Yet, many bikes and bike equipment are still manufactured with only the other 26% in mind.
No. They are made with the majority in mind, since the European and Asian bike market, where significantly fewer people are overweight or obese dwarve the American market.
Projected North American bike market revenue (2024):
$10.44 billion
Projected European bike market revenue (2024):
$27.89 billion
Projected Asian bike market revenue (2024):
$42.13 billion
On an international market, if you don't matter enough you won't get special treatment.
Just imagine if 74% of Luxembourgians decided that their smartphone must have a USB-A port, as an essential requirement. How many major manufacturers would accommodate them instead of continuing to sell "normal" phones? Sure, they could put a USB-A port onto all phones globally sold, but why bother? It's more expensive and nearly nobody outside of Luxembourg would want that feature.
I honestly applaud anyone who wants to get on a bike, especially if it's to improve their fitness.
Bike frame weight limits are only one thing to consider. Wheels and tires have weight limits too. And some bikes have a higher center of gravity than others, so weight up top would be very unstable.
I would think (hope) that anyone who is over 220lbs would consider a custom, steel frame bike that is built specifically to handle the extra weight, and not rely on what the weight limit on a website says.
Also, people have to realize that the "weight limit" of a bike can often include other things that the rider might be carrying on their bike. Cargo bikes often have several weight limits depending on what you're looking for, but even those have their limits.
Side note: this was a problem in the e-scooter world, where you'd get people who would be at the upper limit of the scooter's weight limit asking if it would be safe for them to ride. Well, the frame might support the weight if it's not in motion, but the motor likely can't push that weight for very long, and certainly not up hill.
"Fatphobic" (because that's what we call social health consciousness these days) rant incoming:
It's been an issue for a while across all facets of life now and no one is brave enough to be the first voice to say "hey, these things literally were not made to support people as heavy as you." In the past year, a horseback riding trail in my hometown had to close because there were not enough customers whose weight didn't pose a serious risk of injuring the horses. A few years ago I had to install a steel support beam in the crawlspace under the master bedroom of a morbidly obese couple. Together, they probably pushed a half a ton and spent easily 16 hours a day on that bed. The framing had become so sunken that you could see the subflooring through the gaps that appeared between the flooring.
Just the other week my roommate invited an old school friend over, the guy probably weighed about 300lbs at 5'8" and broke a stool (Lyra by Magis, very nice, one of my favorites) in my kitchen. How anyone can be that big and so unaware of the strain their weight is putting on the things underneath them is beyond me.
I got an e-trike that lists its weight limit as 330lbs. However, the seat post only supports 220. So one bent seat post later, I’m looking for a new post that can support my fat ass and I’m coming up short. Help?
I just checked, and the company website page on my relatively high end carbon bike has a listed max weight (rider+bike+equipment) of 120kg. Easy enough to find on the page.
That said...were I close to that limit, I think I'd opt for a steel bike, or maybe titanium if I have the money. Carbon is amazing but its failure mechanism isn't pretty.
how well do Dutch omafiets and Japanese mamachari fare in this regard? so much of what’s available in the US seems aimed at sport (racing or mountain biking) rather than the utility and daily commuting focus of Europe and Japan …
6 feet 6 inches, 270 pounds here. I spent a couple of weeks tracking down weight and height limits when I was looking into bikes. It wasn’t easy, and it should have been. I don’t expect every model of every bike at every manufacturer to cater to me, I just wanted to find one goddamn mountain bike I could safely ride.
I ended up with an eMTB made by Specialized, and paying more than I wanted to, and calling the bike shop to see if they knew the weight limit because the documentation on the website was unreadable without an engineering degree. (I exaggerate, but it was bad.)
But in the meantime, I spent a lot of time having bike brand website “sizing quizzes” do the surprised pikachu face when I entered my height/weight: https://toot.cafe/@isaaclyman/112714856810902224
Obesity aside, it's important to have the weight limits clearly defined just for hauling stuff alone, but I applaud anyone who gets on a bike and rides. We should be encouraging overweight people to ride instead of trying to shame them.
America has a serious food problem where shitty food that is horrible for you is far more affordable and accessible for man than actual proper food that will nourish you. As a result, obesity has become a massive problem. Cycling won't fix everything but it can help a hell of a lot!
I agree that there exists a problem with unmarked weight limits and this affects larger riders, but I think the author's proposed change will not be sufficient to increase the availability of bikes with higher limits. The author writes:
My proposed solution, which I presented recently at the National Bicycle Dealers Association annual meeting, is to add the weight limit to the geometry spec sheet for every bicycle next to the standover height and reach
Publishing a spec is (and ought to be) a minimum obligation by a manufacturer, since the consumer has no way to compute these values on their own. So I agree with that. The problem is that unlike the standover height or wheel diameter, the weight limit is artificially constrained downward by limits of mechanical modeling software or destructive testing, and artificial limits like how much product liability the lawyers are willing to permit.
If bike manufacturers have a robust regime for testing up to 136 kg, then testing beyond that would require new processes and test equipment, all of which cost money. So a manufacturer that complies with the author's proposed rule would simply publish the 136 kg and call it a day, foregoing a supposedly narrow market segment. So a frame that could have supported more weight has been marked lower than it ought to be, while fully complying with the proposed rule.
We run into the crux of the issue: economic demand for higher weight limit bikes is not perceived as being significant. So few will supply that market. Which means there's little demonstrable demand. Which keeps the supply small.
If this sounds familiar to this community, it's essentially the same problem as with micromobility from the regulatory aspect in the USA: only the automobile is viewed as "serious" transportation, so everything else is just for recreation and doesn't warrant its own infrastructure. So no separated infrastructure is built. Which keeps viable options like cycling and roller-blading from becoming popular. Which reinforces the perception as not being a "serious" mode of transportation. Repeat ad nauseum.
There are no easy answers to such structural issues, but we can take inspiration from the popularity of ebikes in the past decade: growing from a niche of motors crudly strapped to conventional bikes, ebikes nearly single-handedly transformed the perception of bikes overall, showcasing their strengths in sense urban areas like NYC for delivery vehicles: fast, nimble, cheaper than an automobile. From there, they became popular not just for existing cyclists, but new riders, some whom haven't been in the saddle since childhood. New markets opened up, and combined with a touch of enabling legislation, ebikes have taken off.
I think the author touched upon the niche that could drive higher weight limits, and that would be cargo ebikes. That space is growing as ebikes -- a bonafide transportation answer to American sprawling suburbs -- become more readily accepted, and more fairly-wealthy suburbanites take up cargo ebikes to move the whole family.
Of course, this is going to be a slow process. And it will take a while for cargo ebike prices to come down from the "luxury" range to an "affordable" figure. But I think that's the crack that will grow to break the ice.
As for whether the demand should even be met, I saw that a different comment remarked that today's bikes aren't built for larger people, since in the past, most people weren't as large. And that's factually true, but it doesn't justify not fulfilling a market in the here-and-now. Nor does it support the idea that nobody in the past was over 100 kg (220 lbs).
A quick web search shows that some NFL players in the 1930s Hall of Fame were over 100 kg. If these folks wanted to ride a bicycle with any amount of cargo, it probably would be as difficult to find a sufficient bike then or now. So the problem has always existed, but the degree to which it's a problem has changed to include more people. That should be a reason to encourage more bike varieties, not to shut down the very idea that larger bikes ought exist.
As another commenter notes, these people deserve bikes too.
Holy shit what a thread. I scrolled down and didn't expect huge diet+exercise debate.
I was 300 lbs. I'm 240 lbs now.
32mm tires AT MINIMUM at 125 psi, and an alloy frame is the way. My race bike is 28mm and tops out at 265 lbs. Meaning, I'm always at close to maximum capacity -- when I was 300 lbs, I was overcapacity on my 32mm bike.
Over 300 lb, you want 34-36-38mm tires with increasing diameter for every 25-50 lbs added.
I'm still pretty new to riding bikes as a adult, but wanted to share my experience in hopes it helps folks:
Im 6' 330 lbs and ended up getting an aventon aventure eMTB. It's held up well over the 400 miles I put on it, but I definitely notice the brakes going quicker than advertised with all the hills near me and my size. I'm sure it won't last forever, but I'm expecting to get under $1 of initial cost per mile ridden, which felt worth it to me as a 2nd car alternative.
I've been looking into a company called Clydesdale also to plan for bike 2.0 in a few years. They advertise titanium framed bikes made for very tall folks. I never used them myself, but they may be a good option for folks willing to pay 5k for a bike.
Also had weight issue converting bike into electric with custom lifepo battery, which ended up being almost 30kg alone.
Rear wheel was shot after like 20kms. But the bike was so cheap it wasnt surprising.
Weight limits on performance bikes are total nonsense. Probably are there just to comply some law. A pro enduro rider weighing 20kg less than me would destroy my setup any day.
I find hard to believe a traditional 26er with 36 triple cross spoked wheel from a reputable manufacturer can't hold up to any rider capable of moving on their own and sitting on a saddle any amount of time.
What kind of bike is that in the pic?
(I dont know shit about bikes, but no amortisation, medium but flat tires, a handlebar that seems street sporty ... seems frankensteined)
This is why I'm so pro regulations - a simple (predetermined) fact sheet that every bike sold needs to disclose.
And as society and needs evolve keep the regulation alive and modify it accordingly.
Ofc the industry is gonna bitch about it like it's the end of bike industry for good & try to gift it, but after a year it will be normal, costs negligible, profits the same - but the market more transparent.
And for most things, like this bike thing, it can be super a simplistic requirement, no need to be to the kg exact, it could be defined by categories of 50kg even. However the weight class should mean under a certain higher-than-usual stress on the constriction (bikes mostly arent meant to be used stationary).
But yes, manufacturers should test their products to the breaking point, not let costumes do it (unless it's Bethesda, then it's just expected).
quit normalizing obesity. the american fat fucks will get their weight-loss pills soon. i'd go as far as the UN or WHO should just give them out for free in the US.
americans are fat. fatty fat fucks. thats neither the norm nor should we not shame it. it is their decision to be fat. dont like it? but it is true. their food is shit and it starts to ruin mexico as well. so either eat those pills or stop being so dumb and greedy that you still make sugar from corn. it is bad. it makes you fat. more fat than if you were eating food with sugar made from any other product. you have thisbshit in everything. look at starbucks...americans can even get fat from coffee. what next? getting fat from water and air because some mad vape corpo from jersey comes up with pumpkin sugar flavoured air?
quit normalizing obesity. the american fat fucks will get their weight-loss pills soon. i'd go as far as the UN or WHO should just give them out for free in the US.
americans are fat. fatty fat fucks. thats neither the norm nor should we not shame it. it is their decision to be fat. dont like it? but it is true. their food is shit and it starts to ruin mexico as well. so either eat those pills or stop being so dumb and greedy that you still make sugar from corn. it is bad. it makes you fat. more fat than if you were eating food with sugar made from any other product. you have thisbshit in everything. look at starbucks...americans can even get fat from coffee. what next? getting fat from water and air because some mad vape corpo from jersey comes up with pumpkin sugar flavoured air?
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quit normalizing obesity. the american fat fucks will get their weight-loss pills soon. i'd go as far as the UN or WHO should just give them out for free in the US.
americans are fat. fatty fat fucks. thats neither the norm nor should we not shame it. it is their decision to be fat. dont like it? but it is true. their food is shit and it starts to ruin mexico as well. so either eat those pills or stop being so dumb and greedy that you still make sugar from corn. it is bad. it makes you fat. more fat than if you were eating food with sugar made from any other product. you have thisbshit in everything. look at starbucks...americans can even get fat from coffee. what next? getting fat from water and air because some mad vape corpo from jersey comes up with pumpkin sugar flavoured air?