Older Road Bike Riders?
10-31-21, 09:33 AM
#51
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Location: Merrimac, MA
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I am 75, never very athletic, average speeds in the 12–15 mph range. I ride about 1,000 miles a year. I switch back and forth from the hoods to the drops. My speed always is better on the drops, but I have less pain on the hoods, and also feel safer on them when I am around cars and intersections. Shifting is painful for my hand and fingers when I am on the drops, so I am still figuring that out. But I like the power and speed of the drops. I wear street shoes, having fallen several times when wearing clipless.
All three of my bikes have been Giant, starting off with a Defy, alloy frame, 19 pounds, and 25mm tires, then going to a Toughroad gravel alloy, 24 pounds, with 38mm tires, and 1x11 gearing. This fall I finally switched to a Defy Advanced carbon, 19 pounds, with 32mm tires, and back to 2x11 gears.
The 32mm tires may disqualify my carbon Defy as a road bike, but I feel they are necessary for safety on our New England roads that are full of winter damage, and funky shoulders.
I enjoyed the versatility and safety of the 24-pound alloy gravel bike, but I really missed the lightweight road bike. I had not expected the five-pound difference to affect my ride so much. Since I wanted both the safety of wider tires, and light weight, that pushed me over the edge to buy the carbon with 32mm tires, whose 19 pounds matched my original road bike. It is perfect for the kind of non-competitive, fitness riding I enjoy.
One other point regarding age is that I have shrunk two inches, from 5-feet 11.5 inches to 5-feet 9.5 inches. My M/L gravel bike is too large for my current, diminished height, which was another reason for buying a new bike in size M.
I have a very rare, and extremely painful, neurological disorder (1 in 10,000 people) called trigeminal neuralgia, or TN. On two Facebook support groups I have learned that those of us who cycle require far less medication and surgery than those who don't exercise. For me, cycling gives me control over treating an extremely debilitating disease. Buying a $2,600 carbon bike seemed worth every penny, considering its importance to my well-being, and keeping me away from the brain surgeon's knife and saw. My frugal wife agreed. Here is the gallery—
This is my first road bike, the Defy aluminum alloy, 25mm tires, 19 pounds, size M/L.
Below is my Giant Toughroad alloy gravel bike, 24 pounds, 38mm tires, 1x11, size M/L.
My current bike the Giant Defy Advanced carbon, 19 pounds, 32mm tires, 2x11, size M.
And here I am with the carbon bike, at my favorite spot, an old marsh of native wild rice along the Merrimack River in Massachusetts.
All three of my bikes have been Giant, starting off with a Defy, alloy frame, 19 pounds, and 25mm tires, then going to a Toughroad gravel alloy, 24 pounds, with 38mm tires, and 1x11 gearing. This fall I finally switched to a Defy Advanced carbon, 19 pounds, with 32mm tires, and back to 2x11 gears.
The 32mm tires may disqualify my carbon Defy as a road bike, but I feel they are necessary for safety on our New England roads that are full of winter damage, and funky shoulders.
I enjoyed the versatility and safety of the 24-pound alloy gravel bike, but I really missed the lightweight road bike. I had not expected the five-pound difference to affect my ride so much. Since I wanted both the safety of wider tires, and light weight, that pushed me over the edge to buy the carbon with 32mm tires, whose 19 pounds matched my original road bike. It is perfect for the kind of non-competitive, fitness riding I enjoy.
One other point regarding age is that I have shrunk two inches, from 5-feet 11.5 inches to 5-feet 9.5 inches. My M/L gravel bike is too large for my current, diminished height, which was another reason for buying a new bike in size M.
I have a very rare, and extremely painful, neurological disorder (1 in 10,000 people) called trigeminal neuralgia, or TN. On two Facebook support groups I have learned that those of us who cycle require far less medication and surgery than those who don't exercise. For me, cycling gives me control over treating an extremely debilitating disease. Buying a $2,600 carbon bike seemed worth every penny, considering its importance to my well-being, and keeping me away from the brain surgeon's knife and saw. My frugal wife agreed. Here is the gallery—
This is my first road bike, the Defy aluminum alloy, 25mm tires, 19 pounds, size M/L.
Below is my Giant Toughroad alloy gravel bike, 24 pounds, 38mm tires, 1x11, size M/L.
My current bike the Giant Defy Advanced carbon, 19 pounds, 32mm tires, 2x11, size M.
And here I am with the carbon bike, at my favorite spot, an old marsh of native wild rice along the Merrimack River in Massachusetts.
Last edited by Merrimac; 10-31-21 at 09:59 AM. Reason: Clarity
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10-31-21, 12:56 PM
#52
Full Member
Originally Posted by Merrimac
I am 75, never very athletic, average speeds in the 12–15 mph range. I ride about 1,000 miles a year. I switch back and forth from the hoods to the drops. My speed always is better on the drops, but I have less pain on the hoods, and also feel safer on them when I am around cars and intersections. Shifting is painful for my hand and fingers when I am on the drops, so I am still figuring that out. But I like the power and speed of the drops. I wear street shoes, having fallen several times when wearing clipless.
All three of my bikes have been Giant, starting off with a Defy, alloy frame, 19 pounds, and 25mm tires, then going to a Toughroad gravel alloy, 24 pounds, with 38mm tires, and 1x11 gearing. This fall I finally switched to a Defy Advanced carbon, 19 pounds, with 32mm tires, and back to 2x11 gears.
The 32mm tires may disqualify my carbon Defy as a road bike, but I feel they are necessary for safety on our New England roads that are full of winter damage, and funky shoulders.
I enjoyed the versatility and safety of the 24-pound alloy gravel bike, but I really missed the lightweight road bike. I had not expected the five-pound difference to affect my ride so much. Since I wanted both the safety of wider tires, and light weight, that pushed me over the edge to buy the carbon with 32mm tires, whose 19 pounds matched my original road bike. It is perfect for the kind of non-competitive, fitness riding I enjoy.
One other point regarding age is that I have shrunk two inches, from 5-feet 11.5 inches to 5-feet 9.5 inches. My M/L gravel bike is too large for my current, diminished height, which was another reason for buying a new bike in size M.
I have a very rare, and extremely painful, neurological disorder (1 in 10,000 people) called trigeminal neuralgia, or TN. On two Facebook support groups I have learned that those of us who cycle require far less medication and surgery than those who don't exercise. For me, cycling gives me control over treating an extremely debilitating disease. Buying a $2,600 carbon bike seemed worth every penny, considering its importance to my well-being, and keeping me away from the brain surgeon's knife and saw. My frugal wife agreed. Here is the gallery—
This is my first road bike, the Defy aluminum alloy, 25mm tires, 19 pounds, size M/L.
Below is my Giant Toughroad alloy gravel bike, 24 pounds, 38mm tires, 1x11, size M/L.
My current bike the Giant Defy Advanced carbon, 19 pounds, 32mm tires, 2x11, size M.
And here I am with the carbon bike, at my favorite spot, an old marsh of native wild rice along the Merrimack River in Massachusetts.
All three of my bikes have been Giant, starting off with a Defy, alloy frame, 19 pounds, and 25mm tires, then going to a Toughroad gravel alloy, 24 pounds, with 38mm tires, and 1x11 gearing. This fall I finally switched to a Defy Advanced carbon, 19 pounds, with 32mm tires, and back to 2x11 gears.
The 32mm tires may disqualify my carbon Defy as a road bike, but I feel they are necessary for safety on our New England roads that are full of winter damage, and funky shoulders.
I enjoyed the versatility and safety of the 24-pound alloy gravel bike, but I really missed the lightweight road bike. I had not expected the five-pound difference to affect my ride so much. Since I wanted both the safety of wider tires, and light weight, that pushed me over the edge to buy the carbon with 32mm tires, whose 19 pounds matched my original road bike. It is perfect for the kind of non-competitive, fitness riding I enjoy.
One other point regarding age is that I have shrunk two inches, from 5-feet 11.5 inches to 5-feet 9.5 inches. My M/L gravel bike is too large for my current, diminished height, which was another reason for buying a new bike in size M.
I have a very rare, and extremely painful, neurological disorder (1 in 10,000 people) called trigeminal neuralgia, or TN. On two Facebook support groups I have learned that those of us who cycle require far less medication and surgery than those who don't exercise. For me, cycling gives me control over treating an extremely debilitating disease. Buying a $2,600 carbon bike seemed worth every penny, considering its importance to my well-being, and keeping me away from the brain surgeon's knife and saw. My frugal wife agreed. Here is the gallery—
This is my first road bike, the Defy aluminum alloy, 25mm tires, 19 pounds, size M/L.
Below is my Giant Toughroad alloy gravel bike, 24 pounds, 38mm tires, 1x11, size M/L.
My current bike the Giant Defy Advanced carbon, 19 pounds, 32mm tires, 2x11, size M.
And here I am with the carbon bike, at my favorite spot, an old marsh of native wild rice along the Merrimack River in Massachusetts.
I'll be 82 in November have gone through a microvascular decompression and two gamma knife procedures. Currently off meds, but I feel a few tingles now and then. For those who don't know TN it's generally severe and debilitating electric shocks in your facial area, described as the most painful condition known to human kind. It also is called the suicide disease. I don't believe bicycling has affected my condition one way or the other, except that it always pays to be in good physical condition. Like others I have also shrunk, from 6 ft to a little over 5 ft 10 in.
Last edited by gobicycling; 10-31-21 at 01:00 PM.
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10-31-21, 05:51 PM
#53
Over forty victim of Fate
I have almost always ridden my Fuji on neither the 'drops', 'hoods', or the 'tops', but rather on the shoulders of the bars where the tops transition forward. I put my palms on the bends with my fingers facing forward. I've been riding with my hands that way for 45+ years. Easy to transition to tops or drops. Especially when one considers that I use bar-con shifters. Both positions are a quick re-position from either tops or drops for braking or shifting My brake levers are NOT positioned for hood-riding!
__________________
'75 Fuji S-10S bought new, 52k+ miles and still going!
'84 Univega Gran Tourismo
'84 Univega Viva Sport
'86 Miyata 710
'90 Schwinn Woodlands
Unknown brand MTB of questionable lineage aka 'Mutt Trail Bike'
Plus or minus a few others from time-to-time
'75 Fuji S-10S bought new, 52k+ miles and still going!
'84 Univega Gran Tourismo
'84 Univega Viva Sport
'86 Miyata 710
'90 Schwinn Woodlands
Unknown brand MTB of questionable lineage aka 'Mutt Trail Bike'
Plus or minus a few others from time-to-time
11-03-21, 12:39 PM
#54
feros ferio
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I still use drops on the road bikes, but spend much more time on the hoods than before. I have rotated/tilted the bars, pointing the bottom portion a bit more downward, so that the brake levers are a bit higher and more comfortable.
I put a lot of road miles on my mountain bike, and I spend most of my time on the extensions unless I need full braking power or maneuvering
Independence Day parade a couple of years ago in my elder son's neighborhood. Some bikes don't need no 4th of July decoration!
I put a lot of road miles on my mountain bike, and I spend most of my time on the extensions unless I need full braking power or maneuvering
Independence Day parade a couple of years ago in my elder son's neighborhood. Some bikes don't need no 4th of July decoration!
__________________
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
11-05-21, 02:09 PM
#55
Full Member
Will be 65 in a few months and just bought a new steel drop bar endurance bike. Not having any problems so far. Will ride it till I can't ride no more...
Humm... thinking ahead here maybe I should keep my early '90s flat bar hybrid around for awhile. Been thinking of selling it...
Humm... thinking ahead here maybe I should keep my early '90s flat bar hybrid around for awhile. Been thinking of selling it...
11-05-21, 06:35 PM
#56
Senior Member
Originally Posted by RockiesDad
Will be 65 in a few months and just bought a new steel drop bar endurance bike. Not having any problems so far. Will ride it till I can't ride no more...
Humm... thinking ahead here maybe I should keep my early '90s flat bar hybrid around for awhile. Been thinking of selling it...
Humm... thinking ahead here maybe I should keep my early '90s flat bar hybrid around for awhile. Been thinking of selling it...
Last edited by donheff; 11-05-21 at 06:37 PM. Reason: Typo
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11-06-21, 06:09 AM
#58
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My wife turns 70 today and has over 5,000 miles for the year so far. She's in her 40th season of road cycling as an adult.
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Keep the chain tight!
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11-06-21, 08:00 AM
#59
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71 with historic back issues I have raised bars with tall quills and stems, gone to 28s , and with staying out of the drops has helped a lot. Riding 20+ miles every other day has worked out well as has staying under 40 miles. Only real issue is I can not bear to make changes to my Italians so they will have to go, I just can't put a Nitto Technomic on a Tommasini.
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11-07-21, 09:18 PM
#60
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Posted by Gobicycling—
Finding another TN brother on this forum is a surprise. Good to hear that the surgery and gamma knife procedures were successful. I suppose they will be in my future too. Keep it up!
I am a fellow trigeminal Neuralgia sufferer.
I'll be 82 in November have gone through a microvascular decompression and two gamma knife procedures. Currently off meds, but I feel a few tingles now and then. For those who don't know TN it's generally severe and debilitating electric shocks in your facial area, described as the most painful condition known to human kind. It also is called the suicide disease. I don't believe bicycling has affected my condition one way or the other, except that it always pays to be in good physical condition. Like others I have also shrunk, from 6 ft to a little over 5 ft 10 in.
I'll be 82 in November have gone through a microvascular decompression and two gamma knife procedures. Currently off meds, but I feel a few tingles now and then. For those who don't know TN it's generally severe and debilitating electric shocks in your facial area, described as the most painful condition known to human kind. It also is called the suicide disease. I don't believe bicycling has affected my condition one way or the other, except that it always pays to be in good physical condition. Like others I have also shrunk, from 6 ft to a little over 5 ft 10 in.
11-07-21, 10:00 PM
#61
Full Member
Originally Posted by Merrimac
Posted by Gobicycling—
Finding another TN brother on this forum is a surprise. Good to hear that the surgery and gamma knife procedures were successful. I suppose they will be in my future too. Keep it up!
Finding another TN brother on this forum is a surprise. Good to hear that the surgery and gamma knife procedures were successful. I suppose they will be in my future too. Keep it up!
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11-08-21, 10:27 AM
#62
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Originally Posted by gobicycling
Well here's another one for you, Dendriform Pulmonary Ossification. That's 10 times or maybe 100 or 1,000 times more rare than trigeminal neuralgia. It's called an orphan disease and only a few hundred people in the world seem to have it or at least have been diagnosed, which occurs mostly in autopsies. Anyway that's another thing that I have fun with!
11-08-21, 04:30 PM
#63
Member
Still riding my Lemond Zurich - at age 72. I'm a bit slower nowadays and a lot more careful, but that's okay. Still having fun.
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11-12-21, 06:58 AM
#64
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Here is a different twist. I am 72 and have spinal and foraminal stenosis (lumbar region) and the associated symptoms (hip and lower leg pain in my case). Riding either of my road bikes with traditional setup provide me significant relief from the discomfort that I feel. So in my case the position of a road bike is a solution to a problem and not a problem to be overcome. I have been dealing with the symptoms for a bit under a year, so I don't know the long term outlook here.
dave
dave
11-12-21, 12:30 PM
#65
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Originally Posted by Random11
Two months ago I bought a Cervelo Caledonia. I'm very happy with the bike, which fits well and is a good match for my regular rides. But one thing I briefly considered before buying is how much longer I'd want to ride a bike like that, or even be able to ride a bike like that. I'm 71, and curious about older riders' experience with road bikes. Are you older than I am and still riding a drop-bar road bike? Did you give up riding a road bike for some reason and turn to something else? I know as I'm asking that everyone's experiences are different and I should just keep riding the bike as long as it suits me. But I'm wondering if I'll still want to ride that bike in 10 years. How about 20 years? How about 30 years, when I'm 101? One thing about buying a bike when you're older is that you really can think that the bike will last you the rest of your life.
11-12-21, 02:24 PM
#66
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68 here. All my bikes are drop bar road bikes. (60% fix gears.) I set my bikes up to be all day comfortable in the drops. How far I can reach depends on how much I've been riding. I love the old quill stems because raising and lowering them is so easy. (Well greased and done often.) Also ride (roughly in descending order) the hoods, right behind the hoods, the tops and the curves. Well, one of my fix gears has pista drops and the hoods set very low. I use the hoods only for out of the saddle climbing and behind them more.
I plan to keep on doing this as long as I can; just raising the bars, maybe a new stem or three. Figure I can go to a full upright position when they figure out this wind thing but as long as I have to deal with it, I'll stick to drop bars.
I plan to keep on doing this as long as I can; just raising the bars, maybe a new stem or three. Figure I can go to a full upright position when they figure out this wind thing but as long as I have to deal with it, I'll stick to drop bars.
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11-12-21, 06:19 PM
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Originally Posted by rydabent
Back in about 1987 I bought what I thot was going to be my last bike. Now, 3 bikes and 1 trike later, Im not sure I wont buy something new, even tho I am 83.
11-12-21, 10:50 PM
#68
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Originally Posted by rydabent
Back in about 1987 I bought what I thot was going to be my last bike. Now, 3 bikes and 1 trike later, Im not sure I wont buy something new, even tho I am 83.
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11-13-21, 09:17 AM
#69
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Originally Posted by 79pmooney
I love the old quill stems because raising and lowering them is so easy. (Well greased and done often.) Also ride (roughly in descending order) the hoods, right behind the hoods, the tops and the curves….
…I plan to keep on doing this as long as I can; just raising the bars, maybe a new stem or three. Figure I can go to a full upright position when they figure out this wind thing but as long as I have to deal with it, I'll stick to drop bars.
…I plan to keep on doing this as long as I can; just raising the bars, maybe a new stem or three. Figure I can go to a full upright position when they figure out this wind thing but as long as I have to deal with it, I'll stick to drop bars.
With a Technomic stem, for example, there is about a four inch range of height adjustment available with a 6 mm hex wrench and all of five seconds.
Threadless fork road bikes tend to be more limited because they don’t usually make head tubes as tall as they might to compensate for modern, higher BBs.
The good news is that there are now a lot of new handlebar options that are still a drop bar but have considerable rise from the stem clamp (and typically a shallow drop), if you find you want higher bars.
Also, if you eventually decide you don’t really want or need drops, there are ways to set up touring bars that allow a good forward to back range of positions (more even than drop bars) so that you aren’t stuck in a full upright position all the time.
Otto
11-13-21, 09:28 AM
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My plan is that at the age of 102 they will find me pulled off to the side of the bike trail on my trike, with a smile on my face assuming room temp. A great way to go.
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11-13-21, 03:18 PM
#71
Senior Member
I'm eighty and ride every day. A friend used to ride his age in miles until he was 83, then little things slowed him down.
Dr. Paul Dudley White rode into his mid eighties, but suffered a stroke at 87.
Dr. Paul Dudley White rode into his mid eighties, but suffered a stroke at 87.
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11-14-21, 08:46 PM
#72
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I’m 70 and have ridden 7000 miles or so in 2021. I ride a road bike and still love pushing it. Alas, the future is somewhat ordained but I’ll push it as long as I’m having as much fun as I am. Best to all.
The top of mile’s climb with a moment or so of 21% grade.
The top of mile’s climb with a moment or so of 21% grade.
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11-15-21, 05:32 AM
#73
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I ride on the hoods most of the time anyway. I use the drops mainly for stability on steep descents and the odd sprint. I'm only 53, but I can't see myself ever moving to a flat bar setup on my road bike. I find it more comfortable riding on the hoods and tops of drop bars. Flat bars are only my preference for mountain biking. I expect the only thing that will change with age is the stack height on my road bike.
11-15-21, 08:15 AM
#74
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Originally Posted by Lazyass
I'm only 53 but when I get older I'll probably be on something like this.
11-15-21, 01:41 PM
#75
Senior Member
There are a couple of things that help me keep on riding at 80. Compact doubles : I have a 44-30 in front, and am thinking of going to 42-28. Another is the availability of wide, supple 650B x42mm tires. They are fast enough on smooth pavement, and great on dirt roads or paths or our crappy roads. The comfort and cushioning effect of wide tires is really helpful. I still ride drop bars, Nitto Noodles for the most part, but now I'm beginning to like the Randonneur bend on one of my bikes.
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