What bike for 200kg rider, any suggestions

[deadparrot]

My mate wants to purchase a mountain bike for exercise as he has bad knees and can't jog or run. Issues is he weighs 200kg and is 6foot tall. Any suggestions for a hardtail that will withstand his weight, keeping in mind he is not going to be doing jumps etc just a bit of riding on dirt and on the road.

Any help is appreciated, I was thinking may be a Kona Hoss, but open to other suggestions.

 

[tasty.dirt74]

Gee.. 200 kg. He's a big guy!
It may be better off looking a getting a custom frame made up.
I personally dont have experience with people that large. I run tours with mtb's.

Can anybody help?

Will suspension forks handle the air pressure req'd to offer compliance.

I am in no way saying that he shouldn't. Quite the opposite infact. Cycling is low impact(unless you hit a tree)! I would talk to bike shops and see what they think.
Best of luck and I hope he enjoys riding..

 

[Nick53]

Probably one of the Norco hardtails would do the job such as a Norco Sasquash although there are other models in the range which vary in prices. It's the same frame but just has different specifications. If you get a bike which has air forks and the PSI he wants to run exceeds the manufacturers guidelines then maybe look at getting a bike with coil forks and getting the extra hard spring put in them and running the compression most/all of the way on.

Most hardtail frames which are made for downhill/4X/dirtjumping etc should do the job fine if he is just riding around the streets as even despite your friend being heavier than most these bikes are used in slopestyle events and I'm sure they go through a lot more stress doing all kinds of tricks over 30ft jumps than just riding around the streets and on a gravel road.

 

[ben_rides_a_bike]

200kg!

Has he thought about signing up to the biggest loser or something?
No offence but it could do him good.

 

[charizard]

how about he gets on the exercise bike

 

[eyes]

200kg!

Has he thought about signing up to the biggest loser or something?
No offence but it could do him good.

how about he gets on the exercise bike

Not very constructive guys...

Mate... Don't worry about the frame, any DJ or DH hardtail will be fine. The things you should be focussing on are seatpost, stem, bars and wheels... They are the things like to die in the arse first. Just think - rarely do you see snapped frames before taco'd wheels etc...

I agree with the coil fork comments, go longer travel than normal for trail applications.

Oh and find a chromo railed seat with large diameter rails.

 

[donthucktoflat]

honestly at that size i think that the excercise bike is the most sensible suggestion in this thread.

try a spin-style bike with a really big solid frame, decent mtb cranks, flat pedals with toe straps/caps and a big chunky square tubed seatpost and then possibly upgrade the seat to something stronger than the crappy spin bike seats.

its going to take alot of time for this guy to lose ~100-120 kg to get down to a healthy weight and it is best if he doesn't try something (like mtb) that is going to 'pwn' the fk outta him if he messes up.

 

[JP]

honestly at that size i think that the excercise bike is the most sensible suggestion in this thread.

try a spin-style bike with a really big solid frame, decent mtb cranks, flat pedals with toe straps/caps and a big chunky square tubed seatpost and then possibly upgrade the seat to something stronger than the crappy spin bike seats.

its going to take alot of time for this guy to lose ~100-120 kg to get down to a healthy weight and it is best if he doesn't try something (like mtb) that is going to 'pwn' the fk outta him if he messes up.

I second (or third) the exercise bike idea.

One other thing I would suggest, especially at the weight he is at, is seeking professional help. Trying to lose weight is hard at the best of times, and when results aren't as forthcoming as people expect, motivation dies. Having a professional there to keep them on track will be the greatest help.

Tell him good luck!

 

[tasty.dirt74]

how about he gets on the exercise bike

He IS getting a exercise bike. Its called a MTB !!!
I'm sure if he wanted to get a exercise bike, he wouldn't have posted in this thread, he would have just gone to a Gym.

I didnt think of a coil fork.Duh.

With anyone just starting to exercise,slowly,slowly to begin with.
And a comprehensive medical is a good idea .
You should post a weekly or fortnightly report to let us know how he is going.
There are alot of people on here who will surely offer positive encouragement for him to read.

 

[Barnsy]

Yeah, I'd just worry about components rather than the frame (any decent DJ/AM frame should do). Seat post, cockpit, wheels, fork and cranks would need to be serious stuff. On the up side, if he starts losing weight he'll have an unbreakable ride!

 

[ben_rides_a_bike]

Take him to the youies, ride the tracks there then push up the push up tracl, now thats a workout!

 

[Spanky_Ham]

Hard tail with hard forks..... yeah, it might be a bit uncomfortable but @200kg &6Foot he's got some padding

1) You can add a static trainer to really help get the kilometers up, and ease him into getting fitter. It also might be hard for him to be seen in public... You can't take a exercise bike for a roll if its a nice day..... but you can unhook a bike from a static trainer and roll round if the schnizzle is finely tuned to the dizzle.

2) F*ck suspension forks.... spanky tried setting up a set of forks for his local freak (read:just under 200kg) but they are just not designed for his weight... and are always a compromise.

3) Get a cheap bike for him.. and also one for his wife/kids/neighbour/drinking buddy..... this will help him get out there a little more....

4) If you go for a ride, consider doing a warm up lap with your bigboy first.... that could be the biggest encouragement he'll get... Gee him up a bit... encourage him alot...

s

 

[nic1894]

Hard tail with hard forks..... yeah, it might be a bit uncomfortable but @200kg &6Foot he's got some padding

1) You can add a static trainer to really help get the kilometers up, and ease him into getting fitter. It also might be hard for him to be seen in public... You can't take a exercise bike for a roll if its a nice day..... but you can unhook a bike from a static trainer and roll round if the schnizzle is finely tuned to the dizzle.

2) F*ck suspension forks.... spanky tried setting up a set of forks for his local freak (read:just under 200kg) but they are just not designed for his weight... and are always a compromise.

3) Get a cheap bike for him.. and also one for his wife/kids/neighbour/drinking buddy..... this will help him get out there a little more....

4) If you go for a ride, consider doing a warm up lap with your bigboy first.... that could be the biggest encouragement he'll get... Gee him up a bit... encourage him alot...

s

just laughed four times reading one post good work

 

[Plow King]

If he's reading this good on ya mate. Good luck with the weight loss and it's fuckign awesome that you're doing something about it.

200kg is a big mountain to climb but it is definatly possible and you'd be suprised how quickly you could take a huge amount of that weight off. Believe me

I have nfi about the bike btw.

Chris

 

[Reubs]

Spanky has nailed it. Get something cheaper - say $500 bucks roughly. This will get a hardtail with cheap/strong parts. It may be a good idea to change to some double ply rubber and downhill tubes, even if he only rides on the street. At that weight he'll need a decent pressure in the tubes just so the rims arent on the ground. Cheap tires are likely to peel off the rims with the higher pressure he will need.

keep it enjoyable! if its fun, its going to be a lot easier for him to want to keep doing it and lose the weight. Doesnt really matter what bike he's on, just that he's on one!

Good Luck!

 

[deadparrot]

thanks thus far

Thanks for some of the suggestions, I am taking him to a shop to see how bikes stack up against his size etc, and yes I will keep you all posted if you want to let you know how he goes. It's just good to see that he wants to shed some pounds and have a bit of fun riding around, exercise bikes are just too bloody boring, I'v tried using one twice and was bored sh*tless after only ten minutes.

Keep the suggestions coming.

Thanks again

 

[Lorday]

Thanks for some of the suggestions, I am taking him to a shop to see how bikes stack up against his size etc, and yes I will keep you all posted if you want to let you know how he goes. It's just good to see that he wants to shed some pounds and have a bit of fun riding around, exercise bikes are just too bloody boring, I'v tried using one twice and was bored sh*tless after only ten minutes.

Keep the suggestions coming.

Thanks again

Large volume tires are probably the way to go, slick or otherwise. Would probably pay to see a medical practitioner before any regular and strenuous excise.

Good luck to your mate none the less. Hope to see him ripping up the trails soon.

 

[iguanabartola]

I know you are looking for advise on a bike and there has been some options given already. I have an alternative suggestion. Rather than biking at that weight, first try swimming for the following reasons:

- Less stress in all joints.
- Weight will basically vanish while in the water and he will feel more comfortable excercising.
- Swimming will use all muscles in his body as well as cardiovascular.
- I did competitive swimming for many years and I was always told that the body continues burning calories after a swim. (Perhaps true? Don't know)

It will be easier to start riding once he has lost a bit of weight and guarantee he will enjoy it even more!

Good luck!!!

 

[jacko13]

as he loses it, tell him to put the kilo's he's lost in a backpack etc. when he gets to a good weight and takes off the bag and goes for a ride, he'll be pinned as.

 

[eddylong]

i am a fatboy as well .. my weight is 165kgs i was as big as your mate in july 2009

i brought a gt avalanche 1 ...took it home and it felt okay at first but when i road it around some fire trails it felt very flimsy. i really put the stress on the forks and the frame felt like it was made from aluminium foil .. i ended up selling it about 2 weeks later

i then brought a giant glory dh0 .... it has the heaviest spring in the forks and a 800lb spring in the shock with 190psi , it also has a ibeam seat (standard) which seems strong and faily comfortable. at my current weight it handles me good ... its been very costly but i am having fun whilst losing weight.

i also now waiting for a 2010 Trek remedy 7 ....

IMO go to your LBS ... tell him what you want to do with the bike and get him to set it up as close as he can to your weight .. you wont look back.