Tough bikes

[School boy]

What bike would you recomend that could hold a lot of weight and manage off road conditions at the same time?
As I have managed to break my Bianchi Doss by buckling the wheel and breaking the de-railer off which is a Shimano Deore.

Any advice please,
Cheers,

School Boy.

Edited by School boy on Saturday 9th June 23:05

[PH5121]

Have you looked at the Kona Hoss range of hardtails? They are designed with the larger rider in mind.

[mk1fan]

If you are buckling wheels then you ned to spend the money on a decent set of custom wheels. My 19-stone buddy rides on Hope Pro II's laced up with Mavic 721 (I think) downhill rims. He's had no problems in six odd months. He used to ride a GT Ruckas when he first started a couple of years ago - He was 26-stone then. He now rides an Orange E8 without issues.

Breaking the rear deraileur off is almost certainly caused by or the result of a crash or inproper care of the bike rather than you being heavy.

The Kona range are sturdy but you shouldn't need to spend such serious money to get a suitable bike (not that you shouldn't spend the money if you have it).

I noticed over the weekend that Halfords are selling their remaining stock of 2006 Carrera Banshee's for £375 (reduced from £500). It's an all mountain trail bike so should be burly enough for your needs. Touch heavy on the climbs - but you would be better off losing 10lb in weight rather than saving 5lb off the bike. MBR really rated this £500 bouncer at its full price - bargain with a £125 saving.

Any bike you do get ask whether you can set up the suspension to carry your weight. My friend has just bought a set of Fox Float forks because the 'cheaper' forks he had couldn't cope with his weight - although the forks on his Ruckas coped fine.

Edited by mk1fan on Monday 11th June 10:05

[Black5]

Ditto better wheels.

I can't imagine any situation where your weight will break the deraileur.

How old is the bike?

Do you keep it in good nick - & service it?

Edited by Black5 on Monday 11th June 13:05

[School boy]

Yep, its regualry serviced and just over a year old, so sods law, the warranty had run out. I keep it in the shed and and lube it rugularly.
However my friend had been 'bunnyhopping' it the night before and it made some spokes bend and catch the derailer every so often (he denies this), but I thought they would have been too weak to cause the thing to snap anyway?

I do realise though that I should hve stoped riding it as soon as I noticed it as it had been ok the night before.

However thanks for the advice, and I think once its fixed ill chop it in for one of the above bikes as I have constantly had hassle with it and the suspension is too soft.

Thanks again,
School Boy

Edited by School boy on Monday 11th June 13:32

[Black5]

If you are 'larger than average', take note of what has been said.

Suspension is built for 'mr average'. Any heavier / lighter and it needs modifying to work properly.

Your LBS should recommend anything you might need.

[Cabinet Enforcer]

School boy said:

Yep, its regualry serviced and just over a year old, so sods law, the warranty had run out. I keep it in the shed and and lube it rugularly.
However my friend had been 'bunnyhopping' it the night before and it made some spokes bend and catch the derailer every so often (he denies this), but I thought they would have been too weak to cause the thing to snap anyway?

I do realise though that I should hve stoped riding it as soon as I noticed it as it had been ok the night before.

However thanks for the advice, and I think once its fixed ill chop it in for one of the above bikes as I have constantly had hassle with it and the suspension is too soft.

Thanks again,
School Boy

A well built XC wheel can take a flat landing from minimum 3 feet with a big rider on board, bunny-hops aren't as stressful as you might think.
If your suspension is too soft then ask at your bike shop if they can get stiffer springs for your forks, if not then buy some decent forks. It's unlikely that you have destroyed your frame, the rear mech usually has a replaceable mech hanger.
Upgrading you current bike to be more durable is much cheaper than buying a more durable bike from scratch. If this is the first thing you have broken in a year of riding then you aren't trying hard enough