Charles London
Charles,
Judging from the date of your post, you have already made your decision to buy or not to buy the LandRider.
This is for the other folks who are reading this now and forming an opinion of the LandRider. I am 72 and retired from a 35-year career as an Experimental Test Pilot with one of the major helicopter manufacturing companies. I have 45 years experience with aircraft maintenance so I can recognize quality equipment.
My wife is (her words) much younger than I and we both have had our own LandRider bicycles for about 3 years. Our purpose of buying the bikes was for exercise in our neighborhood and on the bike trails in the area. We have found the bikes to be very comfortable, simple to operate and satisfactory for this purpose.
The bikes are not the $1500 to $3000 super lightweight titanium frames nor do they have the 20 plus different gear ratios. The bikes are lightweight mountain bikes with the fat tires and very comfortable seats and handle bars which are both simple to adjust. They are not for the serious, long distance, hard riding competitive bike rider.
There is a manual twist grip selector on the handle bar grip for the front sprockets, high range and low range selections and the rear sprockets are adjusted automatically. The faster you pedal the higher gear is selected for you and if you pedal slower the lower gear is selected for you. I don't see how it could be more simple. Also, something was mentioned in one of the comments that there was a rubber band in the gear selection apparatus. - Not so, it is the normal bicycle chain and multiple metal sprockets design with the metal centrifugal gear selector device. Pedal fast and the weights move out and a higher gear ratio is selected for you and pedal slower and the weights move in and a lower gear ratio is selected. The pedals must be turned for the gear selection to occur.
The only maintenance that I have felt was needed is light oil on the chain and air in the tires. I ride more than my wife and neither of us have had a breakdown of any kind. These bikes are perfect for my wife and me.
DB