10 Wheels

Now 72 y/o

stkfox

+1 on the TREK FX series. I have my second 7.3, gave the first one I had to my son with 7200 of my miles on it!

pbass

+1. I'm 54, started road biking at 49, and mountain biking at 52. When I started I never would have expected it, but after one road bike, and one "starter" mountain bike, I have settled on a rigid, single speed 29'r mountain bike as my bike of choice. And I'm not a particularly hardcore or strong rider by any stretch. It just spoke to me the moment I test rode it, and, even though I'm on the trail most of the time, I use it for anything--around town, errands--oh, and it is GREAT for camping trips. Very little to worry about mechanically, and just super fun to hop on and go, whether it's down the single track, or down to the local brewery
Cruisers are fun, simple bikes to knock around on too of course, but if there's anything resembling a hill at all, they stop being quite as fun.

Wanderer

Decide how much you will use it! If you only plan on 25 - 50 miles a year, a dept store bike is PERFECT!

Tusky

Hi Herman,

Go down to the BB store and ride the bike around the store. More importantly get your wife to ride one. People may look at you but they are going to be looking at you (and waving) when you are out and about on your bikes.

Pick it up, it is heavy. Your wife won't like a heavy bike (won't ride a heavy bike). Try to find a seat that is comfortable (easier for you than her). If your wife doesn't like the way the bike fits she won't ride it.

Look for a light aluminum bike. Look on craigslist for bikes being sold by couples.

Captlink

I would think a hybrid bike may be good for both of you.They normally can be stopped flat footed and are very comfortable for casual riders with wide range gearing.While I recommend a LBS look over or assemble any purchase you might look at bikes direct to save a few dollars if buying new. A good shop will help you decide size, type and fitting even if they don't sell you the bike.

Nightshade

As tricycles go this is a nice trike for the older rider.....26" Schwinn Meridian Adult Tricycle in Cherry, Blue, Silver, or Mint Green - Walmart.com

For travel this bike is great for the older rider............ FMB3CB

Blanchje

I just drooled on my screen 10 wheels.

BlazingPedals

Not all big-box bikes are equal. Some, like Dick's Sporting Goods, sell higher-end stuff than, say, Target or Wally World. You can tell by the price. WW price will be $59-199, Dick's will be $399-500 plus the service contract. The Dick's price will be MORE than you'd pay for a basic Trek FX at a bike shop, and the Trek comes with at least a 30-day tune-up included. I'd recommend the Trek for you and your wife.

Oh, and at age 59 this is my current winter upgrade project:

JanMM

The only upright bikes that normally can be stopped flat footed, with rider staying on the saddle, are crank forward bikes, as mentioned by fietsbob in post #16 . Examples are Electra Townies or RANS crank forward models.
(Could never do that on the Cannondale or Novara hybrids that I used to ride.)

rydabent

10

Good point. The best bike for an older person may not actually be a bike, but it might be a trike. I have the best of both worlds since I have tha LWB recumbent bike, and a tadpole trike. With my trike, I can see me riding it until I can no longer ride anything. In fact that is one of the reasons I bought the trike.

Actually if I had my way, they would finde me assuming room temperature on the side of the bike path on my trike with a smile on my face. Why not go out doing what you like.

browngw 

Mrs browngw and I have had Giant Cypresses' for 5 years now. Although we have "n+1 ed" (verb?) we still use the Giants regularly. Some good friends like their Giant Sedona with wider tires and more upright stance. All good value for less than $500.

irwin7638

I would recommend something a little more versatile than a cruiser. There are a lot of excellent hybrid bikes available in the $500 range which you will find get you farther down more roads than a cruiser.
Like the others I suggest a bike shop. Buying a bicycle at a department store is like buying sushi at a gas station. Both will create unpleasant, unexpected results.

Marc

Robster

I'm on old guy, like you blokes.
I can personally recommended a Santa Cruz V10cc.
Absolutely amazing bike to take trips up the the local shops for milk and bread.
It smooths out the pavement like you wouldn't believe, feels like you're riding on a cloud.
V10cc is obviously an expensive option, so if that's too much for you to handle, how about a Giant Glory Advanced 1/ Scott Gambler / Canyon Sender. These are all 200mm travel bikes, designed to eat the pavement.

VVC

A tandem is the only way forward!

fietsbob

Photo bucket ( useless ).. got a hole in it, cant buy no beer..

Maelochs

it is a matter of definition and of potential expansion.

"Occasional" and "light" are such vague terms ... and don't include what you might want to do if you find you really like riding. But ... based on what I understand to be the limits you are outlining (apologies if I steer you wrong and ruin your lives ... )

I would buy a known brand like Raleigh from a Big Box Store. I would get the simplest bike they sold----single speed, coaster brake or one hand brake. I would spend less than $100 if possible.

Here's why:

I see people like yourselves (huge assumption about who you are I know) at campsites, and riding around suburban neighborhoods and such. At campsites, these folk usually have a couple cheap cruisers lashed to the ladder or trailer hitch of their RV. They use the bikes to cruise the campground, (and it is a Campground, with usually paved roads, electric and sewer hook-ups, etc.) for trips to the restrooms, or to see the sights, or to go the the store at the front of the campground if there is one.

The same sort of folks take their bikes around the neighborhood for short slow cruises in the evenings.

They don't care At All about performance, speed, efficiency, weight .... they just want to take a relaxing roll-around on their bikes.

From what I have seen, these bikes see a maximum of half an hour of extremely gentle use daily ... and maybe none for weeks at a time.

Those folks don't need 7-speed or 22-speed drive trains, disc breaks, aero frames ... in most cases a 3-speed IGH is perfect, and in Most cases, overkill.

These folks don't ever want to Have to go to a bike shop for repairs ... they want bikes so simple there is nothing to repair. "Accessories" for these folks is a handlebar drink holder and an old-time auto-style bulb horn, and maybe a caution flag.

For people like these, the simplest, cheapest bike will likely serve them well for decades. Spending three times as much money will buy them performance and endurance they will never need or use or in any way benefit from.

I see bikes like this on sale in a lot more places than big box stores. Outdoor stores ... but sometimes even serious bike stores have them out front because there can be a strong market for these bikes in some areas (if there are a few retirement communities nearby ... )

Basically these bikes are so simple it is impossible for a manufacturer to screw them up, and are used so lightly durability is never an issue. If they are lubricated once per season they will last for generations.

My first impulse when I read this thread was to suggest the same Nashbar flat-bar road bike I always suggest for new riders.

But when I think about the folks I see ... with big, wide, spring-suspended seats, short seat tubes because they never push hard enough to hurt their knees but want to be able to mount and dismount easily, who probably never hit ten mph ever .....

These people want to sit upright, look around, see the sights, and cruise in comfort. And what bike is best suited for That cycling activity?

The only caveat I would offer would be to buy something like a Raleigh .. a known name. Sure, Raleigh is not related to the original company ... but also, they are not going out of business soon. If there was any problem with anything, I'd imagine the customer would do better writing to Raleigh than arguing with a clerk at a big-box store.

elocs

Wow, a Newbie resurrects a 2 1/2 year old thread with his first post but it still applies now.
I think you probably have it pegged right, Maelochs, in what they need. Don't invest too much in a bike that would not be used too much and get to know how you like it for a season and then move up to a better model.
But the people who you have described here have something in common with all of us--they are riders of bikes.

altondavis2

I ride with a lot of folks that do 10 miles a couple of times a week and they swear by some of the current Schwinn models. They are moderately priced and built reasonably well and you can always upgrade tires and add accessories.

BlazingPedals

I'm of split mind on dept store BSOs. On the one hand, you get what you pay for. Most of us on this list define themselves as "enthusiasts," and dept store bikes are below that level of quality. They're heavy, they have very low-end components, and you can assume they were put together by monkeys. On top of that, most people who buy them are beginner-level, and don't know how to adjust or repair them. A bike shop bike will be higher quality all-around, and the shop handles the initial setup as well as usually offering a free adjustment after the break-in period. So buying a bike at a shop has service built into the price, as well as the higher quality.

So, a BSO will work, if you can work around the drawbacks. Or, if you pay more for a nicer bike at a shop, you may find you enjoy it more, and as a result ride it more, and ultimately get more value from it.

As to what kind of bike is 'best' for an older rider, there is no one answer. Intended use is more important than age when choosing a bike.

One other thing to note: the modern-day Schwinn is not the same company that you remember as a kid. Schwinn was sold years ago, and now only exists as a name. Although there are a few models that make it into bike shops, most of the target audience is department stores.

elocs

There is no one best bike or type of bike for older riders (when do you know you are older?) than there is for anyone else. It all depends on how you intend to ride it.
But consider looking for a bike at a thrift store, a Goodwill or Salvation Army thrift store. I've picked up some good older bikes, Schwinns included, for very little. These are often bikes that have set in somebody's garage for 20 years because they intended to get into bike riding but never did and so the bike sat. Take it to a LBS for a tune-up and tires and away you go with a decent bike that you've invested little to own. Then after a year if you decide you want something different or better you can just sell it or give it away.
This is the time of year to look for a used bike because people are often cleaning out their garages to make room for their cars in winter. Plus, since not many people are buying bikes now they tend to be marked down in thrift stores.

Maelochs

Posting the same thread over and over?

Iride01 

A two and a half year old thread get's bumped by a newbie that claims a dirt bike is the best pavement bike.

No one questions that?

Smells to me with all the newbies over the last week being only 1 time posters leaving ambiguous questions or posting nonsense.

VegasTriker

A lot of older people have fond memories of riding a Schwinn when they were a kid but seem to have forgotten how heavy they were. Today's Schwinn is not the Chicago bike maker's product (thank God!) but just one more brand swallowed up by Doral Industries and now made in China. The Chicago factory made heavy steel frames with welded joints right through the time the Japanese and European makers were exporting lightweight brazed frame bikes to the US. They were no match for the 29 pound Italian Fiorelli that was my first good bike. I owned several Schwinns (from 1 to 3 speeds) and have no fondness for them today. If that is your choice, at least buy one that was produced for a bike shop, not Target or Walmart. You are much more likely to get one that has been put together correctly and tested by someone who has at least minimal knowledge of bike assembly.

papajoe

bla, bla, bla LBS. im looking for a new bike, and trying to buy a better than average bike. my 3 closest towns have 1 LBS each. i was looking at $2000 to $3000 bikes. reading all this stuff about getting fit properly, and the local store experience in making sure. i went to 3 shops in 2 days. i was "fitted" on the same year, make, and model of bike at each store. TREK dealers, all sized me on different sized bikes. a 56, 58, and a 60. each of the stores only had the bike in 1 size, and low and behold each said that was exactly my size. to a novice, i thought the 56 was the closest. the 58 with the seat all the way down was still to tall(the dealer said cutting some inches off the seat post is common). the 60 dealer was also going to cut a bunch off the seat post, and rotate the handle bar back, which makes no sense to me as the top would be closer but the drop downs further away yet. when i ask each store about trying other sizes, i was told again what a good deal the new 2017 was, and that "any bike can be made to work" you should buy this one and save $500.00. all these dealers were doing is trying to dump last year models and didn't care really how the bike fit. i have read many sizing articles since, and i think there is something to this fitting and sizing, but then again I'm not a TREK bike dealer. So what can we conclude; the bike business isn't flourishing, and the dealers are probably strong armed into taking 1 or 2 higher end bikes, that don't sell to often. they want to dump them at any measure. the 3 prices for the same bike were $2600, $2400, $1995. all of which said make an offer.
2. the common term used on this site "LBS" isn't listed correctly. L-BS, or L, BS fits better. L means local. BS doesn't mean bike shop, but something out of a bull. BS.

the box stores brands, in general are not as good as a trek, canyon, specialized, etc but the low end of these lines isn't allot different than the box stores higher end. the box stores are targeting the mass buyers so that is what they carry. the higher end box store bikes use the same group sets, wheels, and tires as the lower end big name bikes. the frames are different. the margin of mark ups or profit is lower in the box store. the above example bike($2600) has about a thousand dollar gross profit. (the dealer, offered me to watch him search TREK's web site for inventory, which had the cost of the bike on the same page. Granted the LBS does pay a $15/hr person to "setup" for 1/2 hour. what value added the the LBS add for the high margins? its not fitting your bike, i think they have some mechanics that know how to adjust and tweak things better than a consumer. then again i had a schwinn when i was young for over 10 years of heavy use, it never went to the LBS. we patched tires, replaced the chain, tighten spokes when it was needed. now that bikes are made better, do they need more service?