RH Clark

Congratulations! I did much the same when I turned 50. I went from 360 lbs. to 170 lbs. in 2 years on low carb zero sugar, intermittent fasting and cycling every day. Nearly 6 years later I'm still 180 lbs. and eat all my calories in a 2-6 hour window every day. It's an easy diet to maintain for me. I don't eat processed foods or drinks and try to have a varied diet of fresh produce and healthy meats.

xgregg676

In my previous thread I was redirected here.


I'm 320-330 lbs, 6 foot,

wondering what bike would be best for me? Having trouble remembering but I think that it was suggested to go with a 26" hardtail, not sure if that is the frame size or the wheel size or which hard tail to go with.

What would be a good bike for around $500? From what I hear it is easier to get a used bike of this category for less. but having very little knowledge of bikes, I'm not sure which one would be best.

I'm not sure what to be looking for? If I can find it used, that is great, and if new and in stock, even better.


I've even considered a gasoline motor scooter, but living in a 55+ community, in addition to a few other factors, -- I'm not sure how well that would go over.
I've got a big hill that seems to be difficult at times Ideally i'd want a transportation device that I can make a 10-15 mile commute without overdoing it, as I have on my kick scooter. ( feet injury)

tungsten

Probably meant 26" wheels. Used 26'ers are a dime a dozen since newer mtn bikes use 27.5 or 29 inch wheels almost exclusively.
Can be a good choice for a low dollar casual ride. Be picky, don't buy a project. Get the right frame size.
Go look in a bike store. Reasonable basic bikes can be had around for your price point.

RH Clark

First you should look at some size charts and possibly go to a couple bike shops to find out what size fits you best right now. You can google how to measure for size as well. Basically you need the measurement from the center of the crank-bottom bracket to the top of the seat post tube. My suggestion would be to buy a steel or aluminum MTB with wider tires to start.

I paid $60 for my first MTB that wouldn't shift and was too small, but I put a few hundred miles on that bike anyway until I bought my next one for $100. My next one was $250, the next one I paid nearly $500 but by then I knew a lot more about what I needed and liked.

katsup

I'll get flamed on here, but Royce Union (Huffy) has a 18sp Shimano Sora equipped gravel bike for $240 after their 25% coupon in banner. This is a drop bar bike.
https://www.royceunion.com/rgf-gravel-bike-76989/
They have some SLX equipped 29" hardtails under <$300, but your size appears sold out. I'd suggest asking a bike shop to make sure everything is greased, spokes tensioned and bolts torqued properly as I doubt their QC is very good. The size is 21, not sure this is the right size for 6ft, but it may work (no geometry charts)

I'm also a fan of 26" rigid bikes from the 90's, and if you go this route, look for used, in your size, with components that say Deore (just Deore, Deore LX, Deore XT, etc...). Expect to get these bikes a tune up as many have gone without for 30+ years. However, as you are relying on the used market, this can take time which is why going for the Royce Union is a bike available now that you can replace if you become more interested in cycling.

rekmeyata

Excellent job. You are heathier because you did something you hated to do, but knew you had to.

Work isn't fun either, but we need to make money, so we work. Riding a bike can be like that for some people, it's not fun, but we need to keep our weight under control, so we ride a bike, or jog, or some such thing.

I'm 70 years old, been riding for over 50 years, and quite frankly it does get tedious, but my weight has only gone up by 20 pounds since I was in high school. Also, I kept riding because it's a stress reliever, I owned a business for about 25 years, put in a lot of hours to make it successful, but there was a lot of stress, so I would ride after work a lot, and on weekends. Now that I'm retired, I can put more miles on the bike than I could before. Biking for me is a mix bag, sometimes it's fun and other times it's not, but I keep doing it because I know that I have to, just like I knew I had to work.

If I don't ride, like during the winter months, my weight does creep up, but now I go to the gym which I didn't have time to do when I was running the first business, all I had time for was riding the bike, and working out in a gym is the same thing, tedious, more so than riding a bike.

ChromeChainstay

congratulations everyone. i went from 168-122lbs in 5 months

got the high blood pressure high cholesterol warning from my doctor

now everything is normal

no carbs, no sugar did it

now i add oats a couple times a week.

started the change in February and started riding in late March

ACHiPo 

Great progress!

Mojo31

If you think Roadhouse rolls are good, and they are, try the rolls at the Wicked Butcher downtown. I could make a meal of those things.

pepperbelly

I will go get one on my next cheat day.

Ogsarg

Just curious if you are enjoying riding more now that you've lost weight and it's easier. If not, I would seriously start looking at other activities. I started biking again about 8 years ago (at 59) and what has kept me at it was that I never get tired of it. I live in a semi rural area and have lots of nice roads to explore and I can do long rides over to the Pacific Ocean and back. I always look forward to a ride.

When you don't enjoy something, it's too easy to find good reasons to skip a ride here and there and suddenly it's been a week and then 2 weeks, etc. Hopefully you're having fun. That'll make it easier to keep going on your weight goals. Congratulations!

pepperbelly

Riding is easier now. The big problem is simply finding a good route. Loops through my small town is boring. The surrounding streets have a lot of traffic and are a little dangerous.
I have a paved trail around a small local lake-6.5 miles that should make it more enjoyable.
I have lost interest in a lot of things I used to enjoy. A large part of it is that after retiring I am not around people anymore. I go through most days without talking to anyone until my wife gets home. I really need to find a group to ride with. Riding alone isn’t a lot of fun.

RH Clark

I am fortunate enough to be close to a National Forrest. There are hundreds of dirt road miles just 6 highway miles from my door. I rarely ride there during hunting season but with the exception of weekends I have spent 8 hours riding without ever seeing a vehicle.

Mojo31

Where are you located in FW?

PM me. I might be able to help you out with some ideas.

indyfabz

Fun fact: The National Forest Service oversees the largest road network in the entire country. Last I heard, its total mileage dwarfs the that of Interstate Highway system by a factor of 3.

pepperbelly

I am by Saginaw. We have had a lot of warehouses built around us. 18 wheel truck traffic has increased significantly. We also have new neighborhoods being built bringing in a lot more traffic.

I think the Marine Creek trail and Trinity River trail are going to be my best options.

Mojo31

The FWBA has several group rides that you might fit with. They are all named “Rusty Chain Gang” or similar. They are all older guys for the most part, but very friendly and welcoming. Most rides are fairly small - 10 cyclists or so. They ride in different parts of Tarrant County on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. My wife and I do the Mansfield ride on Saturday mornings. If you want, you can come try it out this Saturday. It’s about a 20 mile ride at about a 14+ mph pace, with a lengthy break midway. it can be a bit of a push for my wife, but it’s more of an easy social ride for me. The group is ages 56 (my wife) me at 66 to others up to 84, so no young studs.

https://www.fwbaclub.org/event-5494549

pepperbelly

Thanks. I will watch for a ride nearby.

xgregg676

is the consensus the royce union? why are the handle bars like that?? what are those called?


I live too far from town to go in and get it fitted, this is cost prohibitive. - Is there an easier way to fit me? I'm 6ft exact. 320 lbs

I'm wanting to be able to travel further than I can on my Razor A5 Lux, would this bike be a weight, (or would it help me in my commute that is a greater than 10 miles)


looking for responses

ACHiPo 

I didn’t see a recommendation for an ebike? There are several sturdily built ones that just help (not the ones with throttles, the ones that provide pedaling assist). It can allow you to go further and farther and faster than you can under your own power, which also makes it a lot more fun.

katsup

The Royce Union I posted is only if your budget is super tight and you can't / don't have the patience to find a good used bike. It is still a cheap bike, but it does have some decent components on it. You can buy much better with a bigger budget.

redshift1

I was considering spending this Sunday morning drinking coffee and surfing the Net. After reading the above inspirational story, I've decided to finish my first coffee and then go riding ! Thanks !

wheelreason

Consider yourself an ex Vietnamese village....

xgregg676

Really looking for something that I can increase the distance I can travel.

With the scooter, my feet are done after 10 miles. -- I just watched a video and saw a guy said he could do 76 miles before getting tired on his bicycle, i'd be happy if I could make it 20 miles.

I was thinking of a hard tail mountain bike, -- would this be generally more fitting than the royce union? - What are some bikes that would fit this criteria that would be a good fit for me? ft 330 lbs?
Funds are limited and I'm not too sure what to look for, I'm sure as with many topics, you can get really into it.



thank you


Looking for a bike, advice appreciated

Maybe the royce union is what i'd need. it is very hilly here so i'd be walking the bike up hill half the time, so something light maybe? I need a bike that is efficient, I see the royce union has no front suspension and wondered how thatd affect my ride? I don't see myself hitting any jumps anytime soon. Just looking for something I can go maybe 10 miles to town (maybe class?) on and 10 miles back on some asphalt\


Its looking more appealing as time goes on
it is right around my price point

lex further

Great results! Congrats! Cycling is a great way to lose weight, but definitely not the only one. BetterMe blog https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/fit...dy/ar-AA1kdmZb has tons of great tips and tricks on how to stay healthy and enjoy the life at the same time. It is a precious combination, don't you think?