Fat Bikers Upgrades

Darrenwooly

Hi guys,

I'm Currently riding a GT Avalanche 2.0 2011 EDT, I love it... The reason for choosing this bike, well, its just a childhood wish really of always wanting a half decent GT bike!!

Anyhow, I've had some costly lessons learn't so far, which people on Bikeradar.com have helped me massively with...

But my next is this, I was coming in at just shy of 21 stone, after 3.5 weeks off hard biking I am weighing in at 19.8 stone... I've been cycling hard on the Transpennine trail and really pushing myself hard...

But I read somewhere that the Larger gentleman on a Decent bike should do some upgrades...

I have had NO problems on the bike from riding, only my own silly mistakes (WD40 on the disc brakes and incorrectly attached pedal!)

So what upgrades would you reccommend??

nicklouse

what ever wears out first. and keep up with the maintenance.

supersonic

Yep, I agree. If it ain't breaking, it is doing the job ;-)

97th choice

If you keep riding like you are you'll be light enough not to need any upgrades. Just keep doing what you are doing.

Darrenwooly

Cheers, Someone had mentioned about upgrading the Chain? is this true for the larger riders?

nicklouse

no. upgrading only really makes things lighter but can be more fragile.

just replace when needed.

rockmonkeysc

Forks could be a good upgrade. If you have got coil sprung forks either get some stiffer springs or upgrade to air forks.
If you haven't already got one get a SRAM or KMC chain, they are a lot stronger than shimano.

warpcow

RockmonkeySC wrote:

If you haven't already got one get a SRAM or KMC chain, they are a lot stronger than shimano.

Rubbish. A chain is a chain. Some are probably stronger than others (I'd agree that Shimano seem to snap more often, but they're generally made by KMC), but changing a perfectly good one for some vague fear of it snapping one day is stupid.

When it's necessary, replace with a Connex chain. Not before.

Rushmore

supersonic wrote:

Yep, I agree. If it ain't breaking, it is doing the job ;-)

unless it's the brakes your talking about

hairy_boy

check the spring in your forks is right for your weight.

Standard springs tend to be setup for 65-70kg riders - I needed a firm spring for my 95kg bulk and it made a real difference to my ride with no bob but plenty of bounce when required.

cavegiant

warpcow wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

If you haven't already got one get a SRAM or KMC chain, they are a lot stronger than shimano.

Rubbish. A chain is a chain. Some are probably stronger than others (I'd agree that Shimano seem to snap more often, but they're generally made by KMC), but changing a perfectly good one for some vague fear of it snapping one day is stupid.

When it's necessary, replace with a Connex chain. Not before.

partly right,
The KMC X9 is a fantastic chain and obscenely strong. Much stronger than all the offerings by sram or shim (apart from the 991 cross step, the strong 991. but the 991 XS is more expensive and wears faster).

However he is spot on with the "do not replace it until it breaks"


When stuff breaks on your bike I am happy to talk you through what to replace it with (I am a big guy who destroys equipment) pm me if you want.

However do not replace stuff for the sake of it.

mac_man

Ditto what everyone else has said about only upgrading when it breaks.

But if you have some cash burning a hole in your pocket, the 1st item I'd upgrade would be the forks. Chances are, if they're cheapie Suntours or Darts they may well be the 1st things to go. I had some Dart 3s and they got noticeably stiff after about 9 months. A bit of a service improved things.... but I ended up replacing them for some Rockshox Rebas.

Some plusher forks made a major difference to comfort.