New bike but overweight

veganrun

Picking up some Durano plus tyres later. Hopefully that will sort it.

dub_skav

veganrun wrote: »

Picking up some Durano plus tyres later. Hopefully that will sort it.

If it was me I'd give the current tyres at least one more chance. I don't like spending unnecessarily, I'm what you might call a tightwad (and not really suited to this forum:P)

The flat could be due to low pressure, a faulty valve or just particularly bad luck with a nail or something. Have you taken off the tyre and examined tube?

veganrun

Not yet, the tyre looked ok after the brief look I gave it.

Just spotted the Durano plus has a max weight of 80kg. I'm well over that (106kg).

smacl

veganrun wrote: »

Not yet, the tyre looked ok after the brief look I gave it.

Just spotted the Durano plus has a max weight of 80kg. I'm well over that (106kg).

I think you'll find that is per tyre, so 160kg total combined rider and bike weight on the flat. I've ridden on them for years at 88kg plus 10kg of bike with no issues.

meisce

I'm 6 ft tall and 110 kg. I ride a road bike with 25mm tires (Gatorskins) @ 120 psi, never had any problems, even on the WW200

veganrun

I'm having problems getting the tyre inflated past about 70psi. The handle on the pump won't go down much further and is kind of bouncing back up and I'm worried I will burst the tube or tyre or something. The bike came with wheels for 25c tyres and I'm putting a 28c tube and 28c tyre on. Do I need to change the tube or tyre size? When I bought the bike they put 28c tyres on at my request.

neris

what kind of pump are using? small stick like pump or track pump?

veganrun

One of them floor pumps. I could pump it up fine to about 80psi but it was resisting hard when trying to go further. I'm wondering do I just need to go back to 25c tyres and tubes and stop trying to use 28's.

neris

check the tyre wall for recommended prssure, 28mm take less then 25mm. think about 5 bar

veganrun

Minimum is 85

veganrun

Ended up just going to the bike shop and they fitted them. Hopefully sorted now.

Harrybelafonte

Chuchote wrote: »

I'm old and pudgy, and what I notice is that my weight, sadly, stays the same more or less all the time, but when I'm cycling for an hour and a half every day my clothes fit me better, because the fat turns into muscle.

All this discussion of what kind of bike to get is pure porn. If you get hooked, one bike won't be enough

And as I'm sure you've been told a million times, get a good lock (eg one of the mini Kryptonites plus the accompanying cable lock) and lock your bike to a proper stand through the seat tube (the part of the frame that goes from the saddle's post down to the pedals), with the cable winding through the wheels; or else through the part of the back wheel that is next to that seat post (plus cable through wheels), so the wheel has to be cut to get the bike. This takes away a lot of the value of the bike for thieves, so makes it more likely they'll choose the badly-locked bike next to it :mad::rolleyes:

Fat does not "turn into muscle"!

Harrybelafonte

@ OP

Firstly, ignore any comments about disregarding diet change. If you want to lose weight, it is the single most important change you could make.

Secondly, I believe the advice re gravel bike is best. Stronger and greater variety of uses. Good strong wheels are a must.

I say this as a previously 120kg 6' 1" fat dude. Am still 6' 1" though. And about 80kg.

3. If you seriously intend on losing weight, incorporate some strength and
conditioning in your routine. Cycling is great, but it leaves some parts of the body unused and troublesome.

Hope that helps.

saccades

veganrun wrote: »

So I've had the road bike less than a week and have a flat rear tyre already. The tyres are puncture protect tyres and I've only been out maybe 3 times on it and each time I've been on my normal route and not over bad ground.

I pumped the pressure to about 90psi and the tyres said the max was 116 so I don't think I over inflated them.

I pumped the tyre up last night and it seemed grand for a few hours but now this morning the tyre is flat again.

Is my weight the issue here or have I just been unlucky?

Did you check your rim tape? cheap bike often scrimp on it - you'll know if you keep getting punctures.

C3PO wrote: »

It is generally suggested that heavier people should inflate tyres to the maximum shown on the sidewall ie. 115psi in your case. I always do! This gives better protection against "pinch" flats.
What make/model are your tyres? For commuting I use Schwalbe Durano Plus's and have found them completely bulletproof. Found a gash an inch long in a well worn one last week and still working fine! Also worth regularly checking your tyres for tiny bits of embedded glass - they can slowly work their way through the tyre.

I'd have to disagree - no-one on a road bike should be getting pinch flats, if you put the tyre pressure to max and then stick 100kg on top you are going to exceed that pressure.

Bigus wrote: »

90 is too low min 110 psi or you'll get pinch flats , and don't go fixing tubes , buy 5 new ones for stock .

No pinch flats at 90psi, you'd have to get down to 65psi and be jumping onto kerbs. I agree that trying to repair road tubes is a pita.

neris wrote: »

I'm 98kg 1 bike with 25mm tyres run at 120psi and other bike has 28mm I run at 90psi. At my weight it's more diffucult on both bikes to move properly if the tyres aren't near either pressure

move properly? Unless you are on a perfect road surface it's more efficient (rolling resistance) not to have high pressures. Pave is an extreme but perfectly valid example. Steel bead vs folding also demonstrates this as the folding moves with the road and steel bead wastes energy bouncing you up and down. It might feel faster having your teeth rattled around on super hard tyres but it isn't and you get beat up over a longer ride.

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

Fat does not "turn into muscle"!

Agree - but over the summer my weight stays the same but I lose the bellyring and gain much better definition on my legs I can understand the mistake.

veganrun wrote: »

I'm having problems getting the tyre inflated past about 70psi. The handle on the pump won't go down much further and is kind of bouncing back up and I'm worried I will burst the tube or tyre or something. The bike came with wheels for 25c tyres and I'm putting a 28c tube and 28c tyre on. Do I need to change the tube or tyre size? When I bought the bike they put 28c tyres on at my request.

I suspect that the rim width is the limiting factor as to why the bike shop did not want to fit anything bigger than a 28c if the clearances look pretty good between tyre and frame. It also sounds like either your pump or tube is buggered.

I drift around the weight of the OP (and heavier) and run 28c @~85psi on 19mm rims. Works a treat for big cycles on **** roads.

C3PO

saccades wrote: »

I'd have to disagree - no-one on a road bike should be getting pinch flats, if you put the tyre pressure to max and then stick 100kg on top you are going to exceed that pressure.

Well I'll stick with Schwalbe's recommended pressures for my weight. I'm guessing that they've researched it a little :rolleyes:! Seems to work too ... puncture free for two years and over 25,000kms!!

veganrun

Well another couple of spins and another flat wheel. Took the bike out last night and again tonight. Before I went out tonight I checked the pressures and the back wheel was down to 30 psi so I pumped it up to near the max. The front wasn't as bad but I pumped it up to near the max too. Came home drenched after 8 miles in the rain, showered and the front was completely flat.

Unless it's just incredible bad luck, I think I will just have to accept that at my current weight (106kg) I should stick to my hybrid and put the road bike away until I've lost a good chunk of weight. The roads are reasonably good roads and while a tad rough in places, definitely not bad at all. I see lots of speedsters on their bikes on the same road so it's definitely suitable. I also got Schwalbe Durano plus tyres on which I thought would have helped but it seems perhaps not. Which all leaves me to believe it must be my weight.

Kind of annoying but it's my own fault. Grrrrr.

magicbastarder

what caused the flat? did you find the puncture?

veganrun

magicbastarder wrote: »

what caused the flat? did you find the puncture?

Not yet, I was putting the bike away and saw it and couldn't be bothered looking at it tonight. Well have to check it out later but seeing it's a Durano plus, I figured it would be pretty bulletproof! Perhaps not.

Takca

veganrun wrote: »

Unless it's just incredible bad luck, I think I will just have to accept that at my current weight (106kg) I should stick to my hybrid and put the road bike away until I've lost a good chunk of weight.

I'd say its either luck or tire pressure or something else going on(have you checked the inside of the tire for glass/thorns etc...).
I started this year @ 100KG
570KM in the hybryd and 1800km on the road bike (700x25c @ 100 PSI),
the only puncture I got was on the hybrid after hitting a pothole. I live in a rural area and frequently cycle on rough roads so I'd imagine if pinch flats were going to cause me problems I'd have hit a few by now. anecdotal evidence I know but there is hope ;-)

veganrun

I got the tyres fitted in the bike shop and I think this is maybe the 3rd time I've been out on the bike since and it's been the same route every time. Will look at it over the weekend or something when I'm less annoyed about it.

magicbastarder

if you hit a pothole or similar hard enough to cause a pinch flat, i suspect you'd have noticed at the time - and a pinch flats (we used to call them snakebites when i were a lad) would usually result in a fairly sharpish flat tyre, something you'd generally notice at the time, not when you get home.

moonlighting

low pressure tires and going up ramps and curbs = guaranteed flats.
i check the pressure on a weekly bases and make sure they at the right pressure. after a flat tire always feel round the inside for the tires for little pieces of metal etc as-well. sometimes the issue can me microscopic in size

Fighting Tao

I'm roughly 120kg and in almost 4000km I haven't had a flat on my road bike. I keep the pressure at 110 psi for dry weather and 100 psi in wet. So I don't think it's your weight that is causing the punctures.

veganrun

Could it be a mismatch of wheel, tube and tyre size? The bike came with 25c tyres but I got 28c tyres put on. I'm not sure what size of tube is in them. Should the tube be 25c or 28c?

Fighting Tao

They could be 18/25 tubes. I don't know what impact that would have on 28c tyres.

I changed tyres on my new bike and it came with 25c tyres but 18/23 tubes. I only noticed while changing the second tyre and I swapped it for new tube. The other wheel is still on a 18/23 tube I presume. No puncture yet from it and hopefully I won't have!

When you are fixing the puncture take the tyre off completely and turn it inside out. Then gently rub your fingers on the inside to see if there is anything stuck in the tyre. I say gently because you don't want to cut yourself.

If they are not deflating straight away as in you can ride on them rules out pot holes and pinch flats. As others have said check tyre for thorns etc.

then get an old school basin of water and stick the wheel in it and see if you get bubbles around the valve air has to be escaping somewhere no matter how slowly.

veganrun

Probably need to get some tubes, I don't have any 25c tubes, only 28c.

Roger Hassenforder

I'm 105kg, haven't had a puncture in months (* touches wood). It's not your weight

Might be your technique, keeping in too close to kerb/ditch where all the crap is. And if you're not checking your tyres after a puncture and/or each ride you're on a hiding straight away.
Pump them to the max rating as well.

Rokta

Roger Hassenforder wrote: »

I'm 105kg, haven't had a puncture in months (* touches wood). It's not your weight

Might be your technique, keeping in too close to kerb/ditch where all the crap is. And if you're not checking your tyres after a puncture and/or each ride you're on a hiding straight away.
Pump them to the max rating as well.

I am more than that and riding on 28 Conti Grand Prix, 1 puncture due to crap on the road and no pinch flats. I ride below the max pressure and had no pinch flats yet.

Fighting Tao

Any chance you're leaving the valve open? I mean when you unscrew the valve thingy to put air in on presta valves are you sure you're screwing outback in tightly again?