are 50+ guys too old for road bikes?
03-31-10, 08:06 PM
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If you listen to bike store salespeople, 50+ folks are only capable of riding hybrids. I didn't know any better when I bought my first bike four years ago. I wandered in, they asked my age, I told them and they sold me a hybrid.
Nine months and 4,000 miles later, I bought my first road bike. Now I have three, with a fourth on deck.
Four-seasons all-conditions commuter and grocery-getter.
Fair weather commuter.
Fast ride fun bike.
Nine months and 4,000 miles later, I bought my first road bike. Now I have three, with a fourth on deck.
Four-seasons all-conditions commuter and grocery-getter.
Fair weather commuter.
Fast ride fun bike.
03-31-10, 08:14 PM
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One of the funniest posts since I've been reading these forums.
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03-31-10, 08:40 PM
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I can't argue with any of this--I'm 65, and really comfortable on my Atlantis with drop bars. But you can do a lot to the bike you already have, with adjustments and maybe a bar swap. I mean, buy a new bike if you want one and can afford it, but you can also move your existing bars up, down, forward and back with different stems, or swap bars, or pad here and there or change the way the levers and shifters are set up.
03-31-10, 09:13 PM
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Hi guys, i'm new to the forum and have enjoyed reading it since i discovered it a few days ago. i recently bought a moto cafe sprint (28 tires) hybrid believing i was just too old (57 yrs-male) to go for the road bike. since then i've been working up to about 100 miles per week averaging about 13.8 mph on mostly flat roads around chicago. I like the moto alot but it was advertised as a flat bar road bike that would be more comfortable than a road bike but faster than a hybrid. after reading the hybrid forum as well i'm having my doubts. my trusty 12 yr old jamis steel hybrid with 38 tires and a rack (my original rosinante) upon whom i just put a cheap computer seems to be just as fast as the much cooler looking moto. also altho i love riding the moto i'm experiencing wrist, upper arm and back pain. so i'm wondering: was i right to believe that i'm too old to have gotten a faster road bike with drop bars (which i can't seem to be able to use when i have tried them)? and is the moto really just a hybrid that can never go faster than well a hybrid? (will switching to 23 tires help??)
Just about any other bar type, allows the hands to be in the natural position, drop bars are not the only other option though trekking bars and moustache bars, bull horns are all options as well. The real key though, is making sure the bars are the right height, for an older rider, higher is usually better, leave the foot below the saddle for the twenty somethings.
03-31-10, 09:53 PM
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Got a road bike at 58. Still riding a roadie at near 71.
Hybrids are designed to hurt your back - all the weight straight down. Road bikes stretch out your back, or so my neurosurgeon and physiatrist tell me.
Good luck.
Hybrids are designed to hurt your back - all the weight straight down. Road bikes stretch out your back, or so my neurosurgeon and physiatrist tell me.
Good luck.
03-31-10, 10:01 PM
#31
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03-31-10, 10:08 PM
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63. Road bike. Over 30,000 miles on my NEW bike. It's all about the bike fit.
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03-31-10, 10:31 PM
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Last edited by Allegheny Jet; 03-31-10 at 10:39 PM.
03-31-10, 10:39 PM
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You only need mad negotiating skills. Here are some tips: https://www.xtranormal.com/profile/2291743/
04-01-10, 12:25 AM
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Age 77; still ride 100+ miles a week; have never owned anything else but a road bike in the last 300,000+ miles.
I am not too old for a roadbike, but maybe your are . . .
I am not too old for a roadbike, but maybe your are . . .
04-01-10, 12:46 AM
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No, but I AM too arthritic, my lower back, shoulders and hips are all heavily involved, which makes a more upright position better for me. Which makes a utility bike a better choice than a road bike and a fat tired machine (60x559 tires) a better choice than a 23x622. Hence I ride a Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine, a Torker Cargo T.
But it's not age, I am (only) 56.
But it's not age, I am (only) 56.
Last edited by Fat Tire; 04-01-10 at 12:49 AM.
04-01-10, 04:55 AM
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Just as a side note, any of you all who think you're too old for road bikes that already have 'em, I'm starting a retirement home for road bikes. It will be a place where they can hang out with others of their kind and get regular exercise via my exclusive "ride them all" policy. 
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04-01-10, 05:54 AM
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hey tsl ~ which Schwinn is that?
04-01-10, 06:08 AM
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Just as a side note, any of you all who think you're too old for road bikes that already have 'em, I'm starting a retirement home for road bikes. It will be a place where they can hang out with others of their kind and get regular exercise via my exclusive "ride them all" policy.
I wonder if we can get a guvmnt health care grant?
04-01-10, 06:32 AM
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Yep! you can ride a road bike
I'm 57 and bought a hybred ( Globe Carmel 700 XL) because i'm also a Clyde at 275. I also have a Mercier Corvis 60 cm(new)and a Trek 1420 from the 90's
I can only average 8 mph on either of bikes on ranges over 50 miles. I just don't have the leg strength to haul me up a hill without stoping also saddle sores. I don't have bike shorts or bike shoes i use a cheep set of peddels from walmart because of my flat feet. Also i have algeries.
I need to raise the handlebars on the Trek.
Through the week i ride the Globe with a camelback to town during the week I use the Trek for two mile sprints during the week and I like the Corvis for Sunday rides.
I'm 57 and bought a hybred ( Globe Carmel 700 XL) because i'm also a Clyde at 275. I also have a Mercier Corvis 60 cm(new)and a Trek 1420 from the 90's
I can only average 8 mph on either of bikes on ranges over 50 miles. I just don't have the leg strength to haul me up a hill without stoping also saddle sores. I don't have bike shorts or bike shoes i use a cheep set of peddels from walmart because of my flat feet. Also i have algeries.
I need to raise the handlebars on the Trek.
Through the week i ride the Globe with a camelback to town during the week I use the Trek for two mile sprints during the week and I like the Corvis for Sunday rides.
04-01-10, 06:37 AM
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04-01-10, 06:52 AM
#43
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Thanks for the help with negotiating skills. I just asked for the e-motion rollers and sent her the link to N+1
04-01-10, 07:53 AM
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That's a 1999 Schwinn Peloton. It was their full-on criterium/road race bike. I picked it up in February for a song. Classic geometry rendered in TIG-welded Reynolds 853 tubing, and originally full (9-speed) Ultegra. Its previous owner had an advanced case of upgraditis, so it now sports a Dura-Ace RD, Easton carbon fork and bars, Thomson seatpost and stem, Selle Italia SLK Gel Flow saddle, and Neuvation wheels.
It's a nice little bike, I'm really diggin' it. It has plenty of scoot, climbs like a goat (despite the 53/39 standard double), and it rides and handles like a dream. On stoplight sprints I've had to learn how to keep the front wheel on the ground. Yee ha!
04-01-10, 01:38 PM
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The codgers one at the back is the one my son in law rides.
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04-01-10, 04:03 PM
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My birth certificate says I'm 56, but because of regular use of road bikes my adjusted age is 38. So no, I'm not too old for road bikes and you probably aren't too old either. In fact, scientific studies show that road bikes help many of us maintain an adjusted age that is most appropriate for people our age, or something like that.
04-01-10, 06:26 PM
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04-01-10, 06:28 PM
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04-01-10, 07:03 PM
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You're never too old to get the bike you really want.
I'm 65 and all I own (or have owned) are road bikes. My cyclocross bikes are used as road/commuter bikes in the warmer months.
My main ride has 700x23 tires. My cyclocross bike has 700x35 cross tires in the cold months. I'm putting 700x25 Vittoria Rubino Pros on this weekend. 700x25 is the narrowest tire that will fit on my rims.
Use the moto hybrid as a commuter bike and get a road bike. You won't be sorry.
I'm 65 and all I own (or have owned) are road bikes. My cyclocross bikes are used as road/commuter bikes in the warmer months.
My main ride has 700x23 tires. My cyclocross bike has 700x35 cross tires in the cold months. I'm putting 700x25 Vittoria Rubino Pros on this weekend. 700x25 is the narrowest tire that will fit on my rims.
Use the moto hybrid as a commuter bike and get a road bike. You won't be sorry.
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The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. - Psalm 103:8
I am a cyclist. I am not the fastest or the fittest. But I will get to where I'm going with a smile on my face.
Last edited by RonH; 04-01-10 at 07:06 PM.