General Cycling Discussion - Baby boomer bikes....2,3 or 4 wheels??

With the aging of the baby boomers many will want to,as I do,
either continue to ride,or return to, a bicycle of some sort.
With the huge selection available now they will be face to
face with the one thing they don't like in selecting a bike.
The are now growing older and at times less able to do the
things with the gusto they once had which limits the types
of bikes they can ride.

In my personal quest to return to cycling I've found a that
the boomer group hasn't been fully spotted by those who make
multi-wheeled bikes.Which leads to a somewhat limited
selection of product to choose from. Sure there many trikes
and 4 wheelers but they are by and large aimed at the
speciality market or the "go fast" group.

So my question to the folk's here is why doesn't more
information (I've found very limited info on the web and
even less in print) & selection exist in the U.S.A. on
multi wheeled bikes??

From where I stand this is a huge market waiting to be tapped as boomers age.

Do you think that multi wheeled bike will ever be more mainstream??

If so what type will be most common? 3 wheel? 4 wheel?

Will dealers ever see this market enough to stock multi
wheeled bikes??

Do you think that multi wheeled bike will ever be more mainstream??

Will dealers ever see this market enough to stock multi
wheeled bikes??

No and no. Too heavy, too cumbersome, too weird, viewed as a "handicap" compared to a normal bike, Lance doesn't race it, and they won't apply to the entire racing community.

The only multi wheeled bikes I've seen are for 3-wheel disabled people's racers and beach rental pedal cars.

On the upside, recumbent riders would finally have someone to make fun of
;)

BABY BOOMERS AGEING? Spare me! I'm a generation ahead of them and I don't need or want any stinking 3 or 4 wheel monsterosity. You ever own one? You ever even try to work on one? That's a high maintenance item that lacks all of the simplicity and charm of a conventional bicycle.

You don't stop bicycling because you get old, you get old because you stopped bicycling.

There's the sun ez trike aimed at the exact market your talking about plus there are several other dearer options. The high speed tadpole trikes don't have to be ridden fast I have read dozens of stories of people using them for sedate safe transport, because they are built for speed makes the efficient to ride ie. less energy to go a set distance.
I am interesed in getting a trike also ( but I will thrash it :) ) but I think they are a long way from becoming main stream, to different and mostly to dear.

Here's (http://www.bhsi.org/fourwhel.htm) a link that has some useful links to 3 and 4-wheeled pedal-driven transportation

I was on a club ride last week and the ride leader was on a recumbent. I asked her how she liked it. She replied that after her recent health problems, she didn't feel secure on a wedgie. She is going to sell the new recumbent because it is too heavy to lifit into the car and she has a difficult time going up hills. She is not a racer, only riding about 14-15 mph and probably over 60 years old. So that is a major problem with older riders and heavier bikes.

As a baby boomer I can tell ya that I already have 4 wheel bikes a Giant OCR1 with 2 Mavic wheels, and a Custom with 2 Campagnolo wheels.. and as I age further I think Im gonna get another pair.. :)

No and no. Too heavy, too cumbersome, too weird, viewed as a "handicap" compared to a normal bike, Lance doesn't race it, and they won't apply to the entire racing community.

The only multi wheeled bikes I've seen are for 3-wheel disabled people's racers and beach rental pedal cars.

On the upside, recumbent riders would finally have someone to make fun of
;)

I hope you can stay healthy so you never have to be one of
those riders that people "make fun of" .......

And who/what is Lance?

Lance... TDF winner for six years in a row now.

Trikes in the USA have such a dowdy image, but in the UK we still have a few custom builders making lightweight high-performance trikes for racing and touring. You have to unlearn bike riding to ride a trike, but they are fun.

http://www.bikebrothers.co.uk/lt_01.htm

http://www.longstaffcycles.co.uk/longstaff/channels/dealers_wanted/rights/standard_ttrike.htm

http://www.longstaffcycles.co.uk/longstaff/channels/dealers_wanted/rights/racing_trike.htm

"On the upside, recumbent riders would finally have someone to make fun of" ... naw, we already do.... the guys in postal team colors, high end Treks and 50+ pounds overweight... Just kidding!


for info on trikes and a few quads take a look at this page
http://home.mindspring.com/~kb7mxu/index.htm

Some of the high end bents are getting down under 20 lbs now