winjim
Smash the cistern
It's pretty easy these days to make a bike that comes in under the UCI weight limit so pretty much anybody can afford one and it's no longer a selling point.
How does ageing affects your purchasing prospects?
- Thread starter gavroche
- Start date
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Stompier
Senior Member
Muscle strength would have to weaken to dangerously low levels before it became a problem for cycling.
youngoldbloke
The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
Not my experience, especially riding with a group, and as I said, as one ages and muscle strength inevitably drops I believe it is worth paying more for the lighter bike.
- Location
- Inside my skull
It doesn’t drop all that much if you remain active. A study from Kings College London showed long distance cyclists who rode regularly had the same muscle composition and immune function as 20 year olds. Some were in their 80’s!
What is considered an affect of aging is simply the accumulation of years of being sedentary. Use it, or lose it.
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
Are you comparing bikes on like-for-like tyres though?
I have a Reynolds framed rigid steel MTB on knobbly tyres which is slower and harder work to ride on the same fairly flat route than a cheapo gas-pipe 3-speed that is several pounds heavier. If it was all about weight, the MTB would be faster, being lighter - but it isn't.
If I compare my heaviest and lightest bikes that are fitted with road oriented tyres, the differences aren't very big.
youngoldbloke
The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
Well it has become a problem for me - just trying to answer the OP's question 'How does ageing affects your purchasing prospects?'
I now have to ride a eroad bike, and lower weight was a serious factor in my decision to buy an Orbea Gain.
Stompier
Senior Member
ok, but it's not necessarily a generic issue, is all I'm saying. Clearly if you have some kind of muscle-related or functional problem then that's different.
youngoldbloke
The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
There are other reasons to lose muscle power, I'm 72 have been riding since I was 12. I would still consider myself more active than the average 70 year old. It doesn't always work.
youngoldbloke
The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
Does the study compare the cyclist's current muscle composition and immune function with their muscle composition and immune function 20 years ago?
Stompier
Senior Member
I think the point being made is that the reduction is minimal regardless. Presumably you have been diagnosed with some kind of muscular issue, which is probably a different scenario altogether.
lane
Veteran
You don't get it back on the down hills due to wind resistance otherwise hilly rides would not take longer / be slower.
youngoldbloke
The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
Is this the study? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-43308729The BBC article refers to the immune system, no mention of muscle strength. Do you have a link to the original study? There is some online comment that there was some element of self selection in the group of riders examined. Not all cyclists are fortunate enough to be able to continue their riding as they would wish as they age.
Stompier
Senior Member
I wasn't referring to any study - I think that was Mr Yukon.
Stompier
Senior Member
You will descend quicker with more weight (up to a point), which is what I was getting at.
youngoldbloke
The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
I think this is the study, and it does talk extensively
Apologies - you're correct. I think I've found the study referred to and I think that when I was in my 60's I would have met the inclusion criteria: " The primary inclusion criteria were that males could cycle 100 km in under 6.5 hr and females 60 km in under 5.5 hr and that this had been done twice in the previous 3 weeks." It does look at muscle function.
