Originally Posted by
bogydave
+1
Lots of "Boomer" riders,
& we still want to ride, more "boomer friendly" bikes are showing up.
Let's hope Sram or Shimano are already seeing the market potential of "Boomer gear ranges"
The mt bikes with 3 sped cranks with small light weight tires climb well . Lots of fork options .
A 50/40/30 with an 11 - 40, 10 speed cassette, on a lightweight road bike, disc frame .... 30-40 will Climb a wall & 50-11 still hit 30 down hill.
We might have to build our own !!!!
Get a gear range like that on a compact crank. Bingo !
The first production line ones with multiple gear packages, in a mid price range will be a big seller.
They don't have any retired working men who have ridden for many years for fun & fitness on their design staff.
Retired bike racers , when they worked, went bike riding.
They have total different muscles from us that ride a couple-3 times/week. & many times, injury, work & family got in the way of riding for years.
I go to bike shops looking for gearing help & they say, keep riding you'll build up your strength.
These guys don't have a clue, I ain't 25 & in my prime,
We might "Maintain " our strength if we keep riding & exercising , but we are beyond the muscle building stage.
Spot on.
First road bike I bought, maybe 15 years ago, came with a regular double (to my surprise, I somehow assumed they would offer a triple). When I questioned this, the snotty salesman just replied "you'll get stronger".
Two thousand miles later, I was still struggling on the hills, and went back to switch the regular double out for a compact double, which helped a lot.
But I still struggle on the hills. There has to be a better way.