I was at the gym the other day and on a whim, I reached for the pull up bar. I'm 66 and I had shoulder replacement surgery . I actually did a few.
I 'm suspecting a few of you can do multiples of that. Maybe I'll try to build up. Whats a reasonable number?

There isn't any reasonable number because numbers mean nothing. As an example, last time I did any serious pull up training was way back in 2017. At that time I was able to do 15 pull ups with a very strict form, chin touching the bar at every rep. If I tried doing that now I wouldn't be able to do it and that doesn't mean that I am weak or unfit. It simply means that I lost some adaptation in that particular exercise. Pull ups is all about practice and adaptation. The more you do them the better you will become. Most people cheat and do pull ups wrong, then inflate their numbers to make themselves look impressive when in reality most of their reps don't even count because they're done with a wrong form.

I won't even try to do one, 6 months post-op reverse shoulder replacement. But, I can do 20 reps with 6.5 pound dumbbell overhead with that shoulder, right side.

Well done! For me it's still; Oh Crap No!

Shoulder surgery in Oct, then range of motion PT forever, I just restarted strength training a couple weeks ago. There's been a huge loss of strength in my L shoulder so now I'm 100% focused on strength training. I lift for 40-50 minutes, 5 x week plus PT. I hope I can do a real pull-up in another 3 weeks.

BTinNYC The first 10 weeks was hard, a lot of pain with a couple of set backs. Mid October was when I started to feel a lot of improvement. It seemed almost suddenly I was on a sometimes daily upswing with range of motion and easing of pain. I am still working on strength, while accepting it will have limits. My range of motion is about 90% of norm, better than I anticipated.
I have chronic neck issues that are a factor in overall ability and results.
Kudos to you for all the effort, keep going forward.

I have never been able to do even one pull up period all my life and I 64. When we were tested on it in high school you have to have hands and fingers facing out. It is more doable if you have hands and fingers facing you and pull up more with bicep. I cannot do a one.

IMO not much of a concern for cyclists and maybe the better question is do you have the flexibility to touch your toes? This flexibility helps much more with riding position than pullup shoulder strength.

I can pull up my pants in the morning. Good enough for me.

I don't know. Because I walk right on my anything I see that I could pull myself up on.

But seriously, I own one of those contraptions that hangs above a doorway and can be used for a pull-up-like exercise. However, the hands can’t be placed as one would for a proper chin-up or pull-up. This post prompted me to retrieve it from the closet. Although I couldn’t pull myself all the way up, I remember being able to do a few when I placed it on the shelf years ago. I do have a shoulder that I broke about 15 years ago and arthritis in the other shoulder, but these weren’t the reasons for my failure. I simply lacked the arm strength to complete the exercise.

Wrong... The benefits of resistance training are well documented and upper body strength is very important. Everybody including cyclists can benefit from doing some type of resistance training.

Really wrong? I was not discussing nor dismissing the "benefits of resistance training". You are known for passing judgement and making incorrect responses. Notice I stated maybe better question.

This thread is about testing oneself strength by doing pull ups and not about riding position or stretching. You said that pull ups are of no concern to cyclists because they don't have a direct carry over to riding position, then you go on to say that it would be better to bend over and touch your toes and do stretching instead. Maybes some cyclist just like to test their strength by doing things and activities which may not be directly related to cycling, there is nothing wrong with that. And BTW, riding position on a bicycle isn't the most optimal position for healthy posture and that's why any type of pulling exercise such as pull ups and rowing exercises are great especially for cyclists because those exercises can correct bad posture and improve core strength and upper body strength.

Pull-ups are showy but don't mean much to a cyclist. The only time I really use my biceps is sprinting hard OOS. Pushups are what's good for cycling. Works your chest, arms, and core. Being able to do 20 strict ones is enough for most of us.

That said, being able to hang from a bar for a minute is a very good thing. Hanging opens the space in our shoulders. Years ago, I was having shoulder pain. I got a prescription for PT but the PT did absolutely nothing for said pain. I searched around and found this book:
Shoulder Pain? The Solution & Prevention, Revised & Expanded: Kirsch M D, John M: 9781589096424: Amazon.com: Books

Fixed me up in just a few days. It's a bit of an odd thing: what apparatus do grade-school kids gravitate to? Monkey bars. That's because we evolved from folks who did a lot hanging from their hands, and we still have those same shoulder structures and that same desire to hang, though most of us grow out of it.

One minute/day is all it takes. If you're doing chin-ups, just hang, fully relaxed, for a few seconds between reps.

I remember at age 30 I was in my best shape as a marathon runner. I manage to run a 3:06 and I could do then about possibly 5 pushups, and they are much easier than pullups. I did not have a lot of upper body strength but good gripe as a jazz guitarist.

These day this is the only thing I pull up on, soda or beer: I can get up to twelve with a few breaks.

How timely a thread. I just found out a few weeks ago I can't do a single chin up or pull up anymore. I even just bought one of those bars that hang on the door frame to help me meet my goal for doing them. Already, my shoulders are feeling much better as I'm a side sleeper and my shoulders have been bothering me for the last few months if I don't roll over during the night.

Push ups are not a issue. But I am having to work back up to the number I once could do.

While some may scoff at fitness exercises. I feel that they will keep me in shape to stay on my race fit bicycle for a long time to come. Being more upright is a drag. And waste of power that can be used for distance and/or speed.

Won’t even try. I’m 70 and have a partial tear in my right bicep tendon. Not bad enough to operate and in any case once past about 55 they don’t fix it they snip it completely and warn you that you’ve only got one tendon functioning so don’t do anything stupid. Plus I spent a year out of the pool allowing this to heal. Attempting a pull up would be self destructive.

Side sleeper too and both shoulders have been hurting lately. mostly the left side because that's where the short wave is and I'm often tuning through the night. I hadn't thought that pull ups might help remedy this. Time to cowboy up!

Wrestled in high school. King of the weight room. I could climb the rope multiple times without the aid of my legs. Pegboard on the wall? Piece of cake. Yet I could not do pull-ups. 40 years later? Not a chance.

There is a big diff between "not much" and "no" which is none or 0. You have again miss quoted and thus not understood my statement. I dont want to have such discussions with you but will not let you miss quote me nor state I am wrong.

Go find others to troll.

"The sit-to-stand (or Sitting-Rising Test - SRT) measures functional mobility, strength, and flexibility to estimate longevity."I cant do this. Can you?
I read that if you can do this , you have decades of life ahead of you, if not , a few years.

Yes this is a good test and a good practice ...

The Sitting-Rising Test (SRT) is a simple, no-equipment clinical assessment that measures non-aerobic physical fitness—specifically core/leg strength, balance, and flexibility—by evaluating an individual's ability to sit down on and rise from the floor.

I do practice this and hanging but do not practice full body weight pull-up as it is too difficult and risky for most older age shoulders (re rotator cuff)

I just looked up that test and it's not clear to me what the rules are, if there are any besides the ones talking about point deductions (which are only somewhat clear). If I can sit down while touching the ground by nothing more than my feet, and then getting up the same way, does the position of my feet while standing up (which I move below my body/center of mass and spread them slightly) matter or not? What I did is actually very easy, but I can imagine it being quite harder if additional conditions are set (e.g. not moving my feet at all after sitting down).

I also have one of those Door-way Bars that I use 3-4 times a week.
I use it to simply "hang" with different hand positions. Does wonders to stretch out my 6.5 decades body while increasing my grip strength.
I can do exactly zero pull-ups (on it).....

Yes of course the location of your feet makes a difference. If you're going to do that test, put them where they need to be. That said, of course that's not where we usually keep our feet while sitting. Before we stand, we always move them back. Otherwise, everyone would need to use their hands to stand, and the test would prove nothing.