The Senior Cyclist
Choosing a bike
A recumbent bike
A "traditional" bike
Firstly, what type of cycling do you want to do? Go into any decent bicycle shop and you'll see a bewildering array of bikes of all shapes and sizes for sale. At the moment, the great majority of them will be of the "mountain bike" type, with wide, knobbly tyres and lots of springs and rubbery bits for suspension. There will also be a few "racing" bikes with drop handlebars, improbably skinny tyres and quite thin looking frames. Again, there'll be a fair number of "hybrid" bikes which are a sort of cross between the mountain bikes and the racers. If it's a big shop there might even be a few specialised machines such as cyclo-cross bikes and even unicycles!
The Senior Cyclist needn't be put off by all of this. Each of these types is best for a particular kind of cycling and the first thing to decide is what the bike is to be used for. This might be keeping fit, touring, going to the shops or just generally pottering around for fresh air and exercise.
The second factor in selecting a bike nowadays is - upright or recumbent. An upright bike is what most of us know as the traditional shape of a bike; one wheel at each end with a saddle on top at the back, pedals near the ground, a set of handlebars at the front and a roughly triangular frame to hold it all together. (Women-specific upright bikes are made with a slightly different frame, sometimes called a step through frame.) A recumbent on the other hand usually has a large seat quite low down, pedals up high at the front end and a handlebar either above or below the seat. The real difference between the two types is in the position of the rider and consequently the manner in which power is transferred from the rider to the wheels. From a practical point of view it can be noted that recumbents are generally rather more expensive than the equivalent upright. However, with the exception (as far as I know) of unicycling, more or less every form of cycling can be catered for by both uprights and recumbents. Incidentally it seems to be the case that for most purposes a recumbent bike will be a bit faster than the equivalent upright (they're currently banned from most cycle races, for example).
The third factor to take into account is your physical condition. Let's face it, not all of us Senior Cyclists have retained the whippet-like body of our youth and the odd aches and pains can accompany attempts to get ourselves into awkward positions.
So, armed with these three bits of information - the main type of cycling to be done, choice of upright or recumbent and any physical constraints, the Senior Cyclist can approach a bike shop with confidence and seek advice on the most suitable machine. (If the choice is for a recumbent, you will be limited to a few specialist dealers - check on the Web for your nearest or most convenient). Note that I say "approach a bike shop" - this is quite deliberate. A good bike shop will show you the proper bike for your needs, let you test ride it before purchase, set it up correctly to suit your size and shape and carry out any appropriate adjustments once you've ridden it for a while and got used to it. You'll pay a few pounds more than via mail order or internet, but it will be well worth it. Buy the wrong bike, or set up the bike incorrectly and not only will your cycling be less enjoyable than it should be, you may actually do yourself physical damage.
If you are new to cycling, a few pointers might help. Firstly, don't listen to those who tell you that you don't need all those gears. Most modern bikes come with at least 18 and up to 27 "speeds" (except for those bikes with hub gears where the number is much less). These are designed to make your pedalling as efficient as possible and hence less tiring. Learn to use them properly and you'll come to love them.
Secondly, don't be seduced by TV pictures of the Tour de France into buying a drop bar bike unless you're in condition to use it. These are the best upright bikes for touring or long day rides, but the Senior Cyclist is likely to find the rather stretched out riding position difficult if not used to it. The more upright position needed to ride a hybrid type of bike might well be more comfortable and modern hybrids can be pretty fast and "racy" if that's what you fancy! My current bikes are of this type. (Click here for details of my bikes).
Thirdly, it makes sense to buy a bike that's as light as the budget will allow. Generally speaking, the lighter the bike, the less effort is needed to ride it over decent distances. However, it's a bit daft to buy a lightweight machine and then promptly weigh it down with loads of fancy accessories, however attractive they may seem. Never add anything to the bike unless you really need it, or really fancy it something rotten!
So, how much should you pay? Don't be fooled by the sight of bikes in the supermarket for £79.99 or whatever. The frames for these are mass-produced in the far east from stock steel and the components are often poor copies of branded kit. The bikes weigh a ton and are likely to rust away before your eyes. Decent, useable bikes have frames made from aluminium alloys or special steel tubes and have components made by industry-leading companies. At the moment (2010) you should expect to pay at least £350 for an entry-level adult bike. Increases in quality are reflected above that level by increases in price. A good touring bike can cost about £1,000 while a top of the range road or mountain bike can be £3,000 or over. As a rough guide, look for brand names like Trek, Claude Butler, Dawes, Specialized, Giant or Cannondale, although some large retailers have "own-brand" bikes which are worth considering. Bear in mind also that a decent bike can gradually be up-graded with better components to a very good bike, but a cheapo will never be anything else no matter what bits you change later. This article explains the pitfalls of buying a "bargain" bike much better than I can.