Hi there. I’ve been asked about building a bike for a pretty heavy person (~165kg). My guess is that (esp due to wheels weight limit) the only option is a fat bike thingy? Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
cheers,
By fat bike, do you actually mean a bike with 4-5in wide tires? How tall is the rider?
From a technical perspective, tandems often have to carry 165kg (365lb), there are parts that are rated for the weight. I do agree the wheels are probably the weakest link.
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I asked my hubby what we would have sold to a customer of this stature in our LBS. Perhaps look at the beefy details for comparison…
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Rider is about 185 cm. Exactly, that is what I mean by “fat bike”.
Thanks.
Nearly 20 years ago now, Bob Brown (http://www.bobbrowncycles.com/) built Scott Cutshall a custom bike to support him, when he weighed 500lbs. Story at 'Large Fella on a Bike' | GearJunkie [note: I fixed this link]
I don’t know if Bob is still actively building, but you might consider getting in touch with him and asking how he built Scott’s frame. I recall that he made a heavy-duty custom fork crown, and used a tandem wheelset.
-Jim G
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Is the choice of fat tires for the weight of the rider? or the riding situation?
If it’s not being ridden in snow or sand, I personally think building it around mountain bike parts makes more sense. You have way more wheel, rim, hub, and tire selections.
We build a few mtb’s for 260lb+ people. We ended up using a 38.1mm seattube to add more stiffness and allow the use of a 34.9 dropper (steel bike). Overkill? Maybe. The weak link in the bike ended up being the freehub on the wheels. Doing it over again, I think the DT-swiss star ratchet style distributes the torque evenly and has a good track record.
Totally guessing here, for someone 185cm and 165kg (6’1 and 365lbs) to do mountain biking, I would do:
- 22.2x.09 CS
- 22.2x09 SS
- T47BB
- 38x.09 or 35mmx.09 ST
- 35mm TT
- 42mm 979 DT
- 44mm HT
Thats an inspirational story, thanks for sharing that.
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I rode fat bikes for years but mostly on snow or mtb situation, they are great and I love them BUT
- If you are looking for a somewhat performant bike, wheels need to be light and light fat-bike wheels are expensive, we are talking thousands.
- You WILL feel heavy wheels on any bike but on a fat-bike, with the extra rolling resistance, everything is x10.
- If your rider is not someone that cares, fat bikes will make it THAT much difficult to get parts, not all shops carry a good selection or any selection at all. Even finding tubes is hard. This depends on the customer, I order everything online as my local store is utter garbage and I do all of my own maintenance so it would not be a problem for me but it’s not for everyone.
That said, I believe there are wheelsets that can hold 165kg or they can be built, my guess:
Hope hubs (thru axle)
2mm spokes
Sun Ringle rims, something DH rated.
What about PLUS sizes? Like 29+ or 27.5+? That could give him more comfort and maybe avoiding having to run them too high of a pressure (I am thinking tires will need to be run at high pressure to avoid pinching)
Note: I rode with people that were close to 2m and whose weight “guesstimate” was around 120kg and they rode classic 29er from the stock catalog, I know 165 is definitely more but I wonder if a DH-rated wheelset would just be enough for XC riding.
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@Matt @Daniel_Y thanks guys. What you say is more less what I was thinking. I’ll see if this guy decides o build this bike with me. If so - I’ll post an update.
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Wider rims and higher volume tires make a huge difference for stability and comfort. Running lower PSI helps with traction, especially on loose terrain. Lifestyle Insparation has shown me that bike fit matters a lot—dialing in saddle height and bar position can really improve comfort and efficiency. I’ve found that a strong, well-built wheelset is key for heavier riders, so investing in quality spokes and hubs pays off in the long run.