Toi Posted August 29, 2016 Share Good day ladies and gents Been riding MTB on and off for a few years now. Had to get rid of my 29er a year ago. So I acquired a road bike for what I thought was a good deal. I have never in my life been on a road bike before but I have never stood back from a challenge before. The bike is a size too big for me but I'm getting a professional bike fitting done so that I can get it the best I can with what I have available. The only factor that is going to make this a challenge for me is my weight. Its also the reason I want to start riding again. My current weight is 130kg and I'm 1.86 meters tall. I've done my fair share of googling so far but info is very vague, seems that very few riders weight this much. Are there any tips that some heavy riders have for me. Obviously I have not been overweight my whole life, been fit before so a sound eating plan is already in the works. Tips on tire pressure, etc would be helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winstonian1984 Posted August 29, 2016 Share Good day ladies and gents Been riding MTB on and off for a few years now. Had to get rid of my 29er a year ago. So I acquired a road bike for what I thought was a good deal. I have never in my life been on a road bike before but I have never stood back from a challenge before. The bike is a size too big for me but I'm getting a professional bike fitting done so that I can get it the best I can with what I have available. The only factor that is going to make this a challenge for me is my weight. Its also the reason I want to start riding again. My current weight is 130kg and I'm 1.86 meters tall. I've done my fair share of googling so far but info is very vague, seems that very few riders weight this much. Are there any tips that some heavy riders have for me. Obviously I have not been overweight my whole life, been fit before so a sound eating plan is already in the works. Tips on tire pressure, etc would be helpful. Yip, make sure you keep a decent tyre pressure. When I was much heavier I would get a pinch flat on anything under 7bars pressure. I also broke alot of spokes so got a strong set of wheels(Mavic Ksyriums). That is what worked for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quintonb Posted August 29, 2016 Share Firstly get a good, strong rim (36 hole) build onto standard hubs using J-bend spokes. Get a good wheel builder to build these for you. Secondly there is only 1 bike in my mind that will hold your current weight... Cannondale Aluminium frame (preferably older ones like the CAAD 3,4. That combo will give you longevity.If you want carbon, then make sure its a brand that is very well backed...(Read GIANT). GaryvdM and Yusran 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMartin Posted August 29, 2016 Share Don't even think of 23 or 25mm tyres. Go straight for 27. Super light tubes will not be a good idea. Keep tyre pressure nice and high. At the upper limit of what your tyre and rim combo will tolerate. Carbon rails on saddles might also not be a good idea. I manage to break them sometimes and I weigh around 78kg at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMartin Posted August 29, 2016 Share Some tyres would be best avoided as well. Conti TT's comes to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allrounder Posted August 29, 2016 Share Compact crank and 27c tyres. 9-10 bars. Lots of extra core exercises, and your arms and shoulders will hurt during and after the first few rides. Start slow and work your way up. Stay out of the bunches until you can hold a line. V18 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J∆kk∆ls Posted August 29, 2016 Share Lots of good advice on wheels and tyre pressure. Add skipping to your exercise regime and you will start dropping weight quickly. Pah Bear 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allrounder Posted August 29, 2016 Share Lots of good advice on wheels and tyre pressure. Add skipping to your exercise regime and you will start dropping weight quickly. agreed. skipping is a good whole body workout. Once you can keep the rhythm invest in a weighted skipping rope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMartin Posted August 29, 2016 Share Lots of good advice on wheels and tyre pressure. Add skipping to your exercise regime and you will start dropping weight quickly. Skipping helped me lose a lot of weight. Skipping supper mostly. white tiger, Myth, Pah Bear and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toi Posted August 29, 2016 Share Ha ha yeah I cannot see myself skipping. On another note, there is the slight chance that the bike I bought is too big for me. If that is the case, I might entertain the idea of a new bike. If that is the case, I'm torn between a MTB which I know and love or trying something new and going for a road bike. Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk Edge540 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lerouc Posted August 29, 2016 Share I was almost exactly the same stats as you when i started cycling, actually few kilos heavier. Went through 2 Giant TCRs and a Cannondale Caad 8. The best bike was my first older TCR because it had a decent set of wheels. Along with nice gatorskin tyres i never had an issue. Then came the cannondale and i basically replaced a spoke after each ride. Then came the latest TCR, rode it twice and after having to get the wheels trued sold it off again and now only MTB. I have mavic's on my first TCR and if i ever go back to road cycling i will get them again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmycool Posted August 30, 2016 Share I'm not sure what you have but 1 thing that will make life a lot easier at first is either a compact crank or else a triple. Believe me, even with a pretty large cassette, a standard crankset is going to leave you thinking you should go back to mtb. Flatdog7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket-Boy Posted August 30, 2016 Share Hey Toi, we have plenty of guys in the buffalo class here.Isetech should have some good advice for you, Im sure he will be around here shortly. Im probably mistaken but I was sure I picked up a fuel roabike from you years ago at the jhb airport for a mate of mine who bought it off carbonite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toi Posted August 30, 2016 Share Hey Toi, we have plenty of guys in the buffalo class here.Isetech should have some good advice for you, Im sure he will be around here shortly. Im probably mistaken but I was sure I picked up a fuel roabike from you years ago at the jhb airport for a mate of mine who bought it off carbonite.Sup buddy. Yeah we did meet at the airport, hope you been well? Hope your buddy got some good miles out of that road bike. Rocket-Boy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butterbean Posted August 30, 2016 Share So, heavy riders. I weight 110 now, don't know about with kit on. I use a standard cranked with 11-28 cassette, gets me up any Hill around. Get good bibs, you'll be sitting a lot more on the road bike than the MTB, so shorts and saddle choice is vital here. Also, rememeber to stand up often! My comfort motto is eat before you're hungry, drink before you're thirsty, and stand before you're sore. Get your saddle fit properly, and try out a bunch of different ones as the normal fat guy saddles may not be the ones that are most comfortable. Gloves, get some good comfy ones. You'll be putting more weight on your hands than ever, so good gloves, and change hand positions on the drop bars as often as you stand. Also, double wrap them bars!!! Easy, cheap, and you'll thank me. Most of us bigger fellas have massive hands, so this will help with shock absorption, but also muscular comfort cause you're not gripping a skinny bar. Hood angle is extremely important to keep as much weight off your hands and arms, however it will shift it to your Gooch, so saddle and shorts must be fixed first. Shoes, make sure they're comfortable. I need wide shoes, so it took a while to find ones that wouldn't feel like jumping on blades after a few kms. Bike fit is important, as are wheels. I reckon most alloy or steel frames will take your weight with no issue, but wheels are going to suffer. Just get a cheap, high spoke count set that, should they break, you can finish your ride, and repair with ease and little expense. Other than that, just get out and enjoy yourself. When I was bigger, I used to have the simple challenge that I would never get off and push up a climb. Sounds simple but it's not so easy when you weight as much as we do, however it prevented me from giving in to the notion of quitting. And you feel so effing great when you crest a climb afterwards. Enjoy man! Maybe we can get ourselves a buffalo category in road races too, would be nice to climb in a bunch once in a while!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robodog Posted August 30, 2016 Share Ha ha yeah I cannot see myself skipping. On another note, there is the slight chance that the bike I bought is too big for me. If that is the case, I might entertain the idea of a new bike. If that is the case, I'm torn between a MTB which I know and love or trying something new and going for a road bike. Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk Or best of both worlds which won't break: a steel CX bike like a Cotic Escapade with strong rims (possibly WTB) and CX tyres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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