Grebs

Hi all. Big guy here about 6'4" 360 pounds and dropping thankfully. I use to ride a lot but haven't in years. I have a specialized rock hopper 29er. That I rode a lot on the rowpath. Sometimes on trails when I was thinner.
now I'm looking for a other bike. I figure I'll use the rock hopper for if I lose enough weight to get back on the off road trails. Looking for something i can rude on the great towpaths around me and eventually some roads. interested in "as specialized call them on there Web site", an adventure & gravel bike. Something like a diverge. Or the looks of that type of bike
bottom line is, am I just too fat for something like that? I've just begun research.

rgconner

Helps to give a price range.

I can tell you my Home - Black Mountain Cycles MCD is STOUT and he will make wheels that stand up to a clyde.

around $2500, reasonable well equipped with SRAM.

Grebs

I would say under $3000.00 but that's loaded. Computer, pedals and everything. I have shoes.

brawlo

PatrickR400

I ride a Diverge and started when I was about 300 lbs. Great bike. Honestly the deciding factor when I bought it was that you could fit wider tires than a Roubaix. I would think that most bikes that can fit wider tires would be candidates, after that it's budget and appeal.

tyrion

A touring bike, something like a Surly Disc Trucker, can take fatter tires will do fine on gravel. It will be heavier than a "gravel bike", but I think you'd want the extra stiffness that it brings.

rgconner

Almost any Surly is a good choice. They are built for punishment.

Grebs

Was at the local store today and test rode a trek checkpoint alr 5. It was nice. I could tell right away that it was a faster bike than I normally ride which are more of a mountain bike. The grips felt awesome. But the bike itself was nice but not omg I have to have it nice. I'm more of a specialized fan boy and was eyeballing the diverge comp. The ones on the rack was too small. They have my size and are putting it together for me to try. Then I'll do a side by side ride of them both. However the diverge is $1000 bucks more so I expect it to be better. But who knows.
No test is complete without a monkey wrench being thrown into fold. They are locating a specialized extra large stump jumper into the mix. Why? Because my real passion is more off roading. I'm trying to get more fit and lose weight for the off road single track trails. This is why I was actually looking at a gravel bike. I have a ton of flat tow path along the Erie Canal that I can ride on so it seems like it makes more sense to use a bike like the diverge while I'm losing weight. Guys at the store and even customers was saying the stump jumper would be just as capable. not as fast but still a great bike for both. I don't know if I could do many miles on a mountain bike. Even if it's high end. Maybe I'm over thinking it and either would be just fine?
I'm a little torn tho.

TourDeHood

Im looking for either a Surly Midnight Special or buiding up a Soma Wolverine 3.0

Im 6'3" 325

Colnago Mixte

A better way to look at it, rather than miles, might be total hours spent on the bike. 2 hours on a hybrid bike and 2 hours on a mountains bike ought to be roughly the same workout benefit even if the number of miles covered is different. As long as the intensity is the same, it doesn't matter what you ride, really, as long as you enjoy it and the thing doesn't break down on you.

Idak

Make sure your frame can handle wide tires to avoid pinch flats. I'm 280 and struggling with pinch flats using 25 mm tires.

brawlo

What pressures are you running? I typically run anywhere from 105 (25mm) up to 120PSI for racing and I've never had a pinch flat in my life, weighing anywhere from 310 down to 240lb

Idak

I was getting pinch flats with some Vittoria tires that came on my bike at 120 in the rear. At 140 (10 over recommended), I had less. I'm running 120 now with Gatorskins, so far so good.