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

[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 not sure - the whole brifter thing happened when I was on hiatus .

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:



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.

[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.

Apparently not. Maybe we scared her with so many answers! You guys scared me a little in the beginning. 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

[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.