Large adult son wants to ride

[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.

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

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

[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". not that I want/need another bike

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

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!)

[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.