Lifting my leg to dismount
12-10-18, 02:03 PM
#51
Rider
Lean more
Yep, I have to lean the bike more than in the past. Its still all good but took some getting used to at first. Different body motions.
12-10-18, 02:04 PM
#52
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Being 67 myself and a long-time althea (in very general terms), I had hip issues from doing gymnastics with a lot of tumbling until I was 38. Had a bilateral hip replacement Apr 20, 2011. Rode 20 miles in less than 2 weeks on the road. Before my surgery I also could not ride only because I could not lift my leg to get on or off the bike.
Get your hips checked
Get your hips checked
12-10-18, 02:08 PM
#53
☢
I made my original argument flippantly, but it has 4 serious aspects:
1) I wouldn't pay to join a gym; I exercise at home and in the real world, so being in a program that 'prepays' for it makes the difference;
2) Ideally 'free' gym memberships save money; they will if they avoid greater medical costs;
3) The insurance company makes money or it goes out of business. It gets money from the government. It's not a charity;
4) Medicare hasn't collected enough money to pay for all the medical care recipients are scheduled to receive. Up to now, the average recipient receives 3 times what s/he has paid in.
I shop, often have significant weight loaded on the rear rack.
1) I wouldn't pay to join a gym; I exercise at home and in the real world, so being in a program that 'prepays' for it makes the difference;
2) Ideally 'free' gym memberships save money; they will if they avoid greater medical costs;
3) The insurance company makes money or it goes out of business. It gets money from the government. It's not a charity;
4) Medicare hasn't collected enough money to pay for all the medical care recipients are scheduled to receive. Up to now, the average recipient receives 3 times what s/he has paid in.
I shop, often have significant weight loaded on the rear rack.
12-10-18, 02:40 PM
#54
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This has been a great discussion. All my running buddies either are dead or switched to bicycling. Nonetheless, those of us who have done both have had to adapt, including me, the grateful owner of two Mobie-C prosthetic cervical disks and a troublesome left degenerative hip, which I call the handwriting on the wall. I still have my trusty hybrid commute bike, and actually now that I can crank my head back again have actually been dreaming of the wonderful road bike fun of attacking a mountain standing up. But how would I get off the thing?
As somebody already mentioned, my best friend besides my dog is now my trike, a Scorpion FS 26 with a rear pedal-assist Copenhagen wheel, which allows me and my 52 lb trike to keep up on those uphills with my younger two wheeler friends. I have no trouble getting on and off, and sitting clipped in at a red light is like being in a Lazy Boy.
Regarding postural exercise, I go to a Taoist Tai Chi Center (Portland) and practice the health recovery exercises, which have made me an inch taller, made my belly flat, and helped reduce the hip pain and allowed me again to run. (My head injury from a 2001 contact with a Ford Expedition make the 108 steps of Tai Chi too positionally difficult to master.)
Happy ageing!
As somebody already mentioned, my best friend besides my dog is now my trike, a Scorpion FS 26 with a rear pedal-assist Copenhagen wheel, which allows me and my 52 lb trike to keep up on those uphills with my younger two wheeler friends. I have no trouble getting on and off, and sitting clipped in at a red light is like being in a Lazy Boy.
Regarding postural exercise, I go to a Taoist Tai Chi Center (Portland) and practice the health recovery exercises, which have made me an inch taller, made my belly flat, and helped reduce the hip pain and allowed me again to run. (My head injury from a 2001 contact with a Ford Expedition make the 108 steps of Tai Chi too positionally difficult to master.)
Happy ageing!
12-10-18, 04:08 PM
#55
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12-10-18, 05:40 PM
#56
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Thread Starter
The bicycle in the picture is way short, as the length of the seat post shows.
12-10-18, 06:15 PM
#57
just another gosling
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My bike and my gym have long been the best doctors I've ever had. I'm as flexible and strong as I was 55 years ago. Thus I have no problems mounting or dismounting from my single bike. I'm short-legged, so I can't flip my leg over the bars like my more talented compatriots, but I easily mount either foot-on-ground or foot-on-pedal and dabbing. Our tandem is more complicated because dear Stoker has aero bars. So with the tandem, my wife stands beside the bike and guides my foot inside the bar and over the saddle. So there's a proposal for you: get a tandem.
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Results matter
Results matter
12-10-18, 09:33 PM
#58
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I agree with the above: I have to lean the bike at a fairly ridiculous angle for both mounting/dismounting. It's not usually a problem except when I've got a loaded touring bike.
And due to my lack of flexibility and this issue, I'm very thankful for sloping top tubes!
And due to my lack of flexibility and this issue, I'm very thankful for sloping top tubes!
Can't lift my leg over chair and box when mounting so I get going and fold it in toward me over the top tube. Works great both ways.
Unloaded, I find tipping the bike the safest way to dismount.
12-10-18, 10:19 PM
#59
☢
Got it. What about trying the curb mount then?
12-11-18, 08:46 AM
#60
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I would think it's about the same, around 12 inches? Seems like it couldn't be too low or your pedal would hit the ground when turning, unless you are using super short cranks. I know some fixed gear riders use 160mm cranks for this reason.
12-11-18, 10:24 AM
#61
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Varies, depends on the folding bike. Compare the Bike Friday Pocket Rocket to the Pocket Llama, for example, which is meant for offroad so the BB is higher whereas the Pocket Rocket is a road bike so lower. My 16" Bike Friday IS lower than my Trek and, yes, the cranks are shorter (as am I).
12-12-18, 10:19 AM
#62
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12-12-18, 04:35 PM
#63
Its only pain
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I now do it over the top bar occasionally, since hip replacement. When the hip bothers, painful to swing it back over the seat.
12-13-18, 02:07 AM
#64
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Leaning the bike over and stepping over the top tube is one way that people who have lost some flexibility mount the bike. It;s not that unusual. I have to do that on my hard-shell bike because there's no place to swing my leg. I am moving the bike forward slightly as I step off.
You might also try the "cowboy mount", stepping on the pedal and starting the bike forward as you swing your leg over the seat while the bike is in motion.
You might also try the "cowboy mount", stepping on the pedal and starting the bike forward as you swing your leg over the seat while the bike is in motion.
12-13-18, 08:58 AM
#65
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Wifey has been happy with the Trek FX Stagger I got for her
