Help an old fat man pick a bike

A few good brands out there that i would take a look at.

Kink Bikes
Sunday Bikes
Fit Bikes
Cult Bikes.

If you buying a complete your going to want to be in the $500 or more range otherwise there not much good.

Or you can go the way that guarantees a good bike and build a custom. Spendy but you get quality parts where it matters most.

baglagrupie wrote:

A few good brands out there that i would take a look at.

Kink Bikes
Sunday Bikes
Fit Bikes
Cult Bikes.

If you buying a ...more

baglagrupie wrote:

A few good brands out there that i would take a look at.

Kink Bikes
Sunday Bikes
Fit Bikes
Cult Bikes.

If you buying a complete your going to want to be in the $500 or more range otherwise there not much good.

Or you can go the way that guarantees a good bike and build a custom. Spendy but you get quality parts where it matters most.

...more

Any particular parts that I should make sure not to skimp on? I am assuming tires and wheels need to be better than average in quality, but I’m not really sure what I would be shopping for. Also, would I be correct in assuming that 20” wheels would be too small for me, or would I be able to use a 20” wheel/tire if I got a longer frame, higher seat post and taller handle bars?

Sum FatOld Dude wrote:

Any particular parts that I should make sure not to skimp on? I am assuming tires and wheels need to be better than average in ...more

Sum FatOld Dude wrote:

Any particular parts that I should make sure not to skimp on? I am assuming tires and wheels need to be better than average in quality, but I’m not really sure what I would be shopping for. Also, would I be correct in assuming that 20” wheels would be too small for me, or would I be able to use a 20” wheel/tire if I got a longer frame, higher seat post and taller handle bars?

...more

You'd be able to ride a 20" no problem with a longer toptube. Somewhere between 21" and 21.5" would be my recommendation.

The #1 thing to look for regardless of a person's height/weight is to find a frame, fork, and bar constructed out of 100% chromoly metal. If anything, the frame is the most important.

Some bikes only have certain tubes of the frame made out of chromoly. Terms like "front triangle" or "rear triangle," being the front half and back half of a frame, for example, are things to not be tricked by as those frames aren't 100% chromoly. It must say "100% chromoly" in the description.

Aside from that, look for sealed bearings in the headset, bottom bracket, and both front & rear hubs. Double wall rims are a nice touch as well.

I'm not too familiar with completes these days, but other knowledgeable members here can surely give you good options.

baglagrupie wrote:

A few good brands out there that i would take a look at.

Kink Bikes
Sunday Bikes
Fit Bikes
Cult Bikes.

If you buying a ...more

baglagrupie wrote:

A few good brands out there that i would take a look at.

Kink Bikes
Sunday Bikes
Fit Bikes
Cult Bikes.

If you buying a complete your going to want to be in the $500 or more range otherwise there not much good.

Or you can go the way that guarantees a good bike and build a custom. Spendy but you get quality parts where it matters most.

...more

Sum FatOld Dude wrote:

Any particular parts that I should make sure not to skimp on? I am assuming tires and wheels need to be better than average in ...more

Sum FatOld Dude wrote:

Any particular parts that I should make sure not to skimp on? I am assuming tires and wheels need to be better than average in quality, but I’m not really sure what I would be shopping for. Also, would I be correct in assuming that 20” wheels would be too small for me, or would I be able to use a 20” wheel/tire if I got a longer frame, higher seat post and taller handle bars?

...more

readybmxer wrote:

You'd be able to ride a 20" no problem with a longer toptube. Somewhere between 21" and 21.5" would be my recommendation.

The ...more

readybmxer wrote:

You'd be able to ride a 20" no problem with a longer toptube. Somewhere between 21" and 21.5" would be my recommendation.

The #1 thing to look for regardless of a person's height/weight is to find a frame, fork, and bar constructed out of 100% chromoly metal. If anything, the frame is the most important.

Some bikes only have certain tubes of the frame made out of chromoly. Terms like "front triangle" or "rear triangle," being the front half and back half of a frame, for example, are things to not be tricked by as those frames aren't 100% chromoly. It must say "100% chromoly" in the description.

Aside from that, look for sealed bearings in the headset, bottom bracket, and both front & rear hubs. Double wall rims are a nice touch as well.

I'm not too familiar with completes these days, but other knowledgeable members here can surely give you good options.

...more

Much appreciated. Like I said, I would like to buy another Haro, but I am open to options. Do most of the brands produce 21-21.5” top tube frames, or is that a specialty kinda thing?

Sum FatOld Dude wrote:

Any particular parts that I should make sure not to skimp on? I am assuming tires and wheels need to be better than average in ...more

Sum FatOld Dude wrote:

Any particular parts that I should make sure not to skimp on? I am assuming tires and wheels need to be better than average in quality, but I’m not really sure what I would be shopping for. Also, would I be correct in assuming that 20” wheels would be too small for me, or would I be able to use a 20” wheel/tire if I got a longer frame, higher seat post and taller handle bars?

...more

readybmxer wrote:

You'd be able to ride a 20" no problem with a longer toptube. Somewhere between 21" and 21.5" would be my recommendation.

The ...more

readybmxer wrote:

You'd be able to ride a 20" no problem with a longer toptube. Somewhere between 21" and 21.5" would be my recommendation.

The #1 thing to look for regardless of a person's height/weight is to find a frame, fork, and bar constructed out of 100% chromoly metal. If anything, the frame is the most important.

Some bikes only have certain tubes of the frame made out of chromoly. Terms like "front triangle" or "rear triangle," being the front half and back half of a frame, for example, are things to not be tricked by as those frames aren't 100% chromoly. It must say "100% chromoly" in the description.

Aside from that, look for sealed bearings in the headset, bottom bracket, and both front & rear hubs. Double wall rims are a nice touch as well.

I'm not too familiar with completes these days, but other knowledgeable members here can surely give you good options.

...more

Sum FatOld Dude wrote:

Much appreciated. Like I said, I would like to buy another Haro, but I am open to options. Do most of the brands produce ...more

Sum FatOld Dude wrote:

Much appreciated. Like I said, I would like to buy another Haro, but I am open to options. Do most of the brands produce 21-21.5” top tube frames, or is that a specialty kinda thing?

...more

Over 21 is less common. I'm 6'3 and ride 21.0 no problem..I believe s&m and Fit both have models over 21 tt... I took 33 years off till this year and got back into it because my kids are riding. I bought a 26 inch gt performer hoping it would bring me joy like my 80s bike did; no way... and I immediately gave it to.my wife after one ride lol... I have to ride 20 inch wheels to get my bike fix but some love the big wheel bikes...

I was never really good at too much back in the early 80s but I loved riding the BMX my parents bought me from The Wholesale Club (I think it is what became Sam's Club) back then. It was actually chromoly too.

Anyways, I bought my kid a starter complete, the Legion L80 (not full chromoly at all) by Mongoose because it was all I could find in stock for my small budget. Plus who knows what he's going to do next year since his ADHD makes him obsess over something new all the time.

Anyways, that lead me to want a new bike myself so I bought a new Legion L100 that's full chromoly. I'm not 6'2"/300#, only 5'10"/178# but it's 21" TT and still plenty of room for a bigger person IMO. So 21 TT should be good I would think. I don't think I'd recommend the L100 for you though lol.

I threw a longer 350mm seatpost on it so I could ride sitting more comfortable. I'm essentially a noob right now wanting to learn stuff at 49 lol

Thanks for all of the replies. You all are awesome and I appreciate the help. I really don’t think I will be happy with wheels/tires larger than the classic 20” variety, and I am really hoping that I can find a decent bike to just ride around on. What has me worried is that when I sat down on my sons bike, the rear tire looked like it was gonna go completely flat, even though it is aired up all the way.

I saw an ad for someone looking to sell an old GT Dyno Zone bike, and thought it looked promising for a starter mostly because the seat post sits waaaay high, and I figured it might fit but I am assuming it is a standard size frame that won’t work? That bike is about a 40 mile drive from me one way, and I don’t want to waste the sellers time if it is an absolute impossibility that it would fit me well enough to ride it.

Anyway, are there any particular tires that someone as heavy as I am should be looking at once I do find a bike? I’m sure the basic rubber is simply not going to work out.

Regardless, thanks again for all of the input. You guys are awesome. It’s not easy being a 40 year old man trying to get back into bikes after all of these years.

I'm back into bmx after a 20 plus year highatus. I researched and followed alot of post on this site,so while I'm find of mid school bikes the new models offer much more even the complete bikes.
The new school is wider tires rated to 110 psi and can dial it to what works for you as far as psi goes. I would look at the specs of the new bikes to help choose.
Myself I purchased a subrosa tiro 21 TT not real expensive or all the best parts but works for me relearning .

Mostly all tires these days are made from similar compounds of rubber, they just vary in thickness. What matters is PSI. Like jandk said, with tires rated to fill up to 110 PSI, it’ll be no problem.

Of course, there are companies that make very thin, lightweight tires for certain riding styles, but there are also beefy, thick options with burly sidewallls too.