Weight limit

[13bute]

Hi all ,
i am new to bike riding and to this forum so i am going to ask some dumb
questions now and then sorry lol .

i have a mountain bike ( $400 special )and been riding to and from work for last
two to three months now and really enjoying it and keen as , (about 20km a day )
i would like to step it up a bit and loss a lot more weight .
looking at something like a road bike but just wondering if i was too heavy
for one of the lite weight bikes like a trek madone 2 maybe( 113 kg, and is it to soon
and need more riding on what i have first .


cheers andy

[BoardRider]

Hi Andy,
welcome to the forum. I am not sure about the weight limit on the trek madone . It should be on Trek's web site.Whats your Goal!
After going through the process myself, its up to you .I should of stayed with my first bike because all you have to do really is increase your K's on the bike to improve anything helps .
Maybe leave a half hour earlier extend your ride.It doesn't matter what you ride on.Unless its the wrong size ,purpose ,uncomfortable, painful or your not enjoying riding it. If you haven't been fitted up properly I would recommend it, the increase in Km's may cause you some serious pain i.e. knee,hip,neck or back pain. Any bike will really do.
I found out light weight bikes go faster but are not built for comfort. You will still need to put the work and time in. Mountain bikes pass me all the time .Maybe find a non competive weekend cycling group to ride with .
Pick some community rides to participate in as a goal. Congrats on the weight loss. The more weight you loose the faster you go.
Enjoy!

[jasonc]

to lose (more?) weight, get a heavier bike!
lighter bikes = less effort.

if you want to do longer rides, then lighter bikes (road bikes/flat bar roadies) are more suitable

[Big_Red]

Hi Andy and welcome to the forums! The people here are quite friendly & helpful, so the only stupid question is the one you don't ask...

Trek AU cite that their roadbike weight limit is 125kg, so you should be fine. A higher 136kg limit is given for the cyclocross bikes. In any event it is the wheels are the component most critically affected by weight. I'm 115kg atm (125kg last year) and ride an old 9.5kg Cro-Mo steel roadie (no weight weenie!) and have recently done 500km on a set of new Pro-Lite Como wheels with no issues whatsoever and that is with hitting (many) potholes and dropping off a gutter or six. I'm doing just over 100km commuting 3 days a week to work now as well as getting a few more kms in when I ride on weekends either on the roadie or doing some bush bashing on the mtb, so i'm seeing a slowly shrinking waistline (lost 2 pants sizes sofar) & less love handles as a result. I'm 6'3" and have been advised by the doc to get down to 90kg, which i believe is realistic goal over the next year or two. As i'm now 40+ years old, getting the weight off is a win-win situation as i have a better ability to physically do stuff without being exhausted and as i lose the weight, i get stonger & faster on the bike. A bonus is the savings i'm making not using public transport due to riding to/from work ($50 per fortnight!) as well. At the start of this year I had a 2000km riding distance goal (up from 1000km last year) but will likely get closer to 3000km. I'm setting myself a 4000km goal next year.

Like BR said above, get a bike suited to what you want to do on it and get properly fitted. If you're not racing don't go with a frame that has geometry that is too aggressive, or you'll end up very sore. Work yourself up to doing longer rides to give your body time to see if it can handle it and make sure you mix some hills into the equation. I'm continually amazed after logging rides on Strava that i keep getting PR's for various segments on my rides, which means i'm getting stronger & faster. I'm at the stage that i can rip out a 50km ride and still have plenty of juice left in the tank to do more and i'm looking forward to getting some century rides soon. It's good getting on the mtb occasionally because it means that my rides on the roadbike seem much easier after using a bike that has 50% more weight.

Congrats on getting into it, you're sure to find it a lot of fun, and good luck with shedding the excess weight.

Cheers Gary

[rustychisel]

Hi Andy,

good work, reward yourself when you're ready with a better bike. Big Red has given you a good idea, I should think if you're not a brute with the bike a Trek Madone would be fine, but like all bigger guys your wheels might give you trouble, especially if they're high-zoot factory wheels, such as Bontrager which are likely to come with the Trek. You can be guided by the bike shop staff, provided you trust their input, but as a rule of thumb you would IMHO be best suited looking for handbuilt conventional wheels with 36 spokes per wheel. Quality wheels built well will stand you in good stead. Combine them with slightly larger capacity tyres (25c or even 28c) and you'll be sweet.

[jasonc]

have recently done 500km on a set of new Pro-Lite Como wheels with no issues whatsoever and that is with hitting (many) potholes and dropping off a gutter or six.

+1 to the pro-lite como wheels. I've done well over 6000kms on mine (I may be at 7000kms). absolutely tough as nails and cheap as chips.

[13bute]

wow thanks for replays guys that awesome, i plan to look into the group rides and see how i go , i didn't really think that i
would enjoy it so much to be honest , i will look into those wheels i could always remove the ones that come with the bike
if they don't suits my weight and use them when i loss more weight . i still plan to use the m/bike for my ride to work and have
two hills to ride each way , i walk one at the moment but ride the other one
i will go see my local bike shop for bike fit and see my options .

cheers andy