First bicycle as an adult - Advice wanted

[SkipdiverJohn]

. If you are overweight DO NOT get a bike with the older style freewheels as the bearing arrangement induces weakness. The first bike I got as an adult had a freewheel hub and I snapped two axles in half before I replaced the wheel at a relatively high cost (I was around 18 or 19 stone).

Weight is not the only thing that determines how much stuff you will bend and break on a bike. I'm probably significantly heavier at 14 stone than the average skinny road cyclist, yet I don't snap freewheel type axles or damage wheels, barring one incident involving a large pothole.
Whether you bend or break stuff or not depends a lot on how you ride over bumps and deal with things like kerbs. A rider that allows a bike to move around under them on rough bits dishes out a lot less punishment to their machine than someone who sits on their saddle like a sack of spuds and forces the bike to soak up all the impacts from the surface.

 

[Grant Fondo]

Weight is not the only thing that determines how much stuff you will bend and break on a bike. I'm probably significantly heavier at 14 stone than the average skinny road cyclist, yet I don't snap freewheel type axles or damage wheels, barring one incident involving a large pothole.
Whether you bend or break stuff or not depends a lot on how you ride over bumps and deal with things like kerbs. A rider that allows a bike to move around under them on rough bits dishes out a lot less punishment to their machine than someone who sits on their saddle like a sack of spuds and forces the bike to soak up all the impacts from the surface.

You are spot on. 17 st and never boned a bike. Maybe just lucky?

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

You are spot on. 17 st and never boned a bike. Maybe just lucky?

I don't think luck comes into it to any great degree. It's mainly about how a human interacts with any piece of machinery they come into contact with. I don't tend to break motor vehicles or power tools either. Some people I know somehow manage to destroy every mechanical object they lay their hands on or throw a leg over.

 

[Grant Fondo]

I don't think luck comes into it to any great degree. It's mainly about how a human interacts with any piece of machinery they come into contact with. I don't tend to break motor vehicles or power tools either. Some people I know somehow manage to destroy every mechanical object they lay their hands on or throw a leg over.

Yes i guess thats what comes with years of experience. I recently posted some off road shananigins on my road bike...but it took a lot of concentration not to brick the kit.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Weight is not the only thing that determines how much stuff you will bend and break on a bike. I'm probably significantly heavier at 14 stone than the average skinny road cyclist, yet I don't snap freewheel type axles or damage wheels, barring one incident involving a large pothole.
Whether you bend or break stuff or not depends a lot on how you ride over bumps and deal with things like kerbs. A rider that allows a bike to move around under them on rough bits dishes out a lot less punishment to their machine than someone who sits on their saddle like a sack of spuds and forces the bike to soak up all the impacts from the surface.

As a rule, I don't break things. I have a lot of mechanical sympathy and a lot of mechanical ability. I don't ride over kerbs and I de-weight over potholes when I can't avoid them.

It's well known that the drive-side bearings on 7-speed freewheels are too far inboard, meaning the axle is cantilevered out, with the dropout levering on it. Add in cheap manufacture (since freewheels are now exclusively found on cheap bikes) and a heavy rider and it isn't hard to see the problem.

I replaced it with a wheel built by me (my first) using a basic shimano freehub and sapim spokes. It has been flawless and I still use it. If my riding style was the problem one would expect the new wheel to have failed in short order too.

 

[RoadRider400]

I would not buy any E bike in your position, cheap or expensive. Reason being you will get most fitness an weight loss gains if you are cycling the whole route. You might not enjoy it at first but you will reap the rewards as time goes on.

Another vote for hybrid here. Will be much better on the road, and you can even take part in some gentle off roading should the mood take you.

I would consider this. Tiagra groupset and hydraulic discs

https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-neon-4-2020-hybrid-bike-EV339958

 

[byegad]

+1 for a hybrid. You can ride gravel paths, and with a decent tyre fitted it'll be far less work, and I really mean FAR LESS, than even a front sus' mtb.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

+1 for a hybrid. You can ride gravel paths, and with a decent tyre fitted it'll be far less work, and I really mean FAR LESS, than even a front sus' mtb.

A fully rigid MTB fitted with tough road-biased touring tyres like Schwalbe Marathon will prove to be very versatile on both tarmac and gravel, so long as you aren't obsessed by speed.
There are two main problems with using suspension MTB's for general riding. One is the drag caused by running knobbly off road tyre patterns, the other is the amount of useful energy that is absorbed by the suspension/damping medium.
Lots of people buy knobbly tyred bikes with suspension because they look "tough" and they believe that suspension must equal more comfort. Having bought such bikes, most of the time they sit unused at the backs of people's garages, and on the rare occasions they get ridden, it's usually only to go down the shops or pub on - tasks that would be better fulfilled by riding an old 3-speed!
Be realistic and buy or build the right sort of bike for the job at hand, not what the marketing men want to sell you!

 

[Brianw193]

I was in a similar situation 5 years ago and bought an e-bike, with no experience since a teenager. It was an expensive mistake. E-bikes are very heavy (circa 30kg) and the motor cuts out after 15mph (UK law). I was only commuting 3 miles each way, including hills and spent a lot of time pushing a heavy bike.

I sold ebike and I switched to a lightweight Pinnacle hybrid (circa 12kg) with 21 gears. I have lost and kept off my weight. Cycling home from work also clears my head from the stress of the day.