# Bicycles?



## staceysmith (Jun 30, 2011)

I'm possibly moving into a dorm, so I'm looking into getting a bicycle because the campus is giiiiant. Driving my car across campus would be a waste of gas (even though I drive a fiesta, lol), plus I could lose weight!

I weigh 384.4 and so far the only one that looks alright, and supports my weight is this one. I'm looking for a girl-ish one, so you know, it slopes.

I'm also not sure if this is the right place to post it...xD But I tried!


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## Miss Vickie (Jun 30, 2011)

staceysmith said:


> I'm possibly moving into a dorm, so I'm looking into getting a bicycle because the campus is giiiiant. Driving my car across campus would be a waste of gas (even though I drive a fiesta, lol), plus I could lose weight!
> 
> I weigh 384.4 and so far the only one that looks alright, and supports my weight is this one. I'm looking for a girl-ish one, so you know, it slopes.
> 
> I'm also not sure if this is the right place to post it...xD But I tried!



I'm a big fan of Electra bicycles. If you look under cruisers, and then at women's bikes, you'll find lots of choices. I have the karma model. It's purple, my favorite color, and quite sturdy. Nice fat tires. Very fun to ride. Only downside is that it has coaster brakes (old school!) which took awhile to get used to, and only has three speeds. I never use more than three speeds when riding around town, so that's no big deal, though the coaster brake took me awhile to get used to. But I loooooooove it. And the nice fat seat is great for my nice, fat... seat.


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## 1300 Class (Jul 1, 2011)

A seat is very important, especially for the bigger individual. There's nothing worse than an seat that's nothing more than an arse wedge. My mixte has a great seat, where as my flat bar road bike has a real wedge, which makes riding it next to impossible these days.



> I'm looking for a girl-ish one, so you know, it slopes.


You mean a pure step through frame? Alot of the 'hybrid' bikes these days are unisex, as is the mixte design. I would avoid suspension as that weakens the bike. 

If your not planning on taking it off the path/road, and generally being pretty easy with it, then there's not really any need to limit yourself to 'special' larger designs, as most decent brands of bike are pretty solidly built these days. 

As for gears, it really depends on your location and where your planning to ride. Over pretty even terrain, a three speed would suffice. Personally, I would say seven as minimum, but it comes down to personal preference.

Lastly, have a practice ride before buy to make sure that its the bike for you.


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## staceysmith (Jul 3, 2011)

Thank you Miss Vickie! I LOVE the color choices! I like the Karma one, and the Coaster 7D (it matches my fiesta!) HNNNGH ELECTRIC TURQUOISE. x so indecisive) OR THE PURPLE CRUISER!






Australian Lord said:


> A seat is very important, especially for the bigger individual. There's nothing worse than an seat that's nothing more than an arse wedge. My mixte has a great seat, where as my flat bar road bike has a real wedge, which makes riding it next to impossible these days.
> 
> 
> You mean a pure step through frame? Alot of the 'hybrid' bikes these days are unisex, as is the mixte design. I would avoid suspension as that weakens the bike.
> ...



I don't plan on taking it off path/roads, just around campus really, or down to a store. I was just worried about the weight limits on bikes. I have a 5-10 year old one that my grandma gave me-- but I flatten those tires like pancakes.


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## LovelyLiz (Jul 3, 2011)

I've always wanted to bike around too, but also worry about what weight limits bicycles have, etc. There's this site that has a lot of options for heavier people, but it's super expensive. 

What's the heaviest you were when riding the Electra, MissVickie? I'm just wondering if maybe regular bikes support more than I'd think.


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## staceysmith (Jul 4, 2011)

mcbeth said:


> I've always wanted to bike around too, but also worry about what weight limits bicycles have, etc. There's this site that has a lot of options for heavier people, but it's super expensive.
> 
> What's the heaviest you were when riding the Electra, MissVickie? I'm just wondering if maybe regular bikes support more than I'd think.



Right, I liked the Supersized Newsgirl Bicycle, it's only slightly more than the electra bicycles that I have picked out to show to my mother, but it only supports 330lbs.


I was also wondering the same thing about MissVickie. I just didn't know whether it would be polite to ask or not. D:


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## Miss Vickie (Jul 4, 2011)

mcbeth said:


> I've always wanted to bike around too, but also worry about what weight limits bicycles have, etc. There's this site that has a lot of options for heavier people, but it's super expensive.
> 
> What's the heaviest you were when riding the Electra, MissVickie? I'm just wondering if maybe regular bikes support more than I'd think.



You know, I don't know. I never thought of weight limits. Burt has a wimpy ol' Schwinn that he's had for decades and it carried him well at his highest which was about 280. When I was over 300 I rode a cheapass mountain bike I got at Costco. I bet mountain bikes are sturdy, but they also weigh a friggin' ton.

My heaviest with my bike last year was 220, but I loaned it to a friend who rode it and she's closer to 300. The frame is super sturdy; I wonder if the limitation is the tires. But even so, it has those wide tires and you can get the wide sticky ones which I bet would hold more.

I couldn't find anything about a weight limit on the site.



staceysmith said:


> Right, I liked the Supersized Newsgirl Bicycle, it's only slightly more than the electra bicycles that I have picked out to show to my mother, but it only supports 330lbs.
> 
> 
> I was also wondering the same thing about MissVickie. I just didn't know whether it would be polite to ask or not. D:



Oh, don't worry about that. You can ask me anything. I'm betting that the weight limitation has to do with tires, but you'd have to ask a bike mechanic. It never occurred to me. 

If you want to come to Alaska and try out my bike, I'd be happy to let you try her.


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## lshill929 (Jul 11, 2011)

You should go for supersized newgirl bike. It looks sturdy and looks the right choice for you. Although I am also a big fan of Electra. I don’t know what bike comes in this range.


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## staceysmith (Jul 24, 2011)

They're putting a GIANT bike store in the town next to mine, so I'm going to head over when they're finally open so I can get their opinions, and try some out in person


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## LovelyLiz (Jul 24, 2011)

staceysmith said:


> They're putting a GIANT bike store in the town next to mine, so I'm going to head over when they're finally open so I can get their opinions, and try some out in person



Awesome! Post your findings


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## staceysmith (Jul 27, 2011)

I will! And with tons of pictures and information. D: the bike store still isn't open though. It's HUGE, it's like a bicycle super store. o_o


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## Michealleo (Aug 21, 2011)

Well u've got a good idea . And now u can also save ur gass money . And same time now u've got a chance to do some cardio exercise like cycling . It will helped u out for lossing some weight and fitness .


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## staceysmith (Aug 23, 2011)

The giant bicycle store in the town next to mine was more of a fitness bicycle store, and didn't really have...normal bikes. xD

I'm probably just going to buy this one. And add a skirt guard and basket to it.
My school put me in the student apartments which is further than the residence halls... so a bicycle will certainly be needed.


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## LovelyLiz (Aug 23, 2011)

staceysmith said:


> The giant bicycle store in the town next to mine was more of a fitness bicycle store, and didn't really have...normal bikes. xD
> 
> I'm probably just going to buy this one. And add a skirt guard and basket to it.
> My school put me in the student apartments which is further than the residence halls... so a bicycle will certainly be needed.



When you do get that, can you let me know how much it weighs, and if it's hard to pick up and move around and stuff? Good luck with that! Happy cycling.


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## Tad (Aug 23, 2011)

If you are going to be relying on it, I'd invest in a pair of fenders first thing. You don't want to be getting a streak of dirt up your back if it rains! Up here I'd say go to Canadian Tire and pick up a pair really cheaply (just takes a screw driver to install), down there I'm not sure....see if WalMart sells them?

Also, lights. In your area it will be getting dark pretty early by the end of this term, so if you don't need them yet, you will. Don't let a bike store sell you something super expensive, you should be able to get something fine (i.e. let's cars see you) for about $10 for the back and under $20 for the front. You don't want to be riding on poorly lit paths anyway, I'd imagine, so you don't need something that seriously lights up the path in front of you, just something that you can put on flash so the cars will see you before they feel you.

If you have the money, getting a rack and a panier (bike bag) will make riding a lot more pleasant too--you don't realized what a pain a back pack is while biking until you don't have to wear it! (If you do get a bike bag, get one with a shoulder strap, so you can carry it into class more easily.

Have fun!


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## LovelyLiz (Sep 5, 2011)

Just to add this information - I found this blog entry today that also links to SEVERAL lists of helpful tips for fat people who want to ride bikes.

A helpful thing I read was that getting a bike that fits your weight requirement is not completely necessary - as long as you get tires with a higher PSI and remember to check them often. Several of the pictures of fat people on bikes had Schwinns and Electras, which are way less than the $1,000 price they charge for official fat people bikes.


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## Darell (Sep 28, 2011)

Hi staceysmith,
Great idea of using cycle in campus. Cycling is great cardio exercise to lose weight. Cycling builds strength, stamina and muscle tone. Cycling improves coordination also.


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## Ho Ho Tai (Oct 6, 2011)

staceysmith said:


> I'm possibly moving into a dorm, so I'm looking into getting a bicycle because the campus is giiiiant. Driving my car across campus would be a waste of gas (even though I drive a fiesta, lol), plus I could lose weight!
> 
> I weigh 384.4 and so far the only one that looks alright, and supports my weight is this one. I'm looking for a girl-ish one, so you know, it slopes.
> 
> I'm also not sure if this is the right place to post it...xD But I tried!



I'm not sure if this is the proper thread for this post either, but the story (Bangor Daily News) is too inspiring not to share it. 

Millinocket teen to pedal 50 miles, with his hands

I'm 74 y.o., have two good legs and a decent heart and lungs. I'm still struggling to do a 75 mile ride before I turn 75. If this fellow can do 50 miles, I should be able to do 75 any day of the week.


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## cobalt_butterfly (Oct 9, 2011)

My mother has an old tricycle whith a grocery backbox and after the trouble we ahd getting the old tiers off and knowing how bad her local road is for glass we got http://greentyre.co.uk/ no more punctures but expensive. I don't know how good they'd be for not getting squished but the people on the phone were very helpful about making sure she got the non-standard thickness her tric needs.


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