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Bicycle Selection for the ElderlyReaching for the gusto.
From 50 to 57 years of age, I was one of the lead riders for the
Blue Bonnet racers of
Lewisvilles taking new 'green' members on shorter tours - for
them to learn the basics i.e. like the
importance of water bottles, and using highways for safe travel.
From that period to 1996 my wife Gail
and I would still do tours at White Rock Lake until they
enforced a new helmet law. Since we are notchildren racing about,
but adults limited to 9 mph average by pedal power, I modified our
bikes for
comfort, no longer concerned with femur stroke efficiency, and
road gearing above 75. Swallowing
pride, my low gearing was reset to 25 for a 3 to 1 overall
delta. At my last Munster German Fest thiswas the settings used for
a 40 mile tour for me, and a 22 miler for Gail (who was thrilled
that my
training program worked for her).
Gail was still employed, so her bike riding time was limited to
the edges of rush hours, and that
terrified her, especially when I got pushed off the road by a
monstrous SUV, into a ravine in Carrollton
TX (typical hit and run).
With my retirement I was losing my leg power because of diabetic
neuropathy that wasuntreated at the time, but I learned careful
riding in the clear zone between rush hours. I then pointed
out to my friend at the time (in 2010) Kevin Falconer, that
Carrollton should set up a program that
would entice Senior bikers to safely travel by Time Share
Traffic rules, so as to improve individualresponsibility and
freedom. He was favorable to the concept, until City management cut
him off, and
he then no longer corresponded with me.
This idea would ideally require speed limits for selected
streets for transportation to be setbetween the hours of 9:30 to
4:00 pm to just 25 mph, to have the same respect for Seniors as
school
students that are returning home, while enticing them to ride
bikes, rather then use 4 mpg 10 ton buses,
reducing capitol expenses of the City.
Now concentrating on bike application for seniors. We have the
need for saddle and bike fit
comfort. I am a 5'10 man that only has a 5.5' man's leg length
i.e. making my overall height at 5'7.
My racing bike was set up with a 22 inch saddle height, a
forward sweeping goose-neck to mount mythree position handle bars
in order to move CG forward, and handle my larger upper body, 28
inch
Continental fiberglass tires @ 110 lbs/inch. This bike is
terrible for casual sport biking!! With downhill
speeds approaching 55mph, and about 1 square inch of contact
surface resistance for a 200+ lb totalmass is not a good system for
older riders, that need good controllable stopping power.
A transportation machine is different than a racing machine;
this is an attitude that is disturbing
to motorists who wish to control everyone to drive Indy 500's,
so they can get out of the way - whilethey make way for the boys
with the big egos. This stupid competition is the fuel marketing
uses to
enhance products to ridiculous over-development that they call
good engineering; instead of honest
concern for efficiency. I averaged 17 mph on my metric century,
and was happy to end in the middle ofthe pack. My friend rode his 3
speed English bike doing about 9 mph for a full 100 miles, making
him
about the last rider back; close to sundown. The next day he was
chomping at the bit wanting another
century; whereas I wanted to just take it easy. The bottom line
was that he was more physically fit than
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150 cc or larger engine; it is truly too robust a structure for
a 1 hp electric version, so the aluminum
framed brushless motor/differential driven etrike is the most
economical, and viable version to date.
The EW-36 configuration is about the best configuration because
of independent wheel suspensions
giving it the feel and stability of a 2 wheel vehicle at about
the 22 km velocity (the mathematicalcenter of the design). The only
flaw in the architecture is the use of a brushless motor for
Senior
Citizens meaning very little breaking when throttle demand is
zero; instead of counter EMF charging
battery via brush type PM motor (i.e. generator acting as a
regenerative brake proportional to velocity).The ebikes I wished to
import (and service) for seniors, (before this attack by Carrollton
that destroyed
this fledgling Father Son corporation) was a more safe clone
manufactured in China with brush motor
and regen brake, and available to me through my Chinese agent to
Ali Baba. Because of marketing, thisversion that is more centered
to senior citizens; is currently unavailable because it does not
access
wheelies and childish stunts that are more popular with the
brainwashed American public.
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