# Bicycle recommendations needed



## BeachLovinBBW (Mar 31, 2008)

I would like to start biking with my 9 month old daughter in a seat on the back of the bike. I haven't biked in 20 years due to my size. I don't know which I am more concerned about, the comfort factor or breaking the bike. I need recommendations for a comfy bike that will accommodate my 325 lb bottom heavy frame safely and allow for a baby seat on the back. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

TIA!
Chris


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## mpls_girl26 (Mar 31, 2008)

BeachLovinBBW said:


> I would like to start biking with my 9 month old daughter in a seat on the back of the bike. I haven't biked in 20 years due to my size. I don't know which I am more concerned about, the comfort factor or breaking the bike. I need recommendations for a comfy bike that will accommodate my 325 lb bottom heavy frame safely and allow for a baby seat on the back. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> TIA!
> Chris



I actually looked into this last summer. I will look through the threads to see what I posted. I emailed one of the great bike shops here and asked for recommendations on my weight and height and they came up with a few and were really great about it. You might consider doing the same in your area.

ETA - here's the thread - http://www.dimensionsmagazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29011


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## Risible (Apr 1, 2008)

In addition to mpls_girl26's link, here is another thread with info on plus-size bicycles.

Check out the sticky at the top of this forum, Health Forum's Most Useful Threads for resources and info on all sorts of big topics.


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## Tad (Apr 2, 2008)

These are probably covered in the other threads, but I'll throw them in anyway....

A lot of mountain bikes are designed to allow full grown, good sized, men to bounce off rocks, jump logs, and the like. So at the very least those better mountain bikes should be plenty strong to hold you when riding on the road.

For what it is worth, my wife had knee pain when riding a true mountain bike frame, but on a 'hybrid' frame, which has the seat a little farther back from the peddles, she has no knee problems at all. So make sure you get to try out what you are looking to buy, to make sure it works for you--little differences can matter!

Big people need the gears more than lighter people, so while for some people a three speed is a simple solution, for big folks having more gears will really help. Makes it easier to handle starting or going up hills, but lets you take advantage of your leg strength on flat ground and keeps you from peddling like mad when going faster (which is a lot of work with big legs).

Most bikes come with seats which are terrible. Invest in a better seat, you can find them a lot of places, not least online. Some are specifically designed for woman, notched down the centre so that your weight is not pressing on delicate bits. My wife reports this cuts down on post-riding numbness greatly.

If the streets around you are in rough shape ( a lot of pot holes, etc), you may find you break spokes quite a bit. If this is a problem, get a bike shop to re-fit your wheel with heavier gauge spokes and it should cut the problem down a lot (or getting a tandem bike tire, with 48 instead of 36 spokes, will also help).

Bike seats are great, but some people do prefer trailers. Which can also be good for carrying stuff along with the kid. A matter of personal preference mostly. For older kids (say 4 or 5 and up) you can get a trail-a-bike or tag-along, which is basically like the back part of a bike, which attaches to the parents seat post. They are great! That is a few years off, but keep it in mind when time comes.

For a lot of bigger women their thighs tend to rub against the seat post and/or frame. So wearing some sort of stretch short, even under other clothes, can be very helpful to prevent chafing.

Have fun! And please report how this works out for you


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## stan_der_man (Apr 2, 2008)

Just as a general recommendation... You should be comfortable and safe on a "beach cruser" type of bicycle with steel rims, thorn proof intertubes (thicker sturdier rubber...) and good valve stem caps (the metal automotive type will keep air from leaking as much...) That is the best way to go if budget is a factor. Target stores sell Schwinn bicycles, now Chinese made, but still pretty good quality.

Get a bicycle with "indexed" shifting (I don't think anybody makes the old fashioned slid shifters anymore...) the shifting will be smoother. Having a bicycle with gears will be a lot easier to ride up or down hills.

Seat... Get a springer seat (a nice wide seat with springs), you can get a "gel" seat, or a gel cover for the seat for extra padding... much easier on the heiny.

My wife prefers riding a "comfort" bicycle (also called recumbent), a bike where the pedals are somewhat forward shifted. She doesn't like her weight pushing down on her knees, these bikes are more comfortable. The only disadvantage with comfort bicycles is that they are longer (slightly more difficult to fit onto a bike rack for transport...) and they have a larger turning radius (sort of like a chopper but not nearly as bad... but for street riding, generally not a problem...) Comfort bicycles look like this:







Go to a local mom and pop bicycle store (if there is one in your area) and ask questions. You will probably have to purchase a more comfortable seat seperately, most bikes come with a thinner standard seat. I wouldn't recommend a bicycle with shock absorbers, as they tend to absorb the energy of pedaling, and for a heavy person will probably just bottom out anyway. A good soft springy seat will be your best comfort feature.


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## stan_der_man (Apr 2, 2008)

P.S. With baby seats... be very careful. If you haven't ridden a bicycle for a while, get used to the bicycle first (w/o baby seat...), then mount the baby seat and practice riding with a small weight in the seat. You will quickly discover the akwardness of baby seats, many prefer those baby trailers because of that. They are big to transport and store, but you barely feel them when towing them on a bicycle. For all practical purposes you can't have the bicycle on the kick stand with a baby in the baby seat. You will probably have to have somebody hold the bicycle while you put the baby into the seat.


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## Zandoz (Apr 2, 2008)

I have a British made bike from a company called Royce (not Royce Union), I got it in the 80s when I was in the 350 or so range. A bit expensive, but built to take extra weight. Very sturdy but not excessively heavy frame, heavy duty wheels with motorcycle spokes, extra heavy duty brakes and brake cables, etc. I have no idea if they are still around, but a small hole-in-the-wall bike shop special ordered it for me. It's still good bike 20+ years later, but I'm too heavy and the legs are shot...still I can't seem to part with an old friend.


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## fatchicksrockuk (Apr 2, 2008)

fa_man_stan said:


> Just as a general recommendation... You should be comfortable and safe on a "beach cruser" type of bicycle with steel rims, thorn proof intertubes (thicker sturdier rubber...) and good valve stem caps (the metal automotive type will keep air from leaking as much...) That is the best way to go if budget is a factor. Target stores sell Schwinn bicycles, now Chinese made, but still pretty good quality.



I'd personally avoid steel rims - very little grip for brakes, so poor stopping power!


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## stan_der_man (Apr 5, 2008)

fatchicksrockuk said:


> fa_man_stan said:
> 
> 
> > Just as a general recommendation... You should be comfortable and safe on a "beach cruser" type of bicycle with steel rims, thorn proof intertubes (thicker sturdier rubber...) and good valve stem caps (the metal automotive type will keep air from leaking as much...) That is the best way to go if budget is a factor. Target stores sell Schwinn bicycles, now Chinese made, but still pretty good quality.
> ...



Very good point! That is certainly true for the old style brakes (especially on chromed steel rims...), or even coaster brakes (back pedal brakes), they really don't stop very well.



These types of brakes on chrome steel rims don't stop very well:

*Side pull brakes:*





*Old Style center pull:*







Regardless of the rims, the frame or front fork mounted cantilever brakes are much better brakes in general. They have a lot more torque than the older style had. I think they would work adequately on chrome steel, but they would certainly grip better on alloy rims.


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## fatchicksrockuk (Apr 5, 2008)

Stan, 

I'd recommend either V-brakes:






Or disc brakes:






They're both more expensive, but I think the extra cost is far outweighed by the much greater stopping power, which is an important factor when extra weight may be present.


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## Russell Williams (Apr 17, 2008)

Has anyone considered a trycycle? I use a recumbant tricycle and have put about 2000 miles on it. It has a basket in the back and the front. I weigh about 325.

It has 21 gears and I find it very comfortable.

At first the seat let to many of the road bumps through so I used some valve springs to make the ride softer. A bike store should be able to do what I did and do a better job of it.

Russell Williams


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## SocialbFly (Apr 21, 2008)

No one mentioned living XL...i just found a bike on their site weight rated to 500lbs...

here is the link...

http://www.livingxl.com/store/en_US...rue&catID=cat170189&prodId=X1574&id=cat170189


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