rtague

Ok so I'm 56 and getting back into cycling after 20 years.I'm in good shape, weigh 200lbs,6' and am pretty flexible.I've gone to several bike stores checking out the caad12,super6 evo and the emomda,I don't want a grandpa bike, but when I tell them my age they automatically steer me towards the synapse or some other
endurance bike which I'm sure are all good bikes but not what I have in mind.Now I know the only way to find is to test ride them all,I know.My feeling is that if I go with the synapse or something similar,in a year or lessI will definitely want to change to my original idea,any advice would be greatly appreciated.

big john

There are plenty of people older than you who ride racing/performance type bikes as recreational riders. The only way to find out if it works for you is to try it.

bikemig 

An endurance bike is not a grandpa bike. Get a race bike if that cranks your tractor. Personally I'd opt for the bike that can take a little fatter tire (that makes it more flexible in terms of use and more comfortable) and a little wider gearing (your knees aren't getting any younger).

GlennR

Nothing wrong with a Trek Domane... it's an endurance bike.

I'm 60 and ride a Trek Emonda SLR. I've only been riding for 5 years but already put 11,000 miles on the Emonda in the past 2 seasons.

StanSeven

There are three things to consider in choosing a style bike - comfort (how you feel after long rides), riding position (more aggressive aero is marginally quicker), and image (for many a race style bike motivates). The big difference in an endurance style bike is the taller head tube that gets the rider in a more upright position, and longer wheelbase that tones down quicker handling.

If you like the aggressive position and have the necessary flexibility and core strength to maintain it for a long term, the race style is for you. However the endurance style makes the rides more comfortable and enjoyable, especially after several hours on the saddle.

I have both and recently got an endurance bike with 28 mm tires. To my surprise I ride the endurance bike most of the time since I'm usually out by myself.

TiHabanero

I turn 57 this year, have a horrible back, and must stretch daily. My son has a Caad10 and I can ride it with the right stem length. If the body can fit the geometry, why not a Caad12 or Evo? They are incredible bikes, and the aluminum rides like none other. Me? I ride a Habanero road classic. Standard road geometry and love it. A Synapse will also ride well for you, and thankfully the geometry is dialed and you won't know you are riding an endurance road bike like some others out there. By the way, my friend Rob runs a Synapse and kicks my butt all day long. I'm happy to say that I am the one to convince him to ride and recapture his health. He has done just that and more!

BlazingPedals

In that case, don't tell them your age, tell them what kind of bike you want.

rtague

Thanks everybody for sound advice, guess I'll just have to test them all, lol, any other criteria I should consider?.

Retro Grouch 

Uh - you're the customer. If they won't listen to what you're telling them, find somebody who will. Even if you make the wrong choice, it's still your decision to make.

mpath

Some good advice here. But for goodness sakes, don't buy a race-geometry roadbike only to have it set up like a grandpa bike, ie. a stack of spacers and upturned stem with no saddle to bar drop. Seen a lot of those amongts MAMILS - yes, that's us, middle-aged men in lycra - and IMO it looks ridiculous. Like a Ferrari on white wall tires.

LouB 

This is probably the worst advice you'll get. Buy 2 bikes. Yup. One a hybrid, set up nice with a triple and racks for hauling grceries and chores. It will be your work horse. And get a road bike for blowing back your hair and riding the long rides. It will be like having a nice pickup AND a sports car in your garage. The point being, what gets you to spend the most amount of time on a bike...at our age, thats what we need...imho.

rm -rf

There's some middle range bikes, too. A stiffer frame and decently fast handling, with a little taller head tube, and allowing room for 28c tires. They are both fast and comfortable.

Like the Bianchi Infinito, for example.

Cyclist0108

There's a nugget of truth in there.

bikepro

I wasn't aware that giving your age was a requirement. Buy what you want.

Jim from Boston

Excellent advice, IMO. I recently posted to the Commuting Forum,

TimothyH

The opposite is just as likely, getting a race bike and regret that you didn't get something more comfortable within a short time.

Test riding is certainly a start.

I know lots of really fast riders who ride aggressive group rides with the big boys on Synapse and similar bikes.


-Tim-

DiabloScott

I don't think a Synapse is a grandpa bike, but maybe it's the disk brakes you don't like.

Perhaps you'd prefer this kind of endurance bike:

RonH

Around here I'm still a kid to some of the roadies and I'll be 72 next month. Don't listen to the bike shop sales people. Get the bike YOU want. Let us know what bike you get.

BTW, here are my bikes.

gobicycling

Approaching 80yo here - have a "road bike" a mtn bike and a "utility" road bike. They all have their purposes and more than one bike is a great idea. I enjoy single track, errands, riding in the dark with lights, riding longer rides on the road bike. Have fun, whatever you decide.

fietsbob

Dutch Opa Bikes , (Literally Grandpa Bikes) are letting You sit up proud. and ride to work in a 3 piece suit and tie if you wish.

You can be Looking Good .. GQ all the way.


But I guess You are Being steered to the MAMIL style. and expensive stuff .. have Fun ..

canklecat

I quit cycling for 30 years and by the time I resumed last year at age 57 I was still recovering from back and neck injuries from a car wreck several years earlier. So the first bikes I looked at were feet-forward cruisers like the Electras.

But I wasn't sure about those for hilly areas, so I bought a cheap used comfort hybrid off craigslist. The simple spring suspension fork, long wheelbase and fatter tires at moderate pressure were almost as comfortable as a sofa while still have some hill climbing capability.

I rode that for a year before recently buying a conventional 1990s era rigid fork mountain bike. I ride that now on good days when my back and neck are agreeable.

I still ride the sofa bike many days, including in the rain and for errands. It's just so dang comfortable, yet not so squishy that I can't ride it 20-60 miles in a day, with a few rest breaks.

But I would have been very limited by a grandpa bike like the Townie. It just wouldn't be a good fit for my area, which is fairly hilly, or for my preferred rides which include some modest off road rides and gravel.

LouB 

Damn guys, look at all these old codgers weighing in. I'm 68 and humbled by these +70 & 80's dudes still riding strong. May we all keep riding for as long as life and these bodies allow us. Good for us. OP, as you can tell from the responses, you are in good company--and cant really make a bad decision--as long as you make it on 2 wheels.

Doug64

The first thing you should determine is how are you going to use the bike. What type of riding are you planning on doing,i.e., fast club rides, long distance rides, pavement, gravel, MUPs, racing, ......? Get the bike that meets your need; and fit is everything.

rtague

Guys,I'm genuinely touched by all the kind responses and sound advice.I was doubting my self at 56
but I'm truly inspired to hear from people in their 60's and 70's,that emonda is looking real good right now.

FullGas

wearing a 3-piece suit and a tie is something I would avoid like the plague...

wearing one while riding a bike would be unimaginably awful.