Bikes for heavier people?

[Holly]

I have a friend that thinks my bike is the best thing ever. She said she wants one too but says "bikes break when they see her coming".

I don't know how much she weighs exactly but I do think she would need a bike that would be sturdy enough for her.

I'm guessing a step through frame would be best for her so possibly a rear mount engine....

Suggestions?

 

[Deleted member 12676]

a step-thru frame would be the first to bend under a heavy rider

 

[Holly]

Makes sense.

I was considering that I don't have an easy time getting my leg over, though I've got a basket on back that doesn't make it easier.

 

[bakaneko]

The other selling point for the friction drive is that it is very easy to set up with the 4-stroke motor however it is much more expensive. the other question is if there are a lot of hills around your area or more flat roads. I never used a friction drive but I think they might not provide as much torque as a inframe engine. You can change the friction rollers for more torque but it might not be as good as an inframe engine to a rear sprocket.

this might be important because if there are a lot of hills and if your friend is heavy she would want to focus more on torque versus speed. hopefully, someone with experience with different size rollers for friction drives can speak about this. for inframe, your friend can just get a lower sprocket 56t or so. I dunno. I really like 4-strokes but they do not have as much raw power as 2 strokes but the maintanence and installation is minimal.

 

[Frankenstein]

Well the type of bike has a lot to do with it, like an actual mountain bike made for trails or jumps would hold, steel over aluminum obviously. I'd say older bikes would be better, they are usually built tougher (note by the way the old frames weigh 30 pounds vs today with lightweight designs.) so I am 210 with a dented downtube for my muffler to clear. It's also steel and it's got a 2 inch downtube. It took a lot of hammering to get it dented.

It's a mongoose terrex. Has front shocks which help take some of the beating off the frame.

Look for a shorter wheelbase, as in smaller distance between where the wheels hit the ground. The smaller the distance between them generally the more sturdy the bike will be towards more extreme riding circumstances (note those little Bmx trick bikes, the small wheels and frames and wheelbases allow for more shocks without tearing the frame in half)

Not to be Uhm... Rude? But if she's so heavy she's actually breaking bikes I don't think putting a motor on it will help the cause, unless she plans on pedaling with it, which for all I know she may very well have to. I know that after I put a motor in my bike I definitely didn't start losing weight... I did however gain a few extra..

Anyway, 26 inch or smaller, smaller wheel base, and heavy steel frame, that should hold up to most people, if she has a problem with popping tires (which I did) go with the fat tire bike like a terrex, I know there are several types of bikes with fat tires, I'd suggest a steel huffy called the fortress, has 3 inch tires, cheap enough to be affordable, and after looking it over rather extensively I can see it being a suitable bike for a larger person.

I'll also note my father in law is close to 400lbs, he was able to ride my bike without it becoming scrap metal.

Good luck and it's nice to see a girl on here once and a while, still trying to get my sister to sign up so she can solve her own problems.

 

[Holly]

Well the type of bike has a lot to do with it, like an actual mountain bike made for trails or jumps would hold, steel over aluminum obviously. I'd say older bikes would be better, they are usually built tougher (note by the way the old frames weigh 30 pounds vs today with lightweight designs.) so I am 210 with a dented downtube for my muffler to clear. It's also steel and it's got a 2 inch downtube. It took a lot of hammering to get it dented.

It's a mongoose terrex. Has front shocks which help take some of the beating off the frame.

Look for a shorter wheelbase, as in smaller distance between where the wheels hit the ground. The smaller the distance between them generally the more sturdy the bike will be towards more extreme riding circumstances (note those little Bmx trick bikes, the small wheels and frames and wheelbases allow for more shocks without tearing the frame in half)

Not to be Uhm... Rude? But if she's so heavy she's actually breaking bikes I don't think putting a motor on it will help the cause, unless she plans on pedaling with it, which for all I know she may very well have to. I know that after I put a motor in my bike I definitely didn't start losing weight... I did however gain a few extra..

Anyway, 26 inch or smaller, smaller wheel base, and heavy steel frame, that should hold up to most people, if she has a problem with popping tires (which I did) go with the fat tire bike like a terrex, I know there are several types of bikes with fat tires, I'd suggest a steel huffy called the fortress, has 3 inch tires, cheap enough to be affordable, and after looking it over rather extensively I can see it being a suitable bike for a larger person.

I'll also note my father in law is close to 400lbs, he was able to ride my bike without it becoming scrap metal.

Good luck and it's nice to see a girl on here once and a while, still trying to get my sister to sign up so she can solve her own problems.

Great info thank you! I'd guess she's between you and your father in law's size (but don't quote me because I really don't know). I don't think she's broken a bike rather just hasn't gotten on one being self conscious. She drives a car so this would just be recreational for her.

It's moderately hilly here. I should say it's down hill one way and up hill back because we live on the coast.

I'm going to look up your mentions and see if I can piece something together for her.

And tell your sister to sign up! You guys are amazingly helpful but it would cool to see other girls too.

 

[Frankenstein]

It's always uphill one way and downhill another, in the end you're just trying to get somewhere, and there should be one best way to do it, don't forget that.

So if she was pushing 300lbs but not planning to jump over crazy s**t with it she could do with a bike rated for a 200lbs rider on a design meant for mountain trails, including the stuff that comes with it.

Remember the manufacturer tests untill it breaks, then tries to determine what size rider can break those bounds. A strong beefy fella who weighs 200 pounds could put a mountain bike through some serious hell if he's using his muscle. A 300 pound woman who isn't going to use it much past luxury will never put the bike at it's (true, like actually a 300 lbs beefy rider on a downhill mountain course) limits.

I've got a very powerful motor and am at the basic limit of my bike weight wise, but I use it on primary road surface, never had a frame problem. I've also taken it off the beaten path without any issue beyond my lack of control on those types of terrain with a bike I'm not used to riding on that type of terrain.

I'd say most bikes will be OK, like I said, the manufacturer has to legally put a limit on the bike so they can minimize lawsuits. If they say any ol' Joe schmoe can ride the bike then they are opening themselves up to a s**tstorm of legal problems. (think how putting a limit of 200 lbs riders and only for on road use protects them, when most of the sue happy American population will weigh more than 200 lbs and most accidents not caused by vehicles will happen off road...Yeah, gotta love lawyers)

Also limits are set often by the drivetrain, being that a chain and sprocket usually drive the bike, limiting a person's size can set a top end force requirement of the derailleur and chain and sprocket. Just because the frame can hold a 500 pound man up doesn't mean the chain and sprockets can handle his force output. So limits get set on the cheap plastic drivetrain components as well. Since a motor will be driving the bike it's probably useless to care about the requirements for the person.

At this point the only important factors are a decent steel frame that can hold up to the motor itself and it's vibration, along with a rear wheel with spokes that can also handle the torque produced by an engine that's pulling the person. Beyond that it's imagination that limits the bike, not necessarily physical size of the rider.

My bike has an upgraded drivetrain, jackshaft, nuvinci hub, heavy gauge spokes. Everything else is stock and according to the manufacturer my bike with a huge dent in its frame should've folded under a 400 pound man, yet it didn't.

Good luck, make sure she wears a helmet, no matter how ugly it makes her feel, it's still important.

 

[bigkev81]

Hey Holly,
I'm a heavy bloke. I weigh around 140kilos (I've put so much weight on the last 5 years its embarassing, lol)

Anyways, my 66cc 2 stroke seems to carry me just fine. I easily coast at 35km per hour most of the time. I can go faster but I dont as my engine is still breaking in, and I had a nasty accident on my bike 3 years ago which kind of killed the speed demon in me. My area is fairly flat so I haven't tried uphill yet, so I can't comment on climbing.

I hope my input helps with your question.

 

[w3af]

i'm not skinny, actually i.m pushin 270 and my firmstrong cruiser has held up fine the last couple years at 30 mph. although i did change from 14 gauge (spoke) rag joint rear wheel to 12 gauge disc brk. mount sprocket rear wheel, when i took the sprocket off the old wheel most the spokes were broke , it could of collapsed.

 

[Holly]

Thanks guys! Great responses that I'm looking forward to passing on to her.