Weight Considerations: Road Vs. Mountain

On Fri, 07 Oct 2005 09:00:21 -0700, Searcher7 wrote:

Can I get opinions on what the maximum weight is a person should be
before road bikes become a bad idea?

Since mountain bikes are better suited for carry heavier loads, I was
trying to get an idea of how heavy is too heavy when it comes to Road
bikes? Is 240lbs too heavy?

This concerns street riding and nothing extreme.

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

I shouldn't worry about your weight too much. The quote below refers to
the 30-year-old Magnus Backstedt.

The real question was, however, does he really weigh 98 kilos, or 215 pounds as the media kit reported?

"Yes, now I do, but I slim down to 93 kilos once we get into the season," he said, making him a svelte 205 pounds just in time to pound the cobbles.


Bin

mark wrote:

Could you direct the OP to a Dawes dealer in Staten Island, N.Y.?

Since he [cross]posted to uk.rec.cycling, a UK-oriented reply seems
perfectly in order. I have no idea what presence (if any) Dawes has
in the .. ahem .. colonies.

--
not me guv

rdclark wrote:
Tony Raven wrote:
rdclark wrote:
wrote:

I was
trying to get an idea of how heavy is too heavy when it comes to
Road bikes? Is 240lbs too heavy?

Only for some super-fancy super-light road bikes (and mountain bikes).
Check for a manufacturer's limit, and add a pinch of salt to it.

Not at all. The main thing heavier riders need to concertn
themselves with (on any kind of bike) is the wheels. Well-built
36-spoke wheels will be adequate for riders much heavier than you.
On a road bike, I would recommend looking for one that can
accommodate 700x28c tires (some racing bikes don't have enough
clearance for tires that wide).
This concerns street riding and nothing extreme.


I'm 220lbs and happily ride 32 spoke wheels on my road and mountain
bikes and I have 23mm road tyres that perform quite adequately. So
you don't need anything special for that weight.

I would still recommend buying a bike with sufficient tire clearance
for 28's. To need it and discover you don't have it would be
unpleasant.

That will limit choice a lot, though. 25mm should be ok.

As for spoke count, heck, I weigh 215 and have one bike with 24/28
spoke wheels (not the ones I commute on, though). I know it can be
done. But there's a difference between what I'm willing to risk for
myself vs what I'm willing to recommend to a newbie.

36-spoke rear wheels are more sensible for general cycling, even for
lighter riders, but again this will limit choice when it comes to bikes
complete with wheels.

~PB

Since mountain bikes are better suited for carry heavier loads, I was
trying to get an idea of how heavy is too heavy when it comes to Road
bikes? Is 240lbs too heavy?

240 lbs pah! you lightweight!

I have a road bike that survives my 290+ lb carcase. I run it on 700c x 25
tyres and have not had any problems. It has a chrome moly steel frame can't
say if carbon would survive but there again I don't love cycling enough to
raise a mortgage for a state of the art machine.

wrote in message
ups.com...
Can I get opinions on what the maximum weight is a person should be
before road bikes become a bad idea?

Since mountain bikes are better suited for carry heavier loads, I was
trying to get an idea of how heavy is too heavy when it comes to Road
bikes? Is 240lbs too heavy?

This concerns street riding and nothing extreme.

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.


I've been working my way down from 1/7 of a ton. . .approaching 1/8 ton
again. I like my 'cross bike. . . sort of the best of both worlds. Plenty
of gear to get up hills, lots of room for FAT tires (I ride 35mm Panaracer
Paselas on the road), plus lighter weight and more comfy than a dedicated
mountain bike. I'm on a Bianchi Cross Concept that has served as my
all-around bike for the past 3 years. I've been on wheels that use Mavic
CXP-33 rims (36 spoke rear / 32 spoke front) with the fat 35mm tires. I
just installed a very light (for my largeness) set of wheels with Velocity
AeroHead (OC 36 spoke rear / 32 front) and a combo of Sapim CX-Ray and
Wheelsmith ACE bladed spokes. . . wheel pair was a respectable 1595 grams. .
.. this is a test for a light but durable set for us "Clydesdale" riders. . .
We'll see how they hold up. . .

gds wrote:
: There are plenty of folks 240+ who ride road bikes. Heck there is at
: least one Tour de France rider at 200+ lbs.

Really? Who was that? Did he finish?

Magnus Backstadt. The TDF website lists him at 198 lbs. but I've heard
he is over 200. 2 lbs. isn't the issue anyway.
I do not believe he finished.

On Fri, 07 Oct 2005 09:00:21 -0700, Searcher7 wrote:

Can I get opinions on what the maximum weight is a person should be
before road bikes become a bad idea?

You can get opinions, but they will vary. A reasonable road bike should
be able to handle Your weight with no problem, though. I would recommend
36-spoke wheels, and a 28-32mm wide tire (and enough clearance for that
32mm tire), and in general you should go for sturdy components (this is
not the situation for carbon bars or seatposts, for example).

I don't believe that mountain bikes are intrinsically more capable of
handling larger riders. The tires and frames look beefier, but that is to
deal with the terrain, not the rider. Mountain-bike wheels have the same
range of spoke-counts as road wheels, and a 24-spoke mountain bike wheel
will be no better for you than a 24-spoke road wheel.

For road riding, I don't believe that suspension will help appreciably.
Bigger tires will help, but those are available on road bikes if they are
designed to allow for them.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Arguing with an engineer is like mud wrestling with a pig... You
_`\(,_ | soon find out the pig likes it!
(_)/ (_) |

rdclark wrote:

As for spoke count, heck, I weigh 215 and have one bike with 24/28
spoke wheels (not the ones I commute on, though). I know it can be
done. But there's a difference between what I'm willing to risk for
myself vs what I'm willing to recommend to a newbie.



I'm presently 210 and riding on 20/24 spoke wheels on an 05 model bike.
I feel somewhat insecure about them but have had no problems. They
are pretty light wheels compared to my older bike with 36/36s which I
rode when I was 235 and losing. My advice would be to be sure you get
well built wheels and go higher on the spoke count. If I had known
better, I would have swapped out the wheels when I bought the 05 bike,
but I would not feel bad about trading up after a few thousand miles
even if I have no trouble. It would be worth it for my piece of mind.

"Nick Kew" wrote in message
...
mark wrote:

Could you direct the OP to a Dawes dealer in Staten Island, N.Y.?

Since he [cross]posted to uk.rec.cycling, a UK-oriented reply seems
perfectly in order. I have no idea what presence (if any) Dawes has
in the .. ahem .. colonies.

Yebbut, he put his address on his post and anyway never asked for a specific
bike recommendation.
Nah, nah, nah nah..
--
Pete