New bike but overweight

chatter1316

I have just purchased a new racing bike. I have never had one but always wanted one. Always had mountain bikes.
I am about to pick it up shortly but am having second thoughts because of my weight issues.
Are racer bikes suited to larger people. Am i just over reacting.

Miklos

You'll be hard pressed to find an activity better suited to help you overcome any weight issues, once you start getting the kms in you'll find the kilos will start dropping off.

kal7

Hi,

I would say go for it, most of us lose weight by cycling either road or MTB.

I have seen a max weight limit on bikes of 100kg, however I know several people, well over this weight, who had no issues, even doing 180km cycles on these bikes.

Tell me how

I'm overweight also.
I ride a road bike and have gotten back on it this summer after few yrs away (hence the weight).

I wear a loose fitting jacket as body hugging cycling jerseys would be upsetting for other road users.

It doesn't matter what bike you have, if you're riding it, you're doing the right thing.

Work on your stamina and go out on your own as you build up the miles and the confidence.

dub_skav

If you've had no problem on mountain bikes, there probably won't be a problem on a road bike either.
Treating the bike well is important too, don't be hopping off kerbs or crashing into speed bumps.

I'd be heavy compared to a "real" road cyclist, as high as 107kg and as low as 96, and I've never had a problem

07Lapierre

Road bikes are pretty robust!

Ranjo

Weight is no issue. What kind of cycling are you planning to do? Commuting or weekend cycling of 30, 40K & more?

I'm regularly out & about around the Dublin & Wicklow mountains and see all shapes and sizes. I am no slow-poke, but I get passed out by 60 year olds (male & female), heavier people, people on "slower" bikes (e.g. my carbon vs some hybrid!).

All I'll say is make sure you have the right gear (clothing, tools, food/drink) and you'll be set. Go at your own pace. the rest is total enjoyment.

neris

as some one who was in the same situation years ago when I got my 1st bike dont worry about it. Get the bike, get out and enjoy it. Yeah you,ll probably be wrecked after your first 20km spin but it gets easier and you get more adventurous with routes and mileage and you,ll see the weight drop off. Your cycling for enjoyment and for yourself, not to win the tour de france

chatter1316

thanks for the reply,
it will be for weekend cycling, not for commuting.

neris

if you can get out during week even for 30 mins every 2nd night or so it,ll be far better then just using it at weekends especially if your trying to loose weight. The more you can get out the more you can gradually increase your distance so in time you could use your saturday to do a nice long cycle and explore the countryside or surrounding areas a bit

Cee-Jay-Cee

I'm going to be the bad one here, cycling is not going to help you lose huge amounts of weight and the person telling you that once you start cycling the weight will weight will fall off you is not being helpful. Weight loss is through 90% diet and 10% exercise. Cycling will help you keep weight off once you sort your diet out but if you think you will suddenly start losing kilos by cycling alone with no change in diet then you are going to be very disappointed.

moonlighting

best advice i can give is to get the biggest tires and tubes that will fit the wheels and keep the pressure at max rated for tires.

rollingscone

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

I'm going to be the bad one here, cycling is not going to help you lose huge amounts of weight and the person telling you that once you start cycling the weight will weight will fall off you is not being helpful. Weight loss is through 90% diet and 10% exercise. Cycling will help you keep weight off once you sort your diet out but if you think you will suddenly start losing kilos by cycling alone with no change in diet then you are going to be very disappointed.

It will however helo you feel motivated and just better in general.

Cycling is freedom and flight. It puts a lot of the things that f**k with our heads in this life in perspective.

At worst you might find it better to get some 36 spoke weeks if you're suffering a lot of buckles. But I've seen muscle monsters who could caber toss my 100kgs do distance on skinny carbon fibre race machines.

Don't sweat it. Just seek freedom.

caputmundi

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

I'm going to be the bad one here, cycling is not going to help you lose huge amounts of weight and the person telling you that once you start cycling the weight will weight will fall off you is not being helpful. Weight loss is through 90% diet and 10% exercise. Cycling will help you keep weight off once you sort your diet out but if you think you will suddenly start losing kilos by cycling alone with no change in diet then you are going to be very disappointed.

I must be the exception here or maybe I'm an "aggressive" rider (I seem to recall that riding in the "red zone" is where you start losing serious weight), or it could be the attitude change, but my experience tells me otherwise. Also, but maybe it's just me, eating junk before cycling makes me feel heavy and uncomfortable to a degree.

py

Your only concern about a road bike if you're overweight should be the wheels and whether they can bear your weight.

Will also throw my voice behind your diet playing a more important part than exercise.

dahat

As a 100kg cyclist and i race at that weight the best advice i can give you is too get good wheels as likely the stock wheels will be prone to spoke breaks etc. I upgrade stock wheels to Mavic Aksium Elite which cost in around €250 and i haven't had any issues with them on my winter bike or when i was starting out.

Get out there and enjoy the bike, more cycling and diet adjustments will help you loose weight but enjoy cycling first and foremost.

Eponymous

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

I'm going to be the bad one here, cycling is not going to help you lose huge amounts of weight and the person telling you that once you start cycling the weight will weight will fall off you is not being helpful. Weight loss is through 90% diet and 10% exercise. Cycling will help you keep weight off once you sort your diet out but if you think you will suddenly start losing kilos by cycling alone with no change in diet then you are going to be very disappointed.

You're right, but what I will say is this:

I was over 20st not so long ago. Started going to gym but wasn't seeing great results as my diet hadn't really changed. What did flip my mind though was one evening doing about 45 mins on a cross trainer and seeing the number of calories burned and recognising that it was roughly equivalent to one Mars Bar. Since then, I've never really looked at junk food the same and understand now that it's nice to have some chocolate but if I do, then it's a lot of work just to get rid of that, let alone anything else I consume. After that losing weight was much easier.

At least getting started with some aerobic exercise should lead to better habits.

ford2600

chatter1316 wrote: »

I have just purchased a new racing bike. I have never had one but always wanted one. Always had mountain bikes.
I am about to pick it up shortly but am having second thoughts because of my weight issues.
Are racer bikes suited to larger people. Am i just over reacting.

Cube road bikes, for example, are limited for 115kgs total load; rider, bike and luggage. Once you are 100kgs plus you will be pushing that limit. That factor of safety that is factored in when building components, especially frame, will give you wiggle room above that figure.

In saying that, the area where limit might cause issue are wheels, stem, seat post, handlebars especially if they are designed to be lightweight.

Weight is just one factor in the real world, a powerful 80kg rider riding aggressively will but dynamic stresses on bike that a newbie 100kg rider never will.

If you take to the bike, you will enjoy it as much as anyone light of heavy.

Just go ride your bike, cycling is mostly awesome

The strongest rider I know, a complete animal, has always struggled with his weight. The accumulated kms of suffering of lads trying to hold his wheel would get you a fair way around the world. MIne alone would nearly get you to Asia!

Oh and do yourself a huge favour, stop giving a sh1t what other people think. Other than partner, family and close friends the rest is just noise

Zulu

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

I'm going to be the bad one here, cycling is not going to help you lose huge amounts of weight and the person telling you that once you start cycling the weight will weight will fall off you is not being helpful. Weight loss is through 90% diet and 10% exercise. ...

Interesting. I did NOT change my diet at all but took up cycling to work 10 months ago. I've lost 10kg over the first few months and have kept it off. Maybe don't underestimate the 10% exercise?

Esroh

The largest cohort of Cycling Ireland Licence Holders are Leisure Cyclists. Go to any Sportive in the Country and I'd say if you asked the participants a huge number of them would feel and probably are over weight.
Nobody cares.
The biggest problem your weight will cause will be Seat Bone pressure. Get yourself good shorts and ride. After that as said by many here your attitude to your diet will change as you realise that getting lighter is a big part of getting better dndurance and speed.

Good luck and I hope you get full cycling addiction symptoms :-)

If you're a bit self concious don't feel like you have to wear "traditional" gear like close fitting shorts, you can look at mountain bike ones with a padding in the rear. Shoes are another thing, you'll likely be starting out on flat pedals or toe clips as opposed to clipping into the pedals so maybe look at something like a touring shoe with good stiff souls.

Miklos

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

I'm going to be the bad one here, cycling is not going to help you lose huge amounts of weight and the person telling you that once you start cycling the weight will weight will fall off you is not being helpful. Weight loss is through 90% diet and 10% exercise. Cycling will help you keep weight off once you sort your diet out but if you think you will suddenly start losing kilos by cycling alone with no change in diet then you are going to be very disappointed.

Obviously it's a simplistic to say if you cycle lots you'll lose loads of weight, but usually picking up a hobby like cycling has knock on lifestyle effects. Making good choices about exercise will often be followed with good decisions on diet as you consider how it is going to effect your cycling.

Miklos

Miklos wrote: »

Obviously it's a simplistic to say if you cycle lots you'll lose loads of weight, but usually picking up a hobby like cycling has knock on lifestyle effects. Making good choices about exercise will often be followed with good decisions on diet as you consider how it is going to effect your cycling.

I'd agree like if you have a spin planned for Sunday morning you'll definitely think twice about how many beers you have on a Saturday evening or at least will after you've been out on the bike with a stinking hangover, not speaking from personal experience or anything

magicbastarder

as an aside, most calorie calculators i can find online gives an estimate of double the amount of calories burned that strava claims for me.

i'm obviously more likely to favour the lower figure.

ford2600

Miklos wrote: »

Obviously it's a simplistic to say if you cycle lots you'll lose loads of weight, but usually picking up a hobby like cycling has knock on lifestyle effects. Making good choices about exercise will often be followed with good decisions on diet as you consider how it is going to effect your cycling.

Diet is important BUT cycling can have a beneficial effect on other factors known to assist in limiting over eating, primarily mental health and sleep.

If you add in social aspect and the benefits of cycling with like minded people, that support can also be hugely beneficial.

Reaching set goals on bike is a pretty rewarding positive feedback loop.

dahat

Don't worry too much regarding diet etc OP, just cycle a bike, the rest will come in time. Enjoy the beautiful country we have while riding your bike around your locality.

rflynnr

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

I'm going to be the bad one here, cycling is not going to help you lose huge amounts of weight and the person telling you that once you start cycling the weight will weight will fall off you is not being helpful. Weight loss is through 90% diet and 10% exercise. Cycling will help you keep weight off once you sort your diet out but if you think you will suddenly start losing kilos by cycling alone with no change in diet then you are going to be very disappointed.

This is one of those energy in, energy out equations, isn't it? Depending on the cyclist, an hour of cycling will burn something between 450 and 750 calories. There's approximately 7,000 calories stored in 1kg of fat. So if you rode 2 hours at the weekend and didn't change your weekly calorie intake, you'd lose 1kg every 6-7 weeks. That would be far from weight "falling off" but still a gradual (an probably more sustainable) loss.

py

magicbastarder wrote: »

as an aside, most calorie calculators i can find online gives an estimate of double the amount of calories burned that strava claims for me.

i'm obviously more likely to favour the lower figure.

Training peaks is typically lower again so I work off that.

veganrun

Funnily enough I'm thinking of buying a road bike too (Triban 500) from BTwin/Decathlon and it looks like according to BTwin the max weight is 220lbs/100kg and I'm 235lbs

Tell me how

veganrun wrote:

Funnily enough I'm thinking of buying a road bike too (Triban 500) from BTwin/Decathlon and it looks like according to BTwin the max weight is 220lbs/100kg and I'm 235lbs

Personally, I wouldn't get hung up on this. The bike isn't going to disintegrate under you.

Cycle on fairly good quality roads and avoid potholes and I think you'll be under the limit in no time.

plodder

A bit on the heavy side myself. So, here's my 2cents. If you're buying a road bike with skinny tyres, then make sure you keep them at the right pressure for your weight. There's a table on this page:

http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/product-news/whats-the-correct-road-bike-tyre-pressure-270668

While it is mostly about diet, exercise does use up carbohydrate and fat, which means you don't have to starve yourself completely to make progress. Also, a lot of people take up running or cycling to lose weight. Cycling has the advantage that you're less prone to getting injuries caused by body weight. I do both and the way I look at it, is that running is great for maintaining a reasonable body weight. Cycling might be better for losing it.