best frame material for a heavy rider

25 replies · 3,215 views

tclong03
4 posts
#1Sep 27, 2019, 2:08 PM
Hey guys I am looking for input on what would be the best frame material for a big guy 250 to 300 lb range?
0
Toadmeister
53 posts
#2Sep 27, 2019, 8:22 PM
Steel is real.

Im 6’4”, 260#
1
Zurichman
1,526 posts
#3Sep 27, 2019, 8:30 PM
Toadmeister wrote:Steel is real.

Im 6’4”, 260#
Steel is real but a bomb proof wheel set with lots of spokes works also.

Zman
1
Volsung
878 posts
#4Sep 29, 2019, 12:34 PM
Surly's at the low range of steel in terms of quality, but their frames are tuned to humans in the 260 lb range so they may be worth checking out.
0
ChillyWilly
30 posts
#5Sep 29, 2019, 6:45 PM
Whatever makes you happy. I'm currently around 265#. Down from a high of 365#. I've ridden steel, aluminum, and carbon. My favorite gravel bike right now is carbon. Not because of the material, but because of the geometry. I'd be just as happy if they had designed it as a steel bike. (oh wait - they did. Look at the Salsa Cutthroat vs. Salsa Fargo...) My commuter is steel. My winter fat bike is aluminum. My mountain bike is part aluminum, part carbon. Don't get all caught up in material. Or weight. Get what you like, is comfortable to ride, and that you can afford.
That said, don't buy cheap. But any real bike brand is fine: Trek, Cannondale, Raleigh, whoever you like and your local bike shop carries. Test ride first. Don't worry about the wheels to begin with. Buy the bike that fits you and feels good, and start riding it. If you break more than one spoke in a year, get a decent set of wheels built for you. If you don't break spokes or find your wheels getting out of true, then they're fine as-is.
0
Slim
300 posts
#6Sep 30, 2019, 8:58 AMedited
Any material can be made into a durable and stiff frame, so it is totally up to how that material is used to construct a frame. Carbon would theoretically allow for the lightest, stiffest most durable frame, but many carbon frames are actually not very stiff.

i would say a good warranty is your best bet.
1
NoCoGreg
512 posts
#7Oct 1, 2019, 12:21 PMedited
+1 for Slim's comments...

Also note that most (all?) bike warranties are NOT transferrable. In other words they only apply to the original owner. Getting a bike from a local bike shop which is reputable is a huge advantage should the frame fail.

All frame materials will fatigue fail. Period.

A good friend had his titanium Merlin road bike fatigue fail... It took about 15 years of over 10,000 miles per year, but it did fail and Merlin did replace the frame.

Gravel frames are more sturdy and heavier than a road frame. Mountain bike frames are even more stout. If you're really concerned about the frame failing then consider some of the drop bar mountain bikes such as:
Salsa - Fargo and Cut Throat
Soma - Wolverine

Another advantage of the drop bar mountain bike: larger volume tires flex more than their smaller counterparts. This reduces the stresses on the frame and wheels.

Here's a link with even more ideas and a short description.
https://bikepacking.com/index/drop-bar-mountain-bikes-29er/

Bottom line: selecting a bike is all about compromise. Your basic tradeoffs are:
1. Cost
2. Weight/Performance
3. Endurance/Strength

Pick 2

Happy shopping,
Greg
0
Nubster
462 posts
#8Oct 18, 2019, 12:54 AM
I've ridden carbon and aluminum at 265-300 pounds and just picked up my first steel gravel frame from the LBS today. There isn't a best...just the one that suits your needs better than the others. All three (4 if you include Ti) are suitable materials for heavy riders as long as the frame is designed and built correctly.
0
chas
1,305 posts
#9Oct 18, 2019, 9:56 AM
I'm not sure all materials will fatigue fail. I would be curious to see the crack for the TI frame. I hear of those cracking and failing more than most frames - presumable because they are so difficult to weld. But it would be interesting to look at the failure point to see if it really was fatigue.

Not all metals will fatigue fail. If you keep the flex of the metal within the ductile range, it is like a rubber band. It will never build up the stress concentration that leads to fatigue fail. But of course if you go beyond that point, yeah it will fatigue.

I've been trying to get my bikes to fatigue fail for over 25 years. When ridden hard enough - everything else breaks or wears out but the frame.
1
Koyote
288 posts
#10Oct 18, 2019, 10:04 AM
Manufacturers can provide rider weight limits (if there are limits) for their frames...And any material can be built into a frame suitable for a heavier rider. As Zurichman implies, wheels will be the bigger challenge: make sure you use sturdy rims and lots of double-butted spokes.
0
NoCoGreg
512 posts
#11Oct 18, 2019, 10:26 AM
Thought this article would be of interest. While Zinn and his 6'8" 300++ pound customer were designing a road bike, I think much of what they learned is directly applicable to gravel. The one caveat is with wheels as wind resistance is significantly lower due to the slower speeds.
https://www.velonews.com/2019/10/bikes-and-tech/how-lennard-zinn-and-ian-thompson-built-an-unbreakable-road-bike-for-heavy-riders_500561
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Koyote
288 posts
#12Oct 18, 2019, 1:03 PM
NoCoGreg: the only part of that article that surprises me is that the frame only has one top tube. I have an old friend who is seven feet tall and weighs over 300 lbs. His solution, ultimately, was to have Serotta build him a custom frame, and it had twin top tubes to provide enough structural rigidity. Of course, there were still problems with other parts: he snapped off more than one pedal, and used to destroy wheels just by riding them on smooth paved roads.
1
drwelby
531 posts
#13Oct 18, 2019, 1:16 PM
chas wrote:
Not all metals will fatigue fail. If you keep the flex of the metal within the ductile range, it is like a rubber band. It will never build up the stress concentration that leads to fatigue fail. But of course if you go beyond that point, yeah it will fatigue.

Sorry, this is technically wrong. Fatigue failures can and do happen within a material's elastic range.

Some metals, like steel, have a fatigue limit where if stresses are kept below a certain level fatigue failures will never occur. Other metals, like aluminum, will eventually fatigue under any level of stress. Therefore the design goal is to keep the stresses low enough to make the fatigue life exceed the life of the part.
0
TrailMasonCliff
40 posts
#14Oct 18, 2019, 3:02 PM
tclong03 wrote:Hey guys I am looking for input on what would be the best frame material for a big guy 250 to 300 lb range?

For me as a 6'5" long time rider who can put the power down I prefer Steel. Just got done building up a 2020 Kona Sutra LTD frame up everything was picked for durability and comfort. and l;ike others have said wheels a very important so my wheels are 29r MTB wheels and I never need to worry about them.
1
NoCoGreg
512 posts
#15Oct 18, 2019, 3:48 PM
drwelby wrote:

Sorry, this is technically wrong. Fatigue failures can and do happen within a material's elastic range.

Some metals, like steel, have a fatigue limit where if stresses are kept below a certain level fatigue failures will never occur. Other metals, like aluminum, will eventually fatigue under any level of stress. Therefore the design goal is to keep the stresses low enough to make the fatigue life exceed the life of the part.

And the brazing/welding process, if done incorrectly, will weaken the frame. A long time back there was an article in one of the bicycling publications where they provided a very brief summary of the failure analysis of several frames including pictures of the failure. The obvious locations of the failures were at the head tube joints and bottom bracket joints. What surprised me was the number of failures at the locations of the shifter mounts on the down tube. I guess if one cooks (aka over heats) the tube during manufacture the frame is compromised.

Corrosion, yes this also affects aluminum, is another common cause of failure and is especially problematic for people living and riding in coastal regions where there is a natural mist of salt water.
0
drwelby
531 posts
#16Oct 19, 2019, 1:39 PM
NoCoGreg wrote:
And the brazing/welding process, if done incorrectly, will weaken the frame.

Even if done "correctly" fitments create stress risers. It's as much an issue of design - a perfect weld in the wrong place can cause a failure.

With good engineering you can make an indestructible frame out of any material. Currently the market for carbon bikes is engineering for light weight (racing), while the market for steel bikes has moved more towards making strong bikes (touring). So when you buy a steel bike, it's more likely you're getting something optimized for strength than other qualities.

For a person who is big enough to need a custom bike, steel would give you the most options in thinwall tubes outside of bicycle-specific applications. Machining custom parts (like extra-thick dropouts) would also be easier than other materials.

A custom aluminum frame would give you less tubing selection, but custom parts would be on par with steel. However because of heat-treating, there are few custom aluminum builders. There are more titanium custom options, but custom parts would be harder to build. Carbon could give you some interesting options but like aluminum there's not that many builders.

So in the end it's less about the material's mechanical properties and more about whether the design and engineering of the frame correctly uses the material, maximizing its strengths and minimizing its weaknesses.
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PizzaMinion
23 posts
#17Oct 30, 2019, 9:38 AM
I had a Surly that lasted me 14 years of hard riding. They make a great product, but there are also other options to consider. I'm 6'4", 325 lbs. and I reach out to the manufacturer to talk with their engineers to figure out what would work for me. Many bikes are not rated for someone my size (obviously). If you're looking for steel, All City is a great brand and they make bikes rated for riders up to 300 lbs., which could be extended to 350+ if one uses a strong wheel set (this came directly from their engineer).

I was leaning toward an All City, but then I rode a Parlee Chebacco - all carbon and a weight limit well beyond even me. It rides like nothing I've ever experienced. I wasn't a fan of carbon for a multitude of reasons, but it really was the right way to go for me. The other option you may wish to consider is Titanium. Seven, Serotta and Bearclaw are all solid choices. I spoke with Jason at Bearclaw - he was awesome and confirmed that their frames can handle very large riders.

Wheels are another big concern. The Parlee came with very nice DT Swiss C1800 wheels - I learned that this wheel set is only rated to 286 lbs. DT Swiss makes an HG1800, their strongest wheelset, rated to 308 lbs. (bike, rider, and gear). I was looking at using Rolf Prima Tandem wheel's (rated at over 500 lbs.) or Astral Leviathan Tandem wheels but each option costs over $1000.00. I opted to have my local bike shop build a set of Velocity Chukker's with White Industries hubs - a much cheaper but very strong alternative.
1
NoCoGreg
512 posts
#18Nov 3, 2019, 11:56 PM
PizzaMinion wrote:Wheels are another big concern...

Yes if you want heavy duty wheels, definitely look at what the long time tandem makers (Santana, Co-Motion, Calfe) use. Yes tandem wheels are going to be heavier but they're also built to last. Here's a long time tandem source:
http://tandemseast.com/parts/wheels.html

Another place for info on wheels which will last a long time is at Peter White Cycles. Peter's focus and passion is not with equipment for racers but rather utilitarian and touring applications:
https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/wheels.php

FWIW, our tandem has 30mm wide Velocity Cliffhanger 36 hole rims which are designed for rim brakes. You can probably find a lighter rim of comparable strength if you go disk brake. We have well over 1k miles and so far no need to touch up the true despite a total load of 370 ish pounds and the power of two. Oh, and yeah we like to go fast. :-)

The other bicycle community which is focused (obsessed?) on equipment durability/endurance are those doing so called adventure touring which includes things like bicycling around the world. While the cyclists aren't huge, they typically make up for this with all the gear they're carrying.

Hope this helps,
Greg
0
Andy_in_NM
2 posts
#19Jul 1, 2024, 1:43 AM
Hey guys I am looking for input on what would be the best frame material for a big guy 250 to 300 lb range?
Hey Greg,
this is years late, but I want to share. I'm 285 presently, I'm riding both aluminum (State Black Label All-road and Schwinn Homegrown) and carbon (Ibis Hakka) bikes. None is showing any indication of issues. I contacted Ibis before purchasing and they responded that they test their carbon frames with 300# rider. I rode a gravel race on my Ibis in April and it performed like a superstar.

I ride my State and Ibis regularly with ZERO problems or complaints. Like all others have said, ride what you like, yo'ull be fine. I did have a custom wheelset built by ProWheelBuilder.com, and they made my life 100% better.

So what did you end up with?
0
stu
646 posts
#20Jul 1, 2024, 12:57 PM
IMHO many issues for a heavy rider are similar to issues for a tandem. Whatever the material the frame and fork should be rated for the weight they will carry and as Andy_in_NM points out the wheels need to be sturdy. Also the drivetrain and brakes will be heavily loaded if you ride in hilly terrain. I would use good disc brakes with 180 mm rotors and large chainrings and cogs to reduce stress in the chain. Tires should be wide enough so optimum pressure isn't close to maximum.

Tandems are long enough their frames require extra attention to lateral stiffness but that shouldn't be an issue for a single. Tandems don't need special cranks, pedals, seatposts, saddles, or handlebars because those come in pairs but a heavy rider on a single should make sure all of those are specified for the weight.
1

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