Question eRoad Bikes For Old Boy's - yes or no ?

[Moss]

I guys, I'm new to the forum (thanks for letting me join) I'll be 75, years young this year, still riding regularly on the road; but no-longer competitive. ex amateur RR & TT cyclist many years ago. Well as age and lot's of Arthritic problems occur and some of my fellow club members have gone over to E-road bikes; (some a good bit younger than me) should I join them and get an e-Road Bike? and if so? what ebike would you recommend ?
Thanks
Moss

 

[BerM]

I think that getting an e-bike would be a great solution for you as you will still enjoy riding without a great strain on your legs. Though unfortunately, I don't have any recommendations. Maybe there is someone here with such an experience.

 

[proffate]

On the one hand I have no idea why you'd solicit the advice of a stranger on the internet on the matter of whether you should get an e bike, but since you did, I would ask you this: what's your plan for dealing with injury? I'm only about half your age, but I broke my leg in a silly MTB accident a few years ago. It was 6 weeks of inconvenience, but I got past it. But for seniors, such an injury can be very difficult to ever come back from, and have more long-lasting consequences if it permanently affects mobility. My current thinking is that when I'm 75, I think I'll be looking for safer ways to stay active (hiking, swimming), rather than ways to keep going fast and putting myself in harm's way. If I got an e-bike, it probably wouldn't be a road bike so much as a hybrid or fitness bike. Well, maybe in 40 more years zwift will be more like real life and I can relive my glory* days virtually.

*in reality, not so glorious

 

[froze]

I can assume you enjoy cycling, I can also assume you enjoy cycling with fellow club members, and since some of those have gone over to E-bikes, not sure why you are debating this. Certainly, get an E-bike, it will take some of the strain off your knees and thus reduce pain, plus the constant pedaling motion is actually important to keep your knee pain down, if you stop riding the pain will get worse because you're not keeping the fluid in the knee healthy.

By the way, E-bikes do have a hidden cost that bike shops don't talk about, and that is the cost of a replacement battery. Replacement batteries cost around $700, and they last between 5 to 7 years, so keep that in your budget.


Not sure if you have been down to your local health store, but there might be some supplements you can take to calm down some of the pain. Also, stay away from foods that are inflammatory, you can research that on the internet, and stay away from sugar, sugar drinks, processed food with sugar, candy, etc.