23 stone bike

jonathanjcastle

Hi there,

Have just moved to a new flat and we have loads of countryside around us and nice parks so I quite fancy getting on a bike again and losing some weight while enjoying myself. Have a couple of questions though.

1. What type of bike should I get? I have a budget of between 150 and 250 and I weigh 23 stone so don't want to get a bike that will break due to my weight

2. Is it really true what they say about never forgetting how to ride a bike? Used to be a confident rider when I was younger but haven't ridden in 10 years so a bit nervous!!

Cheers,

Jonathan

supersonic

There are not many bikes for that budget that will take your weight I am afraid - especially anything with any sort of suspension. I'd visit a local shop and see what they can do for you - you may need a stronger seat post fitting, tougher wheels and sturdier parts.

It is absolutely paramount you get something with a cassette rear gear system or you will bed the rear axle. Our Beginners guide to bikes will give you a good head start.

If it is just easier paths, a mountain bike hybrid should suffice.

oxocube1

Just a quick word of advice, do not go to Halfords to look for a bike for yourself. We have a 19 stone limit for our bikes and we found that out the hard way! One of my colleagues sold a bike to a guy who was 20 stone, the next week he came back with both wheels severely buckled and light injuries, he was threatening to take us to court about it. We found out later that a note in the handbooks said Halfords bikes are not to be sold to anyone over 19 stone. To be honest none of us knew about the weight limit before hand but the guy certainly did not look 20 stone!

So yea don't come to us as I do not want you experiencing the same thing. As Supersonic mentioned, you would need a decent sturdy bike and it would be difficult to find such a bike at that price range unfortunately. You would probably want to avoid anything with a 700c wheel as they would buckle a lot easier than your standard 26 inch mtb wheel and due to the fact that most bikes using 700c wheels tend to have more lightweight/less sturdy frames.

Cr3do

I have the Rockrider 8.1 from Decathlon, and was riding it at almost 22stone, now nearly 20stone. It's took a real basing from me and it;s lasted very well! Only thing went wrong was the buckled once when I came off on a big drop off.

If you can afford it go for it

mcnultycop

I started on a Trek 4500 at 24 stone, the only issue I had was the seat-post retracting into the frame under heavy pedalling, if only done up with the quick release. A quick turn with the allen key and that was sorted. I asked at the LBS and he said that'd be fine for my weight, and he was right. The wheels haven't even needed truing.

FunBus

The weight restrictions advised by bike manufacturers can be taken with a pinch of salt. Some say 17 stone, some say 19 stone, but reality is, so long as you buy a half decent bike, that is put together well, maintained and you start off with just gentle riding, you should be fine.

Dont expect to spend £200 and be dropping down mountains anytime soon......stick to tow paths etc to loose a bit of weight/build fitness, then you can progress from there.

As mentioned above from a Halfords member of staff, the recommended limit is usually 19 stone, but they by no means are told to NOT sell to anyone above that. The way that's worded seems very poor from Halfords point of view and i imagine if their head office saw it they would not share that same opinion......next thing he'll be telling you there's scales to stand on before you can enter the bikehut department.

Just go to your local bike shop for advice and stay away from suspension for now.