Newbie "FAT" roadie

millsey_awm

Hi all,

I have rekindled my love for cycling, albeit a bit late topping the scales at 18st 9lbs and being 6ft.

I have been starting off on a MTB and am now up to 23 miles distance after riding for a few months again. I have just bought a road bike, Spesh Allez, and am concerned that i will be too heavy for the wheels (Jalco). I was planning on pumping the rear tyre (25) to 120psi and the front (23) to around 100psi. Does this sound ok?

Interested to get your thoughts as to whether i am currently too fat to ride a road bike and whether i should stick to riding the MTB until i get my weight down a bit.

I have also just invested in some bib tights which don't look too bad, but the jerseys are another matter having tried on the 3XL in Decathlon which were rather tight and looked ridiculous!!

Any suggestions on where to get jerseys that might fit? I am an XXL or 17.5" collar in normal shirts if that's anything to go by.

Thanks all, appreciate your help

Crawlinguphills

millsey_awm wrote:

Hi all,

I have rekindled my love for cycling, albeit a bit late topping the scales at 18st 9lbs and being 6ft.

I have been starting off on a MTB and am now up to 23 miles distance after riding for a few months again. I have just bought a road bike, Spesh Allez, and am concerned that i will be too heavy for the wheels (Jalco). I was planning on pumping the rear tyre (25) to 120psi and the front (23) to around 100psi. Does this sound ok?

Interested to get your thoughts as to whether i am currently too fat to ride a road bike and whether i should stick to riding the MTB until i get my weight down a bit.

I have also just invested in some bib tights which don't look too bad, but the jerseys are another matter having tried on the 3XL in Decathlon which were rather tight and looked ridiculous!!

Any suggestions on where to get jerseys that might fit? I am an XXL or 17.5" collar in normal shirts if that's anything to go by.

Thanks all, appreciate your help

Compared to me you're thin! 20st and 6ft3. I have a Felt F85, which is pretty much entry level. Have put over 1000 miles on it so far and have had 0 problems with the wheels. At worst you may pop a couple of spokes now and again, and have to have the wheel trued, but none of this has happened to me so far. Road bikes are alot more study than they look.

zx6man

I was 16st when starting on the MTB, didn't get a road bike untill I was 12 stone, just to give the poor little tyres a chance :-)

Mikey41

millsey_awm wrote:

I have been starting off on a MTB and am now up to 23 miles distance after riding for a few months again. I have just bought a road bike, Spesh Allez, and am concerned that i will be too heavy for the wheels (Jalco). I was planning on pumping the rear tyre (25) to 120psi and the front (23) to around 100psi. Does this sound ok?

Interested to get your thoughts as to whether i am currently too fat to ride a road bike and whether i should stick to riding the MTB until i get my weight down a bit.

The wheels should be fine, but a 25 tyre shouldn't go to 120psi, check it's max pressure which will be printed on the tyre and go just below that. Avoid holes and those crap patched bits of road and you'll be just fine.

As for jerseys, many will make do with a long sleeved polo shirt to get started with, as you should find your weight will quickly start to drop.

tiredofwhiners

Just steer clear of large potholes.

I started at 16 stone and have been lucky enough to never break or damage a wheel.

I'm off to find some wood to touch.

millsey_awm

Mikey41 wrote:

millsey_awm wrote:

I have been starting off on a MTB and am now up to 23 miles distance after riding for a few months again. I have just bought a road bike, Spesh Allez, and am concerned that i will be too heavy for the wheels (Jalco). I was planning on pumping the rear tyre (25) to 120psi and the front (23) to around 100psi. Does this sound ok?

Interested to get your thoughts as to whether i am currently too fat to ride a road bike and whether i should stick to riding the MTB until i get my weight down a bit.

The wheels should be fine, but a 25 tyre shouldn't go to 120psi, check it's max pressure which will be printed on the tyre and go just below that. Avoid holes and those crap patched bits of road and you'll be just fine.

As for jerseys, many will make do with a long sleeved polo shirt to get started with, as you should find your weight will quickly start to drop.

Hi Mikey,

Thanks for your advice. The front tyre is a stock Mondo 23mm and the back is a Continental GP 4 seasons 25mm. According to the Conti website it says the recommended pressure for the GP4 is 95psi and the Max is 120PSI.

Would you go with the recommended PSI or go nearer the 120 mark based on my weight?!!

Crawlinguphills

I run 110psi on both front and back. Havent encountered a problem with it as yet

Mikey41

millsey_awm wrote:

Thanks for your advice. The front tyre is a stock Mondo 23mm and the back is a Continental GP 4 seasons 25mm. According to the Conti website it says the recommended pressure for the GP4 is 95psi and the Max is 120PSI.

Would you go with the recommended PSI or go nearer the 120 mark based on my weight?!!

Ah, in that case I would be tempted to go in at the 95psi to start with and see how it feels, it should feel firm, not squashy. If it feels soft, put in 10psi more, but I woudn't go all the way to max.

On 23mm tyres, I run 90psi front and 100psi rear, I'm around 13 stone (and falling), but on a 25 I'd probably be at 95 or even 90psi.

OwenB

I've bought some shirts from Cycle clothing UK which do massive sizes and I got a 4xl when I started which was quoted as the size for 50" chests like mine and it was still too big, I've recently bought some More Mile jerseys from Start Fitness, reasonably cheap with a decent fit and the size guide seems fairly accurate, their short sleeved jersey could be a little longer in the back though.

Buckie2k5

millsey_awm wrote:

I have also just invested in some bib tights which don't look too bad, but the jerseys are another matter having tried on the 3XL in Decathlon which were rather tight and looked ridiculous!!

Thanks all, appreciate your help

iam 18 stone although i was 18 and half 6 weeks ago so my cycling is working. At our size lycra is gonna look stupid lets face it but at the end of the day dont let it bother you get out there and enjoy yourself and soon that 3xl will be come 2xl, xl, L and so on

Just completed my 1st 50miler (53.9 )today exhausted to say the least, struggling the last 5miles at 7mph with full lycra on i mustve looked a right wally but hey ho i done something not a lot of people have or could.

BigDaddyG

Buckie2k5 wrote:

millsey_awm wrote:

I have also just invested in some bib tights which don't look too bad, but the jerseys are another matter having tried on the 3XL in Decathlon which were rather tight and looked ridiculous!!

Thanks all, appreciate your help

iam 18 stone although i was 18 and half 6 weeks ago so my cycling is working. At our size lycra is gonna look stupid lets face it but at the end of the day dont let it bother you get out there and enjoy yourself and soon that 3xl will be come 2xl, xl, L and so on

Just completed my 1st 50miler (53.9 )today exhausted to say the least, struggling the last 5miles at 7mph with full lycra on i mustve looked a right wally but hey ho i done something not a lot of people have or could.

I am 17.5 stone down from 19st and loving getting out.

Gratz on the 50 miler!! I am going for my first 50 on Saturday....wish me luck.

I use Bib 3/4's and a baselayer with a Cycle teeshirt but I have just ordered new 2 jerseys as I don't care what people think of me as I am out doing something about my weight!!! Be Proud!! Don't buy any expensive clothes as you soon find they are too big so I found Speg and CC-UK from Cycle clothing decent stuff for the larger gent and when I reach 15/16 stone then DHB from Wiggle is the next step I will be taking, got there shoes and bib shorts and both are very good quality.

For your bike I run my tires at 120psi and *touch wood* not had a puncture or any issues at all. As a previous poster pointed out, stay away from pot holes and get your wheels trued and you should be right as rain!!!

Keep up the good work!!

elderone

Buckie2k5 wrote:

millsey_awm wrote:

I have also just invested in some bib tights which don't look too bad, but the jerseys are another matter having tried on the 3XL in Decathlon which were rather tight and looked ridiculous!!

Thanks all, appreciate your help

iam 18 stone although i was 18 and half 6 weeks ago so my cycling is working. At our size lycra is gonna look stupid lets face it but at the end of the day dont let it bother you get out there and enjoy yourself and soon that 3xl will be come 2xl, xl, L and so on

Just completed my 1st 50miler (53.9 )today exhausted to say the least, struggling the last 5miles at 7mph with full lycra on i mustve looked a right wally but hey ho i done something not a lot of people have or could.

congrats on the fifty miler,well done.you have reached a point some of us are still striving for.

Mikey41

elderone wrote:

Buckie2k5 wrote:

Just completed my 1st 50miler (53.9 )today exhausted to say the least, struggling the last 5miles at 7mph with full lycra on i mustve looked a right wally but hey ho i done something not a lot of people have or could.

congrats on the fifty miler,well done.you have reached a point some of us are still striving for.

Indeed, well done! I haven't reached that yet, I've only got to 34 miles. Keep it up!

chorlton chimp

OP - you sound a similar size to me when I started last year (18st 7).

You will probably be ok with your wheels, but cheap wheels aren't strong. If you watch out for potholes and don't go bumping up and down kerbs you should be alright. I had Mavic CXP22 rims on my Secteur - had the back wheel out of true twice by breaking spokes and finally cracked the rim meaning replacement wheel. Trueing is cheap, new wheels less so!

I found Decathlon xxl stuff fitted fine, although the cheap LS Jerseys didn't. One good thing with Decathlons own brand is that they will swap it for the merest fault with no quibbles - I have managed to get smaller sizes (which I now need) for free on a couple of bits of gear that way. Wiggles own brand dhb stuff is sensibly sized for the chunkier rider although if you go down that road read the description carefully - some of their stuff is cut for a bit of a tighter fit.

Avoid Italian kit - they must live on air and espresso. That being said Prendas stock Santini stuff in what at first glance appear to be huge sizes - you need to go up at least 2 sizes to stand a chance I find.

Enjoy your riding.

TakeTurns

I'm tall and weigh 13.5st. I'd be careful with the tyre pressure at 120. If the areas which you ride around aren't rough then you should be fine. I was once slowing down at a junction where there was a drain I didn't see and KABOOM.

As long as you have decent wheels you shouldn't have issues with them going out of tru or breaking under pressure. If it becomes a common occurrence then upgrade to a decent pair.

BlakeysFC

zx6man wrote:

I was 16st when starting on the MTB, didn't get a road bike untill I was 12 stone, just to give the poor little tyres a chance :-)

Just out of interest, how long did it take you to lose that 4st?

And was the weight loss purely through cycling or did you do cardio/weights at the gym too?

millsey_awm

Thanks for all your advice everyone. Really appreciated.

Congrats on everyones milestones. Im hoping to crack the '30' this weekend.

Will see how the rear runs on 110 and the front on 95 to start off with.

This cycling malarkey is addictive. Next purchase, a turbo trainer