oddjob2

A cruiser will not get you up and down the hills. Buy the bike below and be set for life. A Trek 930 is bulletproof. This one is the right size and in vg condition.

Trek 930 | eBay

PatrickR400

Darn! Just got disqualified 10 days ago. See you all in the (just) Clydes group, then.

americanrecluse

I'm in!

agermano

I'm here. I'm large at about 6'3" and about 335 lbso, but I'm down from 350 three weeks ago. Bought a caad8, waiting for it to get here and am going to do a 100 mIle charity ride in September. Haven't ridden before. So we'll see.

Duck0872

Hi all. 6'3" 320 here. Originally got into cycling a couple years ago thanks to my brother in law and father in law. They are big Ragbrai and finally talked me into it. I did four days of it last year and going for all 7 days this year. I had lost a bunch of weight but a knee injury over the winter kept me off the trainer and I gained it all back. Really watching my calories this year and riding every chance I get.

troyt2000

Howdy, All!

I'm a 6'0" 310 LB rider (down from 441 Lbs) with a Trek Shift 4. It's my second season with this bike and I like it very much, but I'm curious if anyone with this bike has made upgrades beyond stock -- my pedals, for instance, seem kinda rinky-dink.

Anyhow, nice to be here! I've been lurking for a long time.

jujak

Hi Everyone! A new Athena here. It looks like we are few and far between lol I'm 5'2" balancing right at 300 for a while now. I've been biking leisurely for 2 years now and gaining my losses back over winter LOL I'm looking to get my back up and going so that i can get back into biking with my dogs. I have a terrier who runs with me and he absolutely loves it.
I hope to have success to report this year! It'll be fun on the board every one seems really nice and helpful!

Fun Fact about me: I used to do martial arts until a knee injury took me out 2 years ago now. I need to lose at least 70lbs before my knee can handle it. Wish me luck!

amchef

6'/6'1" here, about 285 last time I checked. Loved to ride back in the day. I'll never be 180 and a track star again, but getting to 230 or 240 would be great. My wife and I have taken to charity rides to help assure we get out and pedal a bit more than sporadically. In fact two weeks ago she did her longest ride ever up in Chico at the Flatflower 30. She'd gone 20 once before but most weekend rides are in the 15-mile range. The really cool thing is she now wants a new bike!!! For someone with very little street-riding savvy she's done a great job getting acclimated. I try to get out several days a week as I work from home and I need to mix in more off-tarmac at our nearby state park.

I've learned that weight and gravity are a tough mix. I can pedal in the flats for hours, but give me a couple hundred feet of climb ...

Milton Keynes

Hi all,

I posted an introduction in the main introduction section, but thought I'd reintroduce myself here as a fellow Clyde. I was a skinny kid up through high school, but as soon as I turned 19, boom! My metabolism slowed down and I started gaining weight. Of course that was also the time I discovered a taste for beer, which didn't help at all. It didn't matter that I walked and rode a bicycle a lot, seemed like my weight slowly but surely rose.

Well last August I decided to get serious. I kept noticing how tight & uncomfortable most of my T-shirts were getting, and knew I had to do something about it. My weight topped out around 280, and I didn't want to get any closer to 300. So with the encouragement of my sister and brother-in-law who are serious bikers, I pulled my old POS mountain bike out of the shed, cleaned & fixed it up and started riding. It was tough at first on that thing, but I managed. Couldn't get any great speed on it, and going up hills was a challenge, but I made do until I got my hybrid. Now the riding is so much easier and much more enjoyable.

I was doing a lot of riding, and making sure I ate healthy, but my weight still hovered around 275. I'm active at work, always doing a lot of walking, going up and down stairs, and lifting a lot of heavy things, but still couldn't drop weight. Then I read some articles about how sugar is likely the main cause of obesity & heart disease, so about a month ago I cut all sweets out of my diet except fruit. I've since dropped down to 260, where I've hovered all week, and this morning I finally broke the 260 level at 259.6.

I hope to get down to at least around 225 or so. At the very least I'd just like to lose my gut and moobs. I'm pretty proud of what I've accomplished so far, doing it all on my own without any hokey diet plan or pills. Just my own willpower, discipline, and desire to see the numbers on the scales go down.

So, of course, regular riding of my bike is also part of my exercise/weight loss plan, even though some times it's hard to get an hour in due to work & family commitments, etc. But I plan to keep plugging away.

MCK42

I haven't ridden a bike in about 20 years, I sold the last one I had and bought some inline skates, a mountain bike is not for me. Maybe when I'm ready I'll get another BMX, but until then I'm in the process of fixing up a '69 CCM. No idea what my peak weight was, but my lower back and knees we're killing me and led me to not really enjoying my life and quitting my job. The best thing I did for myself was buying a recumbant excercise bike. I use the treadmill a bit, even after falling off and breaking a bone in my foot, but I really like the bike and I think that's what made me want to ride an actual bicycle again. It'll be at least a month till it's done and I can start riding and other than Jackasses making comments and staring (which is pretty much par for the course everywhere a fat person goes) the only worry I have is adjusting from recumbant to upright riding and basically learning to ride a bike again and having a sore butt...

nyrealitydose

Hi everyone! I'm 6' 230 and live in Hong Kong. Had bikes when I was a kid; a BMX, which I first learned on (which subsequently got stolen by a neighbor when I outgrew it) and a BSA road bike in India, that I rode during summers in my late teens. I saw the BSA Mach II years later and was amazed at how small it was.

Got into cycling again in NYC/Nassau County in 2004 after initially turning my nose up at the idea of cycling for transportation--I wanted a car. Ended up dropping 35 lbs in a few months (210-175 lbs) and LOVING the freedom it gave me to explore the city. I quickly learned bikes were a great icebreaker, too, and ended up talking to lots of people on the subway and LIRR.

Fast forward to 2013...got a 26" Dahon folder, which I'd always wanted, but couldn't afford. That really reignited my love for cycling, but I was a little intimidated by the narrow roads on Hong Kong Island, where people think you're crazy for cycling. Well, I embraced it thanks to Martin Turner of the HK Cycling Alliance and ended up LOVING riding HK city streets. Bought a Fyxation singlespeed soon after.

Now, in 2016, i live on Lantau island, where anyone who is serious about cycling often trains since there are long, straight stretches of road to ride. Lots of serious mountain bike trails, too, but I haven't had a chance to try that yet.

Just got a 2004 Trek 2300 for $200, and the guy (from England) Gave me a brand new 3T stem and TT bars for an additional $125. He also threw in Bontrager tape, shock absorbing bar plugs, three new bottle cages, a Topeak tool and three spare inner tubes. I am too scared to ride clipless, so I just put Shimano Saints on it, much to my local bike mechanic's chagrin (he's a downhill guy) and rode it through some of the busiest streets on HK island. Lots of interested looks since the bike has me riding the drops (I haven't tried the TT bars yet) in street clothes.

Loving every moment of cycling here, as I have since I first learned to ride a bike, and I'm a clydesdale and proud! I could stand to lose 10-20 lbs of bodyfat, but since I lift weights too, I'm trying not to burn all of my muscle off like I did back in 2004! Cycling definitely gets the fat moving, and is a heck of a lot faster and more fun than running, that's for sure!

MSG160

300 POUNDER looking to get outside I have been doing YOU TUBE training videos now I need a real bike, don't know if a road bike or a mountain bike would better suit me.

ahanulec

I just posted my introduction in the main Intro thread, but I wanted to so so here as well. At 6'4" and 270 lbs, I'm well into the Clydesdale classification. As such I was happy to find this forum and the wealth of information contained here.

I ride mountain and road bikes so I hope to be able to return the favor of good information for the under-represented in the cycling community.

I hope you all safe riding.

Jabs1888

Hi all, newbie here, currently residing in Livermore, California, weighing in at 252lbs, down from 272lbs, trying to ride 50m per week, ride at least twice a week, just made the hyperdrive shift from a Specialized Allez Sport to a Tarmac Pro SL4, we shall see how that goes. Scottish ex-pat living in Nor Cali.

Cheers

Kennytaker

Hi guys, I'm new here. Just picked up a hybrid Giant Seek 3. I'm 5'9" 375lbs.
Will likely need a new rear wheel though the local bike shop guy say just ride it until it needs replacing.

Is there a indoor trainer anyone would recommend by chance?

ChuckD6421 

Hi Kenny, welcome!
Looks like a good bike for you, but if that's the best the advice the bike shop could give you, sorry to hear it.
I can't speak for indoor trainers but as someone who's built many wheels, I would advise you to seek out someone with experience in wheel building and at least have them retension the spokes for insurance. Most likely the wheel will fail due to uneven tensioning, barring any other trauma. But also this is something you can check on your own, especially if you have a modicum of musical ability.

Think of the spokes as guitar strings (or ukelele, or violin, or any other stringed instrument). When you pluck them they make a musical tone. All the spokes on one side should sound close to each other. They may be a note (step) off but roughly the same. Any that are way off, or so loose they don't sound a note, would be a source of concern. Then you should seek out an experienced builder to assist. Important to note: that on a rear wheel, the spokes on the drive side (where the gears are) will be tighter and sound higher, than those on the non-drive side. That's normal. The front wheel is symmetrical so all should be similar.
That said, if I were advising you I'd recommend a 36 hole wheel for the rear. 32 on the front is fine for you but the rear takes more stress. But I think if you're on mostly good quality roads, a well tensioned 32 spoke rear would be fine.

Sheldon Brown is (was) considered the average guys' bike guru and his website remains a go-to site for all kinds of bike mechanical stuff.
Sheldon Brown-Bicycle Technical Information

Chuck

BFDNOVA

So you are a little bitty dude? I'm 6'8 & 310lbs....

Kennytaker

Thanks Chuck. I was thinking the of changing the rear to 40h one but the rear hubs are pricy. But thanks for the info on checking the spokes 👍 Let me know if u know of any place with cheaper rear hubs DT 540 thanks

JJAX156

Hi everyone, since I'm 40 yrs old, 6' 284lbs I guess I'm calling this thread home! I picked up a specialized globe centrum sport about a month ago & have been trying to ride as often as I can. Just had my first 20 mile ride the other day & it's motivating me to keep pushing. Especially to lose a few lbs!

Oldwarhorse

I am 6'1" 215 mid 40's I have been mtn biking 20+ years and riding tandems with my family 15+ and have just gotten into e-biking which has really increased my mileage as of late. A typical round trip to work is 48 miles. Even an e-bike can shed some serious weight as my legs are moving for an hour+ in each direction.

If any of you have hand numbness advice for me I'd appreciate it. I currently use Ergons and haven't been able to dial them in completely yet. I also have a suspension fork and filled my handlebar with barsnake vibration dampening rubber. I still need more solutions!

Keep biking--it's great for your health!

pwa93

Started riding when I purchased my first bike at 350lbs and now am 250lbs and own a Argon 18 Krypton, Giant Anyroad Comax and a KHS Tucson 29er MTB. Love to ride anyplace and anytime and it doesn't feel like exercise.

Kinney

Hi everyone!
5'8" - 338lbs UberClyde?? from Texas, looking to lose some more weight. I've come down from 350lbs by eating less and swimming more, looking to kick it up a notch and see how far I can take it. I used to build bikes back in 90-97', looks like lots has changed! Haven't ridden since I was 17 and got my license, funny how that happens. I used to BMX and flatland freestyle and run dirt, but I always wanted to ride on the road like the professionals do.

Kingbee13

Hi my name is David, 38 I weigh 233lbs down from 245 a few weeks ago. I haven't ridden extensively for almost 20 years when I commuted in college. Recently I became aware that I am at a prediabetic stage and as I approach 40 I decided to do something about it before I develop diabetes. At first I started walking miles everyday but I was starting to get shin splints, so I decided to cross train with cycling, so I hauled my old bike from 20 years ago out of storage and starting riding.

My bike is a 26 inch Huffy Echo Valley 21 speed. It's heavy about 35 lbs! It is a dreaded department store bike for sure, but nothing like the Chinese bikes they sell these days.

Right now I'm really struggling with climbs, the area I live (Lexington, Ky) is loaded with rolling hills and I'm having a hard time getting any real distance rides without going into the red. Obviously my conditioning is bad, and so is my bike, but what I want to know is if I get a more road friendly lighter modern bike will I see a significant improvement in the effort required to climb these rolling hills. David92909119's Profile

Ph4r

Just about a year later, I was 269 as I measured myself the same way this morning as a year ago. It has been an interesting year as I was in an accident in September that put me off a bike until this March, and even then it was work getting back into it and learning my new limitations with my hand. Due to my injuries and general moping about, I was back up at 304 by this March. I bought a new bike this year and have been pedaling as much as possible. I took a new job to try and reduce my stress, but the long commute (via car only at this time) of >50 miles each way has taken it's toll on me in other ways. I was asked to stop riding and get my house on the market which has killed my miles for July, but I am still pushing and have made distance to trails a key factor in the location of my next house. Despite setbacks, I have made cycling for fun and health a priority and still love it today. I'm not on some fancy diet, I'm not losing at any crazy weight, but I feel better about myself and the future I can have with my kids!

To any of you just getting into this (or after a long time), I hope you the best to stick with it for whatever your motivating factors are, and just do the best you can! I'm hoping to do my first organized group ride next month, and with any luck a race next summer. I can't wait to see where I am when I come back to update this again next July!

bikecopp

Clyde here. I have found myself at 238 lbs up from around 200. Was on bike patrol for about 7 years but then got a desk job in 2005 and also had twins the same year. Rode off and on for a few years but not as much as I would like to. 2009 had a car wreck and broke my collar bone. Rewarded myself in 2011 with some of the settlement with a Rivendell Hunqapillar with 40 hole Phil Wood touring hubs. I have decided to get healthier not only for my sake but one of my 11 years olds who at the rate he is going will be a clyde by 16. My wifes road bike fits him and he enjoys it. We have been doing 6 to 10 miles in the neighborhood or on bike trails so progress is being made. Hope to be back at 200 by the end of the year.