jwill226

Long story short I had to sell off my bikes a few years ago to pay the bills and now I'm looking to get back into it. I'm 39 years old, 6' tall, and around 340lbs.

I want to start commuting to work, it's 12 miles each way. Mostly light country hill type of roads.

I would need to carry work boots, water, lunch, and a few other things for work, that's why I'm looking at touring type bikes as they are made for heavier weights and I can add the storage I would need for my things. Also I like to stop at the gym after work when I have the time so I would need to bring my gym clothes as well.

Considering I have been out of the cycling scene for a while is there something that would be better suited to my needs? I was raised on MTBs but last time I tried to ride one I was having a lot of issues with hand and butt area numbness that I feel was because of the cramped nature of the bike. The last bike I had was a Specalized road bike that was comfortable to ride except the seat was a thin little thing that didn't agree with that part of my body. I was riding that 60+ miles for a nice relaxing weekend ride with no issues once I had a set of wheels built for it at about 300lbs.

My bike budget is in about the 2,000 dollar range. After that I'll be looking into bags and a seat worthy of my size.

Any advice is welcome, thanks.

tyrion

This is pretty much what I have:

https://www.rei.com/product/109579/c...v-11-bike-2017

and it's fine. I imagine almost any modern touring bike would work for clyde-commuting: LHT, Salsa Marrakesh, Surly Ogre....

Some things to consider to narrow it down: drop bar vs. flat bar, how wide of tires do you want (mine is limited to about 45mm, sometimes I wish I could go fatter), disc brakes vs. rim brakes (if it rains a lot you might want disc brakes), etc.

jwill226

Thanks for the reply.

I'm defiantly wanting disk brakes.

I'd prefer drop bars for the options in hand placement.

I've had 18cm tires before and dont want to go that route for sure. I never felt real confident in them during fast leaning turns. That's something I'll have to look into with the LHT. I know at my height it would come with 700c wheels but I'm not sure how wide I could go. I may even want to add fenders which I'm sure limits me even more.

NoGears

Salsa Vaya is a good option.

Maybe look at the Raleigh Stuntman. It will let you run some pretty big tires and even 27.5 wheels. If you get on the corporate deal...you can grab one for about $1400 which will allow you to upgrade the saddle and post and get some bags. There's also the Tamland bikes that allow for rack attachment but don't give the wider tire and wheel options.

Also check out Jamis and the Renegade series of bikes. I have the Elite and it's a really good bike.

jwill226

Thanks again for the reply.

I've been reading on all the suggestions and I'm liking what I see with the Salsa Marrakesh. I see it comes with 36 spoke front and rear wheels. Will these wheels be Clyde worthy or should I budget for a custom build?

rickyk76

You're going to get suggestions like the Marrakesh, Co-op ADV 1.1, Trek 520, and other bikes similar to the LHT, Jamis, etc. they're all similar and would all most likely work. The best thing for you to do would be to test them out and see which feel better for you. You could go ADV 1.1 at the lower end and put the extra money into your bags and upgrades, or go a little higher into the Marrakesh and have the name and a little less money for bags and upgrades. But they'll both work as long as they fit you. I would definitely look at max tire width and get some beefier tires under you to help distribute the weight. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

NoGears

At least have a competent wheel builder go over them and make sure they are g2g. Make sure they are properly tensioned and true.

jsigone

Kona Big Rove Bike 2015 > Bikes > Commuter & Urban Bikes | Jenson USA

Kona Rove Steel Bike 2017 > Bikes > Cyclocross & Gravel Bikes | Jenson USA


wheels will need some attention but good foundation and parts, The rove can run up to 42c tires of plushness

As far as bags go, I'm slowing building my setup for touring using https://www.apidura.com/shop/ bags

The medium or large sized saddle bag will be large enough to fit clothes and shoes for commuting, no racks needed!!

breadbin

Wow them saddle bags are huge! Also just seen the handlebar pack which looks like it could hold an awful amount of stuff! Thanks for the link!

OP 12 miles each way sounds like an ideal distance. I'm contemplating a 17 mile each way but have to get my s### together. Big jump going from zero to 35 miles round trip. Have you been training for it?

jwill226

Vased off the stationery torture device in the gym I should have no problem but I'll be making a couple weekend test runs first.

The more I read the more overwhelmed I get. So much has changed since I was in the world of cycling a few years ago.

I do know for sure that I will not be getting a LHT. Even if I could be sized for one the nearest dealer is an 800 mile round trip and Surly apparently doesn't allow their bikes to be mail ordered any more. I'm nit missing wotk and driving 800 miles to maybe buy any bike.

rickyk76

Check out your local REI. They'll have an ADV 1.1 and maybe even a Marrakesh to check out and test ride.

Darth Lefty 

I think at that size a MTB-style bike would be more comfortable. You'll have an easier time with the lean angle. I'm about 210 and I still feel a bit like I'm squishing my gut with my legs with my drop bars. The bigger the tires, the softer you can pump them up. You can add hand positions with bar-ends or trekking bars.

12 miles is a long commute but not impossible, and you need to budget the time. There are some in the commuting forum doing 40+ miles day in and day out to rack up 10,000 miles a year.

jwill226

The ADV 1.1 has a maximum weight (rider and gear) of 250lbs. By myself I'm nearly 100lbs over that. I don't think that would be a good choice.

tyrion

I think that's an extremely conservative max weight. It is an overbuilt bike.

jwill226

It might be. I saw that a REI staff member posted tge 250lb limit in a FAK about the bike on their site.

Darth Lefty 

You're not going to find weight limits listed for most individual bikes. But when you do find a number it's usually for the whole lineup and it's like 275. There are some useful notes elsewhere in this subforum about upgrading a bike to take a higher load, especially the rear wheel, pedals and seat

rickyk76

At my heaviest I was pushing 250 and mine handled like a dream. I think that's an extremely conservative estimate.

ColonelSanders

Where do you live?


I'm surprised you are that far away from a Surly dealer.

NoGears

If I was right at the limit I probably wouldn't worry. But being 100 pounds over....I'd probably think twice. Why risk it.

DumbPartsGuy

I am 6'4" and 280. I went with a disc trucker. Geometry is great, comfy and decently aerodynamic.

Spoke count matters less below 300 than someone good setting the wheels up. I had the shop tech do them on mine and about 1500 miles later, no problem. 32 does not even seem to have a problem with my weight.... just make sure someone good goes over them.

I went with Surly because I did not like the sizing limitations or other factors of the other bikes I looked at. Make sure it is sized, is comfortable, and inspires you to use it rather than look at it.

On your saddle mention... give the one you get with your bike a shot. I love the stock wtb cheapy. My wife got a Straggler, and she could not get more than 10 miles with out pain. Exact same saddle. Her old one is now on my steamroller.

QStorm

Welcome jwill226!

Based on your budget and stated specifications and preferences and because research is my life...lol! I came up with three bikes that if you haven't been looking at, perhaps you want to take a look at:

Jamis Aurora Elite
Bianchi Volpe Disc
Soma Saga (frameset is available mail order and then build up at your lbs to your specifications)

From what I understand, but there are definitely more knowledgeable folks than I on the subject in this forum, the advice that someone gave earlier about making sure that a competent wheel builder (preferably one with experience with touring wheels, wheels for heavier folks, and/or tandem wheels) look at your wheels and make sure they're correctly tensioned and trued is really good advice.

jwill226

I'm in Crescent City California. The nearest dealers that show on the Surly site is San Francisco and Portland. I'm right in the middle of those two.

srestrepo

Having been 345 pounds, i remember shopping for a bike and have left in my budget room for a new wheelset WHEN i tacoed it. in either case, i got down to 255 and i was riding a Felt Z85 for a while but i just picked up a GT Grade Sora for a commuter, i think i thas a 32 spoke wheel, but i really wanted to get the Jamis Renegade Exile the bike shop just didn't have it in my size and were sort of overpriced but that was a sweet bike. i rode my Felt bike when i was as heavy as 300 pounds and i can't remember off the top of my head what wheels it has on it, but its the 105 model and i didn't swap them out and it was fine. the wheels pinged for the first hour or so of riding but then it was fine. good luck either way.

daviddavieboy

I am not sure but I was not impressed with the LHT I rode (26" disc trucker, was a loaner). I found it almost sloppy the way it handled. I was about 220 at the time and it was loaded with an extra 100 lbs. The disc brakes worked great though.

I have loaded my Surly Cross Check "26 spoke XT hubs w/700c rims) and it did not feel this way but I have larger tires and better wheels than the loaner did. and is really fun off road too.

indyfabz

Unless I am mistaken, any shop with a QBP account can order you a Surly, but that doesn't mean you will be able to test fit/ride one before hand.