I need some advice

[Tiny]

Morning all, wonder if anyone can help, I'm looking at getting a bike soon (ktm macina force appeals at the moment) but I haven't ridden for over 20 years. It would be for commuting and leisure but my problem is that I have been a bit of a salad dodger and I wonder what the weight capacity would be on some of these bikes. I think the ktm website suggested something like 118kg rider and luggage, I weigh more than that on my own. Any help or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Alan Quay]

Most bikes can take a lot more than stated, mountain bikes especially as they have to be built strong to cope with bumps and jumps.

My mate is about 24 stone, he's happily riding round on a bike with 700c wheels and skinny tyres.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Whatever bike you get, pull the seat right out and have a look at how far the seat-pin will overlap the joint on the frame where the cross-bar meets the seat-tube. You need as big an overlap as you can get. If there's no overlap, an unbraced joint, like on the KTM, could break. Other bikes have more substantial bracing in that area. You can improve things substantially by gettingan extra-long seatpin, which you can get from E-bay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gusset-Lofty-Extra-Long-450mm-Seatpin-Seatpost-All-Sizes-Road-Mountain-Bike-/121663444410?var=&hash=item1c53b4d5ba:m:mbAcjjCZQnL1sgVzKNRxc0g

The Woosh Big Bear is designed for people like you. It has a very strong motor that gives a lot of torque for hills.

 

[Kudoscycles]

Also try to avoid bolting the saddle onto the seat post such that the saddle puts loading on the rear side of the seat post rather than the middle.
KudosDave