[jan]

Hi,

I am thinking about buying a bike. I've been thinking about it for a while and now I'm geting more serious.

Let me say that it has been 17 or so years since I've been on a bike. I do ride a stationary recombent type for exercise but that isn't quite the same. I'm 55 years old so the bikes of my childhood had coaster brakes and I didn't even know gears were a possibility.

I found a Felt brand Cafe 7 at a local shop that I like. I guess you'd call it a hybrid; it has 7 gears. The owner told me it would be good on road surfaces and packed gravel like trails.

In theory I think I'd like to ride again. Reality is that if I buy a bike I don't have an excuse not to ride. To be honest I'm a little afraid of falling and getting hurt.

Anyone have any advice or motivational words of wisdom?

 

[smorgan]

Hi,

I am thinking about buying a bike. I've been thinking about it for a while and now I'm geting more serious.

Let me say that it has been 17 or so years since I've been on a bike. I do ride a stationary recombent type for exercise but that isn't quite the same. I'm 55 years old so the bikes of my childhood had coaster brakes and I didn't even know gears were a possibility.

I found a Felt brand Cafe 7 at a local shop that I like. I guess you'd call it a hybrid; it has 7 gears. The owner told me it would be good on road surfaces and packed gravel like trails.

In theory I think I'd like to ride again. Reality is that if I buy a bike I don't have an excuse not to ride. To be honest I'm a little afraid of falling and getting hurt.

Anyone have any advice or motivational words of wisdom?

I'm 58 and recently started riding after even more years than yourself. Hybrid is the best! The popular fat-tire mountain bikes just waste a lot of your energy. The hybrids make a lot more sense in the city. They are much faster and easier to ride. The super-skinny tires on the racer types would be a little too dangerous - even a small rock could send you flying.

Seven gears is more than enough. Mine has 18 of which I use only 3. I only ride on sidewalks and avoid streets. I have fallen twice, but no big deal. Yes, at our age, caution is called for. It turns out my house is 1.75 miles from my job and I can get all the way there on sidewalks alone. It provides a great "baseline" for exercise so I don't drop to zero when I get lazy or busy.

I think you'll be glad you did!

 

[Adjitater]

Start out slowly and ride only where you are comfortable. As time goes on you will become more comfortable with your new bike. The next thing I would say is to dress to ride. That means appropriate shorts, shoes, gloves, helmet, and glasses. I have wrecked a couple of times and even though you are 55 doesn't mean you can't wreck and survive it. You just roll with it until you stop rolling. remember that scrapes heal much better than breaks.

 

[esj]

don't try and upright, look seriously at recumbent

I used to write about 2000 to 3000 miles a year on a bicycle but the bicycle seat damaged the nerves etc. in my perianal region. two years onantibiotics because they thought was prostatitis and then another couple of years on nsaids to try and bring the pain down.

20 years later, I've mostly recovered and still can have a sex life. About half of the cyclist that develop this problem are not so lucky. if you do the research, you'll find that the type of bicycle seat and padding doesn't make much of a difference. The bicycle seat is fundamentally flawed.

The solution is to go for different bicycle altogether. Seriously consider a recumbent. They are much easier to ride, go easily up and down hills and you can haul a much greater weight.

I personally prefer underseat steering because it's much more relaxing. Short wheelbase bikes are more convenient long wheelbase bikes are more comfortable.

Now why it's particularly important to a diabetic? Simple. You will be more susceptible to nerve damage caused by a bicycle seat than a normal person. Like I said, don't delude yourself into thinking that adding or some other minor change will help. You are going to kill nerves and crush blood vessels. it's up to you but I will not touch a bicycle unless it's recumbent. There are parts of life I want to keep enjoying.

 

[diabetes86]

Ive never herd of nerve damage from a seat. Ive ridden a rode bike for 40 of my 57 years with no problem nor do I know of any one with nerve problems (could be they dont say anything)

to start with just get a bike and ride, you will decide what works. I know 3 people that started with a hybrid bicycle and are in the process of switching to a road bike. I know no one switching from a road bike to a hybrid.

 

[lia]

Ive never herd of nerve damage from a seat.

I was going to say something like that but you beat me. I also spent a lot of time on a bike forum and have never heard of anyone complain about that problem.

I've ridden for a lot of years and like it. I just do it for practical purposes, getting to work, getting the groceries etc. I'm not an exercise fanatic that puts in 100 miles a day.

It is such a nice help to get the body moving. I have a damaged hip and walking any distance can hurt, but the circular motion on a bicycle doesn't bother it at all.

I have crashed twice in the last 15 years. Once was because I was hypoglycemic. I had a clue that I was low and didn't pay attention. Won't make that mistake again. Each crash did do a bit of damage, but that doesn't mean I'm going to quit. The benefits are worth it.

I don't like the fat mountain bike tires, or the skinny racer type. My preferred size is 27 x 1 1/4, or in the metric sizes, 700 - 32.

 

[esj]

I was going to say something like that but you beat me. I also spent a lot of time on a bike forum and have never heard of anyone complain about that problem.

the <vulgar abbreviation deleted> filter on this bulletin board won't let me post the links but if you look in the Wikipedia article on cycling and look the injury section you'll see some good documentation. Also, if you look for the article,"Groin Numbness and Bike Riding & Causes, Symptoms and Signs" on MedicineNet you'll find the following quote.

"""In a study of perineal compression and blood flow to the penis in male cyclists, penile blood supply decreased significantly in 70% of the 40 cyclists who participated in the study. Numbness in the genital area was reported by 61% of the cyclists, and 19% of the cyclists who rode their bikes more than 250 miles per week complained of erectile dysfunction
"""
just Google "bicycle penile nerve damage" or "bicycle perianal nerve damage"

it is frighteningly common and the only bicycle design guaranteed to not do that kind of damage is a recumbent. this is sort of like diabetes. You can't argue with the body. It will tell you what's wrong and how to fix it.

 

[Shanny]

And one more opening shot like this one, you won't be around to gain the seniority it takes to post links.

the <vulgar abbreviation deleted> filter on this bulletin board won't let me post the links but if you look in the Wikipedia article on cycling and look the injury section you'll see some good documentation. Also, if you look for the article,"Groin Numbness and Bike Riding & Causes, Symptoms and Signs" on MedicineNet you'll find the following quote.

"""In a study of perineal compression and blood flow to the penis in male cyclists, penile blood supply decreased significantly in 70% of the 40 cyclists who participated in the study. Numbness in the genital area was reported by 61% of the cyclists, and 19% of the cyclists who rode their bikes more than 250 miles per week complained of erectile dysfunction
"""
just Google "bicycle penile nerve damage" or "bicycle perianal nerve damage"

it is frighteningly common and the only bicycle design guaranteed to not do that kind of damage is a recumbent. this is sort of like diabetes. You can't argue with the body. It will tell you what's wrong and how to fix it.

 

[esj]

And one more opening shot like this one, you won't be around to gain the seniority it takes to post links.

fair enough. I should've used a different phrase. I was frustrated by the unnecessary limitation.

one more thing, it would help my frustration tremendously if you could do something about the way the software is hostile to disabled users with speech recognition (i.e. me). it's almost impossible to enter text using speech recognition (online editor degrades recognition) and it's impossible to edit. Note: this is part of the reason why I didn't change my phrase. I couldn't navigate easily through the text to change anything so I just left it, also in frustration.

So again, apologies but please take into consideration the fact that I have disabled hands and this environment does not work well for disabled person.

 

[esj]

and one more thing. this forum software has the capability of allowing users to edit their posts. if that capability was enabled, you could have simply told me to fix my post because it contained an unacceptable expression of frustration. As Ari said, I would've agreed and fixed it. Much nicer solution than threatening to boot me off the board. The other things I would've reworked in the posting up to the limitations of my hands.

 

[jan]

Thanks everyone for your reply.

I am female but realize pain and numbness from the seat can be a issue. I guess the bike I'm looking at would be classified as a hybrid. I think it is a good one for me; now I just have to convince myself to get going. I may go to the bike shop on Saturday for a test ride.

Jan

 

[Shanny]

and one more thing. this forum software has the capability of allowing users to edit their posts. if that capability was enabled, you could have simply told me to fix my post because it contained an unacceptable expression of frustration. As Ari said, I would've agreed and fixed it. Much nicer solution than threatening to boot me off the board. The other things I would've reworked in the posting up to the limitations of my hands.

This forum software which causes you such acute frustration, is in place for a reason—the simple reason that there are untold millions of spammers & scammers out there who make a living with their hit-n-run posts & keep forum moderators hopping all over the world. Making one small tweak that requires five posts to confer "active" status (and its attendant perks of posting links, editing posts & using PMs) is a small price to pay to weed out the first million or so who are too impatient to stick around for five posts. It's unfortunate that our little net caught you at the same time, but methinks your frustrations may have many triggers and not only the software at one small medical support site. We have other rules we're pretty strict about, but you just didn't happen to run afoul of those. Just don't tell me you're under 18, or you'll be out of here before you draw your next breath, and that isn't a threat either - that's a fact.

 

[tgreen]

i have been riding my bike a lot this year. trying to help with my Type 2. I was put on about 300 miles this summer and really enjoy it. I ride a hard tail mountain bike, with a front suspension. it is a 27 speed bike and i really like it. it is not nearly as fast as most road bike, but i maintain an average speed between 10 -17 mph. which is is fine with me, the duration of exercise to me is more important then how fast i can get there.
I really like my mountain bike because there are a lot of hills here, and having a larger range of gears to use really helps deal with the steep hills. if you are riding on fairly flat terrain a 7 speed hybrid might be fine. i also think the larger mountain bike tire feel more stable over a lot of varied terrain.
the biggest thing i would suggest is don't disappoint yourself by being cheap. before i married my wife she bought a cheap bike and when we ride together she is peddling her legs off and i am coasting or barely peddling along side her. a good bike is worth the money. I will be spending the money to get her a good bike very soon. i would also make sure to get something that will track your speed and distance. this will really help you track your progress as you get into shape.
i also have a pouch that is under my seat. i care a spare tube, bike tool kit, glucose, and an energy bar. you dont want to be on a long ride and have a hypo, and be miles away from home and no way to fix it.
the best part is have fun.

 

[canadiandude]

i have been riding my bike a lot this year. trying to help with my Type 2. I was put on about 300 miles this summer and really enjoy it. I ride a hard tail mountain bike, with a front suspension. it is a 27 speed bike and i really like it. it is not nearly as fast as most road bike, but i maintain an average speed between 10 -17 mph. which is is fine with me, the duration of exercise to me is more important then how fast i can get there.
I really like my mountain bike because there are a lot of hills here, and having a larger range of gears to use really helps deal with the steep hills. if you are riding on fairly flat terrain a 7 speed hybrid might be fine. i also think the larger mountain bike tire feel more stable over a lot of varied terrain.
the biggest thing i would suggest is don't disappoint yourself by being cheap. before i married my wife she bought a cheap bike and when we ride together she is peddling her legs off and i am coasting or barely peddling along side her. a good bike is worth the money. I will be spending the money to get her a good bike very soon. i would also make sure to get something that will track your speed and distance. this will really help you track your progress as you get into shape.
i also have a pouch that is under my seat. i care a spare tube, bike tool kit, glucose, and an energy bar. you dont want to be on a long ride and have a hypo, and be miles away from home and no way to fix it.
the best part is have fun.

I also have a mountain bike (a Scott Aspect 30), which has 24 speeds and nice fat tires. I agree with your assessment of the differences in bikes and, as the terrain here in Sweden is much the same as that in Alaska, I also agree with your reasoning for why an MTB makes more sense in our situation. I know that riding a bike with thick tires is not going to get me anywhere anytime fast, but it does get me there without killing my legs climbing all the hills here. I need to bike more so I get used to being on it again, especially over long distances.

 

[thcri]

Last year 2010 when I was diagnosed I rode 1250 miles. This year so far I have ridden 2400 miles. Mostly on roads.

If you are going to ride road get a good fitting and a good seat.

Groin Numbness and Bike Riding – Causes, Symptoms and Signs on MedicineNet.com

The numbness is real for a lot of people.

 

[jan]

i have been riding my bike a lot this year. trying to help with my Type 2. I was put on about 300 miles this summer and really enjoy it. I ride a hard tail mountain bike, with a front suspension. it is a 27 speed bike and i really like it. it is not nearly as fast as most road bike, but i maintain an average speed between 10 -17 mph. which is is fine with me, the duration of exercise to me is more important then how fast i can get there.
I really like my mountain bike because there are a lot of hills here, and having a larger range of gears to use really helps deal with the steep hills. if you are riding on fairly flat terrain a 7 speed hybrid might be fine. i also think the larger mountain bike tire feel more stable over a lot of varied terrain.
the biggest thing i would suggest is don't disappoint yourself by being cheap. before i married my wife she bought a cheap bike and when we ride together she is peddling her legs off and i am coasting or barely peddling along side her. a good bike is worth the money. I will be spending the money to get her a good bike very soon. i would also make sure to get something that will track your speed and distance. this will really help you track your progress as you get into shape.
i also have a pouch that is under my seat. i care a spare tube, bike tool kit, glucose, and an energy bar. you dont want to be on a long ride and have a hypo, and be miles away from home and no way to fix it.
the best part is have fun.

Thanks for your input. I'm in West Virginia so we do have hills. 7 gears may be OK for me now but I hope I'll graduate to longer and more demanding rides. I am shopping at bicycle stores and not at discount stores. I've read about many people who regret buying an inexpensive bike and end up buying a second one to get what they need. I hadn't thought about tracking speed and distance but that sounds like a good idea. A little storage would be great too.

 

[jan]

I also have a mountain bike (a Scott Aspect 30), which has 24 speeds and nice fat tires. I agree with your assessment of the differences in bikes and, as the terrain here in Sweden is much the same as that in Alaska, I also agree with your reasoning for why an MTB makes more sense in our situation. I know that riding a bike with thick tires is not going to get me anywhere anytime fast, but it does get me there without killing my legs climbing all the hills here. I need to bike more so I get used to being on it again, especially over long distances.

Thanks for your reply. I definately want to get a bike that will be easy to ride on hills so I won't avoid them. Honestly I find bike shopping a little overwhelming but getting advice is helping me sort out what I really need.

 

[jan]

Last year 2010 when I was diagnosed I rode 1250 miles. This year so far I have ridden 2400 miles. Mostly on roads.

If you are going to ride road get a good fitting and a good seat.

Groin Numbness and Bike Riding – Causes, Symptoms and Signs on MedicineNet.com

The numbness is real for a lot of people.

Yes numbness is a concern. I find some exercise bicycles uncomfortable. Do padded shorts help?

 

[tgreen]

if you are wanting to ride for extended distances you would want a good pair of bike shorts, or pants. they most often add a little extra padding to help with comfort. i also wear an under garmet that is a Poly blend material and very slick to the feelk, i have found that this also helps keep my leggs from rubbing and getting chapped.
the bike monitor that i use keeps track of my current speed, my average speed for my current ride, the time i was riding, it tracks the time, my distance of my last or current ride and my overall distance. i find this is really helpfull for tracking my progress on my rides and helps me to push my self just a little more.

 

[thcri]

Yes numbness is a concern. I find some exercise bicycles uncomfortable. Do padded shorts help?

Jan, yes good padded shorts help. I mean good ones as in the the 80 to 150 dollar range.

What kind of riding do you plan on doing? Are you going to do trails mostly or road? Or mountain type stuff. Just starting I am thinking multi use trails, old train beds converted??