JonBailey

1. big, comfy spring seats?
2. nice, tall ape-hanger cruising bars?

Bicycle manufacturers should take styling cues from Harley-Davidson cruisers.

The way most mountain bikes are configured hurts my body badly especially with my rheumatoid arthritis.
I am middle-aged too.

Darth Lefty 

JonBailey

Krates are for kiddies. They have dinky wheels. Here is my 1-year-old Schwinn-branded (China-made) Discover 700C city bike made Krate-like in factory "Licorice" paint (my Licorice Big Boy Krate):

dedhed

They are designed for the average not the outlier.

badger1

Because most of the major manufacturers producing bicycles referred to as 'hybrids' (useless term) realize that the people purchasing them might actually be interested in riding them for more than a few minutes at a time.

The two abominations you mention are antithetical to that interest for all but a very, very few individuals.

HerrKaLeun

You know mountainbikes are not hybrids? MTB are optimized for off-road performance, not leisurely cruising. a hybrid is kind of between a road bike and an MTB (no clear definition though and there are variations)

And the difference between a Harley and a bicycle is.... the Harley doesn't need to be designed for pedal-efficiency because they have a motor (now you know what the loud noise is).

It is like me asking why they don't just make bicycles like my car that has comfy and heated seats, AC and doesn't tip over.

Darth Lefty 

Darth Lefty 

veganbikes

big "comfy" spring seats are heavy clunky and are the absolute opposite of comfort. They are just good marketing and part of the trend in just adding padding instead of support. A good saddle can have some padding but not so much your sit bones aren't supported. It also should be the proper width for your sit bones as well. Saddles are different for different people but I really recommend avoiding those gel RX super padded ultra comfort hype machines. Go down to your shop and see if they have any sit bone measuring devices and maybe some test ride saddles and go for that.

As far as ape hangers, those are cool bars but nobody really makes anything of quality and low weight these days because you can find so many comfortable bikes out there and so many different stems and bars in different positions to be comfortable. They are a cool novelty but I certainly wouldn't want to ride one for very long my arms would get tired and probably would lead to pain. Mountain bikes are typically designed for going significantly off road and ape hangers just would be a nightmare for control of the bike on mixed surfaces. Fine for a cruiser bike that barely gets ridden but mountain bikes are better with shorter stems and longer bars and with the numerous flat/riser bars on the market as well as a ton of alternative bars you are bound to find something that will work well.

What I would recommend which I would recommend for just about everyone is go see a professional bike fitter and get yourself fit. Your pain might not be simply fixed by overpadding and crazy tall bars but might be a position on the bike. A lot of folks ride with their saddle height really low and their saddle angled wrong as well as bars and stems that are the wrong length or rise or just simply aren't right shape wise or they are riding on bikes that don't fit. A bike fitter can help get rid of pain and I know all of my customers who have gotten fit (including myself) have noticed a better more comfortable ride. If you have actual health problems they might have fixes that can deal with those problems head on and give you comfort since they may have dealt with others with the same issues or similar.

Doctor Morbius

Krates are a little small for adults, Perhaps what the OP needs is a Manta-Ray?

livedarklions

Because not everyone wants to max out at 12 mph and go 10 miles? I did a few centuries on a bike similar to that, and boy did it hurt my shoulders.

I was 56 when I did that. It's a lot easier doing centuries on road bikes and fitness bikes.

JonBailey

The ape-hangers are not to look cool but for ergonomic function. Same with the fat spring seat. These items do in fact reduce the pain. The tailbone pain. The neck pain. The lower back pain. The numbness/tingling in my arms/hands/wrists. Breathing is easier in an upright position. Blood circulation improves. Bending forward to reach the handlebar also strains the heart and is a cardiovascular issue as well as an orthopedic one.

This is why there are so many aftermarket parts for bicycles. Special parts accommodate people with special needs. Kind of like putting special controls in standard-production cars for people with handicaps. I ride only on flat, level paved roads and bikeways. I would have a vehicle with a motor in it for off-road use, perhaps even an lithium-battery geared electric mountain bike such as Rambo but I am on a budget right now. My new grips are also round instead of flat like the stock ones were. Round soft rubber grips feel better in my hands. In cold weather I wear gloves.

Bike manufacturers should keep older people and people with orthopedic issues in mind. Many older people want to ride for good health. A bike that is painful to ride deters interest and reduces time spent for daily exercise. It gets expensive to have to add all these aftermarket things to make the machine even rideable. Motorcycle riders also get caught the money trap all the time.

dueWest

Why not Banana Seats? They are stylish. Oh, and here's my old Muscle/BMX hybrid from long ago in new skins. 1972 Murray Eliminator frame - Western Flyer. Just finished up the redo for my nephew.

veganbikes

As stated earlier those items aren't going to really help much in place of a proper fit and more likely the need for a properly fitting bike and saddle. I know those saddles are marketed well and the words RX and Comfort Gel really are great words and when you put them on something it makes it seem better but that is not the case for a saddle. The heavily padded mega wide saddles are kind of like those As Seen on TV products look really great in commercial but in real life not so much. Certainly as you go more upright a wider saddle can be beneficial but adding too much padding becomes an issue as well. If you want more comfort out of your ride then try something like the Cirrus Cycles Kinekt seatpost which is an excellent isolation seatpost that helps smooth out the ride. Also a comfortable frame made of steel or titanium will help and a fork that is carbon fiber will help as well in dampening vibration.

However again go see a fitter. Generally if you need your bars that high chances are good your bike is not your size and that can cause some pain.

Certainly there are special needs out there that can be met but it doesn't seem to me you have those requirements but maybe there is more to the story you aren't telling us and if so it is harder to help out when we don't know the full picture.

JonBailey

Well, my comfy seat and my apehanger do actually help me feel much better when I ride. The nerve endings in my body are a witness to that firsthand. I am lucky that things like this can help actually ME. I don't know if they can help other people. I don't feel like dumping any more money into a stupid bicycle. I am not going to a fitting specialist and pay $150 just for a few measurements. The devil with that. I can get by just fine with this Discover I customized. I might someday splurge for a Cannondale (model under $1,000) so outfitted.

I can't use a banana seat because I have a rear carrier I actually use sometimes. I like my spring seat anyway. Believe me when I say I like it, please. I don't need anybody's help here anyway. The story is I am not rich and have only so much money to dump into a bike. I don't want to make bicycles a snob thing. I would rather be snobbish with vehicles that have engines. I would rather be snobbish with a nice engraved Italian shotgun for shooting fowl.

My Discover does have a spring telescoping seatpost, a spring telescoping front fork and a light aluminum frame and wheels all stock.

The main point of my thread was: why can't I buy a bicycle like the one I customized but be stock like this out of the box? Any idiot can spend extra money to bolt on extra parts aftermarket.

livedarklions

There's plenty of bikes with this type of setup. Your original question is why most hybrids aren't set up this way. For most people, those handlebars are too high to maintain the position very long. The hands may be less tingly than a flat bar, but holding your arms up is definitely not ergonomic for the shoulders.

I'm more agnostic on the big seat thing than Veganbikes, I know people it seems to work for. Those seats definitely get less useful and less comfortable if your butt gets smaller, though.

veganbikes

Yeah you lost me when you said "stupid bicycle". It seems like you don't have any interest in this so I guess do whatever and stuff, who cares.

To those actually looking to be comfortable on their bike a fitter does a lot more than just a few measurements and one cannot realistically fit themselves. To say a bike fitter just does a quick measurement or two is so false and as someone who has done a fitting, I can say it really helped me a lot and I am much more comfortable on my bike which I was decently comfortable on before.

livedarklions

They're called comfort bikes. You reinvented them.
Your question was a really dumb way of making the point you claim you were.

prathmann

I'm no longer middle-aged and couldn't disagree more. Bought a used bike recently to keep at my daughter's house and the original owner emphasized that he had replaced the seat with a wider, cushier model. It was awful after only a few miles and the only component on the bike that I've already replaced.

Car seats are comfortable when driving, but I wouldn't want to sit on one while having to pedal nor would I want a fat motorcycle seat that would hinder my pedaling and irritate my thighs.

And why complain about 'most mountain bikes' if you're concerned about hybrids? They are quite different market segments.

HerrKaLeun

Many people upgrade saddle and handlebar, feel free to do the same. But don't force manufacturers to do that for just you.

You sound like you think you know so much about bicycling. My suggestions is to just buy a frame and build the bike up exactly the way you like it. I will do that for my next bike, and won't whine on the internet why a manufacturer that builds millions of bikes doesn't just cater to my personal needs.

Doctor Morbius

Yeah, I think there are some "special needs" in this thread for sure.

dueWest

This is half the fun of a new bike. Building it to suit you.

badger1

Why can't you buy a bicycle such as you want 'out of the box'? Because there is no market for such a thing sufficent to warrant the production of such a thing. Simple as that. Too bad, so sad.

You have 'special needs', apparently, needs that are not shared by the vast majority of the cycling populace. So you will simply have to make do, as you apparently have done. As you say above, any 'idiot' can switch out handlebars and saddle to suit their 'special needs'.

BlazingPedals

Ape-hanger bars and a comfy seat? Where have you been, on a desert island for the last 20 years??? The only problem is, what you want isn't a hybrid.

JanMM

Bending forward to reach the handlebar also strains the heart and is a cardiovascular issue.
I don't think so. What makes you think so?

I'm in agreement that folks should ride what is comfortable for them.