I have a mate who is a fairly large bloke (~ 20st or ~ 125 kg) and has asked me about bikes that can take the punishment with all that weight on them.

there must be some folk out there who know about this…?

Ton to the forum please.

I hover around 19 and 20 stone and havent had any issues with the two bikes I own. One a Spesh rockhopper and the other a giant trance. Can still get the correct sag with the forks and the shock on the trance. Its only a Fox float R too.

I do trail centre stuff and hit all the kickers with no issues 🙂

Any good trail bike, budget? maybe upgrade a couple of bits like rotors etc 🙂

Kona do some big tough bikes.

Kona Hoss comes to mind. One of my buddies is 20+stone, 6'7", and hasn't killed his Hoss in 3 years. Lives and rides in Snowdonia, so it gets punished, too.

I would think that an Inbred or 456 would be a good start. How hard is he going to hammer it?

He lives in the borders which is a good start.

He says there are plenty of good country trails on his doorstep which he will be frequenting but nothing technical. He is just starting out and wants something that will last and can go off road easily.

He is looking to spend £500-1K

People get too hung up on what bike is suitable for bigger chaps. I'm 19 1/2 stone and ride all sorts of bikes – a light Ti 29er hardtail, a cross bike, a 7" full susser and a steel singlespeed without any problems. I always ride air forks and shocks as springs don't really go up to suitable weights and I don't spec my bikes with anything silly light, just good reliable kit from manufacturers I trust. They're all in the sensibly light range for the type of bike though.

As with all bikes/components, sometimes things fail but riders **** them up themselves is far more common regardless of how much the rider weighs.

All the above is useless though if your chubster mate can't handle a bike and will go crashing into every obstacle on the trail with the finesse of a pi55ed hippo on rollerskates.

I have found that most bikes are fine but it is well worth spending money on good wheels and a strong seatpost!

i can't comment on this thread.
cos i now weigh less than 20stone i no longer consider myself a 'big guy'.

ask me anything you want about racing tho………… 😆

You a race whippet now then Ton? 8)