Suggest a Bicycle for 6'2 345 lb. Rider( Newbie to Geared bicycles)
#26
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Aquafina, there is a great resource out there. Lennard Zinn. Bike mechanic and writer for VeloNews (a racing magazine and website but don't let that stop you). He is tall and started building bike frames just to get ones that worked for himself. Realized quickly that all big people had that issue and took it further.
I'm not suggesting yo run out and spend several times your budget on one of his frames! But go to his website and read it
His VeloNews column: (It's mostly about upper end gear now but he occasionally answers questions from heavy riders. One place he is a real resource is wheels for heavy riders. Making contact with him might be very beneficial if you stick this out and start running into wheel issues. He also had a line of :stock" bikes for heavier riders. Still more than you want to pay, but far less than his customs. (Maybe some day.)
I no longer follow him as I have not been on the VeloNews website for several years and it looks like quite a bit has changed, but Lennard Zinn has been at this forever. I knew of him from across the country 40 years ago. There is nothing you will ever encounter that he hasn't seen and dealt with.
(I'm a skinny guy but also an engineer and I love the challenge of making bikes do what I want them to do really well!)
I'm not suggesting yo run out and spend several times your budget on one of his frames! But go to his website and read it
His VeloNews column: (It's mostly about upper end gear now but he occasionally answers questions from heavy riders. One place he is a real resource is wheels for heavy riders. Making contact with him might be very beneficial if you stick this out and start running into wheel issues. He also had a line of :stock" bikes for heavier riders. Still more than you want to pay, but far less than his customs. (Maybe some day.)
I no longer follow him as I have not been on the VeloNews website for several years and it looks like quite a bit has changed, but Lennard Zinn has been at this forever. I knew of him from across the country 40 years ago. There is nothing you will ever encounter that he hasn't seen and dealt with.
(I'm a skinny guy but also an engineer and I love the challenge of making bikes do what I want them to do really well!)
#27
Junior Member
Thread Starter
I got up to 370 or 380 (doc's scale wouldn't go high enough, so he guessed a range for me. I had to try to verify on a truck scale).
At first, I did mostly hiking and walking, but knew I needed to get back on the bike too. I was scared of folding up one of my already owned bikes, so I went with a Surly Long Haul Trucker. The only modification was swapping the stock wheels with 36h Velocity Chukkers.
Riding sucked at that weight. It sucked bad. But, I mixed a little riding in with a lot of hiking and walking, and as I dropped the weight, my cycling increased to replace the footbound exercise. Good thing, too... my dawgs were barking!
I also put heavier wheels on my Montague Paratrooper, and it served well from about 350 lbs, and I'm still putting most of my miles on those two bikes, without any real maintenance issues. It helps to have a high level of 'mechanical empathy', and you can ride lighter than you are (Grant Petersen goes into depth about that from time to time)
At first, I did mostly hiking and walking, but knew I needed to get back on the bike too. I was scared of folding up one of my already owned bikes, so I went with a Surly Long Haul Trucker. The only modification was swapping the stock wheels with 36h Velocity Chukkers.
Riding sucked at that weight. It sucked bad. But, I mixed a little riding in with a lot of hiking and walking, and as I dropped the weight, my cycling increased to replace the footbound exercise. Good thing, too... my dawgs were barking!
I also put heavier wheels on my Montague Paratrooper, and it served well from about 350 lbs, and I'm still putting most of my miles on those two bikes, without any real maintenance issues. It helps to have a high level of 'mechanical empathy', and you can ride lighter than you are (Grant Petersen goes into depth about that from time to time)
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#28
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Thanks everyone for all your suggestions. I got a Surly Long Haul Trucker 58 with 26 wheels. The bike is shipped and I will get it within a week. Thanks morrisond for following up with me and guiding me in this process. Your inputs eased all my concerns. Thanks again everyone.
PS : I started my diet, intermittent fasting & walk and I am down to 328 now. I hope cycling adds to this momentum like it did for you all..
Cheers.
PS : I started my diet, intermittent fasting & walk and I am down to 328 now. I hope cycling adds to this momentum like it did for you all..
Cheers.
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#29
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Nice choice. Never heard anyone say they regretted buying a LHT.
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