Weighing in at 125kgs plus

Mossy J Moose

Mossy J Moose

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As most articles and reviews are written by people in the average weight range (70kgs to 100kgs). I am keen to hear from MTBers in the 120kgs plus range to hear about their bikes and what they have tried on the way to creating their ideal bikes.
 
Serious Answer:- I am substantially heavier than you and the only change I have made would be riser bars and stem to reduce the weight off my back when riding. I guess I also use All Mountain wheels to be stiffer than XC wheels (I ride XC). There isn't a lot you can "Do" to make a bike fit you and you then perform like a 70KG twig. Changing the bike is probably less than changing the way you ride. Preparing for the hills in advance by picking the right gear. Choosing lines that don't have soft sections. Opting to go "Sweep" on every ride so no one sees you fail :third:. At the end of the day you are not going to be a 70KG rider and short of losing weight you wont magically change the bike into something they have never been designed for. Not being harsh just ride and sweat and puff and ride again :)
 
Saw a massive dude riding xc at Ourimbah a few years back. I'd have estimated his weight to be in the category you're talking about (based on friends that are generally considered fairly big). This must have been the only time he had left the gym in the previous decade. His arms were like my legs, he had plenty of height, and 2 barrels for a chest. Just monstrous. He was tearing up a climb on an Original giant faith. I'd owned one of them and they were anyway bike. Perhaps not the answer to your question, but he had adapted to suit his size.
 
strong wheels and good brakes.
i am still running a set of wheels that i have moved across over 6 different bikes now, and only because they are super strong and haven't let me down..yeah there is lighter options, but faith in your gear plays a big role in how much fun you can have out on the trails..
brakes, dont fuck around..get the best ones you can afford, with the best reputation (Saints are my pick), and 203 rotors!
 
I do also have Hope E4's which are an All mountain brake and I am riding XC

So yeah good wheels good brakes like Pharmaboy said
 
Stay away from flexy 29er wheels and skinny flexy forks and light thinwall tires, all which you probably all ready know.

The extra load on components means you should be checking/replacing bearings etc more frequently, some people neglect this area.
 
do as much research as you can. check out weight limits on the frames and the suspension. i find a lot of weight charts don't go high enough for me. I bought the fox 36 forks and the weight table tops out at 90 kg. you will probably need custom tuning.

Take strength and reliability over all other things. I've used varying models of enduros for all my riding for the last 13 years. all have had upgraded wheels downhill tyres, riser bars and stems and big brakes (203/180 rotors).

I have a mate who rides who would be close to 150 kg (he's 6' 8"). He goes through a lot of pedals, seats brake pads. He struggles up hills but is unstoppable on the flats and the downs.
 
I'm 6"3" and currently 122KG - about 126kg with gear on.

I'm riding a large 2015 Spitfire with stans flow EX on Hope 2 evos, Pikes @ 140psi and CCDB Air with a large volume spacer set at 250psi.

I've had no issues with any of my components (actually i've gone through a few sets of brake pads on my XT's ), have thrashed the wheelset pretty hard and have only trued them a few times.
 
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if its xc you are into talk to your neighbour and get him to hook you up on a steel hardtail.... Im not quite as heavy as you but steel has been the biggest improvement for me...
 
I've been that heavy, honestly didn't seem to be a big durability issue except for forks, Fox seem to verge on topping out run at the sort of pressures someone that weight needs and I had a couple of damper failures that I believe were from repeated heavy top out/over extension on the air side.

Beyond that, I never did anything particularly special to my bikes. I think it's harder to set bikes up for very light than very heavy.
 
floody said:
I've been that heavy, honestly didn't seem to be a big durability issue except for forks, Fox seem to verge on topping out run at the sort of pressures someone that weight needs and I had a couple of damper failures that I believe were from repeated heavy top out/over extension on the air side.

Beyond that, I never did anything particularly special to my bikes. I think it's harder to set bikes up for very light than very heavy.
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Pretty sure they all have negative air springs now which would stop this being a problem, I wouldn't buy an X-fusion air fork if I was ~90kg+ for the same reason, they still have a coil neg spring.
 
pink poodle said:
Saw a massive dude riding xc at Ourimbah a few years back. I'd have estimated his weight to be in the category you're talking about (based on friends that are generally considered fairly big). This must have been the only time he had left the gym in the previous decade. His arms were like my legs, he had plenty of height, and 2 barrels for a chest. Just monstrous. He was tearing up a climb on an Original giant faith. I'd owned one of them and they were anyway bike. Perhaps not the answer to your question, but he had adapted to suit his size.
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Mmmmm, was the Giant Faith brown.....?
 
Anyway, for an answer to your question, I'm 6,4 and weigh around 122kg (but bulked up to 130kg last year).

I ride a Mojo HD and HD3 and occasionally a V10.

The only thing that I really need to be mindful of is tyres. Generally they are dual ply on the rear and either dual or a mid ply up front. Pressures are around mid to high 30s on rear and high 20s to mid 30s up front. Single ply tyres will squirm unless pumped up to silly PSI.

Nothing really springs to mind as being something that I have to replace on a regular basis. I know I could snap a chain if I wanted to with a couple of hard leg strokes in a high gear so I moderate accordingly.

On the little bikes I probably wouldn't hit much more than a 4ft drop to flat (slow speed).

Shout if you want any specific info.
 
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Honestly I think the biggest challenge is body positioning, everything you do has to be massively exaggerated compared to when you're say sub 100kg. In particular that made it less fun riding at that weight because everything is so much more effort, manualling, pumping, bunnyhopping, unweighting tyres etc. All that weight makes the whole deal just too stable.
 
I'm 6'2" 125kg back into riding after a break of a few years riding Salsa Spearfish XC bike no problems with anything but check things over fairly regularly, had a problem with back rotor bolts coming loose, would love to have bolt through axles instead of QR for a bit more stiffness, have started playing around with handlebar widths and stem lengths and first thing I did was change seat Selle Italia X1- pure torture to Brooks C17 cambium much more suited to my oversize arse.
 
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