Tall and Heavy(somewhat) Riders

PB Forum :: All Mountain, Enduro & Cross-Country
Tall and Heavy(somewhat) Riders
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flag rigodon666
Posted: May 25, 2016 at 12:50 Quote
Hello everyone, I've been riding serious(well, sort of....) mountain biking since 2004 and I think it's time I share some of the information I could gather as a giant rider. I'm 6"9 (2M05) with shoes and (depending on the era) 230-270 pounds (not in gear). Since I started riding, I could not find much information about us poor sub species of giant/heavy riders and that made me sad.

If you fit in this category, please feel free to pitch in and share your tricks/rides/gear/whatever that could help other giant/heavy rider to join ze forest. I know there are a lot of these people afraid of starting mountain biking because they don't want to break (or break themselves) the bikes/wheels or think they can't possibility fit on a bike. We must let them know that basketball is not the only sport we can excel at!!! They need testimonies and be reassured that Mountain Biking is a fit for everyone regardless of size/weight =D.

My experience extends from DH to XC so I can speak a little bit of what I've used and what worked/did not work for me in these disciplines. I am not the most gentle rider and of course, I'm not the most nimble on a bike. So the parts that have survived me without any incident, well, they should survive for you too.


1 ) You will never be XC and/or DH champ. Our center of gravity and weight plays against us in both category most of the time. So you don't have to try it but you can still enjoy both of them Smile .

2 ) I have rarely bent wheels. Wheels that have been supporting me without any issues : Mavic 823(DH), Mavic 819(FR/AM) , Double Track (FR/AM), Cross Max Enduro, Mavic 729. Wheels that I've seen the limit for my weight : Mavic 321(XC), DT Swiss EX 1750(FR/AM), Alexrims Supra D(DH). The DT Swiss were OK but one drop (4 feet) slighty off and it was bent with couple of spoke broken. At our size, not landing straight is a problem.

3 )You can find clipless shoes up to 50(EU)/15(US). I have Shimano and Lake. I'm sure you could find even larger one. Speaking of which, riding clipless is a good idea since our feet are large and I don't like them sticking out everywhere when loosing a little grip on the pedals. Even with large feet, you will fit and the worst case is that your heel might rub a tiny bit on some frame on some pedal strokes.

4 )For DH bike: Back in early 2000, it was not uncommon for people to ride 1 size smaller than what they were normally riding for AM so I started riding with that in mind "If they ride a medium size at 6"0, I can fit on a large at 6"9". It doesn't exactly fit like a glove but it's possible to fit on the L/XL DH frame of many company. Bike that I could ride and fit : Norco Team DH 2006, Airbone Pathogen, Cannondale Gemini DH (Best size wise), Cannondale Gemini 2000. I could not ride properly a Norco A-Line 2004, too tight and that would make my CoG even higher.

5 )You probably won't be able to pedal your DH bike like your friends can due to your infinite legs and the height of the BB + height of seat.

6 )While riding DH with integrated stem, you should be able to find a somewhat decent riding position (not WC approved) and have a blast for couple years. You will be able to get your arms and legs work in unison so you feel OK and in control. You might have light strain in your lower back at the beginning but you will overcome that easy.

7 )Reading reviews about brakes is a little bit misleading. For you, "super omfg too much power brakes" are "good enough". Brakes that I used at my weight : Hayes 9 (XC and DH) Lack power, Hayes Mag (DH) Lack Power/semi OK, Saint 2006 (DH) good modulation lack stopping power, Magura Gustav(DH) OK, Formula RO (DH,FR,AM) Best, XTR 2006 (AM) OK, Avid CODE(DH) OK. We put a lot force on our brakes so verify that your front brake can actually reach the locking point (not that you would want that in real life situation) when you have your full weight on the front wheel and rolling slowly. That should give you a good enough approximation of : Does this brake have enough power to save me in DH when it's hot.

8 )As long as you have a long top tube, you can manage to ride any L/XL AM/Enduro bike. Bike that I could fit well for reference : Oryx T-Line 250, Cannondale Prophet 2006 L, Canyon Torque EX L 2012 (Plenty of space). You might look a little crooked in some situation, but I could ride for hours and never felt uncomfortable. You will need to adjust to different bikes but for as long as I have ridden, I could always find a good enough position.

9 )At 270 pounds, you can still adjust air shocks/forks so that they are usable. You need the stiffest spring for your Rear shocks/Forks to get the most of it. You can survive with Medium spring in the fork/shock but you will see the limit when you start pushing it. You might need to crank up the bottom out setting depending on your riding style.

10 )The skinniest the tire, the more pressure you will put down on it. I've lived with tires size in the range of 2.3/2.5 for XC to DH and never had problems with pinch flats or others. 2.1 is a little bit skinny.

11 )You are already heavy, don't be afraid to bring a backpack with tools/food every time you leave the house. That will add like 3% of your total weight. You will probably loose more water than the average joe so take that in consideration when going on epic all day journey with only 1L of water like your 120 pounds buddy does. Big muscles (even if you think you don't have any) will eat up food/water faster.

12 )It's harder to get our front wheel to stick when going up hill in technical section since we are higher up (depending on your wheelbase), don't push it. You DO fall from pretty high when going backward in a steep incline, add your weight to that and you will discover that your wrists can't handle all that weight coming down.

13 )Any quality bike that you choose should be able to support you and not break down. Pay a little bit more attention to your pivots. The only thing that is really nasty is when you don't land straight. At our weight, even a 888 can bend from a not-so-big drop if you crash down 270 pounds on it in a twisting manner. I never broke (except in crashes) a handle bar due to my weight.

14 ) Learn to ride within your limit and within yourself. You can't just read anything you read online and apply it since you will discover that they don't necessary apply to riders your size/weight. You will end up with a slightly different bike position and ways to approach obstacles. They are still super useful though.

15 ) Crank arms were never a problem. I had long and short ones and you learn to live with it.

16 ) I only changed my stem once for a longer one. I prefer the shorter stems for better control and my arms are long enough to reach my handlebar adequately on every bike I've owned.

17 ) You can find jersey that fits you. You will want to use padded shorts because well, we put down a lot of pressure on our bottom and the extra comfort is nice in long runs.

So yeah, that was my rambling about the heavier/taller rider. If that does not make any sens, I'm sorry Frown . If you want to contribute, go ahead Smile . Together, we will get more giant/heavy rider in the loop.
flag cmc4130
Posted: May 25, 2016 at 14:06 Quote
Very thorough. I imagine it would be appreciated over here as well: http://forums.mtbr.com/clydesdales-tall-riders/

What do you think about all-rigid being a go-to recommendation, since most suspension is probably default-designed around average weight? Have you ridden 27.5"+ or 29"+ tires?
flag rigodon666
Posted: May 25, 2016 at 14:21 Quote
cmc4130 wrote:
Very thorough. I imagine it would be appreciated over here as well: http://forums.mtbr.com/clydesdales-tall-riders/

What do you think about all-rigid being a go-to recommendation, since most suspension is probably default-designed around average weight? Have you ridden 27.5"+ or 29"+ tires?

I would agree that rigid would be the easiest/safest way to go. It's not easy to adjust the air pressure at the level that we require and still have good shock sensitivity/feeling. Sometimes I almost feel like it's all or nothing when you have 280-300 PSI in the poor DHX 5 lol. I've ridden rigid for couple years but I think that nowadays, dual suspension setups perform well enough so we giants can use them too Smile .

The 27.5" and 29" are the things on which I would need input on. I would assume that a 29" would look almost good/normal for us. I'll try to get my hands on one this summer to try this out. Only think I'm scared of would be the wheel solidity.

Edit: Btw thanks for the link. I'm blind it seems, I was looking for other threads/discussion about that very topic before creating mine.... I should create a "MTB for Blind people" thread.
flag gbeaks33
Posted: May 25, 2016 at 19:23 Quote
Love this. I'm not as big of a fella as you, however. I'm 6'5 200lbs, down from 235lbs. I managed, without really trying, to lose that weight over a few years mountain biking. (the first 20lbs within the first 3 months).

I've only had a 2013 Giant Talon hardtail, a 2014 Niner WFO for my all mountain, and a 2010 Giant Glory for the rare park day.

I'd be interested in hearing how other tall guys figure out how to purchase their bikes. I could not find a single shop in my area that stocked decent quality xl models for me to try. Demo days? I'd be lucky if they had an xl in their entry level bike only. I bought my Niner from a guy who was the same height as me. I figured if it fit him, it'd fit me. Best I could do.
flag bigbird
Posted: May 26, 2016 at 12:46 Quote
I am 6'4", 235-240 without gear. I have yet to break anything due to my size but the wheels and pivots take a beating. the brake pads wear down quicker as well and of course the springs in the front and rear shocks need to upgraded to the appropriate size/spring weight to accommodate our "gravity challenged" body size.

as for bike frame size, I kind of know what the top tube and seat tube dimensions need to be in order to decide on a size. I was so use to running a smaller frame for everything since I came from BMX, worked up to road and then to mtn biking (20 years ago). the frame geo's have changed dramatically since my first mtn bike purchase back in 1992......so the idea that certain frame dimensions will work regardless of bike model and manufacturer has been thrown out the window but since I have owned over 10 different bikes in the last 20 years, ranging from Dual slalom, xc, enduro and DH and in 26" to 27.5" versions, I kind of know what will work and what won't. I've had to switch out stems and seat posts on most of my purchases to get a better fit; sometimes even handlebars and cranks (for the length). we are in the minority when it comes to options for frame sizes. but again, its all a matter of personal preference and what feels comfortable for you.
flag dirtrider76
Posted: May 26, 2016 at 17:27 Quote
I'm 6'4" and 240lbs and haven't really had much issue finding bikes to fit. I currently have 2 XL frames and both fit good, previously I had a large frame and it fit OK with a 70mm stem. One of my friends is 6'8" and like 235lbs and rides a XXL and another friend is 6'6" and had a custom frame built for less than some off the shelf ones.
flag rigodon666
Posted: Jun 2, 2016 at 15:22 Quote
dirtrider76 wrote:
I'm 6'4" and 240lbs and haven't really had much issue finding bikes to fit. I currently have 2 XL frames and both fit good, previously I had a large frame and it fit OK with a 70mm stem. One of my friends is 6'8" and like 235lbs and rides a XXL and another friend is 6'6" and had a custom frame built for less than some off the shelf ones.
That's what I want to hear Smile .
flag MuddyPaws
Posted: Mar 30, 2018 at 18:47 Quote
Glad I found you. I plan on updating new things I'm working on specifically tall oriented. I have a 29+ 3.0 tires capable hardtail on the drawing board oriented around us tall guys. I'm of the mind that there are lots of really nice full suspension bikes that are already made with the right geometry. So, no need to compete in that arena. But, with the 29+ tire explosion, a hardtail now becomes that intermediary all mountain bike that is half the price with the bitchen components hanging off of it.

So, that's my goal. Ti 29er+HT, 150mm fork. I've got the machine shop to build this, the jig to hold the tubing is almost completed and I'm a bit obsessed with this project. Hope to have the steel proto out in a month.....tup
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