Bike Question

My husband thinks he would exercise to help with his diabetes if he had a bike. I think it's a ploy to get anoter toy, but I am willing to try it. He's a big guy, about 275 pounds, so does anyone know anything about bikes in here and what might be an appropriate size for someone like him? He also says he won't wear a helmet because his head is too big. I told him no helmet, no bike, so does anyone know of any good, but cheap, helmets out there he would be comfortable in?

when i weighed 250 my doctor cautioned me against riding a regular outdoor bike because of my size. he suggested an indoor bike. he said that outdoor biking at a larger size is different than what we expect. we are expecting it to be what it was when we were a wee little thing and it quite different and sometimes dangerous to maneuver a bike at a larger size. so maybe ask his physician and see what he says or if he agrees. and the helmet thing.... well you know me an head injuries since my son nearly died of one!!! send that husband of yours my way and i will teach him a thing or two about wearing a helmet!! i will tell him the perfect helmet is the coma helmet...one size fits all and he won't feel a thing!! well at least i can have some humor about it now

[ March 18, 2003, 10:56 AM: Message edited by: nillawafer ]

Hi
I was a large person (230 lbs) and had knee problems. My PT had me ride a bike to correct it. I can say though I biked between 7 and 20 miles a day, i did not lose much weight. I did lose inches. I found that i had to start slow. I felt lucky to go a mile. But i was persistant and now no amount of biking bothers me. Even if I stop biking for a month or two.
I can tell you his butt will be soar from riding for the first week or two. but it will eventually go away.
As far as the best kind of bike for him it would depend on what kind of biking he wants to do. Street bikes are great for paved paths. they are light weight and go at a good clip. Mountain bikes are for dirt. Many men and women like them. Then there is the comfort bike. this one is a street/mountain bike. It has a comfortable seat--the best seat on any bike for soar bums.
I hope this helps you. You may want to get a bike yourself. It really is a lot of fun once you get used to biking again. And there are so many beautiful paths everywhere.