Inpd

As a former Clydesdale, I like to help out Clydesdales. But this guy really needs all our help.

He easily weights 400 (probably 500) pounds. The problem is that his leg muscles are really weak so when he goes over any sort of bump in the road he can't get out of the saddle and let his legs absorb the shock so inevitably gets a pinched flat. He's gotten a pinched flat each time he's gone for a ride as he's not exactly nimble on this bike.

So what are the options? He's tried upto 32mm tires and they didn't work as the inflate upto 85PSI and even the Serfas Seca's which go upto 120PSI (in a 25mm) didn't work.

Any other suggestions? Is there some sort of tire liner he could use? The guy is really trying and I want to help him out.

On a related question, his weak legs means that at the end of a ride he can barely get of the bike let alone stand up. Not sure if its a circulation problem or something else.

ColonelSanders

As a Superclyde myself, I can relate to your friend or associate's problems, especially the difficulty in getting off the bike after a ride of some medium length.


So my first priority was getting a bike that could cope with my weight and having attributes that would cater to my circumstances, that is why I have started off with a Giant Toughroad and I run 50mm Schwalbe Marathon Mondial Evo tyres with the front tyre at 70psi and the rear at 80psi.


I have had no flat tyres and I don't always get out of the saddle to avoid bumps.


My efforts at cycling are showing slow but meaningful improvements as each week passes, with my ability to take hills improving constantly too.


If this guy is riding a road bike, he must have great rims, but why on Earth is he on a bike that has such narrow tyres?


Sounds like he has the wrong bike for his circumstances.

PatrickR400

Could he switch to tubeless tires? That would eliminate the pinch flat problem.

Johnny Mullet

He should be riding a 26" wheeled or 29" wheeled bike with road tires. When I was at almost 300 lbs I could not ride 700c without flats constantly even with 700cx42.

dagray

I am 6'3" and 360 pounds. I ride 700x25mm Maxxis Padrone tubeless tires. That said I think for his weight a tricycle or hardtail mountain bike with street tires would be a better choice.

bud16415

He should be on an old tough mountain bike frame with low mountain gearing and no suspension and lots of spokes and 26” street tires. Get him the super thick slime filled tubes with the Schrader valve. These tubes weigh about 4X normal tubes and will take a lot.

Inpd

Thanks thats good to know. But how will a 26" or 29" wheel help over a 700mm wheel? I thought it was all about the tire diameter.

kc0bbq

More air volume (so tire size, wheel width) and better load distribution (more and stronger spokes, hub flange differences).

There isn't anything specific about a 700c wheel that can't do the same thing, aside from the wheels built on a design that are more ideal to a Clyde happen to be 26"/29", generally. Some Clydes get around this by using wheels normally built for tandem bikes, which are also an option. But, there are not many off the shelf options there.

You're always going to be hard on wheels until you can unweight over bumps, though, but if your rider can get more experience many pick that up naturally. Some people are always hard on wheels, even at sub-Clyde sizes.

jade408

Well I can only share my own experience. For a a while a few years ago, I was getting some random knee pain and stuff. Eventually I figured it was related to weak supporting muscles. As part of a fun challenge I decided to do the 300 squats challenge to help with the knee issues, balance and a whole bunch of things. And it is free!

Full disclosure - I didn't actually finish. I got sidetracked by other things. But it did do wonders for my baseline fitness! The first time I did deadlifts, it wasn't as a hard as expected. Last time I dead lifted I did about 170#. I can't squat with weights (pesky tight shoulders). I can leg press 140#.

Where I notice the biggest difference is with my sister and I. She has a lot of knee pain, at all weights higher and lower than my own! I don't have pain issues even though I have plenty of weight to lose (and I am a little older). We are shaped much the same.

But more importantly it made stairs easier and all sorts of things better. I have been off and on with weight lifting and such, but the base stayed. Earlier this year I fell and hurt my knee. It really sucked. I couldn't ride. I couldn't take the stairs, I couldn't stand for long. To help alleviate the weakness caused from favoring the other leg, I added in my the squats again! I literally could not ride my bike for 3 months due to the knee pain, and the proceeding 3 months I only rode 1x a week. And sure enough after a 2 weeks of doing squats daily, I was able to get back on my bike. And I did my longest ride ever about 2 weeks after getting back on my bike! Even though I had only done like 4 rides before that.

So I am a big fan of body weight squats! Tell your friend to find something to hold on to to assist him, and not go too low! Over time he will get better, and you can definitely build leg strength with this program. And it gives you an awesome base to do other strength training. Not only that it helps with balance and the core, other areas I am sure your friend is also weaker in!

300 Squats.com | Trainings for your legs

Clyde1820

^ This would be my suggestion, basically.



A few years back, I was much heavier, had strength issues, and had problems getting the legs over the saddle (old injuries). Got a lower-step bike with some strength in the frame, in 26" wheel format, and promptly installed the fattest, strongest tires and tubes I could find that would fit well (26x1.9, IIRC). Wasn't sexy, but it worked well. Stayed with this bike until my strength and control was back to normal, more or less. Then, headed into the 700c/commuter type platform, which I'm on now. Still have larger (28x1.75) tires on stout rims, though (now) more out of concern for the potholed commutes than anything.

I'd suggest finding a late-80s or early-90s Specialized RockHopper or StumpJumper (or similar), then getting a well-made set of stout 26" rimes and strong hubs, then mount a great pair of puncture-resistant tires and tubes. With the right tires, it needn't have much drag or be that slow. With a great saddle that fits and a stem/bar combination providing great fore-aft balance, it'll also be far more comfortable. It'll be a tougher-duty platform than most 700c hybrids or road bikes, probably much more suited to a larger person. Might even be less likely to be stolen, if the vintage paint job is left alone.

There's a M/19 StumpJumper on eBay right now for ~$300 with free shipping, as an example. And there's a 19" Bridgestone MB3 on eBay for $200 (plus shpg). Something similar might make sense, with solid wheels and the right fit.

lurch0038

wider tires? 700cx45, 47 or even 50?

oddjob2

Look ahead and avoid the bumps.
Buy a 1990's mtb without suspension.
Walk 20 minutes a day.

baron von trail 

At that weight, he needs more wheels. A trike would be my suggestion.

OneIsAllYouNeed

To avoid pinch flats, he needs wider tires in a bad way. At 530lb combined rider/bike weight, I'd recommend 45mm (1.75in) tires to get down to "road" pressures (90f/100r) or 56mm (2.2in) tires to get down to comfortable pressures (60f/70r). Wheel diameter isn't significant. Any mountain bike can fit tires like that, along with most touring/cyclocross/gravel road bikes.