McMitchell

This is actually the way I usually get on my bike, does not help with the dismount at the end of ride though. I don’t think I will attempt dismounting the same way!

BEC111

Good point. I believe the result could be called “face plant”.

gobicycling

I'm 80 years old, and just tilt the bike. I have very short legs and a long torso, but manage to do a road bike just fine. Sometimes with my mountain bike I carry a load on the rear rack sticking up pretty high, and that is a real challenge, but I manage it.
My wife, at 82yo, has problems swinging her leg, so she uses a step through bike. It works great for her.

McMitchell

I am giving consideration to buying a Gravel E bike. I am hoping the wife might ride it. I think an E Gravel bike might allow me to get more exercise over a longer time period, due to longer rides. Also keeping me from “overdoing”, particularly on the many hills in the environment I ride in. Apparently gravel/road E bikes get used most often by endurance trainers!

The issue is the motor and battery increase the price! Wondering if other “older” riders are considering E gravel/road bikes?

donheff

I am keeping an eye on them for future use. I would lean toward a gravel ebike. EBikes get better every year so I am in no rush. On the other hand, as soon as I start loosing my enthusiasm because of fatigue, I will get serious about it.

McMitchell

from donheff above.....
“I broke my hip in a crash 5 years ago and got a "post and beam" repair. My doc wanted me off it for longer than a hip replacement so I didn't get back on the bike for 5 months. That was into winter so I didn't really mind. Once I got back into riding I didn't notice any limitation from the hip while riding. No pain, no tightness. I do notice a slight decrease in the ability to swing that leg over the saddle so I have dropped cowboy starts and most cowboy stops.“

Unrelated to the hip, age related drop offs are more of an issue. You have time to spare but watch out in your mid 60s. I am approaching 72 this summer and I have noticed a general age related drop off in my ride distances and speeds over the last two or three years. Friends who are the same age report the same thing. From what I read around here, if you want to avoid that, you need to keep up a pretty active training regiment. I only ride for fun so I don't care if I get passed.”

I can relate to donheff’s story, we all have stories....
Issues with my exercise program
Unfortunately, somehow I developed a reaction to gluten/ (wheat), which causes my hands to break out in a combination of hives/blisters. Which, over several years, has made the skin on my hands very thin. I don’t think anyone can get fingerprints from my hands now! I have not been able to use the dumbbells for about a month.

I have a recumbent bike, which generates it’s own electrical current. I also have an elliptical trainer/dumb bells too. I use the recumbent to develop a feel for “pace”. I can usually maintain a pace near 20mph, on the recumbent. I like the elliptical as it approximates walking/running without the damage to my joints/tendons/muscles: knees, shin splints, ankles, plantar fasciitis.....

Elbeinlaw

Thin skin! OMG. My dog jumps up on me: I get bleeding scratches up and down my arms. I walk by a not-entirely-rounded countertop: bleeding scratches. I work out, work in the yard, work in the shop: cuts, gouges, etc. The good news is that I don't get cellulitis anywhere but in my legs when I get a cut. The bad news is that any cut in my legs--three in the last few months--quickly results in cellulitis, and if I get cellulitis and don't treat it within 24 hours, I end up in the hospital. Unfortunately, riding results in my many leg scratches, as I have mentioned. Wearing long sweats doesn't do a darn thing: I end up with cuts that bleed and get cellulitis, with no damage to the pant legs. I've just bought gaiters/shin guards and will now wear them when I ride. I mean, it's either that or give up all activities, or live in a bubble. Getting old really sucks. And it's the reason that yesterday I pulled the trigger on a step through (Trek Verve). I mean, what I until yesterday called a "Girl's Bike."

Elbeinlaw

On, I wanted to mention, McMitchell, this tidbit. I once did a consult with an ergonomic expert (a PT) to deal with a back/shoulder/neck problem at my desk. He was older than me and worked out religiously, as I do. He told me that his friends always ask him: Hey, Dude: You work out every day and you never get any stronger. Why's that?

His answer is that after 40 (or 50, or 60, or 70) your physical ability is in decline. You can't get stronger. All you can do is mitigate the downward trend. So (he tells his friends), if I'm staying the same, I'm actually GAINING strength against the declining curve.

It made sense to me. And what the heck, it's a good story to tell myself when I feel like I'm old and weak.

BEC111

You’ve confIrmed my empirical observations. I started riding last year after not doing so for over 50 years. I was in pretty good shape, having walked 3 to 5 miles a day for decades (I lived in NYC, a walker’s city). Once my legs got accustomed to riding, I was able to go 20 plus miles with little pain and just a day of recovery. Then I got I’ll, and had to stop from July until this spring. I’d spent most of the winter on a stationary bike in the gym averaging about 10 virtual miles per workout, but I couldn’t do 10 miles on my analog bike, even after weeks of riding every other day or so. I realized that I was unlikely, at 72, to get back to where I was last year for the reasons you describe.

Fortunately, I was able to afford an ebike which has allowed me to ride every other day over distances of 5.5 to 25 miles. Aging is much better than alternatives and my ebike is allowing me to both enjoy riding and get the exercise I need to maintain my health.

klevin

First time user here.

Just started riding again after 10 years of not riding. Appreciate the comments about getting on the bike, since I'm having similar problems, but tilting seems to work OK for me. Maybe I always did that? But that leg swing over the seat is a challenge!

I bought a Canyon Pathlite for my re-entry into cycling, and the same for spouse. My last purchase was in about 1991. Technology's changed a bit since then! We live in an area with lots of terrain as well as a lot of dirt/gravel roads, so the wider tires on the Pathlite are ideal. I need to build my endurance though, since the hills are still a challenge.

We were planning to ride rail trails but the ones in the area seem to be designed for, and maintained by, snowmobile clubs - sandy, muddy, lots of roots and stones. But we have low traffic back roads that are beautiful.

Elbeinlaw

The Canyon Pathlite looks nice. I found that the larger tires on my wifes new Trek Verve (they're bigger than comfort bike tires and not as big as fatty tires) rode over everything--gravel, small concrete drop offs, broken pavement, gravel, sticks and stones--with narry a skip. The bar on the Pathlite would be a "bar" for me. I couldn't get over it without tipping the bike. I guess I'm going to have to accept that gravity and aging are immutable laws.

klevin

At 70, tilting the bike doesn't bother me at all. When I get stiffer, and need to lay it on the ground, that will be OK too.
My biggest limitation right now is that, due to medical conditions and treatments, I'm pretty anemic, so it limits my max output. It's sad, but I guess rest stops come with the territory, just like a little bit of wobbliness does.

Carbonfiberboy 

Revisiting this thread . . .I happened to try to mount using my old standard "dab and swing" method, only to have my thigh encounter the saddle and barely make it over. I guess I've been only using the straddle first method for a long time. So . . .There's got to be some yoga or stretch/strengthen thing which can be done to restore functionality. Any ideas?

fietsbob

My favorite bike, now , is my Bike Friday For its step through like getting on and off ..

Currently hiding in my house to get to 73, ..

McMitchell

Good points!
I think it is hard to increase muscle mass over 50, although there are those who claim it is possible.

I am just trying to maintain/not loose muscle mass.

I rode my Rocky Mountain Sherpa yesterday. It has hydraulic Shimano brakes, a better shifting system, wider tires 2.75s. I was riding the Focus bike because it was lighter, easier to get up hills. The Rocky Mountain Sherpa rolls down hill faster though ;<]. The Sherpa has the best components of my bikes. It has a 1x, 11 speed gears. The Focus bike has an Eagle 12 speed group set. The Sherpa has a smaller front chainring though. The Sherpa has a Manitou shock absorption system which has had some issues, although I do not tax mine on the roads/gravel I ride on.

I think I will ride the Sherpa for a while. It isn’t like I am racing, or trying to maintain a high pace to keep from getting dropped! The relaxed frame, with a dropper post should solve my dismounting issues. It is a “safer’ bike for a senior to be riding. Plus it is paid for ;<}! I bought it from the rental program at Cartecay Bike Shop, which just opened up full time again;<]

Carbonfiberboy 

I'm 75 and I can definitely increase muscle mass if I want to. Every year it goes back and forth. In the fall I start strength training and put on muscle, then in the summer I concentrate on cycling and ride it off, then repeat. Youngers can recover fast enough to keep it on all summer, but I find I perform better now if I stop strength work in summer. 10 years ago, I was younger, too.

Iride01 

I don't think strength is directly related to muscle mass. I've seen some spindly arm people pick up way more than I can. And I've seen some guys with massive toned looking biceps that can't lift what I lift.

So strength training can go a long way for even us older guys. Strength training doesn't mean trying to progressively lift more. It just means maintaining the level you want to maintain.

Use it or loose it applies for us in many things, IMO.

Miele Man

I have a Miyata 710 that's a tad too big for me. Usually dismounting is no problem as I swing my leg over the saddle whilst still moving. However the other day I put on a under the saddle water bottle cage mount that holds two water bottle cages. If I use 500 ml bottles there's no problem using that method to dismount but if I use 750 ml bottles my leg hits the bottles. I just stop and lean the bike towards me.

What some of the les flexible riders need is a bike with a detachable top tube that can be swung out of the way when dismounting when tired or stiff. LOL

Cheers

McMitchell

Maybe! Yes, there are those who argue that more muscle mass may inhibit sports that “require” more flexibility... like: swimming, riding a bike, yoga...I don’t guess any of us will get any younger, in this life time!

Carbonfiberboy 

I did a poor job of writing in that post. I meant that I perform better w/o strength training in summer because I ride a lot more hours and do harder rides. If I also strength trained, I wouldn't be able to recover adequately anymore both to do those rides and do strength work. They'd both suffer, no good. No, I don't think a little extra muscle mass inhibits flexibility. If anything I'm more flexible when I'm doing strength training because I work my joints through their full range of motion, totally unlike what we do on our bikes, where there's a very limited range of motion. Flexibility is another reason I get back into the gym in the fall - or I used to before Covid. I don't see myself going back to the gym for a long, long time. Home gym time. NPR had a fun segment this morning, about how we can view appropriate Covid behavior as similar to having safe sex with multiple partners.

Senior Vagabond

Yep, me too. Will be 70 in 6 months and still leaning the bike over to dismount!!!

Bicycle...and D

If I'm not mistaken, you mean, 'rest your left foot and body weight on the left pedal, the swing the right leg over the rear wheel once the bike is under way'. Is that correct? If so, that's the only way I can get on my classic tall road bike. Leaning the bike over and such just doesn't work for me.
I too am not tall, but mostly, that's how I learned to get on big bikes when I was a small child.

Iride01 

I'm seldom in that big a hurry to go. To me putting your foot in one pedal, pushing off and sling your leg over the saddle and going seems much like a rodeo rider jumping on a running horse. I didn't realize that so many apparently start off that way.

I just keep one foot planted on the ground and swing the other leg over the saddle. If I'm starting right away, I might have my butt in the saddle. If I'm waiting for others to get ready then on my taller bikes I might wind up straddling the top tube, but on most under 60 cm, I can leave that one foot planted, sit in the saddle and the other foot goes to the pedal to be ready to go.

I suppose on a fixie it might be an issue if the gearing is high. But with gears, I ensure that I put it in a low enough gear when ever I stop so I can pedal out from a dead stop with out needing to push.

Bicycle...and D

I have always understood that having your leg almost fully extended when the pedal is at the bottom of its rotation is correct. Therefore, there is no way you can have your butt on seat and your foot on the ground...if your bike is set up correctly.

billnuke1 

Wife and I were at the Harley Davidson plant in York, Penn...They have all of the models attached to the floor so you can mount them...I was lamenting how bad my back felt just trying the different motorcycles...then I realized that I had been throwing my leg over the motorcycles...even the full dressers!...the same way I mount my bicycles!
It took about a week to get the other leg up as high, repeatedly, as the Motorcycle mounting leg...curiosity thing...