Ultra durable MTB for heavyweight rider (370lbs)? Some might remember me from this post. So basically after finding a fix for my dutch bike I was riding around London I now actually moved back to Germany. To the countryside to be exact and to the hilly countryside as well! With lots of forest. So now I am looking into building or buying a very rigid MTB. I will be mostly riding in the woods.

I have also considered an E-Bike for extra boost up those hills but I am not sure if that makes sense or not. The KTM Mighty XL looks really good as far as ebikes go. It is officially rated up to 170kg (~370lbs) but that is actually for the whole bike + rider and baggage. So it's more like 150kg (~330lbs) for the rider. The price tag is probably fair but at about 4000 USD you could also buy a car for that. I am considering it anyways.

However I also want to consider regular MTBs. 

What are some features or things that I should look at that would indicate a bike that can take heavy loads — or that you would recommend or should I  have to go for a custom built? 

In the past I was given a quote for a custom built back in London by SBC Cycles. Great guys but I couldn't spare the coins at that time so waited until I found the working solution for my dutchie. The built was based on a Surly Troll frame even though that bike was conceptualised for the city but could probably easily be altered to be an MTB aka different tyres.

In general I was wondering as well - is the MTB market completely international or would I find totally different makes in Germany than in the US?
As you probably know specific product recommendations are off topic here. However, three recommendations:


Overbuilt wheels, heavy duty rim, 44 or 48 spokes.
The biggest tire you can run, especially on the rear.
Consider a full suspension bike. A 90kg rider coming off a big drop is going to generate as much force as you will going over a pothole.


Props for your efforts to keep riding.