Bike advice for a fat rider

[Riff Lord]

So when I measured earlier today, it was from the top of my crotch to the ankle with a soft tape measure. I measured again when I got home using the “book” method against a wall as someone else recommended to mimic a bike saddle. Doing it this way and measuring from the floor to the top of the book while it was seated in my crotch, it measured out at 71 cm. So not much more, but maybe enough to make a difference? Not sure. Still very short unfortunately. Don’t ask me how difficult it is to find trousers that are short enough without being altered lol.

 

[EckyH]

Doing it this way and measuring from the floor to the top of the book while it was seated in my crotch, it measured out at 71 cm.

That's the right way to do it.

Unfortunately I just realised that you've ridden bicycles before.
Could you please tell us a bit more about that? What kind of bicycles were those? Do you remember the brand, model, year and the size of those? Was it comfortable for you? If not, can you narrow down where you did experience the problems? That could be helpful to give more fact based recommendations.

E.

 

[MichaelW2]

Fat aluminium tubes are stiffer than thin steel ones. At your budget, there will be plenty of metal for strength. Heavy ridets need to deal with peak loading, when you hit a bump or something without warning. You need fatter tyres or suspension to reduce the peak load. Cheap suspension is not very good or durable . Lots of spokes help, at least 36, and a bike shop mechanic who can check the tension.
For eveyday use you need standard rear rack and mudguard eyelets. Avoid anything that isnt standard.
Disk brakes work well, even cable ones, and keep working well in the wet

I would pick a good bike shop and see what brands they offer. Some of the minor brands can be just as good as Trek /Speciaĺzed/Big Names.

 

[Punkawallah]

Hi, 10/10 for forethought :-)
I’d look at a 90’s All Terrain Bike. Think Mountain Bike before the suspension was added. Steel frame, 26” wheels, big tyres, can add drop bars if needed. Picture for reference:

 

[Jameshow]

I don't know if it's been mentioned but check the rear hub is a cassette rather than a freewheel which aren't as strong. My son managed to mangle his cheap giant MTB using a ele trick motor so a heavy rider might do the same.
36 spokes on a well trued eyeletted wheel should do fine.

 

[EckyH]

Fat aluminium tubes are stiffer than thin steel ones.

That's right.
Two of my fairly most ridden steel bikes have classic 1" top tube, 1 1/8" down tube and 1" headsets. On roads and up to gravel category 2 (according to this classification: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0309/9521/files/Silca_Surface_Condition_Guide.pdf) without speeds over 45km/h the frames are stiff enough for me. Therefore I wouldn't care too much about that. Of course: if two bikes are nearly identical in fit, quality and parts I probably would opt for the stiffer one.

Heavy riders need to deal with peak loading, when you hit a bump or something without warning. You need fatter tyres or suspension to reduce the peak load.

Wider tyres are a good recommendation.
Imho the riding style is an important factor. With "active sitting" and anticipation relatively narrow tyres (in my case: real 26mm) with higher pressure are workable on roads and few meters on category 1 gravel but require a fairly careful riding style.

Cheap suspension is not very good or durable.

Where do I have to sign?
Good wide tyres with the optimal pressure will do a much better job and are cheaper to replace.

Lots of spokes help, at least 36, and a bike shop mechanic who can check the tension.

I fully agree with the first and the last.
In my experience 32 spokes can be sufficient if the wheels are well built with quality components by a good wheel builder and if they are ridden with a careful riding style. In my case I know the wheel builder and the rider and can correct mytheir mistakes. The 36 spokes add a bit of safety buffer.

Avoid anything that isn't standard.

This is very important.
Non standard parts usually are more expensive and spare parts are harder and harder to find over the years. Thanks to the widely used standards in older bikes it is possible to get compatible new parts in price ranges below "expensive" and "very expensive" nowadays: chain rings, brake pads, tyres, rims, brake and shifting cables, etc.

Disk brakes work well, even cable ones, and keep working well in the wet.

Good rim brakes mostly work well as well in the dry. Disk brakes mostly can do better than rim brakes in the wet.
That does not mean that good rim brakes are completely unusable in the wet but braking requires a tad more anticipation.
On early 90s MTBs/ATBs in most cases there are cantilever brakes. If they are in good condition, properly adjusted and have clean brake pads which work well with the specific rim then they probably are good enough. V brakes came in the late 90s, require in most cases different brake levers and are easier to adjust than cantilever brakes. There are a hand full of so called "Mini V Brakes" which are compatible with cantilever levers and dropbar levers, eg. from Tektro or Campagnolo.

I would pick a good bike shop and see what brands they offer. Some of the minor brands can be just as good as Trek/Specialized/Big Names.

Especially the latter: I fully agree.
With the budget of maximum $500 I'd opt for the second hand market.

I don't know if it's been mentioned but check the rear hub is a cassette rather than a freewheel which aren't as strong.

Good point. Fortunately in the early 90s cassette hubs took over very quickly. If it's not a bike for a historic collection, then I'd avoid everything that is not Shimano HG (that standard thing @MichaelW2 mentioned, despite Shimano HG isn't a standard, but spare parts for other "old" cassette bodies are much harder to find and usually (much) more expensive).

Disclaimer: In the middle of 2024 my weight was 121kg. That's why I think that I can understand the challenges for heavier riders.

E.

 

[Riff Lord]

Again, thanks to all for the continued great recommendations and advice on what to look for and what to avoid.

When I rode in the past, it was just whatever was available to me at the time. I couldn't give you a specific model or size or anything else. I can say that the last time I rode with any regularity, it was around 2017 and it was an older, probably mid 2000's road bike that was most likely a bit too large for me, but I made do with it getting around town.

I went to a bike shop here in town today and sat down on a few to get a feel for something size-wise. Because of my inseam, the 52 I tried felt better than the 54. The guy working there talked about moving the seat back and extending the stem if needed so that I could fit whatever bike I ended up going with better since I'll most likely have to size down to fit my short inseam.

As far as the bike I was talking about above and what issues I experienced, I think the probably was mostly just the fact that it was for a taller ride and the seat and handlebar placement gave me issues after a while. I did do around 30 km during one ride and while it wasn't the most comfortable ride I ever had, I wasn't in any pain for the most part when I was through, save for a sore tailbone, but I'm positive that was because of my weight (was lighter at the time but still fat, maybe around 113 kg).