I haven't been on a bike since I was a teenager (I'm 48 now). My husband just told me on our way home from dinner tonight that he wants to get himself a bike so he can take it with us camping and summer vacations.

Got me thinking that I MIGHT want to get one for myself.

1- Is it true what they say about never forgetting how to ride a bike? lol

2- I'm almost 4 yrs out from VSG. I originally lost 100lbs and have gained back about 30. I never did get down to my goal weight and still have over 100lbs to lose.

3- For those that are still considerably overweight, do you own a bike? Do they make bikes for heavier people? Any suggestions on which bike to get?

4- Lastly, my knees aren't the best (injuries in both plus arthritis in my right knee) Would riding a bike be beneficial or just the opposite?

Google is your friend:

https://cyclinghacker.com/bikes-for-heavy-people/

Expect to pay a "premium" over standard bikes you would see at Walmart, since these bikes handle heavier loads I feel it's money well spent.

It probably depends just how overweight you are as to what would be suitable but also what you want to do with it.

A lot of road bikes now are rated for up to 120kg+ and even at that it’s usually the wheels that are the weak link and they can easily be upgraded. Mountain bikes and hybrids can be more robust but can be harder work on the road.

As far as your knees go getting the bike set up right should make them comfy and it then should be a good way of getting some low impact exercise. When I first started cycling my knee bothered me a bit so I went for a bike fit and haven’t looked back!

I had (and still do) a bike when I was heavier (235 heighest weight pre-op).

There are weight limits on bikes, which you can find out quite easily on google (or at the store). I just googled mine, and it has a weight limit of 330lbs.

I had bad knees also (not anymore), and I remember that it didn't bother me too much (knee pain bothered me more just by walking). Your seat height and the distance of the seat from handles are factors in making this better or worse on you knees.

I will say that I bike much, much more now than when I was bigger because, well, its just easier now because I'm fitter. Also, I could not go for very long before because it hurt my butt! The weight loss totally helped with that and can go much longer/further. (Though I do still wear padded shorts).

I really love my Cirrus Sport with drop bar (ie "girl's bike). (With arthritis is my hips and knees, I just can't swing my leg over the seat, and my balance is not that great, so the drip bar is a really safe option for me. I love it.) It is a hybrid - not as skinny as a road bike, and has really comfortable handlebars that are very ergonomic. The gear shifters are thumb levers - very easy and ergonomic. Seat is good - padded and not as skinny as a road bike. I started riding again after maybe 40 years. It was a little scary - especially on a bike that I couldn't get on or off easily because of the top bar. I just bit the bullet and bought my own. I did a 52 mile race a few months ago and am gearing up for a 100 miler later this year. Biking is fun. It is not hard on the knees, it gives a real sense of freedom, and is just great all around exercise. Warning - The day you buy the bike is the cheapest day you own the bike! Then comes a helmet, car rack, lights, water bottles, spare parts bag, jerseys, shorts, shoes......................... never ends. I did find my jerseys and shorts at a thrift store for just $8=$10 - a steal. Found bike rack at the thrift store, as well, which saved at least $150. But then had to get the hitch put on my car.

Any quality mountain bike will be more than strong enough. A 180 pound college student bashing down a rough trail puts way more stress on a bike than a 400 pound person doing a couple of laps around the neighborhood.

My husband and I got these bikes from Amazon, but you can find similar ones at bike stores. I believe the style is called cruisers. Mine is a 5 speed and it’s pretty comfortable to ride.

Plus it looks cute!

I have an appointment tomorrow (one has to make an appointment because of Corona, mind you) for bike shopping. Hopefully some nice e-MTB fullies my frame size available for testing. ?

7 hours ago, Cheeseburgh said:

My husband and I got these bikes from Amazon, but you can find similar ones at bike stores. I believe the style is called cruisers. Mine is a 5 speed and it’s pretty comfortable to ride.

Plus it looks cute!

ooohhh...all it needs is a basket with a baguette in it (a low carb one, lol)

Depends on your budget ?

But if you're talking about camping and off road trails I suggest a decent mountain bike with gears.

My favourite here in Australia is a brand called Avanti. Very sturdy and mid range prices around $500+\-

5 hours ago, ms.sss said:

ooohhh...all it needs is a basket with a baguette in it (a low carb one, lol)

If you look closely you can see I bought a matching bell.

On 3/7/2020 at 3:34 PM, Lovin2lose said:

I haven't been on a bike since I was a teenager (I'm 48 now). My husband just told me on our way home from dinner tonight that he wants to get himself a bike so he can take it with us camping and summer vacations...

Great that you’re thinking about riding again! I’m a long-time cyclist. I distance cycled before I was MO, casually cycled while I was MO, and went back to distance cycling again after WLS. You can definitely cycle when you’re overweight – loads of overweight people do – but something to be aware of is that knee pain is the most common lower body injury in cyclists, even in those who aren’t overweight. Excess weight (any excess weight, but particularly excess weight around the abdomen) causes you to apply significant force when pedaling, which considerably increases stress on the knees.

I had knee problems when I was MO, but still managed to casually cycle without causing too much extra knee pain or permanent damage. I enjoyed it more, and therefore spent more time riding, by being aware of a few important things:

1. Buy a bike from a professional bike shop, since they will be able to assess and measure your anatomy and match that up with a bike that’s exactly right for your body (bicycle fit is *everything*, and is crucial to minimizing riding injuries).
2. Cycling position: Keeping the hip angle open by sitting upright, with the handlebars positioned closer to you on a shorter stem, is the best way to alleviate pressure on your belly, spine, and knees while riding.
3. Flexibility and limberness: before and after every ride, warm up/cool down and stretch to help reduce risk of injury and make your rides more comfortable. Good example of warm up at https://www.bobs-bikes.com/articles/stretching-before-you-ride-pg910.htm. Good example of cool down at https://www.trekchicago.com/articles/stretching-after-you-ride-pg331.htm
4. Distance: keep your rides on the shorter side, and try to avoid hills as much as possible until you’re better conditioned to riding.
5. Intensity: keep the intensity low, staying on flat terrain as much as possible. Cycling on windy days will increase the intensity at which you ride.
6. Saddle: it’s already challenging enough to ride when overweight, so don’t add to this with saddle sores. Even a brief ride with the wrong seat can cause long-lasting pain deep under the skin. Buy a good saddle, and use an anti-chafing product if needed.
7. Clothes: 100% cotton workout clothes fill with sweat and become heavy, don’t effectively cool, and cause chafing. Buy a good pair of cycling pants or shorts and a top, and wash them with soap and hot water after every ride.

There’s an informative article on knee issues and cycling here http://www.cptips.com/knee2.htm (reprinted for free; the original is from The Physician and Sports Medicine Journal and can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3810/psm.2004.04.201).

Make whatever modifications you need to make your bike fit your style and personality, and the ride as comfortable as possible. You’ll thank yourself every time you’re on it, and ride more often by doing so. You might even come to crave riding ? I hope you enjoy your time on the bike!

I wonder if the OP has already got a bike. It's an almost three months old thread. We want pictures!

If you haven’t already gotten a bike, maybe try a trike? I got one because I would shake and couldn’t keep myself upright. It’s cute with a basket for the dogs.

Resurrecting this thread, I recently purchased a gravel bike and have been struggling cycling for extended periods of time. The seat is a killer on my bum and I become exhausted very quickly, sometimes after only a couple of minutes of riding up a slight incline. I'm aware I'm out of shape, but I didn't think it would be this hard! I've been getting out there 1-2 times/day trying to improve, does anyone have any tips that helped them?

Edited September 4, 20206 yr by Double_Me

The saddle being a killer on your bum can have more than one reason: not the right saddle or - even if you have the right saddle - it has to be properly adjusted for your more sensitive parts not to hurt. Also your sitting bones need to adjust to the pressure and this takes time. If you got a gravel bike I guess you also notice some pain in your hands?

Also do you wear padded bike shorts? Thin padding? Firmer, thicker padding?

Now this has nothing to do with you having problems riding uphill. That's being out of shape I fear.