ruirui

My cousin is 6ft 4in tall and weighs 300lbs. He has autism and loves to ride. My uncle has been buying him MTB bikes from Walmart and other places, but they don't seem to last. Either the wheel goes out of true quickly or broken spokes ETC.

Would like to get some recommendations on a bike for him. I told my aunt and uncle with the money they spent on all those cheap bikes they could get a better one.

So which one to recommend? He doesn't need suspension or anything like that. Rigid fork is fine.

Also open to hybrid upright style as well.

Much appreciated.

DOGDAYS24

I am riding a Trek verve 3 2017 model(no suspension) the previous years models had suspension fork. It's a hybrid with 700x45 tires.

I am as heavy as your cousin and have had no problems. Granted I have only a hundred miles on it so far but have hit some less than perfect paths and a couple curbs(unavoidable) and the wheels seem solid. Also it's a comfortable easy riding bike.

I went with Trek because I like my local shop. Everyone always told me to buy the shop as much as the bike. I called Trek and that's the model they recommended for someone heavier that advice mirrored what the salesman told me when I went looking. The CS rep told me that they test the wheels with much more load than the 300# weight limit they specify for the bike. I am sure there are many more models that will serve your cuz fine but just passing along my personal experience.

ruirui

Thank you so much! Hopefully they have a trek dealer in S.Jersey.

I'll pass them that info and have them go in for a test ride.

Amigo_Frio

A Surly Ogre would be my suggestion...

Pops1959

I am 6'3'' and was a tad over 360 when I got back into cycling. Went to a local bike shop and bought a Specialized Crossroads. My experience with this bike has been stellar. The stock seat was a bit of a pain the butt, literally, so I swapped it out. Beyond that keep the tires inflated properly and ride on!

Kobe 

At 6'4" he is going to need a pretty tall bike. KHS is a company that makes bikes for taller riders and has a true XXL sized Hybrid. I am 6'6" and if I was buying a hybrid this is the one I would buy.

URBAN XPRESS - KHS BicyclesKHS Bicycles

Of course a lot depends on your budget, but at this time of year you may be able to get a deal on a closeout.

Leebo

Look at some kind of Surly with beefy 29er wheels. Ogre mentioned but also say the Karate Monkey.

indyfabz

Where in S. Jersey? See the post below about KHS. Erlton Bicycles on Rte. 70 in Cherry Hill carries them. There are also a couple of shops in Philly that do.

Clyde1820

A relatively simple late-1980s or early 1990s vintage Specialized Stumpjumper or Hardrock, a Bridgestone MB-3 or MB-4, or similar bike, might do. Plenty of bikes in the vintage to choose from.. Chromoly frame, suspension fork or rigid fork depending, fairly durable gears and derailleurs, with 26" MTB wheels. Assuming the rims are round and true, you can probably have them re-laced by a competent shop and end up with a fairly bomb-proof setup. Often, you can find one in fair to decent shape for sub-$200, even locally.

If you want to take further complexity out, such a starting bike can be tweaked into a single-speed, so no derailleurs or gear shifting to worry about (if the autism leans in the direction where this would be a good thing).

Univega made some relatively solid chromoly frames on the cheaper end of the spectrum around the same time. Kona, Jamis, Marin, Gary Fisher and others made a variety of decent bikes during the era.

A list of likely candidates (of this sort) on eBay: click.

27onfire

There are so many great mountain bike companies and bikes out there that you should not limit the options to a bike that is geared toward those who are overweight. Quality bike brands build bikes that an 800 pound Gorilla can ride for 50,000 miles without breaking down. Kona bikes, Trek, Motobecane, and Specialized are great brands to look at.

To give you some reference. I own a Bianchi Veloce that I ride on NYC streets on an almost daily basis. I am a big guy. I bought this bike when I weighed 180 pounds long ago. It rode like a dream then and it rides like a dream now. I know it isn't a mountain bike nor do I ride it on trails but it is a road bike that I ride on pothole ridden tore up streets stressing it to the max with my big body and the steel frame absorbs tremendous shocks.

The moral of the story is quality trumps anything else you might here out there. A 90 pound ballerina will wreck a huffy on the trails after 2 weeks time but her 300lb linebacker boyfriend can last on a Trek Rockhopper for years to come.

oddjob2

A potentially good deal at $200-$250 in a frame big enough. High quality.

Vintage 90s Trek 950 singletrack mountain bike MTB hybrid

ruirui

Awesome... That's perfect. They go to cherry hill almost every weekend. Which model of KHS would be strong enough?

I was also thinking to just build an old rockhopper or something for them and ship it over.

wvridgerider

Karate Monkey, just builg it the way you wany