bobn

I live in an over 55 community. I love riding my bikes around. I'm not a go fast guy or an off roader, just a recreational get some fresh air and exercise kind of guy. I enjoy my 3 speed English and coaster brake balloon cruiser. Both ideal for south Florida riding.

I have observed in my travels around the community a lot of bikes hanging unused in garages. Most of these bikes have derailleur transmissions. People I have talked to find them uncomfortable to ride and the shifting a PIA. Many of the people who occasionally ride them leave them in 1 gear and are either pedalling to fast or struggling in to high a gear. They really don't know how to ride, shift or set up their bikes leading to the accumulation of dust. They bought the wrong type of bicycle. Perhaps at the time they were the trendy thing to do or the only thing available at the time. This is a real shame because these folks would really like to ride but are to uncomfortable.

I think if the bicycle companies came back with a simple 3 speed (Sturmey Archer) style transmission, a fat assed cushioned seat, not a crouch hatchet, and some real upright handlebars , they may actually find a market out there for these old fart style bicycles.

What do you think!

Berg417448

Trek is already doing it:

http://www.trekbikes.com/lime/

fritz1255

See my post above: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=340793 Essentially the same question - do most people REALLY need all those gears? I believe that considerable simplification is possible, but I'm not sure that a Sturmey-Archer type hub is the best/easiest way to do it.

wahoonc

bobn,
I am incline to agree with you. But many of those same people can't see paying more than $150 for a single speed or 3 speed bike. The 1969 Raleigh Superbe sold for $75 that is over $400 in today's dollars. Joe Breezer offers his line of city bikes, and it appears that his 3 speed sells for about that. My wife has had a 21 speed GT Slipstream for several years, but never really got the hang of the multiple gears. Last year we "won" a 1971 Raleigh Colt 3 speed at the ABCE Tour in Minneapolis. Now she has a bike that she loves to ride, she will still ride the GT but the Raleigh is her preferred bike. I think as fuel prices continue to rise and global warming becomes more of a mainstream issue we will see an increase in the availability of casual rider friendly bikes. In the meantime people are buying what they are told is a comfortable bike.

Aaron

Bikepacker67

Surely now that baby-boomers are the 55+ crowd, there must be a FEW that understand how shifter/dérailleur systems work!

It ain't differential calculus.

wahoonc

No but for some reason for women in particular it doesn't make sense. I would hazard a guess that 70%+ of the women that I know, prefer the simplicity of a single lever up and down shift, internal gears make it even easier if you forget to shift down prior to coming to a complete stop. My MIL was riding a single speed Schwinn Hollywood, we put a 3 speed rear wheel on it and now she rides almost double the mileage she was before. She did have a Schwinn Suburban but didn't like to ride it because of the dérailleurs, and the confusion on which gear to use for what.

Aaron

Bikepacker67

Kinda like driviing a stick?

Sprocket Man

Add a miniature TV with remote, a cupholder and an engine and you may be on to something. Unfortunately, most people are physically lazy. I'll bet that like the bicycles you observed, most of the home gym equipment sold is probably collecting dust right now. People like the idea of being in shape but they don't like the idea of getting in shape.

HybridSoThere

I don't know what part of South Florida you're in, but here in Miami/Miami Beach there's no shortage of cruiser-style bikes at the bike shops that are just as you describe. Plus maybe a pearlescent pink paint job.

Chris L

It's the same in this part of the world, but the popularity here is more the result of largely flat terrain and proximity to the beach. When I go looking for hills on the weekends, I don't see too many of those bikes around.

al-wagner

I am in 55 club and do understand the shifter/dérailleur systems. And i ride ever day on my either my 27 speed Trek 2200 road bike or 27 speed Trek 7500FX disk to work..

tpelle

"crotch hatchet".............That's Great!

Actually, it's possible to get 7 and 8 speed internally-geared hubs. On the other hand, I think a lot of the problems people have with shifting are due to the "new-fashioned" indexing shifters. They work great as long as they are in perfect adjustment, but with cable stretch, et. al., it seems that they are NEVER in adjustment for very long. You either learn to cope, or you leave the bike hanging on the garage wall after you shift the chain off of the rings a few times.

Personally, when I bought a new bike, I had it built up with bar end shifters. Works great! Absolutely no shifting problems.

Kommisar89

Shimano and SRAM both make internally geared hub as well as a few others. The Rohloff Speedhub with 14-speeds is a work of art (which is better be for $1200-$1400) and there are many new bikes being made using these component (well maybe not the Rohloff). But back in the 70's and 80's when I bet a lot of these 55+ folks bought those bikes that was the thing to have and 3-spd English touring bikes were passe. I've struggled with the decision here in Colorado for my wife. She'd like to ride but I just can't seem to teach her how to use the gears. But the typical 8-9 speed internally geared hub doesn't provide a wide enough gear range for the hills we have here. I suppose if she put the bike on the car and drove downtown and then just rode around town it would be ok but no way she could ride one of those things from our house to town and back.

piper_chuck

Depends on the person and the type of riding they do. I have a bike that's over 15 years old. It's got 7 cogs in the back and 2 rings in the front, resulting in 14 choices. On a typical ride, I definitely do not use all 14 of the choices. However, I do use both of the front rings and each of the cogs in the back. In fact, the 7 in the back is not enough for me because there are certain speeds where the gap is too large. Around here I see lots of people doing the kind of riding that justifies having so many gears. It all depends on your preference. If all I did was cruise around a flat neighborhood at 5 to 10 mph then 3 speeds would probably be fine...

Retro Grouch 

The folks that I hang with are pretty much all over 50 and all ride geared road bikes. I suspect that my friends would call the type of bike you are refering to as "a bike that's designed for people who don't want to ride bikes."

bobn

Retro,

You must be 55 and over to live here. Some of the folks, well that's another story. You could figure in the 60-70+ bracket. They don't want to be hunched over wondering how to shift into what gear. This area (flat as a board) and the physical makeup of the people (older and overweight) just screams for a comfortable 3 speed. There are a few riding tricycles.

East Hill

I always knew I was different . Learned how to drive on a stick shift. Have no problems with DT shifters, stem shifters, brifters.

East Hill

howsteepisit

Biggest problem, is that even a simple 3 speed is expensive. Looked at the price of the Townie Electras lately? There are some 3 speed bikes out there, just have to find the right stores.

bobn

As per "Bergs" post, checked out the Trek Lime. That's a wild concept. An automatic 3spd transmission comfort bike. The price would probably scare half of them off.

Doug5150

I've heard a lot,,, that people are just plain physically uncomfortable when riding--the bikes aren't comfortable to use. Saddle pain and hand numbness are common complaints and (if they ever manage to ride more than an hour or two in an afternoon) neck soreness as well.

I hear this because I only have recumbent bikes now, and total strangers come up and ask me about them and start talking. Recumbents are FAR more comfortable to use than uprights, but most of these people freak out at the prices.

Also a lot of people with comfort issues on normal bikes insist they don't want a recumbent at all. There seems to be a "wallflower" issue with many people, they fear being looked at more than they fear being physically uncomfortable (mostly females). And what's even funnier is that a lot of times these are also people who won't wear cycling lycra either, because they think it looks funny (mostly males).

But they still want suggestions.....

So they refuse to consider the most comfortable bikes they can get, and they also refuse to wear the most comfortable clothing they can get.
So what do you tell them?
It's kinda like "I wanna sky-dive, but I'm deathly afraid of airplanes and heights"....

Ummmmm, you're doing it wrong.
~

gear

When they purchased the bikes, they thought the bike would do more of the work on a ride. When they found out they themselves would have to provide all the work, they hung up the bikes for good. People tend to be a bit lazy.

bobn

I would tend to agree that laziness is part of the equation, add that to being uncomfortable and that just totaly puts them over the top. The older folks mindset is they have paid their dues, are for the most part retired and don't want discomfort. Forget about "no pain, no gain" It ain't gonna fly with the older senior crowd. Would it be worth it for a bike company to target these people? A lot of these bikes that I have seen hanging aren't department store junk. They paid good money and aren't happy with the results. Maybe if the lbs would steer/recommend to an older person to the sort of bike I originally discribed, everyone would be happier.

Rosie8

I'm female, know how to drive a stick, can shift the gears on my bike and do so often because of hills. I'm over 55, started riding in May of this year, and had a hard time finding a bike I considered comfortable for me. I'm riding a Giant Suede now, but would have loved a Breezer (too pricey for me at the time). Wasn't sure if I would stick with riding 5 times per week (I am). Maybe for my next bike (ha-ha) I might consider a Breezer with the different shifting system. Only problem now is I love the crank forward position of my pedals and love being closer to the ground.

bbattle

Check out the Bianchi Bergamo. It's a 21 speed bike that you shift with just one hand. Rear hub has three speeds and there's a rear 7-spd derailleur.

I think a lot of people buy bikes with good intentions but don't test ride enough bikes or get properly fitted so the bike is comfortable. If the bike isn't comfortable, people won't ride. Cheap x-mart bikes are rarely comfortable past the first mile or so.

I've been in bike shops and had people come in saying they need to get in shape. They buy the first bike they sit on, usually the cheapest, then you never see them again.

Thirty years from now, they'll be sold on eBay in pristine condition to fixed gear hipsters(or whatever they'll call themselves then).

Kommisar89

My kinda girl. Could you give my wife lessons? So last winter there was a big snow storm. My wife wanted ice cream from the local store a block away. I told her it wasn't safe to drive, the roads were really bad and snow was piling up. She insisted and took my 4x4 truck with the stick. She was gone for like an hour. When she came back I heard the front door open, then I smelled something burnt. And I was sitting in the den! I walked outside and stood on the porch and the smell of burned cookies almost knocked me over. I got in the truck and tried to start it but the clutch would not go in. Finally I got it into neutral and it cranked over. If I did that and then popped it into gear I could get it moving but that's about it. She had gotten stuck and tried to rock herself out and totally fried the clutch. Cost me $1100 to get it fixed!

And she always tells me she only rode single speed beach cruisers growing up and has no idea what to do with gears (nor apparently any interest in learning). <sigh>