SENIORS! Should you be riding an Electric Bike? Secret Over 55 Riders Need to Know About Ebikes

Hey, everyone, I'm Dustin. I've nearly 20 years of experience in the bike and e-bike industry and today I'm going to answer the question, "Should seniors ride electric bikes?" Stick around.

All right, so today we're going to answer the question, "Should seniors ride electric bikes?" But before I get into it, hit the subscribe button below. Stay in touch with us here at Sixthreezero. Be the first to know about all the new content we're putting out, giveaways we do, and of course, new products releasing. Now, behind me here I have two Sixthreezero e-bikes, the folding electric trike, EZ Transit, and the Simple Step-Thru e-bike as well. Both of these products are linked in the description below. You can find them on our website should you be interested in navigating over there. All right, so let's get into answering the question of whether seniors should ride electric bikes. The reason I bring this up as a topic to be discussed is that electric bikes are exploding in the senior community over the age of 50. E-bikes have been a game changer in terms of getting more people on bikes, helping people lose weight, and keeping senior riders on bikes and moving that may have been inhibited or couldn't ride a regular bike because of arthritic issues or other issues that have affected them throughout the aging process.

Now, the other thing I bring up is I'm personally in a lot of forums on Facebook and other places where I see lots of talk amongst senior riders and accidents do occur, injuries do occur, and quite honestly, e-bikes, if not operated appropriately, can be dangerous to any rider no matter the age. And so I bring up the question, "Should seniors ride e-bikes?" Now, I'm of course an advocate for electric bikes. I think they can be great for riders of all sorts of ages, but with caution. So my simple opinion on the question of whether seniors should ride e-bikes, the answer is yes. However, with one or a few caveats and or points that I wanted to make. Number one, if a senior's going to choose to ride an e-bike, do your research, know the type of bike that's going to be best for you, and know your body's limitations.

And when I say your body's limitations, behind me right here, I have a three-wheel e-bike, the EZ Transit from Sixthreezero, and I have a Simple Step-Thru. There are lots of different e-bikes out there. It's important as a senior, as you get into wanting to get an electric bike, you choose something that's going to be safe for your riding habits. This one right here has the lowest step-through on the market at 11 inches. This is great for seniors because it's an easy on, off. You don't have to lift your leg and when you stop you can easily slide on and off of the seat making it safe and easy. There are a lot of other e-bikes on the market that have higher-top tubes. Even some that have 20-inch smaller wheels still will have a higher step-over than this model. So it's important as a senior that you know what your body is physically capable of in terms of the mounting, the dismounting, and the riding position.

Some riding positions are going to have you leaning forward. If you have back issues, that's going to put a lot of pressure and tension on you. It's important on an electric bike that your body, the position you're in, everything feels comfortable because you're going to need to be more alert on an electric bike than you would be on a standard bike because most likely you're going to be traveling at faster speeds on an e-bike than you would on your standard bike. So you don't want any pain. This bike's going to keep you in an ergonomic upright riding position. It's going to allow your arms to be relaxed, your back to be upright, and you're not going to have any pain while riding. You won't be leaning forward. The bars come into your body. So if you have any sort of pain issues, this is a great option.

The other thing though with seniors is I see a lot of seniors, we've done hundreds of test rides with seniors and I find that some people that have been off a bike for a few years come back. They want to test ride a two-wheel and their balance is not what it used to be, or fear has crept in about falling, which is a natural response. As we get older, our fear, I think, kicks in situations that it rightfully should kick in. And I think any senior rider should have some level of fear when getting on an e-bike because that fear is going to make you a little more cautious, which is a good thing. It's going to help you make better choices. Think through your decisions before you jump in, right? When we're younger, we have no fear, we make some bad choices and we learn from our mistakes.

However, what I've seen is some people that have been off bikes for a few years, the fear actually of balancing on the two wheels can overtake them and it prohibits them from even being able to balance, which is okay. I just bring that up because if you're a senior that wants to get into e-biking, choosing three wheels may be the best option for you at the point in life that you're at. This is an example of a three-wheel e-bike, this is 750 watts, so you can still get the power of a two-wheel e-bike, but you're going to be more balanced, more secure, safer, and you can let your brain focus on your steering and more on the enjoyment and you don't have to worry about putting the work into balance on two wheels. And I think that's very important.

If it's going to be taking up your mind share, focusing on the balance of the two wheels, opt for a three-wheel because it'll eliminate that and then you can just be more road aware, focus on your usage of the motor, other things that are also very important to operating an e-bike, right? So if balance is an issue for you at all, you don't want to operate an e-bike because now you're going to put in the electronics of it all, the speed of it all, and that could create a dangerous situation. So in addition to that, the one thing I will say, or I'll go back to saying, is that e-bikes do offer dangerous elements and because of the speed that they go, they're going to be more dangerous than a regular bike. However, there are more benefits I believe that outweigh the dangers if you can properly operate your e-bike and properly use your e-bike.

There are other things you can do as a senior precautionary thing. Number one, you could wear pads, knee pads, elbow pads if you're going to be on a two-wheel e-bike. I've seen accidents with people that happened when they stopped, the bike tipped over and they injured their elbow. And it wasn't even related to the riding, it was more related to the weight of the bike. Now, the weight of an e-bike is manageable for any rider, but if it's something you're not used to, it can be alarming because a standard bike doesn't have a battery, it doesn't have a motor, and so it's something you just have to get comfortable with. And if you're jumping in for the first time, just be aware of that. So wearing pads, even if it's just for the first few times you ride, it's not something to be embarrassed about.

It's something that you should do if you want to be safe and protect your body. In addition to that, you can wear bright-colored clothing, reflective vests. You can make sure that you keep your electronic use at a lower assistance level. So instead of going up into the four, or five levels of assistance, keep it in one, two, and three. And, again, I'm in a lot of the Facebook groups and a lot of forums, and I would say of all the people that I see talk about in the senior category using e-bikes, most of them seem to like levels one, two, and three. And I think it's because senior riders still enjoy the bike riding element, whereas I see a lot of younger riders, who just want to zip around and use a throttle. And essentially now it's become more of a scooter slash motorcycle than it is a true bicycle.

So if you're a senior, try to stick to the one, two, and three gears. Try to stick to pedal assist. You can still get some assistance, but instead of going into the motor, the throttle only, and the high level of assistance, you keep it a little bit in the lower gauge, you're still going to get that assistance. It's still going to be fun. And if you should want to use the higher levels, by all means just make sure you're in a great space for it and you're prepared to go possibly faster than you've ever gone before. Another thing I've seen seniors do to help their rides be as safe as possible is adding mirrors to either side, which is helpful to see behind you. Of course, a helmet at all times. I've also seen people that ride in pairs, so one person can be looking out in the front, and another person can be looking out in the back.

I've seen headsets just like you see on motorcycles. So you can communicate with one another, tell each other, we're going to turn here, look out for this car. Maybe they find a pothole in advance of you. It is really helpful to have that level of communication, especially if you're traveling at high speeds. If somebody is in front of you and they spot something in the road, they can tell you hopefully in advance before you get there. Again, it's just going to be safer to stay in communication with another person. It's having an additional two eyeballs on the road versus just your own two eyeballs. In addition to that, I've seen cameras now, cameras you can see in the rear, you can see in the front, you can have a display on there. That's another great option to keep you safe. But the short answer is yes, seniors should ride e-bikes, but they should ride e-bikes in a way that is comfortable for them where they feel like they have control.

In addition to that, if you're getting on an e-bike for the first time, practice, go to an open parking lot like we have here. It's kind of funny to say, but it comes full circle, right? When you learn to drive a car and your parents take you to a parking lot to practice stopping, going, parking, and driving in circles, I would recommend the same thing with an e-bike. Get comfortable, put yourself through a little practice routine, starting, stopping, turning, and doing everything you would need to do if you're going to be on a path or a road. Another thing just to mention is to have a horn, a bell, and something to alert other riders that you're coming. That's very important when you're traveling at faster speeds on an e-bike than you would on a regular bike. I'm a huge advocate for electric bikes, but I'm also a huge advocate for electric bike safety and regulations as needed to keep others safe and the riders safe.

So I want to see more seniors on e-bikes because I think it's a game changer for all those riders over the age of 50 years old. Keep them on the road, keep them exercising, and keep our bodies moving. So if you have any thoughts on the topic of whether seniors should ride an e-bike, go ahead and comment below or email the team at sixthreezero.com or call us at (310) 982-2877. And don't forget, these two e-bikes, which are amazing for seniors, are linked in the bio and you can check them out on our website, sixthreezero.com. We have a 30-day test ride your bike policy. If you don't love it in 30 days, you can send it back, no questions asked, no money out of your pocket. Also, a one-year full warranty on anything.

If anything goes wrong in the first year, we'll send you the parts necessary to keep you riding. And lastly, join our Facebook Pedalers group. We have thousands of existing Sixthreezero riders, especially seniors that have posted photos, talked about their bikes, and you can ask them questions, see how they like it, or ask them questions in advance of purchasing. Then once you have your Sixthreezero, post in the group, and make friends, it's tons of fun. So thanks for sticking around. And don't forget, it's your journey, your experience, and enjoy the ride.