Brian Whitten

I am 30 and just lost my first 50 pounds in 3 months! I am 5'11.5" and now 300lbs. I started ridding last summer for fun on my fathers 86' Schwinn Sprint, up graded the wheels and drive train. I didn't lose any weight because of my very poor eating habits. This January I switched to eating 6 small portions, breakfast, lunch and dinner and 3 snacks. I also stopped eating fast food, any thing with GMO's and HFCS, pretty much buy all organic or "natural" as much as possible. I have put over 200 miles so far this season, cant wait to double last years 650 total! I now ride a Surly Cross Check with an 8 speed hub and albatross bars, a Cannondale Synapse and my Schwinn is now set up Fixed. I want to lose at least 50 more pounds, maybe more if I feel I need to. I will post pics when I have time, thanks for reading!

WonderMonkey

Wow! I haven't been on this forum in several years and this thread is still here! Awesome! I've just recently gotten back into the saddle. Excuses flow like a waterfall during a monsoon but here I am again. I'm biking at night at a rec center across the street that has a 1.3 route. I put on my headphones (don't stone me) and enjoy some Pink Floyd in the near dark. There is enough light from surrounding houses that I can see enough to navigate but dark enough that I can get lost in the music.

Right now I'm 43yrs old, 6'2" and 265 lbs.

I'm trying out different software packages for my Andriod device but recently I've been using https://www.endomondo.com/. It's a bit quirky but it's the best I've found so far. I'm open to suggestions....

Tonight I did a workout but when I stopped to change albums I had to end my workout and start another. Not sure how to get around that. Let me see if I can link them here.

https://www.endomondo.com/workouts/jqHaRmhFkHA
https://www.endomondo.com/workouts/tw-HlgmLtmA

WonderMonkey

Nice job!

WonderMonkey

Oh yeah, this is my bike.... I can't even remember the year but it is a Cannondale M300. I have Town and Country tires on it but everything else is stock. It's great for me.

Big_Bird

Hey all,

I guess I'll start with the basics. Most people call me Brown Bear and you guys can too if you'd like. I am a 22 year old, recent college grad trying to have fun and lose weight. I am 6'1" and weigh around 255-260 lbs. I have hovered around this weight for the better part of six years. At my heaviest I weighed close to 280 lbs. I have had my struggles with weight, that obviously continue today.

It is not incredibly difficult for me to actually lose weight but it is very hard for me to keep it off. Mainly because whenever I get into a groove and start doing well with my training and weight loss something throws me off and kills everything. It is usually a severe injury that derails me (never fails, it has happened almost every time). After the stoppage it takes me a long while to get the motivation back. Running does not work well for me because I have terrible knees and ankles from years of being a rambunctious kid and playing contact sports so biking is my fit now.

I started cycling again, after stopping when I was kid, because I went to a new and huge campus for school in 2008. I figured the best way for me to get across campus in 15 minutes or less was by bike. So I went out and bought myself a 2008 Giant Boulder. It was the best I could afford at the time and with the very limited bike knowledge I had, I thought it would do well. I biked every day to and from class, around town, to friends places, and on bike paths. I stopped when I got an internship just before graduation and have only recently picked things back up.

The past three weeks I have been biking at least two miles a day (many times I just keep riding for miles more) and if I can't get outside I do something at home to stay active. I have lost five pounds in just the light riding I have been doing to get back into cycling. I do not have an ultimate weight goal but I want to be a size 34 waist before this time next year (currently a 38/40) and I want to lose twenty pounds before my sisters wedding this July. Can I do it? I don't know, but I am trying my damnedest.

Here is my lackluster ride. She is nothing to look at but she works and I can't afford anything better right now.





Looking forward to checking things out here.

Take care everyone.

jethro56 

Brian Whitten: Eating 6 meals a day is exactly how I figured out how to lose weight. Like you I went 6 months by trying to exercise the weight off. Yes, I lost 25# but it wasn't the solution. Wish I was as smart as you when I was 30 (now 54)

WonderMonkey: That looks like the perfect Clyde Bike.

Big_Bird: Being active and making it a habit are the most important things. Once that becomes who you are, you can focus on the diet side. This is where the big losses come from.


Welcome to all three.

CraigB

Welcome to the fray, BB (I couldn't decide between Big Bird and Brown Bear ).

jean_bapt21

Hi all!

I was just reccommended to this forum and thought I'd register and say hello!

33 yrs old, 6'2", 345lbs at the moment and in the process of researching a bike to buy. I haven't ridden in about 13 or 14 years, but I used to love it and I'm eager to get back in to it!

I don't have bike porn to post yet, but hopefully I will within the next few weeks. I'll probably be getting a Trek of some sort since that's what the closest shop carries - maybe a simple 700 as a starter. Or, I might get a Cannondale or Novara since I've got a couple of REIs *sort of* close.

Whatever brand, it will be a mountain bike or a hybrid of some sort. I'll probably be riding about 60% street, 20% bike path, and 20% dirt/gravel. It will be a multi-tasker for me - riding for fun, for fitness, and for errand/grocery runs.

Hopefully I'll pop back in with pics sooner rather than later!

Biglindy

Good morning bikers. Brand new here and not sure if I'm on the right thread. I'm 36, 6', 491lbs right now. Do I need the XXL Clydesdale Thread ? ... Anyway, I'm really considering getting a bike/trike to lose some weight and spend time riding with my daughters. I've been doing my research and from what I can tell I need to focus on at least 36 Spoke Wheels and a Steel Frame. But thats about all I can see. Just curious if you guys had any additional wisdom. The one bike shop I went to that had the 75lb, 12 year old kid, wearing his NO FEAR shirt really wasn't much help. No fear ... pffft ... Don't make the bear angry GRRRRRR . Any help would be appreciated. If I'm going to spend a chunk of change I want to KNOW that my cash isn't going to buckle underneath me sending me flying into a curb. Causing dental work, casts, etc.

Thanks
Biglindy

WonderMonkey

Hello jean, hello Biglindy! Welcome.

Neil_B

Hi Biglindy,

First, welcome. You found the right place.

Second, you might want to look at some links:

https://www.bicycling.com/training-nu...ds-riding-bike

https://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=265144

https://journalstar.com/news/local/ar...367ef5cef.html

https://www.ernestgagnon.blogspot.com/

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ght=Sayre+Kulp

I don't have any technical advice for you on getting a bike at your size. Others here can give guidance. My only advice is that you shouldn't treat cycling as a magic pill for curing obesity. It can play a part, but it shouldn't carry all the weight, so to speak.

BTW, when you get a bike and are ready to ride, if you are in SE PA, S NJ, or Northern DE I'll come out for a ride with you.

jedrek

Hey Biglindy, I was almost 450lbs when I started thinking about cycling. I have been doing keto/low-carb for about 3 months - down 60+lbs - and I wholeheartedly recommend it. You can't out-workout a poor diet. World-class athletes can, but working out is their job. Us normal folks need to cut down on what we put into our bodies and keto has helped me tremendously.

That said, I got my bike at an LBS, and I recommend you do the same. If the kid at your first shop was lame, go to another one. Maybe one that's not totally local. At your size having someone who'll think about your bike as they put it together will be key. I had my bike built by some fine folks who I know had my best interest at hearth. I told my guys I'd be riding a lot in a city environment, ridding onto curbs and such, they made sure my tires and wheels would be up to it. That my fork wouldn't split if I hit a curb. That my chain wouldn't snap when I stood on my pedals, again and again.

Little things, but things that will matter in the long run and things that help me go riding with peace of mind.

jean_bapt21

It is at the shop right now getting a final tune-up and all my junk put on - I'm going to pick it up tomorrow afternoon! w00t!

It is the Trek 4300 Disc with a 19.5" frame. I swapped out the saddle as the stock one HURT! It was only $5 more and easy enough to swap out again if I need to.

My other stuff:
a Rack
a rack bag with integral expandable panniers
full fenders
rear view mirror - wasn't sure about the fit with bar ends...went back and forth on which to try first.
planet blaze tail light and head light combo pack
water bottle cage
simple trip computer
extra tube
patch kit
tire levers
air pump
multitool
chain tool
chain grease
u-lock/cable combo
helmet

and a car rack to haul to bike to flatter areas!


My test ride was just under a mile with no real hills - less than 40ft change - and MY GOD! Out of shape! Of course I knew that...but even that little bit my legs were like jelly. Definitely going to be baby steps for a bit!

goldfinch

Congratulations! I went 5 miles yesterday--it went well. Today I did only 2.5 but it included a hill. I couldn't make it up--I had to walk the last third. Kind of a bummer. I was out of wind, the legs might have taken me up.

Plugging away. I am enjoying wearing a pair of jeans that haven't fit me in 10 years. Really nice quality jeans--I'm glad I kept them.

Historian, I really enjoyed the link to Sayre's thread. Both jean and I need goals!

racerjim

I recently joined the forum, and thought I would introduce myself here, since i'm 6'8"/275#. I rode a lot in my younger days, on my 1972 Schwinn Super Sport, and though I haven't been riding it, I've been dragging it along with me for the past 25 years. Now that my wife and I live in Boulder, it just seems criminal to not start riding my 7 mile commute to work. I just took the Schwinn to my LBS and they gave it the once-over, even though they were reluctant to dissassemble anything, they rebuilt the bottom bracket. That, plus new tires and tubes have me back on the road. I still need to get some work done on it if I can find someone that knows these old Schwinns, it doesn't get into all the gears, and the brakes are a little weak. But it sure felt good to get back on it.

I'm also looking into a new bike, and have ridden some at my LBS. I rode a Specialized Crosstrail (XXL frame) and a Salsa Fargo (XL frame), those rides REALLY opened my eyes to what's changed in 25 years. I enjoyed both bikes, but it appeared it was going to be easier to outfit the Surly for commuting (rack, fenders, etc.) and it would also be a bike I could take out for light off-road/rail trail type stuff. I've also been recommended to try the Surly Long Haul Trucker; the LBS has one, but it is only a 60cm frame, and I would probably want a 62. But I'm going to ride it as well, and try to mentally compensate for the fact the bars are an inch lower than they could be (i can get the seat where I want it). Any comments or recommendations on other bikes to ride would be welcome (although the forum has already been very informative).

And here are a couple pictures of the Schwinn (before it was worked on), if you are interested.





Looking forward to hanging out with you all!

Jim

WonderMonkey

Howdy racerjim, welcome to ... here. With you being so tall do you find yourself pitching forward when you try to stop hard? I wonder if you even notice since it may seem "normal" to you or you sit back in the saddle automatically or something. Or it may not be happening at all.

Surrealdeal

Racer Jim I like the Schwinn! In a previous life I used to own a 'college green' Schwinn Varsity, a bit older than yours, based on your head badge. That thing weighed almost as much as I do.

racerjim

I'm pretty sensitive about brake application, rear first, then add front. I do have a tendancy to get the back wheel off the ground if I'm not careful....not a comforting feeling. These new bikes i'm riding with disk brakes just make it worse, the brakes are WAY more effective then the old sidepull Weinmanns on the Schwinn (the old friction blocks probably don't help either.....)

CraigB

I had that one, too, including the color. With the oval head badge. I got mine when I was a freshman in high school, in 1968. Remember the matching-color plastic handlebar tape?

racerjim

I do. If I ever try to do a full restoration on it, I plan to reapply it!

Jim

Dale_S

I am 5'6" and 201. Hoping to loose a few pounds. I used to cycle as a kid, liked it, and the Dr told me at my weight I need to loose weight without stressing my knees, and suggested cycling over jogging. In 2 days I have found out, the neighbors think I should not wear lycra shorts, and they feel sorry for my bike, or at least that is what the 6 year old next door said.

CraigB

Who cares what a 6 year old thinks?

Wait, did I really say that?

ecovelo

I rode my first 50 miler on a Schwinn Varsity - blue, early-mid 70's model - and took a wrong turn, and ended up going 56 miles - and finished 1st in the Women's category! And yes... I think it was because of the matching color plastic handlebar tape! Oh the memories....

Dale_S

My backside comfort overrides the neighbors thoughts, and they have to have something to talk about.

jean_bapt21

All the goodies are on it and it's been brought home!