# 6'2" @ 400lbs, need bike suggestions...



## BIGMAC9295 (Jul 31, 2013)

Not even sure they make bikes for guys my size, but if they do, I will be very appreciative of any and all suggestions. 

Thanks!


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## medicxpa (Jul 30, 2013)

^^^^ Same boat I am 6'1 and 300lbs (give or take 5) Looking for a bike new to the sport...


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## Phinox (Jul 13, 2013)

There are bikes out there for guys like us I am 6 foot 340 to 350 ( weight varies according to my ride time). My personal preference is GT hard tails, the triple triangle design makes the frame stiffer for us big guys. I have 2 old outposts one is a steel 4130 chromolly frame and the other is a 7005 heat treated aluminum both have over 2500miles and are still in top shape. MT new timberline is due in from performance bike tomorrow.


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## Studio472 (Jul 31, 2013)

My weight ranged from 370 down to 340 now. I hope this is helpful since I'm not big into mountain riding yet (just bought the bike and it's on its way). As a heavier guy I can relate and share my experience.

Depending on what kind of riding you plan on doing, you might have different issues. My big issue is wheels & spokes.

When I decided to get back into riding, I bought a Fuji Boulevard which basically looked like a mountain bike, had a low end suspension fork. The tires were wide and I was confident the frame would hold me. I rode this off and on for a couple of years. Mostly path and paved trail. Never took it off road, the tires were meant for road. I sold that and took a huge leap.

I went to a Trek 7.5 FX. I paid around $750 for it, fantastic bike. Carbon fork, great for road & path only. Much faster and nimble than the Boulvard, but it was also 2x the cost. The ironic thing is that this bike only had 26 spokes on the rear wheel. Never once did I have truing or spoke issues. I wasn't riding as much and thought it was a waste to have that expensive a bike sitting around, so I sold it.

I then bought my current bike the Fuji Absolute 3.0 for $320 in 2008. It sat a lot the first couple of years but no problems. This year I started riding a lot more, I started having spoke issues. I would blow out 2 spokes about every 10-15 miles. Didn't matter how soft the ride, or how lightly I rode. After breaking my 6th spoke in 3 weeks, I started looking at a new wheelset. The stock Jalco's weren't cutting it. I bought a set of Vuelta Corsa HD for $150. They are the 'heavy duty' rims rated at 300lb weight limit. At least they were willing to give the rating. They're still on back-order at Nashbar so who knows when I'll get them.

In the meantime I went to my LBS and got a wheel with a thick guage spoke, Rim is "Zac 19" & I think the spokes are 14 guage. The first 30-40 miles on this wheel were crap. I had to re-tighten the same spoke every 10 miles. Since then, I've ridden about 35 miles without trouble. I'm hoping it holds up until the Vuelta's come in.


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## Studio472 (Jul 31, 2013)

Another option I've heard for the real heavy guys (like us) is to get set of wheels from a tandem bike. They're meant to handle two 'normal' riders so they should be able to handle one really heavy rider.

As far as mountain bikes go, I don't have much experience but I would assume similar problems with wheels, especially on heavier trails since the wheel assembly is under so much stress (plus the extra weight).

I presently have a Specialized Hardrock 26 with Alex rims. I haven't taken it on trails but it feels very secure under my weight. I am hesitant to take it off road since it's such a low end version of the Specialized line. I just ordered a 29er so I'll let you know how that holds up. 

I'm at 340 now and am going to give hard trail riding a try, but I'm going to try to take it easy on the equipment as much as possible. At 400lbs, my recommendation is to consider sticking to paths and paved until the weight is down a bit. If my wheel issues are any indication, you might have the same issues. 

PS - Note my Trek never had spoke issues, but the cost of the bike was $700+, I don't know what your budget is. You certainly get what you pay for.


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## bignick73 (May 25, 2012)

My only experience is with a 2012 Giant XTC 2. The rims are Giant S-XC29 2 and the hubs are Giant as well. No troubles out of it at all. Started at close to 330, now 280. Had the wheels trued at the first 100 miles and there was just a little bit to take out of the front and they pretty much just checked tension on the rear. Got just over 200 miles now and still straight. 

I ride almost all pavement though so no jumping off picnic tables or anything. You'll probably be just fine as long as you buy a something of reasonable quality. I wouldn't trust anything from wal-mart or the like to stand up to hauling around my original 330lbs much less more. Stick to pavement for now and don't jump it off anything and the wheels will probably be just fine.

Also either go rigid, make sure it has a good lock-out, or go air adjustable on the front fork.


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## jonshonda (Apr 21, 2011)

My experience. Look at a bike used for a type of riding a few levels above what you intend. There are a few down hill hardtail bikes out there that are beefy, and meant to be abused. 

26" wheels might hold up better because of the smaller diameter. Prepare to spend a fair amount on wheels. Hope, Hadley, Chris King, White Ind. are all really nice hubs. Stans Flow EX, Velocity P35, are some beefy hoops. 

Stay away from weight weenie stuff.


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## BIGMAC9295 (Jul 31, 2013)

*Ebay - Specialized Hardrock*



BIGMAC9295 said:


> Not even sure they make bikes for guys my size, but if they do, I will be very appreciative of any and all suggestions.
> 
> Thanks!


I have been watching a Specialized Hardrock on Ebay, From what i have read this seems to be a good choice for me and its in my price range of 600-800...if there is anyone that could say diffefrently i would appreciate the input.

Thanks


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I went trek marlin 29er, 6'2 300ish when i bought it. Partially cause wife cut me off at $650 mark (wanted a rumblefish) but I'm honeslty glad I went this route. Love the bike, done upgrades along the way as I've lost more weight (started riding at 360 but used a Walmart bike to get down around 300 and to see if i was going to stay passionate before spending money) and skills have improved.

I will say is its not just the bike handling the weight, but the rider learning how to absorb more shock to cut back on the stresses the bike has to deal with. Ht is better for big rider just because fs parts will wear out much faster under the increased weight but on the flip side ur body takes a lot less of a beating while learning and loosing weight. Advise that didn't help my case against the wife that put me on my ht over a fs cause cheaper, less work, lower maintainance cost, I couldn't argue with more than the "look at it, its awesome I really want it" 

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using Tapatalk 2


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## jpr99 (Mar 31, 2009)

I went 2012 Trek Marlin also when I was at 380. My type of riding was mainly rail trail type routes. Flat and they would go several miles. I'm now 250 after surgery.


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## medicxpa (Jul 30, 2013)

I am going to be picking up a Specialized Hardrock 29er Disc this weekend. Excited!


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## Diaonic (Aug 6, 2013)

medicxpa said:


> I am going to be picking up a Specialized Hardrock 29er Disc this weekend. Excited!


I just went through this process, I'm 6'0 and 380lbs.

I think theres two schools of though here when looking for a bike that can support guys our size.

Identify what type of riding you want to do. At our weight we're really looking to just get out there and log miles and get our metabolism jump started.

First stay away from 29ers, the larger diameter wheels are going to taco with our weight.

If your really in love with the mountain bike, you'll need to have your local shop build you a set of 26in wheels with 14 gauge spokes. This is the same process I just went through two weeks ago. I was looking at around $160 for a custom set of wheels that would support me. I would also stick with a hard tail and rigid forks.

If you're trying to stay within budget Trek makes a bike called Shift and there was recently a cycling group out of boston that really got behind a big guy like us and supported him. He shed alot of weight with his Shift and is now got himself into a 29er.

I ended up with a Surly Pugsley, my budget was $1000 when I started looking but fell in love with it and had to cough up another $600 to get what I wanted, but I know it will last and the wheels aren't going to fold on me. It also fell in line with my long term goal of being able to do single track next season.

Hope this helps.

-Diaonic


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## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

medicxpa said:


> ^^^^ Same boat I am 6'1 and 300lbs (give or take 5) Looking for a bike new to the sport...


At 300 pounds, just about any bike will work. Anything but a light weight race bike. Issues you might run into are wheels going out of true more often, seat post breaking (learning to ride light eliminates the problem) and front fork noodlely (entry level bike). Otherwise, pick a bike that fits and feels right and ride.


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## Zowie (Aug 3, 2013)

I'd ride as many as you can, and buy the most reasonably priced one that feels the least 'noodly' (excellent description ,) and start saving your money for a well strung wheelset with beefy rims, as well as anything else that may not quite stand up to your use.

I'd also mention that 36 spoke 700C rhynos with 14g spokes have held up great on my 29er rig, and I do wrong things to my bikes on a pretty regular basis... But I'm well under 300.


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## tmhar28 (Mar 7, 2010)

bought a left over specialized rockhopper 29er 3 years ago at 6'1 355 ..and never did anything bought off road and rode it hard ..never had a problem with it holding up for me . I live in the north east so have hammerd may root, and rocks and all good , even hit more than a few 2-3 foot jumps...just watch what your doing take your time and watch your lines..bike is retired now and am riding a FS bike and loving it ..only down to about 312 now the after ride beers are hard to resist


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## Zmilin (Aug 16, 2013)

Im 6-1, 330# (a little less now) and I was in the same boat. As mentioned before the type of riding will govern a lot of what you will be spending money on. 
If your really going to hit MB/off road trails then parts will break... I was told to watch out for my pedals snapping off or my cranks bending but my intent was not to get off road for a while but to get a bike to support my size. 
The next thing I learned after riding and comparing specs is that front suspension is going to suck on all but the most expensive bikes. This is assuming Im going off road again which I was not for some time. I DID however learn that I wanted a lockable front suspension that could be adjusted on the fly. 
I also learned that the better shifting components I could get the smoother the bike shifted, or should I say, was able to shift as my weight was coming down on the pedals. I found Shimano Deore was the minimum I was willing to get. I also found I liked a certain type of shifting component than others (did not like twist shifters or Scram but I did like Shimano). 

Anyway... oll that got me into a Trek Mamba. 

After purchase I have added a gel seat, higher rise stem, ergo grips and the next add will be padded gloves. 
The gel seat helps with the amount of seat time I can handle. People kept telling me that I would get used to the OEM seat but it was getting so I didn't want to ride. So I upgraded. 
The ergo grips were added because I was starting to get pain in my hands from my weight resting on the OEM grips.
The higher rise stem got me a bit more upright (helped with shoulder pain). 
Believe it or not one of my deciding factors was the front fork. The Rock Shox XC can be upgraded with a lock out, spring/air cartridge for a decent amount of $$. I found all I really want is the remote lockout right now.
Oh... and tires. Since I ride mostly paved trails I got a hybrid tire set. Specifically the Bontrager H5 700c hardcase tires. Easier pedaling on paved surfaces and a hard, puncture resistant casing make for easier pedaling for this noob. 

I shopped a couple big box retailers and just about every LBS in the area (thats a lot of shops, about 10 before I cut myself off). Only one spoke to me about weight. Everyone else talked about stiffest frame being a MTB frame, component failures if I start getting off road and most spoke to me about comfort so I would stay riding.

Hope my rambling helps even a little.


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