prairiepedaler

https://pssjournal.biomedcentral.com...37-022-00318-9

Steve B.

fooferdoggie 

the problem is most people riding e bikes have not ridden in years and down really know how to ride safely or well. its to the e bike its the persons lack of experience.

jon c. 

Ebikes are likely to be traveling at a faster speed. Only a few miles an hour can make a significant difference in force and therefore in the severity of injuries.

Milepost105

On the other hand, I feel safer riding my e bike in traffic in town. I can keep up my speed better so cars are passing me at less difference in relative speed. And my bike has a thumb throttle so crossing intersections from a dead stop is a breeze.

Inusuit

My riding partner is 79, on oxygen 24/7, and has a pacemaker. He would not be on two wheels without his e-bike so I don't hate on them. However, I see a lot of e-bikers sans helmet and unaware of or don't care about riding protocols and basic consideration for other riders. So, yeah, they are going faster, they may be less experienced, and may take unnecessary chances that endanger other riders. I don't think it's solely age as many are clearly young people in their teens and twenties.

Jan Feetz

So this study that is referenced, indicates that for elderly folks, +60 years of age, a better choice to ride would be to ride an analog bicycle, not an ebike.

Milepost105

The study doesn’t seem to take into consideration whether speed is the real culprit in the severity of injuries. Many e bikes routinely run up to 28 mph, almost twice what a casual conventional bike rider would be traveling on level ground, particularly if a senior.

Jan Feetz

It appears that the real culprit is that our reaction times slow down as we age.....

Milepost105

Good point, especially at higher speed.

linberl

Those e-bikers who ride sans helmets and somewhat recklessly would probably be on motorcycles if e-bikes weren't an option, often without helmets there as well. So in that sense, e-bikes are safer, lol.

vonfilm 

Most seniors have enough wisdom to ride within their abilities and riding conditions.
Sometimes an Ebike is the only way they can continue to enjoy cycling..

enda vehicle

An electric bicycle is just a means of transportation, and its use depends on the rider's preferences，regardless of their age.Most of the elderly can live more freely with the help of electric bicycles, maybe what they lack is the understanding of the present transportation.
__________________________________
XNT E-Bike,an experienced manufacturer with bicycle frame products and E-bike assemble capabilities.

Calsun

A sample size of 82 individuals is not going to provide statistically relevant results. Cheaper to use small sample groups to get study results published but it is garbage and only ignorant medical "professionals" promote the results. They really should be teaching statistics (and nutrition) in the medical schools instead of which drugs to push for any given symptom or lab number.

blacknbluebikes 

I'm not sure sample size invalidates the hypothesis here. But more importantly, this "study" simply suggests to me that e-bikes enable riders to exceed their limits in ways a pedal bike would not.
And, my favorite fundamental rule of engineering appears, too: "the faster you want to go the more it costs."

cat0020

Maybe just cyclists in general:

Group of drivers allegedly 'dooring' East Bay bicyclists, leaves 2 hospitalized

https://www.ktvu.com/news/group-of-d...2-hospitalized

Doc_Wui

The problem is a lot of seniors haven't ridden a bike in decades, I put a 73 year old golfing buddy ion my most mild mannered ebike,. Step thru, 250W. The guy was wobbling like mad. I wanted to call my insurance agent and increase my umbrella policy while he went around the block.

You take a recreational rider 55-70 years old, they will have no problems with an ebike, You take someone who doesn't remember he needs to plan where to put his feet when he stops ... kaboom. That happened last Fall to another friend who was riding one of ebikes with us. We stopped on a section of path where one side was a ditch. Guy fell into the ditch.

A lot of seniors are going into trikes. And some are talking trainingg wheels, Yikes. Tip overs.

linberl

Except many folks over 60 have physical limitations and would not be able to ride at all without assist. There are 2 groups of ebike riders - those who simply want the ease and speed without full effort and those who have knee, hip or other physical issues that make
traditional biking difficult or impossible. I would venture the 2d group rides more carefully and slower than the 1st group. And there are folks over 60 in both groups.

linberl

i've had to move to a recumbent trike from my DF bikes. Tadpoles are pretty stable unless you are a dumba** and take turns at unsafe speeds. While I disliked it at first, since i was sort of forced into the change due to health issues, I've come to actually love it. The recumbent seat is wonderful and the views are better since I'm not looking down, I've got a seat wherever I go which is very useful at food trucks, and once i got the steering down it became a lot of fun. The e-assist helps with the higher weight of the trike and since trikes typically reduce speed by several mph, it brings things back to normal. I never went over 16mph on my DF w/ Assist and I haven't gone over 15mph on my trike - even though it can go quite a bit faster. no tip over risk. now those training wheels and high seat trikes - watch out.

cat0020

My in-laws are in their mid 80's, prior to COVID times,
FIL used to be able to ride his 20 fat tire ebike to his favorite fishing spot few miles from his driveway,
go for grocery runs few blocks away.
But now getting them out for a walk gets to be a production and a half in the colder months.

I have had the in-laws try tadpole trike before; getting on & off the low seating of tadpole trikes is difficult for them with balance & flexibility issues.
Just getting in & out of a low car seat/door is problematic, but they seem to be okay with upright trikes.
Their top speed rarely go above 10 mph, minimal pedaling, likely never will take any corner at significant speed faster than walking pace.

I pre-ordered a Lectric XP eTrike for them, for $1500, even if they don't like if I figure it would be an easy re-sale, or even my wife or someone else in their church can use it.

Jan Feetz

A person whose physical issues make it difficult or impossible to ride a traditional bike doesnt belong on an E Bike...just sayin.........

linberl

That's an incredibly ignorant statement. Because someone has arthritis in their knees or back does not mean they should not ride an e-bike. Being older doesn't mean you are
declining mentally nor does it necessarily mean your reflexes have diminished substantially. And most likely your judgment is better than someone young who thinks they
are invincible. I can't ride a 2 wheeler anymore due to balance issues but I am quite capable of riding my electrified tadpole trike.

cat0020

That's a very poor blanket statement.

Prior to the pandemic, I used to volunteer on my semi-recumbent tandem to ride with folks with disabilities, legally blind and just physically incapable of operating a bicycle on their own.
Taking folks on a short bicycle (tandem) ride that allows them to be outdoors, having wind in their faces, sunshine on their skin; make the world of difference to those folks.
Some of them may just need some help balancing to get them back on their feet; and having someone to help them along on a tandem gives them confidence to work up that it's okay to be outdoors on their own.
Being disabled doesn't mean that you cannot learn and adapt to operate an ebike; just take more time and patience for someone to show you and help you along.

shabs

Thanks for the info.

Doc_Wui

Sorry to hear that as I liked your posts about the Bike Friday, but glad you're still rolling away, Ride on.