Bikes for very fat people

Following on from my earlier post regards the Cycle2Work scheme, the good
news is that it has really fired up the imagination of some of my
colleagues who are, for the first time, now thinking of cycling as a real
alternative for their daily commute.

One colleague has come to me looking for advice though because he is very
fat. What body weight would bikes comfortably take, what are the things
to bear in mind when selecting a bike to handle this?

His commute would be about 3.5Km one way and even if it took him 25
minutes to begine with he would be halving his bus commute time.

Colin writes:

One colleague has come to me looking for advice though because he is
very fat. What body weight would bikes comfortably take, what are the
things to bear in mind when selecting a bike to handle this?

I'm 20 stone, and my Giant mountain bike is fine - once I changed the
original freewheel rear wheel for a freehub type. I managed to bend
three axles before I did so. The freewheel type just has too much
leverage on the drive-side end of the axle.

--
Keith Willoughby http://flat222.org/keith/
Oes gafr eto?

Colin wrote:
Following on from my earlier post regards the Cycle2Work scheme, the good
news is that it has really fired up the imagination of some of my
colleagues who are, for the first time, now thinking of cycling as a real
alternative for their daily commute.

One colleague has come to me looking for advice though because he is very
fat. What body weight would bikes comfortably take, what are the things
to bear in mind when selecting a bike to handle this?

His commute would be about 3.5Km one way and even if it took him 25
minutes to begine with he would be halving his bus commute time.

Before losing a lot of weight, I was about 112 kg. I had two bikes at
that time, a "racer" and a stout hybrid and had no problem with either
of them. Probably the main thing to watch out for is the wheels, which
commonsense would suggest should be of traditional spoking with at least
32 spokes. Additionally, if a suspension seatpost is fitted, check for
any weight limit listed by the manufacturer.

Great body weight will put additional stress on a bike in general, so it
would make sense to stick with decent quality machines, rather than
supermarket specials.

--
Brian G

"Colin" wrote in message
news
Following on from my earlier post regards the Cycle2Work scheme, the good
news is that it has really fired up the imagination of some of my
colleagues who are, for the first time, now thinking of cycling as a real
alternative for their daily commute.

One colleague has come to me looking for advice though because he is very
fat. What body weight would bikes comfortably take, what are the things
to bear in mind when selecting a bike to handle this?

His commute would be about 3.5Km one way and even if it took him 25
minutes to begine with he would be halving his bus commute time.

I would suggest a mountain bike as they are built to be bashed about on
rough terrain - the forces they must withstand must be greater than for
comparable road bikes.

The other advantage of a mountain bike is the low gearing. People who think
nothing of cycling 30 miles don't always understand that for some people
cycling 2 miles is a feat of athleticism and that any incline is a hill.

BUT - put smooth tyres on the bike and be prepared to fit riser bars to
start with.

John

Colin wrote:
Following on from my earlier post regards the Cycle2Work scheme, the good
news is that it has really fired up the imagination of some of my
colleagues who are, for the first time, now thinking of cycling as a real
alternative for their daily commute.

One colleague has come to me looking for advice though because he is very
fat. What body weight would bikes comfortably take, what are the things
to bear in mind when selecting a bike to handle this?

His commute would be about 3.5Km one way and even if it took him 25
minutes to begine with he would be halving his bus commute time.

I was 21 stone when I started cycling 5 years ago. Everything on my MTB
(trek 6500) was fine apart from the rear wheel, which I had to replace
with a stronger one.

Pete

"Ningi" wrote in message
...
Colin wrote:
Following on from my earlier post regards the Cycle2Work scheme, the good
news is that it has really fired up the imagination of some of my
colleagues who are, for the first time, now thinking of cycling as a real
alternative for their daily commute.

One colleague has come to me looking for advice though because he is very
fat. What body weight would bikes comfortably take, what are the things
to bear in mind when selecting a bike to handle this?

As a 20+ stone rider I have a Raleigh R100 road bike with 25mm wide tyres a
Dawes Galaxy touring bike with 28mm wide tyres, a Ridgeback hybrid with 32mm
wide tyres and a Trek mountain bike with fat tyres around the 60mm mark.
I've destroyed one rear wheel on my touring bike but it had had some abuse
as it had to copw ith me and the camping load. The other bikes have been
problem free. when I returned to cycling I was around 24 stone and I used a
mountain bike. Within three months I'd acquired a road bike as I wanted
less resistance on the road.

some of the urban/street/hybrid bikes might do the job but without knowing
the local terrain and your colleagues's cycling aspirations I'd be reluctant
to be more specific.

Eatmorepies wrote:
I would suggest a mountain bike

One with 36 spoke wheels. I would think that rear suspension is
probably best avoided, but suspension forks and possibly a suspension
seat post would be good.

The other advantage of a mountain bike is the low gearing. People who think
nothing of cycling 30 miles don't always understand that for some people
cycling 2 miles is a feat of athleticism and that any incline is a hill.

BUT - put smooth tyres on the bike and be prepared to fit riser bars to
start with.

Good advice.

--
Danny Colyer URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

in message , Colin
') wrote:

Following on from my earlier post regards the Cycle2Work scheme, the
good news is that it has really fired up the imagination of some of my
colleagues who are, for the first time, now thinking of cycling as a
real alternative for their daily commute.

One colleague has come to me looking for advice though because he is
very
fat. What body weight would bikes comfortably take, what are the
things to bear in mind when selecting a bike to handle this?

In the US there is a style of bike - not a brand or a model, but a class,
the way we think of 'hybrids' - called a 'clydesdale'. This is a bike
made for very overweight people. The key features seem to be high
spoke-count wheels, rather upright seating position, and a sturdy frame.
I don't think there's anything special about the hubs or axles, although
there may be.

The nearest thing widely available in the UK might the Specialized
Expedition series:
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=12336

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
;; First they came for the asylum seekers,
;; and I did not speak out because I was not an asylum seeker.
;; Then they came for the gypsies,
;; and I did not speak out because I was not a gypsy...
;; Pastor Martin Niemöller, translated by Michael Howard.

On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 20:55:08 +0100, Eatmorepies wrote:



BUT - put smooth tyres on the bike and be prepared to fit riser bars to
start with.

Riser bars? What are these?

Colin wrote:
Following on from my earlier post regards the Cycle2Work scheme, the good
news is that it has really fired up the imagination of some of my
colleagues who are, for the first time, now thinking of cycling as a real
alternative for their daily commute.

One colleague has come to me looking for advice though because he is very
fat. What body weight would bikes comfortably take, what are the things
to bear in mind when selecting a bike to handle this?

His commute would be about 3.5Km one way and even if it took him 25
minutes to begine with he would be halving his bus commute time.

Schauff Sumo (www.schauff.de) is good for 200 kgs (Ison distribution)
--
---
Marten Gerritsen

INFOapestaartjeM-GINEERINGpuntNL
www.m-gineering.nl