Bicycling

Bicycling when older

A lot of people in their thirties & older take out their old bikes every two years or buy a used/new bike. Then they often find after biking for a

half hour or more their backs ache from riding.

In the US bicycle manufacturers try to sell a lot of mountain bikes with straight handlebars for extreme control when going down mountains. That puts a rider in a leaning over position that puts a lot of strain on the back & gives little power when going up hills. People have to crane their neck up a lot just to see the road ahead. That puts a lot of strain on the neck.

Road bikes have a very low handlebar hold that requires even more leaning over to hold & use. People have to crane their neck up even more painfully.

Cruiser handlebars

Cruiser handlebars on bikes or cruiser bicycles allow people to sit up straight up on their bicycles, taking the pressure off their back. They can easily look at the beauty of the trees & nature ahead & takes the strain off their neck. When going up hills people can stand straight up on their pedals & get a lot more force down on their pedals & be faster up hills & during acceleration than with a straight handlebar mountain bicycle.

Getting a cruiser handlebar can make all the difference in enjoying bicycling, especially as we get older. They can be as little as $15 at a bike shop. Some may have difficulty accommodating the current brakes & gearshifts that may need a longer cable

Bicycle bar/handlebar ends/extenders

Bicycle bar/handlebar ends/extenders fit on the end of mountain/straight handlebars & allow people to sit up straight like with cruiser handlebars but don’t require moving the brakes & gearshifts to the cruiser handlebar & the possibility the cables won’t be long enough. The extenders are can be found as little as $5 to $10 each.

Powered bicycles can be safer than unpowered

Powered bicycles can give much greater distance at higher speed (usually up to 28mph) than just human powered bicycling but still provide all the exercise & nature benefits. The most expensive can have fat tires & big batteries/motors that can mimic the stability & speed (40mph) of a motor scooter. At 30-40mph a powered bicycle or motor scooter can be safer on the road than a regular bicycle because people can keep up with traffic & avoid a lot more of the increased danger that happens when being passed by a car.

Powered bicycles can bee safer than scooters & motorcycles

A powered bicycle can be safer than a motor scooter because it usually weighs as little as 70lbs vs 250lbs for a motor scooter.  This helps prevent spills as powered bicycles require a lot less strength to keep upright.  Fat tires can add too much weight & friction with unpowered bicycles, but are essential to making powered bicycles safer in avoiding slipping or blowouts.

Exercise on a powered bicycle

When using powered bikes people usually pedal to get exercise & help go farther. A couple miles before the end of the last trip of the day the person can shut off the engine & pedal as fast as possible to tire out the legs & increase muscle strength for riding the next day.

More dangerous speeds limited with powered bicycle

Over 40mph a scooter or motorcycle starts to become much less safe than below 40mph & very much less safe than a car. Motorcycles/scooter drivers & passengers have a per mile death rate 25X greater than cars, & far worse as speed goes over 40mph & for people over 50 as people older than 50 & people driving faster than 40mph get into progressively more frequent crashes per mile the older they are &/or faster they drive.  Powered bicycles are legally limited to 28mph & practically limited to around 40mph, reducing the temptation to go 50+ that scooters & motorcycles can easily, but less safely, do.

Electric bicycles

Electric bicycles allow people to get 15-40 miles on battery alone, & twice as long if also adding pedal power. Electric bicycles are wonderful for transportation & cost very little per mile including repairs compared to cars. It is good to buy one with a warranty for at least a year.  They start at $500, as little as $1000 for good ones.  The best inexpensive electric trike costs $1500.

Within a couple years the battery usually stores less energy & people buy a second battery to use daily & use the old one as a backup. Extreme cold & heat can reduce battery life temporarily & permanently.

Gas bicycles

Gas bicycles can go a much greater distance than electric if an extra gas bottle is carried in reserve. Two stroke gas can be much cheaper than electric but can need frequent repair, have high vibration, & be very loud & polluting (mixed with oil).

Four stroke bicycle gas engines are more expensive but usually higher quality with less frequent repair. There are a much lower selection of gas bicycle sellers compared to electric bicycles, but they have the experience to use the most reliable parts on their gas engines. Fat tires should be standard as gas bikes are usually faster & could use the extra stability the fat tires give. Fat tires are less likely to get rim damage or a hole from hitting bumps in the road as well.

Biking in winter

Bicycling in winter is much warmer than walking & equivalent to running in how fast the exercise warms the rider up.  Even with powered bikes all the rider has to do is pedal hard until warm enough then use enough of the powered assist to avoid sweating.

Another trick is to stick our face out in the cold before putting on outdoor gear. Our face being cold doesn’t make out body cold, and after half a minute then coming inside & getting coat & hat & everything on the body will start heating up & build a nice pocket of warmth for when ready to go out.

If we forget to get our body heat going, turning on a hair dryer & blowing it up the back of our coat puts a pocket of warmth underneath our clothes that will last until our muscles warm up from pedaling.