I posted this before looking for topics, but it kinda ended up being online support for general bicycle troubles.
Which is a good thing! Ask your questions about bicycles that are currently on your mind and we all try to help.
Pre-Emptively calling in @dallasw and @Kissmydadonthelips for their knowledge.
So like I want a bike but am 300+ lbs just very compact. What kind of bike do you recommend? I live in a town somewhat with a river that I like to use for shortcuts. The roads also shitty. Also want to use it for errands and want baskets.
If those Biden bucks come in wanna get something if possible. Also can y'all recommend a good helmet.
The usual EU bike, which I have knowledge of, is rated for about 120kg/~265lbs system weight. This is you and the the bike put together but there's margins for error there that means unless you abuse it and you could be fine. For most brands, you should be able to find this info online.
If you want one that'll last long, I'd probably look to proper Hardtail Mountain Bikes our proper Touring Bikes. The first one is build to withstand the above mentioned weight and much more because jumping, which I'm going to assume you do not want to do, the latter one are often higher rated to compensate for cargo.
If the roads are shitty, you probably want the hardtail mountain bike. Less for comfort, more for the fact that that would put stresses on your bike it's actually built to withstand.
Look for the required drilled holes for a rear rack and enough space in the front that you can fit a front rack that does not connect to the axel for this one. If you can fit a rack, you can put a basket on it. The rear rack gets really hard to do if you have a frame without the required holes for it.
For the rear rack, make sure to not get a something with rear suspension. This will leave you with either jury rigged solutions or very low load capacity otherwise.
The baskets, in the end, are kind of secondary. You need something to put them on, basically.
I'm lazy so I'll just link my helmet recommendations from another post.
Thank you cycle wizard! Saving this if those Biden bucks come in :party-blob:
If it ever gets more specific write me a PM, I'll help where I can.
One more thing to know I forgot: the weight a bicycle can take is limited basically by two factors, what the frame withstands and what the wheels withstand. This is less of an issue buying new, as most bicycles will not have wheels that don't support the maximum frame weight, but if you're buying used it's worth considering.
The basic gist is more spokes can take more weight. I've seen an, for this use case, unfortunate amount of used bicycles where the frame can take a lot more, but the wheels were upgraded to like lighter 16-Spoke carbons or tri spoke wheels or disc wheels. Just keep that in mind basically, you do not want your wheels to fold when at speed.
Sounds scary, would you recommend me going to a cycle shop or chain store? I think we have one in my town but need to see if still there. I'll be sure to hit you up but in general do you have an idea how much it will run me?
Sorry for making it sound like that, it's just that I'd rather tread carefully for beginners. To go the other route, if it's an aluminium wheel and it has spokes it's going to be fine.
It's not a bad idea to check out a local bike store as a beginner. For chains, take the usual precautions, chances are no one there has half a clue about what they're selling.
Maybe look around for bicycling advocate groups in your area. They're usually really keen to get other people into it for obvious reasons and there's a good chance they can provide better information for your area.
It's basically a question of how much you want to spend and where you are, sorry. Even as a heavier person, if you don't go riding straight up curbs or over cobblestone, even a normal bicycle will hold up for a a good while. I mean, I'm handwringing about safety here because I'd hate for someone to get hurt due to my advice, but realistically I see lots of heavier people riding all kinds of bicycles with no ill effects.
To give you some point of reference, a 500€ new hybrid where I live will do basically anything that's asked of it unless you get into jumps or wanting to hit roadbike speeds with ease.