Robert7659

😂.

Wildwood 

Never raced, but started with a drop bar bike in the early 1980s and just have not changed. I have lowered the saddle maybe a centimeter in recent years. In the 70+ crowd presently.
Here's a few:

Wildwood 

...selling in a year....
My story: I bought a custom bike at age 55, that was designed to fit the cyclist I expected to be in 10years = shorter top tube, taller head tube. [Who knew = an Endurance bike before they were?] For best fit at the time of delivery (2004) it got a 13cm stem and bars with a fair amount of reach. Expecting short/shallow bars and a lesser stem within 10 years. Not quite 20 years yet, but riding the same stem & bar combo comfortably. Definitely not selling in a year, but super glad for deciding 50/34 chainrings back then over 52/42.
Roll on!


Pink Floyd sings it best = Shine on you Crazy Diamond, ...
remember when you were young
you shone like the sun
shine on you crazy diamond
and we will bask in the shadow
of yesterday's triumph
and sail on the steel breeze
come on, you boy child, you winner & loser
come on, you miner for truth and delusion
and Shine.

tgot 

Loaded! Two bottles and the seat bag.

First Covid summer ('20, and 52) I got my "race" bike going again, giving the bearings their first service potentially ever, and a lower gear (39-34 below the prior 39-24).

That may not be what you had in mind, but it's racy in the aggressive position (in the drops, my knees barely clear my gut!), in maxing out at 25mm tires, and just feels racier than my CF+Alu newer bike.

I got comfortable on it as far as 45mi&4kft, but 62mi&5.5kft had my back and neck barking. I'm hoping to equal that this summer.

And for reference, I am *not* otherwise fit or flexible.

rsbob 

Oh wait! I no longer feel old because I have this ride too. Light and a wonderful climber.



Orca

bruce19

I'm 77. These are two of my four road bikes. The other two are a GURU Photon and GURU Sidero. Both racing type bikes. Listen to advice. Evaluate it based on what you know of yourself and want. Then do what feels right.

BlazingPedals

Did somebody say race-type bike?

PeteHski

I ride a Canyon Endurace, which has a slightly more relaxed fit than their race bikes. But it also has more compliant seatpost and bars, along with slightly wider endurance wheels. As an overall package it is just that bit more comfortable to ride without really giving up any significant performance. I'm 55 and relatively fit and strong. Been riding for decades. I don't see any advantage in moving to a "race" bike, especially not for longer events.

WT21

Gotta be Batman's bike

Hermes

This bike is begging for front wheel drive. How much power is lost in that long drive chain. I get why the design is as shown - use standard bike components.

marathon marke

In 2012, I used this bike to break the 300-mile record across the state of Wisconsin at age 54. I'm now 64 and still competing in ultramarathon races. If it was good enough for Cadel Evans, it's good enough for me.

beng1

I am 61 and can't get my bars low enough. I am thinking of welding up a "funny bike" TT frame to try out. This is my current race bike;


Thinking of something like this;

BlazingPedals

Why do you say that? The huffy had a smaller front wheel. Pretty much a failed experiment. From memory, you're not going fast enough to benefit from any addition aero you might get. More comfort somehow (although I can't imagine it?)

terrymorse 

That small front wheel was popular with the tri crowd for a while, but even they figured out it wasn't fast.

Getting as low as possible to "cheat the wind" was a popular thing among racer dudes, up until rather recently. If you didn't have a crazy big bar drop, you weren't a serious racer dude.

Today, the "racer dude scuttlebutt" has been replaced by science, backed by lots of wind tunnel testing data, showing clearly that "low as you can go" is not the fastest or most mechanically efficient.

It's inevitable that some will cling to the old ways.

beng1

Being more aerodynamic helps at any speed, if you look at research........ And also it is proven by research that what is aero for one person, is not going to always be aero for another, so those who throw a blanket over al riders as to what is aero and what is not are just as ignorant as those who say you have to be going so fast to get aero benefits.......

scott967

From what I've seen, trend for endurance has been to move more towards race geometry. First noticed when Cervelo went from the RS to R-3. the one outlier was the Roubaix. Looking at say the Endurace or Roadmachine they seem pretty racy, but with compact cranks. Meanwhile endurance geometry seems to have moved to 1X gravel bikes.

scott s.
.

Hermes

I have been in racing, time trials and aerodynamic effects on equipment and position since 2008. I have no idea who the "low as you can go crowd is". Certainly, not anyone I know or UCI pro riders competing in Europe.

The gold standard for aero testing cyclists position and equipment is in low speed wind tunnels followed by other techniques such as coast down tests or recording power and speed at the velodrome and calculating CdA.

One technique is to take a picture of the front of a cyclist in different positions and calculate the frontal area. In general, the starting point would be when the frontal area is the smallest. Then one begins to run tests.

Around 2012, Velo Sports Center, the indoor velodrome in Carson, CA put wireless sensors under the track and partnered with a firm that had developed an algorithm that used speed and power data collected from the sensors embedded in the track to instantaneously calculate CdA as a rider rode around the track. I signed up as a beta tester.

The aero session began with an assessment of my flexibility and my feet. Interestingly, the foot position in the cycling shoe matters since it will determine the knee position and whether the knees track correctly as one pedals. I had custom orthotics that a pediatrist had made for my cycling shoes so that foot was perfect in my shoes. In the studio, we put my bike on the trainer and began the fit process to set up the least frontal area position which at the time seemed really low to me. However, I was within the hip angles in the data base the fitter had for UCI pro and international riders AND my body mechanics should allow that position.

From the studio, we went to the track and began doing runs where we tested different seat to bar drops, arm width and etc. As I remember we could slightly raise my aerobars slightly without changing CdA. We then tested helmets and skin suits. There was a new helmet on the market that tested fast in tunnels. I tried it and I tested the same as the current aero helmet that I owned.

The other thing we tested was head position. I did runs where I put my head where I thought it should be and then the operator told me to lower it by lowering my neck. The CdA dropped. The ability to turtle ones head and keep it that way is key to an excellent aero position.

Now that I am all dressed up, can I actually move in my new clothes? The answer was no. For me, it has taken months and years of strength and adaptation to ride in a perfect aero position while breathing and generating power. Many times cyclists try to improve their riding position to lower CdA and find that they cannot ride it.

Since we have the low speed wind tunnel in San Diego, it is popular for UCI pros to test in the wind tunnel and then go to Velo Sports Center to see if they can actually ride the position. And many find that they have to modify it.

One of the aspects of timed events racing that I find challenging and interesting is going after constant improvement in my aero position, execution skills and power production to improve my times.

The other aspect of aerodynamics is the effect of the rider on the bicycle and crosswind. My body dominates my CdA. Gains that show up in the wind tunnel when testing equipment seem to reduce when I put my body on the bicycle and put on the new equipment. Why? My body creates a pressure wave ahead of the bike such that the impact of the bike, bars and wheels diminish. They contribute but to a less extent. It is also possible to put equipment on the bike and the result will be higher CdA or no change. Crosswind generally lowers the CdA of the frame and wheels but slow the cyclist's speed. This is the yaw angle effect. In the tunnel, the bike and rider can be turned to see the effect of cross winds on CdA.

At age 73, at Velo Sports Center (velodrome), this week I was riding my fastest position making solid power. It only took a few years of practice to get there. What I have done over the years is ride my hardest intervals in the most dramatic (aero) position. I ride z2 on the tops, hoods or wherever.. The other thing I do is climb in the most aero position to build strength and adaptation. Yesterday, I did max power intervals on my road bike seated in the drops on a 6% grade. Fun stuff. YMMV.

beng1

Johnny Come Lately.............

JohnDThompson 

Lowered the gearing, raised the handlebars, but still riding:

bruce19

I'm 77 and jonesin' for one of these https://www.canyon.com/en-us/road-bi...nfarbe=WH%2FBU

rsbob 

Age is irrelevant. That is a gorgeous bike with very good ratings. Do it!

bruce19

Age doesn't affect my decision at all. However, the 5 bikes I already have are a factor. I'm running out of room.

BlazingPedals

It does, but the aero load at 10-13 mph is pretty small, so there's not much to reduce. Aero drag increases as speed goes up; and since it starts so small, you may only see tenths of a mph benefits at those speeds. Which, to be clear, won't carry you to the next level. To do that you need more wattage.

easyupbug 

My 1985 racer is still ridden a few times a month, the once flexy duralinox tubing has now become a lovely compliant frame now that I am in my 70s.

Road Fan

I also say "FEH!" The shop is looking at your hair and not at you.