BIKE: Heavy rider needs bike recommendation

[mikewilliams]

=93weighed 320 lbs to tour China on and we used 48=27s with cross 3 and h=
e spent a year banging around over there and the wheels held up=2E  He re=
turned weighing 240=94
 =

Now THAT=92s what I=92m talking about--both in durability and exercise/we=
ight reduction=2E  I gained this weight after a running injury (ankle) fi=
ve years ago=2E
 =

I appreciate all the posts=97gives me a lot to go on=2E  FYI=2C when I wa=
s nearly 100 pounds lighter and starting out a daily commute to work=2C I=
=92d take my bike into the shop for truing every time I snapped a spoke=2E=
  It didn=92t help=2E  I usually had better luck truing and tensioning th=
e wheel myself every time I changed a spoke=2E  The 12 gauge spokes helpe=
d a lot=2C but I still break them more often than I=92d like=2E  I forgot=
 to mention another problem I had early on that I was able to solve easil=
y on the old Schwinn Sprint=3A  I was over-stretching the original chain =
and over-taxing the freewheel=2E  Replacing both with heavier duty mounta=
in bike components worked great=2E

Sounds to me like I need to buy a beefy but relatively inexpensive frame =
that takes a large rear wheel and put my money into the rear wheel=2E  My=
 wheels have never lasted through six months of riding and with the frequ=
ency of broken spokes that I=27ve had in the past (even when tensioned by=
 professionals)=2C I need something more=2E

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