FarHorizon

Hi Wes!

Most assuredly, they can. Of course, if they're looking for excuses not to ride, anything will do. If they're scared of falling, put them on a trike. Worksman makes some really durable ones that aren't too expensive. Another alternative for the "scared of falling" set is the Electra Townie line (also suitable for uberclydes).

Any exercise is better than none. Best of luck to the would-be rider!

Brian

Tom, I still have to profile you in my blog someday. Only about 20-25% of my readers come from the forums, so you'll be inspiring strangers.

Maybe not stranger than Raiyn.

solveg

who is this Raiyn person that keeps popping up in conversations????

Edit: Did a search and found out it's a current member. I thought it was an infamous person from the early days.

In the process I ran across this link and found out that if everyone lived my perfectly average lifestyle, we would need 15.6 planets.

https://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.asp

ookiihito

I just bought a Worksman cruiser. Pretty cool, American made, very heavy duty frame, forks, cranks and rims. Seat posts suck and you'll have to buy a lot of them or, reinforce them somehow (I am working on some ideas -- more on that later).

I was a little disapointed in some of the fit and finish aspects of my $559.00 ($639.00 with shipping) and they forgot to do an upgrade I requested. When I called, they were cool about it and made it right.

It seems to me that seat posts, pedals and handlebars are easily destoryed or bent by my 6'2", 400lb self.

Ookiihito

(51)

Interesting to hear. I thought the Worksman stuff was bombproof.

Brian

The man is a bomb. But cheers to him for riding!

Tom Stormcrowe

Have you bent them yet though? Fortunately, they are relatively inexpensive items. If I remember right, Workman uses essentially steel pipe for seatposts and replacements are likely to be aroung $5-$8. Not a bunch of cash and the Handlebars will be fine.

Raiyn

I am he and he is me.
Depends on what you mean by "early days" and "infamous"
2.4 for me https://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.p...4&postcount=65

Coast2coastroas

rgconner

Congrats on your first post being the resurrection of an 11 year old post...

TrojanHorse

How do one-post newbies FIND these old posts anyway?

Good points though.

tunavic

At least it's worthy of resurrection.

I too often find posts from new members who think that buying a bike and riding is some magic formula to lose weight. It's not. Watching your diet very carefully to not overeat and walking daily is probably a great place to start. When a significant weight loss is achieved then would be a good time to get a bike.

Having said that, I'm sure there are many people who have gotten a bike and lost significant amount of weight. I suspect they also were careful with their diet and incorporated some other type of exercise together with cycling.

ColonelSanders

This is how I use to look until recently, but I still have a long way to go.


*I realise that Tom is no longer with us.

Milton Keynes

The first place to start is with their diet. Cutting out as much carbs & sugar as they can from their diet, getting rid of junk food and focusing on protein and vegetables is the way to start. They need to count their calories and take in around 2,000 calories a day. As far as exercise goes, they likely should start by walking first. If they can lose some weight first, then maybe they will feel more comfortable on a bike.

But, if they're busy making excuses for why things won't work, it sounds to me like they're not fully committed yet. IMO, you have to be fully committed and dedicated to losing weight, and then you'll find the willpower to change your eating habits. If they can do that, then they'll be amazed at how quickly the weight drops off, and they'll start having more energy for exercise.

As one of my junior high school teachers liked to say, excuses only satisfy those who make them.

*edit* Crap, just realized this is a zombie thread. I really gotta pay more attention to the dates on the first posts of these threads.

Cuyuna

Zombie thread or not, this is absolutely correct. As long as you can eat more calories in 5 minutes than you can burn in an hour on your bike....dietary intake control will always represent the main weight loss component. Exercise (any exercise) can be a helpful adjunct in appetite control and establishing a more appropriate metabolism, but serious weight loss is about calorie intake, not calorie burning.

Milton Keynes

I found that out firsthand when I started riding seriously 3 years ago in order to lose weight. I didn't lose a pound. I quickly learned that changing the way I eat was far more important for weight loss than any amount of exercise I could get.

Milton Keynes

I think they find them while googling the topic and sign up here just to post on a thread without realizing that it went dormant over 10 years ago.

daveinoh

Old thread or not, some great advice. It's new to me!

Beachgrad05

Well I know one person who didn't use google to find this thread because they don't actually want to ride a bike...

DanWho

I was 470 give or take at 6'2" when I got a 29er. I'd had a heart attack a few months prior as a valentines day present. I started out with by taking a whole 5 block ride and had to take a whole day to recover. A year and a half ago I was easily taking 20 mile rides. Then a year and a half ago a fell and had a booboo, disconecting my quad from my knee. I'm walking with a cane now but next spring come H____ or High water I will be back on one of my bikes getting my legs back.

MAK

I write this out of total respect...
Last year I did the Erie Canal Tour. There was a gentleman who had to be well north of 350 lbs. The gap between the top of his shorts and bottom of his jersey was 7 or 8 inches. Never-the-less, he rode every day, was never the last one in and I never overheard him complaining. I think he was riding a Specialized hybrid and he was actually inspiring. I don't know his name or know where he was from but his determination was evident.

indyfabz

Yep. I actually did lose 90 lbs. in 9 months when I started riding but I also changed my eating habits radically during that period. I believe the latter contributed the most towards my weight loss, and I also worked in a college cafeteria and a "stock boy." I was on my feet for 5-6 hrs./shift.

Here is another anecdote about cycling and weight loss: In '99 I rode across the country west to east with a small group of people. We usually rode about 6 days in a row, with the a rest day the seventh. Average daily milage was something like 60. Totally self-contained. My bike and gear weighed 90 lbs. Ninety-three days on the road. Despite all that effort, I actually gained weight in the midwest because I was still eating like I had been while riding in the western mountains. And the portion sizes when some of us would eat second breakfasts got larger. Also, for various reasons, we ate dinner out more. Finding healthy food was an issue sometimes. When we spent two nights at Lake Itasca in MN, we ate dinner out one night. The only place available had an all you can eat fish special. Sounds healthy, right? Turns out it was deep fried fish.

StephenK

I read Tom's thread. Totally awesome and inspiring. I was scrolling down to see if it got newer because I wanted to congratulate him. Then this. Damn it. I wish I knew more about this high quality human.

bobwysiwyg

Never quite understood the calling out of old thread resurrection. Why doers it matter?

Mombutt

I want to ride with my kid. I've been doing some walking a built up my stamina. I am somewhere between 5'10-6ft tall and 275lbs was 320lbs. I'm able to ride this 26inch huffy cruiser but worry I'm too big for the bike. I contact huffy to see the weight limit as it was not specified in the paperwork provided. I was told 250lbs... so now I'm wondering if I should take it back or just keep pushing myself to loose more. The bike is pretty if I continue to loose 9lbs a month I'd fit the limits. I still feel as though my leg doesn't extend enough on the pedals