QUESTION: Should older cyclists ride ebikes? This question was prompted by a reader response to my recent answer to a woman who asked if her 83-year-old husband, a long-time cyclist who had fallen from his bike and injured himself more than once lately, was too old to keep riding. Along with my answer, I mentioned the possibility of older riders switching to ebikes. The reader, who uses Syborg as a handle, said, “I would not advise an older person to use an e-bike. The higher riding speeds, compared to riding a pedal bike, of an e-bike requires quicker reflexes than an aging person may possess, especially when riding in a group. Falling at the higher speed attained on an e-bike can be much worse for an older person. You slow down with age, and you should embrace that as a good idea.”
RBR’S STAN PURDUM REPLIES: I didn’t mean the ebike recommendation as a one-size-fits-all-riders suggestion. But as several other respondents to my Q&A article stated or implied, switching to an ebike has allowed them to keep riding after they were starting to struggle on a regular “analog” bike, and what’s at stake for many is continuing to experience the joy, health benefits and social connections that cycling brings.
Syborg is correct, however, that you can go faster on ebike, and another respondent, R. Groves, said that though he is 84, he has chosen not to get an ebike “because I know I won’t be able to resist the temptation to go as fast as I did years ago knowing full well that my sense of balance, reflexes and vision are not what they once were.”
That sounds like the right decision for R. Groves; there’s wisdom in listening to what your body is telling you.
That said, I believe ebikes are a good choice for many aging riders who still have decent balance, reflexes and vision. I’m 79, and live in southeast Ohio, a region that contains the western foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Without an ebike, I’d be stuck riding the few flat routes available in my area — routes that also have higher traffic counts.
The most important attribute you need if you’re going to get an ebike is common sense. My ebike has three assist levels. The lowest one, Eco, adds 35% assistance to my effort, the middle one, Sport, adds 60% and the top one, Turbo, adds 100%. My intent while riding is not to set any land-speed records or even to approximate my best performances on a standard bike in my younger days, but to ride hard enough to challenge the rider I am today and maintain fitness. So I ride some of the time in Eco mode and much of the time in Sports mode — where I do average a couple of miles faster than I did in my later analog bike days, but I feel comfortable at that speed and ride judiciously. Hopefully, I’ll have the good sense to slow down when continued aging makes that decision a sensible one. About the only time I use Turbo mode is on the steepest of hills where I employ it not for speed, but for power.
Dammit, we older cyclists don’t want to consign ourselves to the recliner chair any sooner than is absolutely necessary!
Stan Purdum has ridden several long-distance bike trips, including an across-America ride recounted in his book Roll Around Heaven All Day, and a trek on U.S. 62, from Niagara Falls, New York, to El Paso, Texas, the subject of his book Playing in Traffic. Stan, a freelance writer and editor, lives in Ohio. See more at www.StanPurdum.com.
Ride a catrike- ecat and you don’t have to worry about falling. You can ride into your nineties.I would have had to quit after back surgery and significant balance issues. I had been riding and racing as an adult since 1972. The recumbent has allowed me to ride into my 80’s with no end in sight.
I’m 78 and my experience with my e-bike is very similar to Stan’s. I live in Chicago, which is basically flat, except for the river bridges. Still I find the e-bike to be very helpful cycling away from stoplights on city streets. It is also be very helpful in coping with the the weather in the the “windy city.” I have a bike with an integrated mid-mount motor gravel bike with a Thudbuster seat post. It is a great setup for navigating the Chicago’s tortuous streets.
I’m 77 and live in the Sierra Nevada foothills. I had back surgery 2 years ago and found I could no longer keep up with the group or do the longer rides into the mountains I used to do. A few months ago I bought an ebike and have been able to ride with friends again and do the kinds of rides I’ve always enjoyed. I only use the assist when I need it for the climbs or to stay with the group and rarely use more than eco mode. I don’t try to beat times set when I was decades younger or to beat anyone else. Basically the e-bike allows me to continue to enjoy cycling.
I just turned 82, have been riding my Cannondale Assist Ebike for 4 years. Great investment. It is Class 1, requiring pedaling to move, and limits assist level to 20 mph. (a Class 3 limits assist to 28 mph) .You can pedal normally as fast as you wish..
I use the assist on hills, or wind,, to catch up with group after a pit stop, etc, so only about 50% duty cycle. I can get about 110 mile on a charge.
In last 4 years, about 50% of my upstate NY bike club have bought E bikes.
I still use my Cannondale “analogue” when i travel to Fl in winter. Not many hills there.
So, assuming you have reasonable balance, eyesight, braking instincts, etc, you will be fine
In the end, everyone needs to make decisions based on their level of risk tolerance. Also, as some readers have indicated, using common sense to adjust for changes in reaction time, balance, etc is a reasonable way to keep safe while still being able to stay on the road. I am 72 and still able to manage without an e-bike, but I take corners slower; I use my brakes more while descending the short, steep hills where I live. I have also be doing more slow-paced touring with friends. I would miss being able to get out on the road on beautiful, sunny days. I pretty sure that I will switch to an e-bike when the time comes.
Note, too, that so called “ebikes” (the real designation for an assisted “ebike” is a pedelec, a word that may die before it’s born given people’s verbal preferences) are not only for old and/or otherwise physically impaired people. Speed is fun and, if a cyclist knows how to handle the extra speed, even a young cyclist can use them as one can still ride to their heart’s content (literally) in their power zone at the faster clip. Also, it may be hard to ride slow enough on one’s “active recovery” days but, with an “ebike”, one can achieve the speed that one loves while riding easy enough to recover faster than simply resting. And also, you can go further in less time which, sometimes, matters.
It’s nice to be as affected as one wants when facing the winds and hills, setting the electric motor just right so that the workout/ride is as tough as you want without it being a drag. That’s true no matter what age and condition you are.
“The most important attribute you need if you’re going to get an ebike is common sense.”
This sums it up!!
At 76, I bought one after several accidents which I couldn’t recover from enough to keep up with my buddies near my age. I no longer “train”, but enjoy getting to the coffee stop before it’s all gone.
I turned 80 this year, and have been riding since 1971 including 30 years Randonneuring. I currently have four bikes, but had as many as 11! I bought my first e-bike just four years ago, and it has about 12k kilometers on it. It is a single-speed folder with 16″ wheels. It has a 350W motor and only weighs 35 lbs. The battery is declining, so I ride it only on level 1 (/3) or with the motor off. I go back and forth between it and my Dahon folder, which weights 25 lbs and has seven speeds, so it feels about the same to me. But I avoid steep hills and strong headwinds which are both common on Vancouver Island!
My e-bike only cost $850 Cdn, but a new battery would cost $500. I am thinking about doing a conversion on one of my other three bikes. But I am not enthusiastic about it. Actually, I am more tempted to get a Mercier Kilo fixie! I am not sure if I really need any assist in the city. It could be nice for bikepacking but there is a range issue. I’m waiting for technology to get better and cheaper (and tariffs to be over!).
I’m 75 living at 350’ elevation in the aptly named Highpoint neighborhood of hilly Seattle. My wife and I are avid cyclists and the low gears I’ve used since starting to ride here in the early 90’s get plenty of use. My heart condition that led to several cardiac arrests starting in 2005 has created increasing anxiety over when the next unpredictable “bad day” will occur with breathlessness and high heart rates forcing me to walk up otherwise unchallenging hills. Yes, I have an ICD (Internal Cardiac Device) and annual echocardiograms to check the aortic valve that was replaced in 2006.
The April 2024 RBR review of the Cytronex e-conversion kit led to adding one to my favorite bike, an ‘87 Marinoni Sports Tourer 650B conversion with fenders. I LOVE it! I chose the European version with 15.5 mph max assistance speed since my interest is only in getting help up those hills, not trying to go fast or keep up with anyone. Group rides of any speed aren’t of interest other than rides with my wife or a friend, I turn off the assistance when the road stops heading up and sometimes leave it off for mild climbs. So far, I only use the lowest 50W level of assistance for all but the steepest hills, like the 10+% grades heading home. Kudos to Cytronex for their tremendous assistance and excellent kit, customized to my bike, while not requiring any compromises in bike fit (unlike the mid-drive conversions I looked at), flat road use or handling at any speed. Yeah it’s about 8 lbs heavier when I lift it up steps, but that is unnoticeable otherwise. Assistance is very smooth and subtle when it engages.
I’ve been tracking ride and associated heart rate data since getting a Garmin watch in 2017. The addition of the Cytronex conversion has not notably changed data for average speed, nor average/maximum heart rates. What HAS changed is the frequency of my rides! I’ve got more than the mileage and number of rides in 2024 compared to 2023, despite only using the conversion since mid-summer.
I will soon be 67 and recently had half my left lung removed due to cancer. I always would think to myself “cheaters” when some “old people” would fly by me with their feet barely moving, I might have even said it out loud a few times. Now with half a lung missing I don’t feel much difference on the flats but hills are not going to happen any longer so it looks like a pedal assist e-bike will be in my future
” I always would think to myself “cheaters” when some “old people” would fly by me with their feet barely moving,”
If their feet are barely moving, they are on an electric MOTORCYCLE with a throttle. Not an ebike!!!
Well said.
Exactly, like everything, Someone will have abuse it and those who don’t suffer the consequences.
Define/explain the difference between an electric motorcycle and an ebike.