The guy at freshbikes said my heavy MTB will not help me lose weight

[bikenurse]

@DaveK 45766 wrote:

I should amend my post to say that I absolutely think that the best bike is the one that will inspire you to go out and ride. But there’s no reason you can’t accomplish your goals with the bike you have now. You could also look at a new bike like a reward for hitting a certain milestone.

I agree! I’ve met several people who have lost big weight riding (>100#). The key is riding and burning some calories. As long as you’re having fun (and your bike fits well enough that you like to ride it) then you will keep riding, burn more cals, see results, ride more….. Ride harder or just ride more hills to get your heart rate up. That’ll help with the calorie burn and make you stronger. Keep on riding!

[Arlingtonrider]

I met one person who lost 57 lbs by riding a mountain bike at Hains Point 12-15 miles a day, consistently, at about 9-10 mph. I think it was over about 18 months.

[Jason B]

Never underestimate a old guy with panniers on an Raleigh. On several occasions on the WOD/Loop I have been dropped on my leaf-weight carbon by chaps wearing tweed sports coat on their way to go antiquing at the Eastern Market. I am always humbled by how overdressed I am, and on several occasions I wish for my schwinn varsity to justify my lack of comparative ability.
You need to keep doing what you are doing, and that is riding. Set yourself a goal, whether it is loosing 10 pounds, doing the entire WOD, or riding the loop 10 times in a month. Once you have completed that goal, you will have a good understanding of how you ride and what would make a good bike for you, and you will be ready to reward yourself with a good Craigslist find.

[ejwillis62]

I have lost a lot of weight through a combination of yoga biking and jogging all very slowly. I started out on a very bottom of the line mountain bike type bike from sports authority. Biking was hard on that bike, big tires very heavy. A young guy in my office kept telling me to go to a bike store and get a “real” bike. After a couple of months I did and got my first trek hybrid, it was AWESOME….I felt like I was flying on the paths, hills became so so so much easier biking was fun and I started to totally love in. Now a few upgrades later I still love it. I have moved on to thinner tires and did have a road bike for a while but did not enjoy the bent over handle bars. Now I have what is best described as a trek that is in between a road bike and a hybrid with a straight handle bar. I love it. While I feel like I am flying out there I know I am very slow but the bike ride like a dream. Sometimes a bike upgrade is just what you need to ride longer and much much easier. I have kept the weight off since the end of 2009 so it must work. Biking is so much easier than jogging we get to coast down hill.

[Greenbelt]

^^^ Like

[lordofthemark]

@creadinger 45748 wrote:

On the mountain bike if I put more energy into the pedals I would still go the same speed because it was heavy with big tires. So I always figured why bother to work harder? I’ll just ride across the Georgetown Branch Trail at my moderate pace and get to work in about the same time.

Would it be correct to say that the MTB is at a significantly greater disadvantage on uphills (either long steady “easy” uphills like say outbound on the WOD part of the Arlington loop, or more dramatic ups and downs (like east bound on the Custis, or the many ups and downs I have locally here in Annandale) than it would be on flat terrain?

My bike rides seldom take me to completely flat terrain, so I’m not even sure what my speed on such terrain (for an extended period of time) would be.

[PotomacCyclist]

It’s tougher to ride up a hill on a heavy MTB, than on a light road or cyclocross bike. Then again, if your primary goal is fitness, it doesn’t matter that much. Riding up a hill on a heavier bike will develop fitness. You just won’t go as fast as you would on a lighter bike.

[vvill]

@lordofthemark 45909 wrote:

Would it be correct to say that the MTB is at a significantly greater disadvantage on uphills (either long steady “easy” uphills like say outbound on the WOD part of the Arlington loop, or more dramatic ups and downs (like east bound on the Custis, or the many ups and downs I have locally here in Annandale) than it would be on flat terrain?

My bike rides seldom take me to completely flat terrain, so I’m not even sure what my speed on such terrain (for an extended period of time) would be.

I’d say yes because of the weight, and also you may lose more energy in the extra bounce from your suspension, if your MTB has it.

On any terrain you are also losing on rolling resistance and aerodynamics.

[Jason B]

@lordofthemark 45909 wrote:

Would it be correct to say that the MTB is at a significantly greater disadvantage on uphills (either long steady “easy” uphills like say outbound on the WOD part of the Arlington loop, or more dramatic ups and downs (like east bound on the Custis, or the many ups and downs e.

Yea that mtn bike is heavier, but don’t forget you got a rack of tiny little gears that can crank you up any hill.

[pfunkallstar]

It all boils down to determination. It takes an equal amount of determination to ride 10 miles on a clunker versus 20 miles on an ELITE special. Both are a great workout, both require the same amount of grit, and both may appeal to some people more than others. I personally ride a SUPER ELITE all black carbon ride, which provides a little more incentive not to get smoked by a Huffy. Meanwhile, you better believe there are some Huffy dudes out there looking to do the same to me. This is Washington.

[PotomacCyclist]

If you’re riding mostly on roads and paved trails with the MTB, see if you can lock the suspension. I know that some bikes offer this option. Mine does. All I have to do is turn a knob about 45 degrees. That’s it. Since I do almost no true off-road riding on the MTB, I always leave it in the locked position.

[Sarah Dots]

It depends on how and why you’re losing weight. If you’re already super fit and just need to get into a new weight/riding/racing class, which bike you ride might matter. If you’re overweight and trying to change your habits so that you are healthier and happier, then ride the bike that feels like a more natural extension of you. Otherwise it’s harder to build new habits. Cycling wasn’t my first choice of sports, it came to me because of severe knee injuries in karate. So I ride a bike that encourages me to feel happy, and that’s a road bike not a mountain bike. (And I have to undo a lot of weight gain since my injuries, so I know this topic well.)

[brendan]

Assuming a baseline fitness level and in the context of solo riding or riding at your own pace…

In my opinion, when one is significantly overweight or obese, the weight of a bike is less of an issue than when one is in the middle of the “normal” weight range. One just needs to do the miles, primarily. As an adult, I’ve never been at a weight where it made more sense for me to get a lighter bike than to do the work toward having a lighter body. Well, except for rides where I was *required* to paceline in order to complete them, but that’s a different environment.

The most important thing, from my perspective, is to find a bike you’d like to spend 75% of a weekend day riding around and exploring. Try to do that ride most weekends, plus a few evenings or work commutes a week. In addition to loving being outside, where the human heart and mind thrive…it gets one away from bad habits as well. At least, in my experience.

The bike that works for you can be a MTB, hybrid, cruiser, touring or road bike. Upright, race position or recumbent. A trike. Unicyle. Whatever! As long as it has the appropriate gearing and tires for the terrain you plan to cover. Make sure you feel safe and comfortable on it for both short and long rides.

Oh, and keep it in good repair. Safety first!

Brendan

PS – a personal aside: I went from seriously obese to the middle of overweight (as per the doctors’ charts) mostly by walking and calorie counting. I kept it that way by transitioning to cycling and a little bit of running. At the time, most people thought I was normal weight, but my body shape tends to hide some of my weight. However, now I’m up 16lbs. over the past 1.5 years due to a combination of cycling injuries/recoveries/surgery…and not learning to slow down my calorie consumption in my downtime. This puts me just back over the line into obese, by the charts. Mea culpa. I’m really looking forward to getting permission to ride and run again in a month or so! That is, if the surgeon finally sees what he wants to see under the clavicle plate he put in last December. In the mean time, I’m walking at least 35 miles a week and keeping a food journal.

[mstone]

@brendan 46960 wrote:

In my opinion, when one is significantly overweight or obese, the weight of a bike is less of an issue than when one is in the middle of the “normal” weight range. One just needs to do the miles, primarily. As an adult, I’ve never been at a weight where it made more sense for me to get a lighter bike than to do the work toward having a lighter body.

My light bike is about half the weight of my heavy bike (neither is a major fraction of my body weight) and it accelerates much faster. The major difference there is the weight of the spinny parts. Note that big guys can only lose so much weight from the wheel before it collapses, but there’s certainly room for improvement over a big mountain wheel. It doesn’t make a real difference for a non-competitive cyclist, admittedly, except in the category of “things that make the ride more fun”.

[brendan]

@mstone 46969 wrote:

My light bike is about half the weight of my heavy bike (neither is a major fraction of my body weight) and it accelerates much faster. The major difference there is the weight of the spinny parts. Note that big guys can only lose so much weight from the wheel before it collapses, but there’s certainly room for improvement over a big mountain wheel. It doesn’t make a real difference for a non-competitive cyclist, admittedly, except in the category of “things that make the ride more fun”.

Ok, perhaps point is: if one is happy with the upright posture of a montain/hybrid bike, moving to a road bike can being quite a change. However, for some people, it’s as easy as pie. Hard to know until you try. That said, I wouldn’t worry too much about it unless you have a need to get places a little bit faster, you’re training for/with longer/faster group rides, or your weekly mileage demands it. It’s quite possible you’ll prefer the posture (but personally, I never have).

I will add an addendum (redundant much…) about knobby tires feeling and being a bit slower than slick tires. If you’re spending nearly all your time on paved surfaces, a move to non-knobby tires can be refreshing.

Brendan

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