I'm a 71 year old teenager.

 

My body says 180

 

My heart says 16

 

Reality can go * beep * itself

Im not quoting all replies or ill triple the length of this thread lol. I also dont really want to get into a whole age debate as im here for enjoyment and i deal with need assessment everyday at work. Although i apreciate the open dialogue.

 

If i offended you silver surfers then im sorry that was not my intention. When i talk about need here i was on about bike setup, style of bike, how much or little assisstance etc. I was not suggesting young people need to go faster. As stated, the law stands at 15 mph therefore regardless of age or ability were all limited to that level. Yes, stats do show that yp take more risks but that is how we become wise owls like some of you silver surfers on here.

 

Off the queens highways i have been lucky enough to drive many 4 wheel motorised vehicles ranging from 45bhp to 640bhp so im no stranger to speed or power but as a result im also a witness to many horrific crashes on the track therefore i have a respect for speed and the devistation it can bring.

 

I can only dream of 220 mile electric car 110 wouldc be nice then we could stay over

 

Coming back to ebikes though, i love the concept and will be pushing it to many of my peers.

 

Right i must round this up now as im on my phone typing this and its not easy lol.

Judging by the poll your wife is correct about the old bit but you can tell her from me that I started cycling again in the winter when it got down to -23 in Denmark.

 

I have lost 8kg since then and now weigh 75kg. I have just completed a 50km Audax ride (on a road bike) and it was a doddle. I ride a 30 mile round trip on a road bike to work every day and I am now looking for my first electric bike.....for fun.

 

Were not old fat codgers and those who are get my respect for wanting to keep the love of cycling in their lives by having an el-bike and for not throwing in the towel.

 

Steve

 

If i offended you silver surfers then im sorry that was not my intention. When i talk about need here i was on about bike setup, style of bike, how much or little assistance etc.

 

I'm sure that we aren't offended Jon, and I can see some areas of possible difference. The 71 quote above is historic now, I'm 75, and much as I'd like to hanker after having a dual suspension out-and-out rough stuff bike like th Haibike or Flyer X and can afford them, I don't think my body is up to much of that treatment for more than short periods at a time, and the risk of bone breakage isn't acceptable in older years. But a few years ago I'd have been out on one probably taking daft risks if they'd been around.

 

Equally where older age groups are more likely to want the full assistance allowed, younger riders, especially if keen cyclists, often want a normal very light sport bike that just has light assistance for the toughest circumstances.

 

And then of course there's style! Many older riders appreciate the convenience of ease of mounting of step-through frames, but not too many males in their twenties are likely to be keen on that option, mountain/MTB styling being more likely to appeal.

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The sad thing about the English is that 'image' counts for so much and hence the old person image of e-bikes.

 

As for most continentals, a bike is a means of transport for me. I do not need a bike to keep fit or to give people the impression I am a racing cyclist or mountain cyclist.

 

I just use both my bikes because they are the quickest, most hassle free way of getting around where I live. Where the car is better, I use that. When a motor-cycle was better I used to use that.

 

E-bikes have become more generally available and used on the continent because people see bicycles as practical transport. If they can be e-powered without compromising that practicality too much, then they are even more functional for some purposes.

 

Cycling's image in the UK has been hijacked by grim faced joyless lycra clad blokes - see the cover picture of any cycling magazine. It's the rotten behaviour of many of their ilk that is giving cycling a rather yobbish profile in the media.

 

Young or old, 90% of us use bicycles for everyday practical purposes. Our requirements of our bikes, electric or not, is therefore much the same.

 

I truly detest the merchants of cool and their marketing moron cohorts who prey on the young and impressionable.

 

Rant over

 

Cycling's image in the UK has been hijacked by grim faced joyless lycra clad blokes - see the cover picture of any cycling magazine.

 

And not just the UK, the less developed world can suffer this as well, to my knowledge South Africa being an example. In many countries like that, utility cycling has a poor image, indicating poverty and lower class, so the only cycling that can flourish is the image concious sport type such as cyclo-cross and racing.

 

That in turn has transferred here with immigration, those from the third world looking down on cycling. One Asian elderly man I'm friendly with and chat to when walking refuses to even acknowlege me if I'm cycling past, that's how extreme attitudes can be.

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One Asian elderly man I'm friendly with and chat to when walking refuses to even acknowlege me if I'm cycling past, that's how extreme attitudes can be.

.

 

Perhaps he thinks his eyes are playing tricks, Flecc....

 

Rog.

Perhaps he thinks his eyes are playing tricks, Flecc....

 

Rog.

 

It would have to be his ears as well Rog. Even when I cycled past very slowly and spoke directly to him, he just pointedly stared straight ahead. Only a week or so later he happily chatted when I walked by his home. I wouldn't raise the issue of course.

 

A couple of years ago there was actually an initiative to re-educate third world immigrants in East London into acceptance of cycling, but I don't think it had much success, despite them using a very attractive asian girl cyclist to promote it.

 

As in China, bicycles indicate poverty and lower class, cars indicate success and social status, so the car wins every time.

.

 

As in China, bicycles indicate poverty and lower class, cars indicate success and social status, so the car wins every time.

 

Leg-pulling aside, I can understand that well enough from my experience in Africa, although there doesn't appear to be the same stigma at all - the general approach seems to be that if you're rich and showing off in your huge 4x4 that's exactly what people think of you - and there's certainly no disgrace in riding an old boneshaker around.

 

They do have a dedicated Lycra contingent though, and money seems to be no object when it comes to buying top-end racing bikes and all the kit. I think I may have mentioned it before - they do their road-racing on roads known to be in good condition, and invariably they start soon after first light on a Sunday and it's all over by lunchtime. The obvious good reason for that is that they avoid the heat of the day, but there's also the matter that the majority of the population are in church and the roads are empty.

 

My pals tell me there are some ebikes around now too - but invariably they're the nastier Chinese jobs, and the batteries don't last long in those temperatures. 35 Celsius by mid afternoon every day, and the sun beats down almost vertically - unless it's hammering down with rain, that is.

 

Rog.

My nephew Carl (Hutchings) ran a cycle business in South Africa and was the national cyclo-cross champion there at one time, which is why I know of the situation there.

 

As you say, they certainly do often ride boneshakers, but offer those riders a car instead and see how many hold back.

.

And not just the UK, the less developed world can suffer this as well, to my knowledge South Africa being an example. In many countries like that, utility cycling has a poor image, indicating poverty and lower class, so the only cycling that can flourish is the image concious sport type such as cyclo-cross and racing.

 

That in turn has transferred here with immigration, those from the third world looking down on cycling. One Asian elderly man I'm friendly with and chat to when walking refuses to even acknowlege me if I'm cycling past, that's how extreme attitudes can be.

.

 

Well he obviously isnt student of Zen then, then again most Asians these days probably arent.

 

People are interesting things , you can often judge how person percieves themselves based on how they ( do/ dont ) respond to you, more often than not the very thing that brings out the Jekyll often has something to Hyde

In Denmark we have the lycra clad guys and gals. We have the CSC taem and now Christine Watches, who are a totally new team.

 

But we also have the touring and casual cyclists and we all get on very well. Over 40% of Danish households do not own a car because they use bikes.

 

My house is on both the East coast cycle route and the Marguirita cycle route. I have seen every type of bike and motorbike you can think of over the past week and they all wave as they go by as my Giro 26 and Moto Guzzi california are usually out in the garden.

 

The lycra and the rest of us can live together.

 

Steve

I think you all have valid points there. Its acceptable to ride a bike as a child in the UK as you have no other means but i get dodgy looks from people as im 28 on my Raleigh Max or activator which ever it is i cant remember. Saying that though i get dodgy looks when im driving my 2009 plate top of the range Audi A4 so im either thought of as look at him cant afford a car dole dosser or look at him why is he driving that at his ages it must be daddies lol. I have been snubbed in car parks before by middle aged people i feel embarrassed for them. I work hard and long so i spend it where i want and now im moving onto ebikes lol.

 

Question for you experienced people, do you think this falls back to Thatcherism? During her time of power she pushed credit which made most people just want the best as before that people generally were happy to live in rented accommodation or catch the bus. But, she once stated 'A man who, beyond the age of 26, finds himself on a bus can count himself as a failure' (1986) cited in Commons debates, 2003-07-02, col 407

 

So, as i now catch the bus but also have a car and a bike where does that leave me? I dont want to bring the whole Thatcher thing into debate so lets not go there as i was only born in 1982 so did not experience it all first hand (how lucky am I) but has that left a legacy and a stigma that is now hard to move. Although, i do think it is becoming more and more acceptable.

 

In Stoke on Trent our council has invested heavily in new cycle routes aimed at families all with different skill levels. The best of it is once you know where each route goes you can use parts of each one to get nearly anywhere in the City

 

Question for you experienced people, do you think this falls back to Thatcherism? During her time of power she pushed credit which made most people just want the best as before that people generally were happy to live in rented accommodation or catch the bus. But, she once stated 'A man who, beyond the age of 26, finds himself on a bus can count himself as a failure' (1986) cited in Commons debates, 2003-07-02, col 407

 

Although she definitely added to these aspects, the changes started with the ambitions of car ownership of the '60s and '70s and the unasked for postal distribution of credit cards by the banks in the mid '70s.

 

It was the bus population that crashed in those decades and the 80s.

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'A man who, beyond the age of 26, finds himself on a bus can count himself as a failure' (1986) cited in Commons debates, 2003-07-02, col 407

 

Don't think many politicians would dare say that these days, what with oil starting to run out, costs of running and maintaining a car, and road congestion.

 

In the early 90s I had a colleague at work (in Coventry) whose wife worked at Heathrow Airport - they lived roughly mid way between the 2, and both had a 90-minute commute. I thought they were nutters at the time, but road congestion is twice as bad these days and there are still people doing that kind of commute.

 

These days I'm working at the University of Warwick and having moaned for the last couple of years about their apparent declaration of war on car use, I am about to rediscover, at the age of 52, the joys of commuting on two wheels

 

These days I'm working at the University of Warwick and having moaned for the last couple of years about their apparent declaration of war on car use,

 

How the world has changed! Not too long ago Warwickshire was the centre of car manufacturing in Britain and criticism of anything car related would have been unthinkable. In fact I still think it sad that the university can so easily cast off that famous heritage and history.

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Reading about cycling in Africa here reminded me of a very funny line in Michael Palin's film The Missionary.

 

When he gets back to the UK after his mission in west Africa he remarks that they hadn't seen a man on a bicycle before - so they named him 'starving horse'

When he gets back to the UK after his mission in west Africa he remarks that they hadn't seen a man on a bicycle before - so they named him 'starving horse'

 

I like that . . . "starving horse" . . . I give you , the new Raleigh Starving Horse . . yep, that'll work. This marketing lark is easier than I thought.

Regards

 

Dances With Cleats

I think its great all these people realising that well, i can get somewhere under my own steam. My friends in Texas think im a nutter lol.

 

I wonder what karl pilkington thoughts would be on using bikes instead of cars

Karl Pilkington on Ebikes would be amazing!

How the world has changed! Not too long ago Warwickshire was the centre of car manufacturing in Britain and criticism of anything car related would have been unthinkable. In fact I still think it sad that the university can so easily cast off that famous heritage and history.

.

 

Well we do still have the International Automotive Research Centre ..... there's an irony there which I hadn't spotted before

Hi ,i was 56 last time i counted ,iwonder if any of the Girls are going to let slip there age ,lol best wishes Brian .

My wife thinks they're all old/fat people who are too lazy to cycle a 'real' bike. So here's a poll (if I can work out how to create one).

 

I never understood this argument. You never hear the claim that motorbike or car drivers are too lazy to walk or ride a bike.

I never understood this argument. You never hear the claim that motorbike or car drivers are too lazy to walk or ride a bike.

 

I'm not so sure. E-bike riders are arguably using one to reduce their effort, but car drivers are often on the way to the gym to do the opposite!