I need an honest answer, Too heavy for my bike?

terryhughes

Hello, I have been cycling on a mountain bike or over a year and got my first road bike a few weeks ago.

Within a week I had a buckled back wheel with loose spokes and had it replaced. The new wheel after 70 miles had a slight buckle but no loose spokes so I kicked off and got that replaced too.

My question is at 19st, is it my weight that is doing it? Both wheels have been fine until I go down chester road throught Sale and Altrincham. You wouldn't believe how bad that road is. As must as I try to miss all the holes I catch the odd one.

My bike is a Boardman Comp with Mavic 22 rims and standard hubs, both wheels that I have returned.

New wheel is a Mavic Open Pro with a Shimano 105 hub. Worried I may do the same to this one.

slowbike

If you catch a hole then you're likely to stress a wheel - the more you weigh the more stress you'll put on the wheel.
The normal advice is high number of spoke count is better as it supports the rim more.
I had a blow out yesterday at ~25mph - a sharp object went through the rear sidewall - result = wrecked tyre, a ding in the rim and a slightly out of true wheel - it needed 3/4qtr turn on one spoke to bring it back into line. And I'm significantly lighter than you!.

So - are you too heavy for your bike? No - but you need appropriate wheels & tyres.
I'm assuming you're already using 36 spoked wheels - but what tyres and what pressure are you running on?

ai_1

What Slowbike said.

Also it's worth considering how you absorb bumps as you may be able to reduce the impact on both you and the bike significantly.
A lot of beginners tend to sit on the saddle arms straight regardless of the surface. This means when you hit a bump you take an abrupt shock through the bars, up your arms to your shoulders and then a moment later a hit to your ass via the saddle. Each of these impacts is, obviously, also experienced by the wheels. However, the majority of the rolling weight is your body. By allowing some movement between your body and the bike frame you reduce the unsprung mass of the vehicle to use motoring parlance. So you can provide shock absorption with your arms and legs to protect both you and the bike from these hits.

Even if you're not able to avoid a bump you'll nearly always see it before you hit it. When you're about to hit a bump, ensure your arms are slightly bent and take your weight on the pedals so you're just hovering on or above the saddle. That way your legs and arms will provide suspension and hugely reduce the impact on both the bike and yourself. You may already have that habit from the MTB but it's more important on a road bike. You should really never have your arms straight anyway but it's especially crucial when you hit any significant bump. Taking your weight through your legs is easy if you stop pedalling but you can get the hang of doing it without breaking your rhythm too if you try.

I'm no expert on wheels but there have been a few threads here in the last few weeks by others wanting to know what wheels were a good choice if you weigh more than the a sterotypical cycling whippet. You should be able to find what you need in those. Basically, aside from the wheels the bike is likely fine for your weight but you'll probably want wheels with a decent number of spokes to get good reliability.

cougie

And how wide are your tyres ? You need to spread the impact ?

lostboysaint

What Slowbike said!

You should be fine on an Open Pro IF it's a 32 or 36 spoke rim.

Lancstony

I am in the same boat as you as sat here at 19st at the moment, I have a Ribble winter bike with Shimano R501's on which in a thread I put up previously asked whether I was too heavy for these, the advice I got basically was yes I am and some spokes will go and damage could occur, think these are 20 spokes front and 24 rear, could be wrong there.

I was advised to look at hand built wheels with 36 spokes in but I simply cant afford those,they seemed to be very expensive and I hope not to be at this weight for too long, might be false economics if I end up having to replace a wheel due to damage but I am just having to accept my position and ride as carefully as I can do.

Suppose what I am trying to say is that the chances of us big guys causing damage to the bike is a lot greater, so I just ride accordingly until I get down to the weight where I can forget about it.

wishitwasallflat

I started well north of 22 stone and am now 17.5 - I went through three sets of factory wheels (one were CXps) and all failed due to repeated rear spoke breaking. You are too heavy to get long life out of that kind of wheel - best I ever got out of any of mine was just over 1k miles. My Harry Rowland 36 hole Open Pros on 105 hubs are now at well over 6k miles and only thing I've ever had to do was put a quarter of a turn on a rear spoke to bring them back to true after about 2k or so! Hit plenty of potholes in them too - obviously don't do it deliberately but well built appropriate wheels will take it.

terryhughes

Thanks for the advice guys. It says 32h so is that 32 spokes? It also says on the spec it's hand crafted but I assume this is in the ralieh factory.http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... &langId=-1

iron-clover

32 spoke wheels are generally thought of to be fairly strong, and hopefully your new wheel has stronger spokes than the previous wheel. If that doesn't work, you can look for some super strong touring wheels with lots of spokes and sturdy rims. A quick search bought me to SPA Cycles (well known for their Touring bikes) with a rear wheel for around £150:
http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... 7s176p1340

That one has 36 high strength spokes, and should fair much better- touring bike have to take 'normal' riders plus luggage over potentially less than ideal surfaces. Obviously it will be heavier and a bit slower to spin up to speed, but it's highly unlikely you'll notice much difference tbh. They'll also likely still need truing from time to time, but hopefully a lot less than you've been having!

Good luck, and I hope you continue enjoying to ride!

terryhughes

Thanks for the reply. Going to order some 32mm tyres. Currently on 24mm running 120psi. What psi should I run the new tyres out. Is softer or harder better for the wheel?

ai_1

terryhughes wrote:

Thanks for the reply. Going to order some 32mm tyres. Currently on 24mm running 120psi. What psi should I run the new tyres out. Is softer or harder better for the wheel?

You can and should run 32mm tyres much softer than 24mm tyres. At a guess I'd think 70 to 75psi should be about the right at the back and maybe 5 or 10psi lower at the front. Like I said ,his is just a guess. There are calculators online that might be useful but as long as the tyre isn't compressing more than a few millimeters when you sit on it it should be fine for starters and then you can adjust for your preferences. A comfortable ride for you will also be the gentlest on your wheels but I wouldn't obsess about it. Too soft and you may get pinch punctures when you hit a pothole or drain and the tyre compresses against the rim puncturing the tube. This usually produces 2 tell tale holes or slits side by side. If this starts happening you're running too soft

cougie

I'm a big fan of CX bikes - they always have plenty of clearance for the wider tyres if you want to use them, and they're 99% as fast as road bikes. Plus they're as strong as anything and usually come with sturdy wheels.

slowbike

Will your boardman take 32mm tyres?!

terryhughes

I've gone for the 28's. Will I need to replace the inner tube in my 24's for the new tyres?

terryhughes

I almost bought the boardman xx, I wish I did now! I will when next year's C2w scheme comes around but I plan to be at least 3 stone lighter by then.

funkyg

I've just googled Chester Road, if you think that road is bad stay away from Wythenshaw Road going past the park towards Altrincham!
Now that is a road that would eat road wheels given the chance. I've ridden the road you're talking about and it didn't seem that bad from memory but it has been a few months since I last rode it.
Where abouts are you based? I have a great 25 mile lap going through Lymm, Partington, Carrington, Sale, Sale Moor, Northenden, Altrincham. You can add or remove bits depending on mood/ability. It's just the hill up towards Lymm that's killing me at the moment! I need to lose a couple of stone to help my climbing. I'm currently 15 1/2 stone just starting out.

DavidJB

terryhughes wrote:

I almost bought the boardman xx, I wish I did now! I will when next year's C2w scheme comes around but I plan to be at least 3 stone lighter by then.

Good luck with the weight loss. I started cycling at 16 stone I'm now just over 11 stone so it can be done!

terryhughes

@funkyG

I live in Northwich but I drive to Altrincham and park up by Dunham Massey and ride my bike to Salford Quays from there So I go straight through Altrincham and Sale,it's hurrendouse.

I have done a round trip from home to work in a day a few times on a mountain bike but it totals 46 mile the the driving half way keeps it around 17 miles a day which is about right.

Hoping to do a full round trip when I get some confidence on this road bike!!!

MichaelW

Slowbike wrote:

Will your boardman take 32mm tyres?!

+1.

terryhughes

MichaelW wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

Will your boardman take 32mm tyres?!

+1.

Took 28's no problem.

goonz

Basically its already been said, but for a guy your size you should run at least 25mm tyres on around 80-90 psi with a high spoke count.

terryhughes

22 miles today, another buckled wheel. If a there something that could be wrong with the frame or build of the bike?

desweller

You're not far off the weight of my touring bike with a full payload, and that does OK with 32 spokes - but it also has 32mm tyres and heavy duty rims (Rigida Sputnik up front and Mavic A319).

kajjal

Most buckled wheels come from poor build quality and impact damage. Road bike wheels are more susceptible and continually hitting pot holes or riding on rough roads will quickly damage the wheels especially if you are heavier , faster and stronger. You should really be looking at something like mavic open pro's with 36 spokes or if the roads are too rough switch to a mountain bike.

When I was about 16 stone I used to choose quiet places to ride and keep away from pot holes , drains and rough road surfaces on my road bike. It had wheels with less spokes than yours and was fine. Bigger tyres will help with this but if you are riding over everything then that will be your problem.

chuckla

I'm 19 stone and ride a Felt Z85 with Mavic CXP22 rims, 36 spokes on the rear with 25mm continental gp4000s tyres, 120psi in the rear and around 100psi in the front.

The roads aren't great in South Wales, I've never buckled a wheel, I've had to true slightly here and there, but they're pretty solid wheels. Maybe on the heavy side, but for a larger cyclist, they seem to do the trick!

I don't aim for pot holes mind and if I do roll over any I always try to move my weight to cause minimum impact!

wishitwasallflat

terryhughes wrote:

22 miles today, another buckled wheel. If a there something that could be wrong with the frame or build of the bike?

As I and several others have already told you -

You are too heavy to get long life out of that kind of wheel

Why are you not listening and/or not accepting what we are telling you?

as above the answer is here for you if you want it ...

chuckla wrote:

I'm 19 stone and ride a Felt Z85 with Mavic CXP22 rims, 36 spokes on the rear with 25mm continental gp4000s tyres, 120psi in the rear and around 100psi in the front.

The roads aren't great in South Wales, I've never buckled a wheel, I've had to true slightly here and there, but they're pretty solid wheels. Maybe on the heavy side, but for a larger cyclist, they seem to do the trick!

I don't aim for pot holes mind and if I do roll over any I always try to move my weight to cause minimum impact!

Open Pro or similar rims on 36 hole front and rear hubs from a decent wheelbuilder ends the issue :!:

Ringpeace

I see loads of fat bstards on their bikes. Doesn't seem advisable.

Then again I am a 15 stone fat fcku and I don't suffer from puncture often. Or buckled wheels.

I guess I look where I am going.

19 stones though - that's pretty obese for a road cyclist....

ai_1

Ringpeace wrote:

I see loads of fat bstards on their bikes. Doesn't seem advisable.

Then again I am a 15 stone fat fcku and I don't suffer from puncture often. Or buckled wheels.

I guess I look where I am going.

19 stones though - that's pretty obese for a road cyclist....

Load of nonsense
A road cyclist is anyone riding on the road. You think anyone of 19st or more should stay off bikes? Or are you saying they shouldn't be on road bikes specifically? Either way that's nothing but prejudiced nonsense. It may retrict equipment options and equipment life may be shorter for heavier cyclists but there's no reason whatsoever for someone of 19st not to be out on a bike if they want to be, provided the bike is fit for that purpose.

"Doesn't seem advisable" - what does this mean? Is there a reason or does it just "seem" that way to you because it does?

desweller

Ai_1 wrote:

Ringpeace wrote:

I see loads of fat bstards on their bikes. Doesn't seem advisable.

Then again I am a 15 stone fat fcku and I don't suffer from puncture often. Or buckled wheels.

I guess I look where I am going.

19 stones though - that's pretty obese for a road cyclist....

Load of nonsense
A road cyclist is anyone riding on the road. You think anyone of 19st or more should stay off bikes? Or are you saying they shouldn't be on road bikes specifically? Either way that's nothing but prejudiced nonsense. It may retrict equipment options and equipment life may be shorter for heavier cyclists but there's no reason whatsoever for someone of 19st not to be out on a bike if they want to be, provided the bike is fit for that purpose.

"Doesn't seem advisable" - what does this mean? Is there a reason or does it just "seem" that way to you because it does?

DNFTT!

goonz

OP could we have a picture of you on the bike?

terryhughes

Not sure what a picture on my bike would give you tbh? I have almost 1700 miles in Strava so I count myself as a pretty proficient cyclist. Until April this was all done on a MTB on the road.

@ringpeace, you are a cock.