Foo - Why all the old people?

I have just been wondering why there are so few young people(>18) who are into cycling.

I joined a club a while back and I am the only young person there, everyone else is over or around 30(there are about 5-6 in their mid 20s). Is cycling a sport for older people?
Or is the cost of the hobby so high that kids can't afford to ride?
I know there are some younger people but very few.

It's kind weird being surrounded by people, but not really fitting in because they are so much different than you.

Part is the price point to get a "good" bike. YMMV on that one.

The other major part is, as you can see from many posts, many cyclists are ex-runners with blown knees. Cycling is a low-impact sport (with the caveat of falling and Club Tombay). So the simple fact is that young people are more resilient and can do the more physically brutal sports that require more recovery. As we age, the aerobics are still fun, but we just can't take the pounding day-in, day-out.

Another part that is fun (pride? exhilaration? vanity? self-satisfaction?) is to be able to talk about riding 75-100 miles in an afternoon when most of our old classmates could barely walk to their mailbox without getting winded.

^ That plus parents afraid of their kids getting squashed on the road.

^ That plus parents afraid of their kids getting squashed on the road.

Probably one of the main reasons. Plus cycling is just not as "kool" as say football or basketball.

Plus cycling is just not as "kool" as say football or basketball.

I think lycra is the most uncool thing, but I can't ride over 5 miles without my bibs.

When it is offered for gamers, the youth will participate.

How many kids do you see doing any activity that isn't an organized sport? Very few any more. If it's not on a schedule, with practices and games and equipment that can be carried in a special bag, they don't play it. When we were kids one of our primary activities was to go ride bikes....we'd ride for hours, just going nowhere in particular. Very few kids do that anymore....and if you do see kids riding it's because the parents ride.

The younger crowd is all on mountain bikes.

I see a lot of young ones on the MUP's, six to ten or so. One is four and
a serious rider, Barbie bike with gears and hand brakes. Of course they
ride with Mom and or Dad. I know several teens that are into biking in
a big way.

Most of the kids in my neighborhood never even had a bicycle. They had motorcycles and ATV's. I feel sorry for them.

Why ride a bicycle when you have mom and dad to cart you around in their SUV?

Every kid on our street has a bike, I know, flats, chains off, handle bars out of line, flats, broken cables.
wobbly wheels, flats.

Did I mention flats??

If I charged I would be in a different tax bracket. I keep tubes, patches and cables on hand. They are
all 24, 26" MTB's. Roadmasters for the most part. A couple years ago Wally had them for $39, choice
of size at the start of school in the get the kids back to school for less thing. Penny pencils, ten cent
note pads, two for 25 cent glue, five dollar back packs. All the vendors gave the stuff to Wally and
they just made enough to cover transport and handling.
BTW, the same pack of glue was $2.99 at Walgreens.

....As we age, the aerobics are still fun, but we just can't take the pounding day-in, day-out.

Another part that is fun (pride? exhilaration? vanity? self-satisfaction?) is to be able to talk about riding 75-100 miles in an afternoon when most of our old classmates could barely walk to their mailbox without getting winded.

That's it. This is a sport where middle-agers can have a decent sense of accomplishment without a big chance of injury. 40 and 50-somethings (and older) can still do a century, club rides, tours, brevets, etc.

We couldn't afford bikes when I was a kid. I didn't learn to ride a 2 wheeler until I was 11! I got my first ten speed when a nice old guy across the street sold me one for $25. He build bikes out of trash-scavenged parts, it gave him something to do in his retirement. Where I live now, these kids can afford it, but usually can't be bothered. I see younger people on bikes when they're out on trails with their families. When I'm at the shore (Ocean City, NJ) there doesn't seem to be any age concentration at all. It's a very broad range, pretty evenly distributed.

Because there are so many young people with shiny new motor vehicle licenses and most everyone knows that real adults drive everywhere.

I think they just like BMX, skateboards, cars and PS3/Xbox better.

The youngsters don't cycle because us old goats can kick their arses in long distance speed and endurance.

+1 :thumb:

you know, it feels better to be here than any of the other places I visit. Well, at least on part with one of the other sites.

Most of the young crowd around here is into BMX if any bikes at all!

When it is offered for gamers, the youth will participate.

word!:thumb:

Now get the eff off my lawn:50:

I'm 34, I'm not old!

I'm 34, I'm not old!

It is if your dance card is never filled sport.

It is if your dance card is never filled sport.

Full enough, chief. :)

it's true, i think the younger kids (guys at least) are into MTB and BMX these days.

it's true, i think the younger kids (guys at least) are into MTB and BMX these days.

MTB is pretty fun, but I enjoy road biking more. BMX just seems dumb to me.

The youngsters don't cycle because us old goats can kick their arses in long distance speed and endurance.
Hell, we can kiss their asses all around. And even the few that can keep up have to work far harder than they want to.

Hell, we can kiss their asses all around. And even the few that can keep up have to work far harder than they want to.

Wut? I think you meant to type something else :P

Full enough, chief. :)

"live long and prosper"

I'm typical for a 50 year old. Got my first bike at 6, a Schwinn Stingray. Graduated to a Varsity, then to a department store Royce Union ten speed. After I got the Stingray I was expected to get myself to school from then on. Rode the Varsity and R-U all over. Longest ride on the Royce Union was about 50 miles. None of these bikes were great or expensive, but they were good enough to use as transport. A BMX bike isn't. Young kids aren't used to the concept that a bike can take you where you want to go.

The comment about organized sports has merit. Cycling is a solitary sport, even when riding with a group. Parents don't seem to want the kiddies to do anything that isn't regimented and confined.

Never trust anyone under 40.

When it is offered for gamers, the youth will participate.

If I got my son a handlebar mount for his DS he'd never get off the bike.

Never trust anyone under 40.

heeee!

everyone else is over or around 30........Is cycling a sport for older people?

Wuddya talkin' 'bout, Willis?

Seriously, I think the entire problem is your definition of older people.

I believe kids have too many indoor activities these days. When I was a kid we had 5 channels on the TV and no air conditioning in the house. Getting my parents to drive me anywhere was like pulling teeth, "gas was a buck a gallon and money didn't grow on trees", ya know. Living over a mile from my elementary school without bus service, bicycling was just the natural thing to do. At our school if you didn't get to the bike rack early you couldn't get a spot and you were deemed uncool. I certainly didn't want to park my 1974 JC Penney Swinger in the grass.

I think parents are more protective of their kids now too. Probably TOO protective. Some of the kids (even older kids) in my neighborhood get a car ride home with their parents a few hundred yards to the end of our cul-de-sac after the bus drops them off from school.

Kids aren't any different now than they were 30-40 years ago. Just different props and settings.

When I got a motorcycle at 15 the bicycle was instantly forgotten and never used again. I had other priorities, other things to do. I can understand young people relegating cycling to a childhood pastime.

I think a young person (that would be under 30 btw) would need to be specifically drawn to the sport, as opposed to other sports, to really get into it. It's ideal for us older folks because you can start from scratch, or in a more degraded physical condition as the case may be, get on a bike and just go. In time we get better at it, and feel stronger, and who's going to stop then? Hence, more of us involved.

I have just been wondering why there are so few young people(>18) who are into cycling.

I joined a club a while back and I am the only young person there, everyone else is over or around 30(there are about 5-6 in their mid 20s). Is cycling a sport for older people?
Or is the cost of the hobby so high that kids can't afford to ride?
I know there are some younger people but very few.

It's kind weird being surrounded by people, but not really fitting in because they are so much different than you.

When I was in my twenties, I left behind my bikes because I had to establish myself in my career and personal life (after all there are only so many hours in a day). My demanding career and graduate school demanded that I kept up a certain "image" to project myself as a serious contender for the few slots available to new hires-meaning not being seen on a bike. Now that I don't have the pressure to "succeed," I can enjoy being myself-and ride all the bikes I want.


Why ride a bicycle when you have mom and dad to cart you around in their SUV?

Even the poorest immigrant children choose to use the bus over the bike.


Because there are so many young people with shiny new motor vehicle licenses and most everyone knows that real adults drive everywhere.

I could not put it better than that!

^^^What kind of twisted career were you going for where being seen on a bicycle would ruin your image? I don't know how you could even stand to be around people that would judge you for that. Those kinds of people are the majority of what's wrong with the world.

The younger crowd is all on mountain bikes.

This. My kids and seemingly all their friends ride mountain bikes.

^^^What kind of twisted career were you going for where being seen on a bicycle would ruin your image? I don't know how you could even stand to be around people that would judge you for that. Those kinds of people are the majority of what's wrong with the world.

Teaching elementary school children. When I enter the profession, my master teachers were always picking on me about anything from not Hollywood perfect teeth (you ought to been there when my dentist hit the ceiling over that comment), to my clothes-they could wear tee shirts & ripped jeans-my carefully constructed clothes were never good enough. So.....after a long spell I grew fed up and left as I did not improve myself in order to get abused. I rather starve than return to teaching. Besides my counselor told me later that they have to get rid of a certain amount of new teachers. And from what I have been hearing on this subject, there are many others like me out there with similar experiences and education. This is how they really weed teachers out. Just try to prove this sort of behavior with "professionals" is even happening in the first place (this took place before Youtube).

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/movie_ages.png

In my world I see lots of younger people on fixed gear bikes...

Definitely the ol' fixed gear recumbent trike (http://www.marxtoymuseum.com/_borders/bigwheel.jpg), seeing less of those lately.

I see lots of kids on fixed gear bikes, groups of 6 to 15 out and around. Mostly High school age. The main this is they are having fun.

^^^What kind of twisted career were you going for where being seen on a bicycle would ruin your image?


Teaching elementary school children.
For years, cycling has been the new golf, so you'll find lots of CEO's Veeps, and highly paid professionals -- this is why you'll see so many bikes that are worth as much as cars. I had no idea I was doing so much damage to my image.

I'm typical for a 50 year old. Got my first bike at 6, a Schwinn Stingray. Graduated to a Varsity, then to a department store Royce Union ten speed. After I got the Stingray I was expected to get myself to school from then on. Rode the Varsity and R-U all over. Longest ride on the Royce Union was about 50 miles. None of these bikes were great or expensive, but they were good enough to use as transport. A BMX bike isn't. Young kids aren't used to the concept that a bike can take you where you want to go.

The comment about organized sports has merit. Cycling is a solitary sport, even when riding with a group. Parents don't seem to want the kiddies to do anything that isn't regimented and confined.

I was walking home one early evening a week or so ago. The city parking lot is usually empty at that time as businesses close a couple of hours earlier. The poor immigrant families flocked there with their children, the children riding on their bikes around and around. Many of these children were at the age that 40 or so years ago they would be out in the neighborhood with their bikes-minus mom & dad. The regimentation and confinement is complete now.



I believe kids have too many indoor activities these days. When I was a kid we had 5 channels on the TV and no air conditioning in the house. Getting my parents to drive me anywhere was like pulling teeth, "gas was a buck a gallon and money didn't grow on trees", ya know. Living over a mile from my elementary school without bus service, bicycling was just the natural thing to do. At our school if you didn't get to the bike rack early you couldn't get a spot and you were deemed uncool. I certainly didn't want to park my 1974 JC Penney Swinger in the grass.

I think parents are more protective of their kids now too. Probably TOO protective. Some of the kids (even older kids) in my neighborhood get a car ride home with their parents a few hundred yards to the end of our cul-de-sac after the bus drops them off from school.

Actually very, very held responsible by the media, along with law enforcement, if the kid turns up missing for most any reason. Along with being bombarded by scare stores courtesy of the ratings-mad media.....and here we are in the 21st century-a bunch of scared rabbits.


Kids aren't any different now than they were 30-40 years ago. Just different props and settings.

When I got a motorcycle at 15 the bicycle was instantly forgotten and never used again. I had other priorities, other things to do. I can understand young people relegating cycling to a childhood pastime.

I think a young person (that would be under 30 btw) would need to be specifically drawn to the sport, as opposed to other sports, to really get into it. It's ideal for us older folks because you can start from scratch, or in a more degraded physical condition as the case may be, get on a bike and just go. In time we get better at it, and feel stronger, and who's going to stop then? Hence, more of us involved.

For the modern day youngster, it is a question of affordability whether or not to abandon the bike at the legal driving age. As for the readoption of cycling, that happens when your lifestyle warrants it again-usually for health and/or financial reasons.


For years, cycling has been the new golf, so you'll find lots of CEO's Veeps, and highly paid professionals -- this is why you'll see so many bikes that are worth as much as cars. I had no idea I was doing so much damage to my image.

Right now, we are in the high apex of the current bike boon. There are plenty of CEOs and professionals that took up the "sport," that is until it recedes in popularity. Then the hipster and the roadster built-on-popularity bike shops will close, the bikes will again be pushed back into the deepest recesses of the garage or shed, and the next fad will be born (or reborn in most cases).

Oh I forgot to clarify when I was worried about my professional image-1980s to the mid 1990s-the lowest ebb of the last bike bust and even lower employment prospects post university. And I had those snippy master teachers on my ass all the time. I did not want to give them even more ammo.

From now on, if I want to continue to ride a bike, dress a certain way, or even date/marry anyone, I will make sure to do so as I please, not please others.

Right now, we are in the high apex of the current bike boon. There are plenty of CEOs and professionals that took up the "sport," that is until it recedes in popularity. Then the hipster and the roadster built-on-popularity bike shops will close, the bikes will again be pushed back into the deepest recesses of the garage or shed, and the next fad will be born (or reborn in most cases).

Oh I forgot to clarify when I was worried about my professional image-1980s to the mid 1990s-the lowest ebb of the last bike bust and even lower employment prospects post university. And I had those snippy master teachers on my ass all the time. I did not want to give them even more ammo.
That these folks felt they should hassle you about image/status is amusing. Are they totally clueless of what theirs is?

In any case, I'm not sure the cycling thing isn't here to stick around awhile. There's a lot in it that appeals to competitive types. It ages well, it's really obvious when someone is good, there's the equipment angle, and you get to kick the keisters of people much younger than you. It's very possible that the popularity will roll back some eventually. But we still seem to be on the upswing, at least in my neck of the woods.

I got my ass handed to me by some old goats today on a local club ride.