;) ) has just started carrying Marin bikes. They get great reviews and the company is known for having good components at each price point relative to others, but you don't get disc brakes till you get pretty expensive. But their moderate priced bikes are disc ready, so he can upgrade in the future if he feels the need.

Final qustions, steel vs alum or composite. Steel just sounds like the right material for a guy his size. Is it truely stronger?

[madisongrrl]

Sorry to go on a tangent here, but could someone please refer me to a good article or thread reagrding fore/ aft positioning and how to adjust the saddle properly.

I must confess that I have prevoiusly just put the seat forward so that I could reach the handlebars better. What a confession!!:eek:

http://www.cycle-smart.com/coaching/articles/bikefit.html

http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/techctr/bikefit.html#Anchor-BASICS-49575

http://bicyclesource.com/bike/fitting/

[madisongrrl]

Final qustions, steel vs alum or composite. Steel just sounds like the right material for a guy his size. Is it truely stronger?


There are so many considerations that it goes well beyond what material a bike is made out of. We can't just say that steel would be better than aluminum or vise versa. It depends on the frame design/geometry (and suspension if there is any...). Designers can build bikes with various tube diameters and wall thickenesses that can seemingly change the way a bike feels (and how durable it is) regardless of the type of material it is made of. Tire selection and tire pressure will also change the way a bike feels regardless of frame material. So we can only make general (and generic) statements about frame materials.

You really need to look at the purpose/usage of this bike. Is it for racing? Is it for Sunday outings? Somewhere inbetween? Is it going to bashed around on single track every weekend or strickly ridden on the road? Is weight important? Comfort? Durability? etc.

I'd say have your hubby get out there and test ride both. See what he thinks. You might even want to bring your own air pump along so you can set the tire pressure to your own specs. A 10psi pressure sway on my road bike can be the difference between a comfortable ride or a horrible, crotch jarring sufferfest.

Good luck,