..in Which the Author Discovers Market Forces Don't Always Serve His Needs Well 5
So, I’ve been doing the bike-to-work thing for more than two years now, off-and-on, and if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the biking world doesn’t exactly welcome us heavy folks with open arms. Sure, biking enthusiasts are all welcoming and encouraging, but when it comes to the standard equipment you get off the shelf, most of it was designed for someone weighing ~160 lbs. This would make more sense if the bulk of the country wasn’t… bulky.
When I started biking, I was over a hundred pounds more than that. I had read about this being a problem before I got my bike, so I eschewed a light road bike and went with a bulkier, heavier hybrid. The bike as a whole has stood up pretty well, but a few parts have suffered worse than others.
One lesson I have definitely learned: salesmen will automatically assume that heavier people need a seat mount with a spring in it to soften the bumps on the road, and they couldn’t be making a bigger mistake. The springs will inevitably be worn out much faster from having to deal with weight far in excess of what they planned.
That’s the least of the problem though. The real problem is my rear wheel. My added weight puts tremendous strain on the rear wheel. I’ve repeatedly bent spokes and/or the wheel, even as I’ve lost weight from the riding. I’ve spoken to several experts, and the consensus is that off-the-rack wheels just aren’t strong enough to handle the load. I’ve upgraded to a stronger rear wheel, and at least so far that has kept the wheel from needing work, but I still seem to get a lot of blown tires.
I looked at this information on tire pressure, but it seems to suggest I need tire pressures well above 100psi, which seems insanely excessive for the fairly beefy tires on my hybrid. The tires I’m riding with are rated at 85psi, which is where I try to keep them (checking their pressure every few days), but I have to admit that when I’m riding they do seem bend a bit more than I’d like. I checked the tube on my last flat, and it appeared to have a snake bite, but I’m not entirely sure whether it got there before or after the air leaked out of the tire.
A friend of mine who is a much more experienced biker says that I need to buy aftermarket spokes and most importantly learn to build my own wheel to get something strong enough to handle my weight. I think I’ll be taking this route soon, but I have my doubts as to whether this will really solve my problem (are bike shops really that bad at building wheels?).
So, I turn to the great internets. I can’t imagine I’m the only overweight cyclist out there. What have the rest of you learned to do to compensate for the industry’s seemingly obsessive focus on those who are already at a healthy weight? Have you encountered other problems I have yet to deal with?
Bike to Work Week 1
May is “Bike Month”. Next week is Bike to Work Week. Actually, every week is Bike to Work Week for me, but I thought I ought to point out that everyone is supposed to make an extra effort this week. The LA Times has surprisingly good coverage. Apparently, Bike to Work Day is this coming Friday, although I’ve seen some confusion as to whether it is Friday or Thursday. Either way, I encourage everyone to give it a go. I assure you, it isn’t nearly as hard as it seems, and there are all kinds nice little benefits to the whole thing. That said, I *do* recommend not making the mistake I did earlier this week: doing Pilates for the first time, for an hour, before biking home for another hour. Ouchy.
One of the fun things to play with is the MTA’s “Bike to Work Calculator” which gives you an idea of the impact you can have by cycling to work. Apparently I’m saving close to $10/week, or ~$500/year in gas (not to mention LA’s insane insurance prices) by biking to work, not to mention 45lbs of CO2 emission reduction. This week I did more cycling than normal, so I actually saved 50% more than that. I expect the CO2 calculation in particular is missing some of the subtleties of the whole thing, but it is still fun.