RuggerJoe

Hey all, It has been a while since I posted to the forum, but my '90 Specialized HardRock was stolen from my garage last week. I'm going to be looking for a new bike to replace it. I'm a big guy at 340lbs. My HardRock had a steel frame that managed to take my weight and held up as a daily commuter bike though I was a little lighter back then.

Basically I'm looking for options for something similar to my HardRock. My kids are going to be transitioning to 2-wheels soon, and I'm going to need something to keep up with them. I also wouldn't mind starting to commute to work again, (if I can find a safe route - there are pretty questionable neighborhoods between my house and work) and shed some of these pounds.

OldCruiser

I have an old Hardrock non suspension bike that I love . I’d raised the stem and put riser bars on to make ot more of an upright riding position bike .
Wanting something new and bought a Specialized Roll . The entry level one , with 1X7 gearing . I had it two days and love it . Where I’ve been riding I mostly used three of the gears , haven’t shifted past fifth . 650bx2.3 tires . They look huge but Roll easy . With 14 gauge spokes , I think they’ll be fine for my 285 lbs .
Specialized has some models on sale right now . The one I ordered was a little over $400 .

OldCruiser

This is my Hardrock . I hope you can see the similarity.

RuggerJoe

I'm a little hesitant to get a bike with an aluminum frame. But there doesn't seem to be many companies making bikes with CrMO steel frames that are in my price range, under $1000 and preferably closer to $500. Bike I've found so far:

• Surly Cross-Check - I've heard good things about Surly, but starting at $945 it's barely in my price range leaving no room to add any components. Only 10 speed and no climbing gear.
• Brooklyn Bicycle Co Roebling - Seems to be the closest I can find to my Hardrock and at an affordable $520. But haven't heard much about them, and their website doesn't have a ton of details.
• Brooklyn Bicycle Co Lorimer - Similar to the Roebling (other than shorter cockpit and wider saddle, seems identical)
• Retrospect Mantra 7 - Even more affordable but never heard of them and only 7 gears. Recommended weight limit of 250lbs.
• Retrospect Kinney 14-Speed Flat Bar Bike - Closer to my old bike, still no climbing gear. And again, never heard of them. Recommended weight limit of 220lbs.

One of the Brooklyn Bicycle Co bikes seems the closest to what I had. Anyone know anything about them? Am I missing any other affordable steel frame bikes?

wsgts

I just about purchased a Brooklyn, but my wife found a brand new 2011 Raleigh One-Way in 2017 that had never left the store, so I ended up with that. Both of them have 32mm wheels which is good, did you speech to them about a weight limit at all?

RuggerJoe

Shot them an email this morning, waiting to hear back.

OldCruiser

If it’s a steel frame you want . Look at an Electra Cruiser 7 . Not the Lux , the Lux is aluminum. Only seven gears but on my Roll , I only have seven and rarely get to fifth . Mostly use 1-4 . .
I’m 285 down from the mid 290’s and have no problem with a modern aluminum framed bike .
The Roll’s ballon tires support a lot of the weight and act like suspension.

CancelOnMe

This is pretty much what i want to do with my 94' Trek 830 rigid. The bike almost feel slightly too small for me right now. I'm hoping getting it set up to ride upright will help with this. Wanting a new stem but the one that came with it has an integrated brake cable. Not sure how to get around that. Cantilever cable hanger?

RuggerJoe

Been wondering if I'm making a mistake by not considering aluminum frames. Back 10 year ago when i decided to rebuild my Hardrock the consensus was that a steel frame was better considering my weight. But now I'm wondering if there have been improvements in the last 10 year for aluminum frames. The mosre research I do, the more i second guess myself.

OldCruiser

Go to Amazon, search “ front brake cable hanger “ they have several options that’ll help you change out that old stem .

frogbiscuit

Jamis makes a good steel frame bike.

https://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/codaseries.html

frogbiscuit

I bought a Specialized Sirrus last year at 275, now I'm under 240, and the bike is no worse for the wear.

zjrog

As a Clyde, admittedly shrinking, I have an aluminum 29er that I never quewtioned if it would support my weight, even at 350 +. Although I quit riding 3 years ago due to an achilles tendon issue, and after fixing that, I felt like I was going to topple over on my indoor bike on a trainer... I wouldn't worry about aluminum frames today.

257 roberts

I just bought a Jamis Coda Sport...I really like it

RECfromPA

Hi, Joe.

If you liked the Hardrock, you can probably find another on Craigslist. I sold mine ('90 also) a year ago. I looked around for replacements. I'm sure I tested over a dozen bikes.

I tested the Jamis Coda and it felt very close in geometry to the hardrock, which was too stretched out for me (I'm female, so female proportions) and was one reason I was replacing HR, so you might find it perfect replacement. It was also zipper than Hardrock. Very nice bike.

I tested a Surly Crosscheck, and that was beefier/heavier.

I tested and bought a Handsome Cycles She-Devil, their step though version. Devil is their mens' version. Of the $500-1000 steel framed bikes I rode, Handsome Cycles was the nicest, along with the Coda.

If you're willing to spend a bit more, Rivendell Clem H (diamond frame), rides fantastically, is beefy but not sluggish at all. Well worth the extra investment if you can swing it, IMO.

Lu..

I was 360 lbs, finally put my foot down, got motivated and bought a Specialized Roll Sport in July. This bike is phenomenal, it does everything. Comfortable and so smooth. I’ve even taken it on single trails, I highly recommend it!!

257 roberts

$550.00

Aahzz

Don't be scared of aluminum. I started again 2 years ago on a Trek FX2 at 370 pounds, and it has held up very well - I did have a spoke breakage problem at first, but they replaced the wheel under warranty and it was fine. This year I upgraded to an FX3 Disc, so not just aluminum, but took the plunge to a carbon fork. I'm down to 326 and shrinking, but again the only issue I've had is broken rear wheel spokes, which was again remedied by a warranty wheel replacement. I think if they took the time to give them a good tensioning out of the box I wouldn't have had the broken spoke problem, because in both cases I was breaking one every hundred miles or so, and I've got 1200 on the replacement wheel of the 2 and 300 on the replacement on the 3. Meanwhile, back at the point, I think you're fine on Aluminum .

Wilfred Laurier

Aluminum might be a better choice for bigger riders. To deal with the perception that steel is too heavy, many manufacturers make their steel frames lighter than you would want for a clyde. An exception is Surly, whose bikes are built goddamn tough, but not light.

Aluminum is much less dense and so can be considerably overbuilt, which makes them stronger and stiffer, without the company being scared that nobody will buy them because they are too heavy.

Further, I have had 6 frames break under me in my life. Five of those were steel frames. The one aluminum frame was a light road bike that I was riding like a MTB for about 10000 km. I got an identical frame for a replacement and if has held up for at least as much mileage but only on roads.

I only ever owned one aluminum mountain bike (warranty replacement for a broken steel frame) and it didn't fit me well so I sold it. But for the year or so that I was riding it, it was rock solid.