Need some buying advice

Ste Hughes
Posts: 3
I'm 22 and 260 lbs and I want to loose weight. I'm sick of it, I want to get down to 150 lbs
I used to be really active up to about 16, I was playing football and skating but throwing myself down flights of stairs and all that stuff you do when your young and stupid has taken it thole on me. I can't do running and need a low impact thing like swimming or cycling, and I can't swim :roll:
So I want to get myself a bike to loose some pounds.
I live like 5 mins from a reasonably sized town and about 2 mins from country lanes and miles of open country lanes. Would a road bike handle country lanes ok? Like I can't imagine it will fall to bits but I imagine a pot hole can be a disaster.
Also I have a shit budget of £150-200 and I am trying to keep it lower. I know its not much but unfortunately I can't do much better than that right now.
I've looked at all sorts of advice on forums like this and I know you guys love your bikes but I just do not need something that does 40mph with no effort and I will not be wearing lycra or shaving my legs. I'm really just into this to loose some weight and get my arse out of my office.
I want a NEW bike also, I just think if I get something used I will not use it, sounds stupid but this isn't like a new hobby or passion I am taking up, I just want to loose some weight. I've managed to put a small list together of possible options and if I could get some advice on them from the guru's I would be very happy
I live in a place with very few hills and need something a larger guy would be comfortable on. I know comfort is a subjective thing but if you can outline any potential problems it would seriously help me out
At this budget I know I will not be getting anything amazing but as long as its comfortable and doesn't break down I will be more than happy 
Here they are:
Viking Phantom
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Viking-Phanto ... 5aeaa82272
Viking Sprint
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2011-VIKING-S ... 588f7afd08
Cronus Pyreness
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2012-CRONUS-P ... 7dbeb8758b
Muddyfox Pace Road Bike
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Muddyfox-Pace ... 51a4de911c
Any other suggestions would be more than welcome as well
Thanks in advance
Ste
I used to be really active up to about 16, I was playing football and skating but throwing myself down flights of stairs and all that stuff you do when your young and stupid has taken it thole on me. I can't do running and need a low impact thing like swimming or cycling, and I can't swim :roll:
So I want to get myself a bike to loose some pounds.
I live like 5 mins from a reasonably sized town and about 2 mins from country lanes and miles of open country lanes. Would a road bike handle country lanes ok? Like I can't imagine it will fall to bits but I imagine a pot hole can be a disaster.
Also I have a shit budget of £150-200 and I am trying to keep it lower. I know its not much but unfortunately I can't do much better than that right now.
I've looked at all sorts of advice on forums like this and I know you guys love your bikes but I just do not need something that does 40mph with no effort and I will not be wearing lycra or shaving my legs. I'm really just into this to loose some weight and get my arse out of my office.
I want a NEW bike also, I just think if I get something used I will not use it, sounds stupid but this isn't like a new hobby or passion I am taking up, I just want to loose some weight. I've managed to put a small list together of possible options and if I could get some advice on them from the guru's I would be very happy

I live in a place with very few hills and need something a larger guy would be comfortable on. I know comfort is a subjective thing but if you can outline any potential problems it would seriously help me out


Here they are:
Viking Phantom
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Viking-Phanto ... 5aeaa82272
Viking Sprint
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2011-VIKING-S ... 588f7afd08
Cronus Pyreness
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2012-CRONUS-P ... 7dbeb8758b
Muddyfox Pace Road Bike
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Muddyfox-Pace ... 51a4de911c
Any other suggestions would be more than welcome as well

Thanks in advance
Ste
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Comments
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Have a look at a triban3 from decathlon, these seem to get good reviews.0
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£150 - £200 NEW gets you very little - nothing more than a bike-shaped object that will not be enjoyable to ride and thus will be counter-productive in your quest to lose weight.
Look secondhand for a Spesh Allez or similar and good luck in your desire to shift some excess - cycling is a great way to do it.0 -
Second hand is your best option. You'll get a better bike.
Cycling will only burn about 500 calories an hour (very rough estimate) so the weight won't drop off. You'll have to cut out the crap and reduce your portions.
Good luck !0 -
You'll notice weight loss if you do long bike rides (over 3 hours). Don't worry about speed until later - as long as you feel like you've been working hard. Then get faster as you get fitter but keep riding time the same. Another way is set yourself a strict minmum number of miles per week (say 60 in winter), but nothing burns fat like a longer bike ride (or walk, swim etc). Choose a route that's interesting too!
2nd hand at that price. Remember though bottle & cage, lights, Helmet, padded shorts (even if wearing as underwear), gloves, punture repar kit / spare tube & probably a cheap mulitool or at least a set of allen keys. It all adds up. I won't get into winter wear & shoes - you'll probably have something around the house that will do the job.
I'd look at E-Bay & even Halfords have some pretty decent offers. Planet X offer winter clothing bundles that may interest you too.
Best of luck.'Happiness serves hardly any other purpose than to make unhappiness possible' Marcel Proust.0 -
As previous posts with your budget s/hand may be the way to go,but regardless of what you choose the BIG thing you have to do is get your head sorted out . Diet , lifestyle etc. it's your call & no matter what you choose whether it is bike/ walking etc. the results will be enhanced, remember grasshopper - a thousand mile journey begins with a single step. I wish you the very best of willpower.0
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The thing is I do eat good stuff, just too much of it :oops:
I also work as a freelance web designer and I am now used to doing 14-16 hour days with 0 exercise. It's that which has put me on a bad path more than anything!
I have no idea what I am looking at either with a 2nd hand bike so thats another reason I want new. Honestly as long as it holds itself together and I can put some mileage on it without worrying and stuff I will be a happy man.
I have taken stuff like spare innertube and tools into account (thats why most of the bikes are under the £200 mark...) but padded shorts? will they make a difference. I'll stick them on the list
and I know I won't drop the weight off but I am thinking an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon will be good and eventually doable.
To keep my weight stable with not a lot of exercise I need to take 3200 calories a day, If I cut down to 2500 like I should be on and burn 30,000 calories a month with 2 hours of cycling per day I am living on 1500 calories and getting fitter for it. That means in theory every 2 days I loose 1 pound of flab. It won't be easy but the other option is to stay on my arse and suffer the long term effects of too much weight.
thanks guys0 -
cougie wrote:Second hand is your best option. You'll get a better bike.
Cycling will only burn about 500 calories an hour (very rough estimate) so the weight won't drop off. You'll have to cut out the crap and reduce your portions.
Good luck !
Remember though, alot of people dont realise this, not only are you burning calories whilst you are cycling, your metabolism will increase as a result of the exercise, so your body should start to naturally burn off more calories whilst off the bike, as long as you are exercising regularly.
This in the same way as eating small portions and often. Your body metabolism will increase and will burn off food more efficiently because the mechanism within the body knows that more food will come along shortly. Where as eating large portions and not very often will result in the body storing the energy because the body doesn't know when the next meal is coming.
Hope things go well, Good Luck finding that bike.0 -
Ste Hughes wrote:The thing is I do eat good stuff, just too much of it :oops:
I also work as a freelance web designer and I am now used to doing 14-16 hour days with 0 exercise. It's that which has put me on a bad path more than anything!
I have no idea what I am looking at either with a 2nd hand bike so thats another reason I want new. Honestly as long as it holds itself together and I can put some mileage on it without worrying and stuff I will be a happy man.
I have taken stuff like spare innertube and tools into account (thats why most of the bikes are under the £200 mark...) but padded shorts? will they make a difference. I'll stick them on the list
and I know I won't drop the weight off but I am thinking an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon will be good and eventually doable.
To keep my weight stable with not a lot of exercise I need to take 3200 calories a day, If I cut down to 2500 like I should be on and burn 30,000 calories a month with 2 hours of cycling per day I am living on 1500 calories and getting fitter for it. That means in theory every 2 days I loose 1 pound of flab. It won't be easy but the other option is to stay on my ars* and suffer the long term effects of too much weight.
thanks guys
I like your logic - to stsrt with it will be about time on the bike as much as anything. You'll want to improve your stamina to get into cycling too.
Padded shorts i.e. cycling shorts are essential in my view - if I could only have one cycling specific product it would be these. A sore arse is likely to deter you or at least make you enjoy it less.'Happiness serves hardly any other purpose than to make unhappiness possible' Marcel Proust.0