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Which bike for a fat noob?

deadkendeadken Posts: 4
edited January 2015 in Commuting general
Hi all,

bit of back story..
I've been needing to lose weight and get fit and as it happens I have the perfect job to do this on a bike, but have been using a car.

I dont have a commute as such but inspect sites around my local area so I travel 20-30 miles a day but in short burst of a few hundred yards to maybe 3/4 mile. The longest single journey I'd ever have would be 3 miles into the office but I usually plan a route of site inspections that gets me there in stages.

So last weekend I bought a 2015 model Jamis commuter 1 from Evans based on some American reviews.

Thing is, as they are taking so long to build and deliver I started doing the looking and comparing thing that is really discouraged after buying from the interweb.

Thing is I'm 20 stone , probably a bit over . I'm also 6'2" so I can carry it ok but I really need to lose it.
One of the things that caught my attention on the American reviews was that they "liked the double walled rims", however, a little research indicates that the British release doesn't have double walled rims.

Problem!

So Ive looked about and found the Kona Dew deluxe stubby that has everything I want in a commuter but one thing,
It appears to have the riding position of a mountain bike. I really want to ride in as upright position as possible.

Is there a question I expect your asking by now.

OK, do I blow out the Jamis on account of my fatness and its single walled rims and get the kona in spite of its riding position?

Does anyone have experience of these bikes?

Posts

  • MichaelWMichaelW Posts: 2,226
    The Kona wheels have 32 spokes, the Jamis ones have 36.
    Big riders should always go for max no. of spokes.
  • kajjalkajjal Posts: 3,380
    Until your weight drops below about 16 stone I would just get a strong well built bike as lighter bikes will just tend to wear out faster and need more maintenance.
  • deadkendeadken Posts: 4
    thanks for the replies guys.

    I'm supposed I'm worried about 2 conflicting things...

    1: I dont want to spend too much money in case it doesn't work out

    2: If I spend too little money and don't buy a well built bike, i will be constantly untruing(?) the wheels and cycling will seem like a drag.

    I have my eye on one or two very nice well built bikes as a reward for getting to the goal of 15/16 stone.

    And its not all resting on the bike, Ive changed parts of my diet and I'm losing a steady small amount, but I've realized how crazy it is to be driving when my job was virtually created to be cycled (although my manager disagrees but that's another story).
  • tangled_metaltangled_metal Posts: 4,015
    Good on you for getting active this way.

    I'd not worry about the bike. I'm sure it'll be ok. I'm guessing it'll be a long, slow process to get to your target weight. I'm sure the Jamis will last that long, then you'll buy your new and better bike.

    I started commuting this last spring/summer and a few months later I noticed I'd lost about an inch from my gut above my belt. I'm not overweight but I'd still developed a gut due to lack of exercise. I also felt better, more alert in the mornings and happier too. I've kept it up until my bike got stolen and no insurance, d'oh! Get your bike, lock it up securely when site visiting and insure it too.
  • deadkendeadken Posts: 4
    Thanks for the encouragement :)

    And your post reminded me that 2 summers ago I had bought a cheapo second hand bike off gumtree for £40 to go canal path riding with my then squeeze and her boy. I realized then that the whole posture on a MTB was off for me and the knobbly tires were a drag. I remembered the ease I used to peddle the (what would now be called a comfort) bike I built in my late teens from bits and pieces I begged and found.

    I bought the MTB as a serviceable old dog thinking that no one would want to steal it, you'd think right!
  • iron-cloveriron-clover Posts: 737
    The Jamis would probably make a fine commuting bike for short distances, so you should get on OK with it. It is fairly cheap though so you might find that things either wear quickly, such as the tyres, or maybe the gears will need regular tweaking to keep indexed properly, although on the bright side the derailleurs are branded Shimano Altus. The Vee brakes will need a lot of attention to keep centered- all you need is a 5mm allen key and a flathead screwdriver though.

    It shouldn't be an instrument of torture unlike the really cheap supermarket bikes!

    As with any bike keeping it clean and lubed will help it to keep running smoothly.

    An alternative I might suggest would be the Carrerra Subway from Halfords- about the same price but you can get a model with Hydraulic disk brakes for about the same cost and they come with wide tyres that take the sting out of potholes etc. The upside of the disks are the better braking and lower maintenance but if they do need bleeding then it could be a shop job, and the pads could need replacing more often and you need to be careful when changing them. I think it also comes with Altus gearing.
    I have the original subway with vee brakes, and I quite like it. It does require a bit of fiddling in its old age, but in fairness the components were never meant to last as long as they have.

    Good luck- I hope you enjoy the cycling! :)
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