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I was wondering if I'm too heavy for my bike. I'm about 260lbs (118kg). I keep getting flats.

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    See this answer: bicycles.stackexchange.com/a/9113 -- That bike is rated by Trek for riders up to 300lbs (136kg). If you keep getting flats, there's probably another cause, such as underinflation (flats with two holes near each other) or running over sharp things.
    – freiheit
    Mar 7, 2014 at 18:38
  • Surely it would have been better to direct this question at Trek?
    – PeteH
    Mar 7, 2014 at 18:53
  • Why the down votes - this seems to me to be a reasonable question to ask?
    – mattnz
    Mar 8, 2014 at 3:55

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Being too heavy and getting too many flats may be separate issues... On one hand, weight will always seem to increase the rate of flats, as I have discovered by going cross country with 60 pounds strapped to my rear rack.

On the other hand, as long as you are not popping spokes, you are not "too heavy" for your bike.

To phrase this another way, this is not a bike issue, it's a tube-popping issue. If you're getting too many flats, make sure you're running the correct pressures, and maybe get some thorn resistant tires and or tubes.

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  • It could also be bad rim tape, too. But running small tires may be a problem.
    – Batman
    Mar 8, 2014 at 4:06
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I ride a Trek FX 7.3 and weigh over 400 pounds. The only time I've gotten a mysterious flat (no nail or glass in the tire) was when I had ridden over 80 miles in about 7 hours. I didn't realize the pressure was going down due to the heat and cooling (random rainstorms) and got a pinch flat.

As long as you keep your tires pumped to the max and you aren't breaking spokes, you should be good to go.

I pump up the tires before every ride to their max. I recommending topping off the air every 50 miles you do - if riding 50+ miles in a single ride.

Also, on a side note, I use to break spokes regularly - until my local bike shop hooked me up with custom wheel build for my bike. Now my bike doesn't even creak on a long hill climb!

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  • If you find you need to put more air in on the same day, bigger tires would be a better option (if they fit the rims and frame) as they carry more weight for the same pressure.
    – mattnz
    Mar 8, 2014 at 3:50

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