[topgun514]

yeah, when you work out more you get more energy because you wont slug out anymore

[tayardepan]

Hi, I am also big guy ~230 lb now.. well I use GT Avalanche and other normal parts... not a problem for me getting into the trails.. just make set-up your bike to your comfort level.. I will be FUN!

[Grape Ape]

Roy, I am pulling 290 now, was 320 in January. In May I bought a Cannondale f4 mountain bike. I bought a mountain bike due to the beat up roads I knew I was going to be riding around my house. The bike is rated for 300 lbs rider and 55 lbs of gears on racks/ panniers. I have been very happy with it and get a lot of good exercise on it. It cost me a bit over a grand. It rolls down the road like a dream, has hydraulic disc brakes to stop my big body on a dime. it is a very responsive handles well it is not twitchy nor is it sluggish feeling.

As for the weight loss, I am back to eating based on a healthy lifestyle. I was always told never go on any special diet because it removes something you want or need and when you stop it you will eat those and gain it back plus some. A healthy lifestyle is eating what you want within reason and watching the amount you eat and the intake of sugar and fats. I try to base my diet on the food pyramid eat 8-10 servings of grains, 5-6 servings of fruits, 5-6 servings of vegetables, 2-3 servings of meat, 2-3 servings of dairy. I also eat 6 times a day instead of 2 or 3. Get up in the morning and eat a sensible breakfast, mid morning eat a good snack, eat a good lunch, mid afternoon eat a snack, eat a sensible dinner, and if needed eat a snack in the evening. The snack times are a good place to get a serving of vegetables or fruit.

You will find that eating right and eating throughout the day is a lot of food. When I first started eating right back in 96 I was eating, and I am not joking, a candy bar and pepsi for breakfast, for lunch on the base at work, I would eat a bigmac, mcchicken, filet of fish, 3-4 cheeseburgers, 20 piece mcnugget, chef salad and 2 large drinks. For dinner My wife would make enough for 4-6 people, like a hamburger helper and she would add extra noodles and extra burger. I would tear up 4-6 pieces of bread and put it on a plate then put the hamburger helper over the top of it. I would eat that then go clean up the leftovers. On days I didn't work I usually didn't eat lunch just drank pepsis and a couple of candy bars depending on what I was doing.

Even eating all of that food when I started eating sensibly by the time dinner came around I didn't want to eat. But my wife told me I had to in order to get my system right. After about 3 weeks of eating right my body finally figured out that I was going to feed it regularly and it was good food that it could use as energy. My energy level went through the roof. At the time I had a cast on my foot due to some torn ligaments and was on crutches. One day my wife told me to "Just get out of here, I don't care if you go for a ride or go sit on the stairs outside but just get out of here, you are bouncing off the walls and driving me crazy." I had energy to do whatever I wanted to do. I slept better, awoke refreshed, and overall felt much much better. I kept it up for a little over a year and lost 50 lbs. Getting down to 240, I felt better than I had in years. I transferred to a different duty station, had a different schedule and fell back into bad habits and gained weight. I maintained my weight between 275-290 depending on what time of the year it was and what type of job I was on. I got lazy and gained up to 323 last year and decided I better straighten up. I bought my bike then broke my foot and messed my back up so I have been sedentary since June but have still got my weight down under 300 and now I am healed and getting some riding in and hoping to continue to lose. It does take some effort but it is worth it.

If you need any information or have any questions feel free to ask me. I am not a doctor, or nutritionist, I am an aging lazy dude who has been fat and lost it then got fat again and is again losing it. I know what works for me and it may help you out also.

[craisin]

hey big guy Im 122kkgs at last weigh in just grabbed the calculater and it converted to 268.4 lbs
Im making a motored bike that I am beefing up where the engine mounts.
Im 60 and a survivor of a parachute accident.
People like to joke about my size my injures and my bikes.
But the little guy in me doesnt see it as a problem.
If your having problems with your connective tissue maybe you should make a motored bike.
Save your cannondale just get an old bike to add to your collection.

My mate as we say in these parts of the world are intending to lengthen our bikes to carry weight better

all the best with your exercise dont overdo it

[Georgewerr]

Hi Roy,

I Bigger then all that have posted yet at 340# I was concerned about what bike to buy when I bought my last bike, they are so lightwieght now I thought I would have a problem. I bought a Cannondale caad 9 light wieght road bike. 1000 miles and not even had to true a wheel. Any type of bike should work for you.

All this time and energy and I lost a total of 0#. hope you have beter luck

George

[Sickmont]

I'm a 250 lb pig and i ride the hell out of my bikes. They're both Trek 4300s. The one i use for off-road is a disc brake model, and the one i use for around the town b.s. is a v-brake model. I love 'em both to death(i just wish i couldve afforded the one i really wanted for off road riding though).

[Nigal]

I have a Gary Fisher MTB I bought because I thought I wanted something bomb-proof. A great thing to do is put some hybrid MTB tires (nobby on the sides and flat in the middle) on it. It gives a better roll resistance and make peddling a heavy MTB easier.

[CTD50]

roy, there's not a whole lot better that you can do for yourself than to get on a bike and make it 'make you work'. Pedaling has been rated #2 on the overall best health/fitness activities (swimming is 1st, but for me personally, I've never seen anyone on a bike drown from a leg cramp), so you could do a lot worse. My best to you -- embrace the ups, and shrug off the downs, man.

Hack, the 'weight limit' talk reminded me of a manufacturer I have to deal with, who DOES post weight limits on the bikes, by wheel size (guess which end of the biz I'm in?)! I think they're NUTS, and the tags that come on the bikes, I tear off -- for two reasons. #1, the same info is in their manual, and #2, I can see the dweebs who buy this crap using that as an excuse to sue US! I've been deposed (as an expert witness) in 2 civil suits that never should have seen the light of day, because the bikes were abused to death -- of COURSE they're gonna fail, DUH! We as a company were blamed, because we were the ones who sold the things.

It is about riding style; I can use my bud and I as examples, as well. He's been (until this winter, when he started weight training) about 160-170; I maintain in the 230-235 range. He rides harder, breaks a few more things, but we commonly target a lot of the same type of parts, simply because we average out and put similar stresses on our stuff.

[peteb00]

I've got a 24" frame Fuji Nevada 2.0 (2007) paid $340.00 and its the BEST. I'm 6' 5" and 340 never had a single problem. I ride dirt, gravel, packed, crushed stone trails. I would not advise going off jumps and down rocks. Good luck!

[KansasTDI]

I rode a 05 Giant Cypress DX across the state of Kansas last year in the annual Bike Across Kansas event. I am 6'3" and weigh 365 - 370. Other than broken spoke problems (5), the bike performed perfectly. Just my 2 cents.