Cycling

PucaMama · 29-10-2016 9:54pm #1

I havnt cycled in years (since I was a child about 12) but I'd like to get a bike and start cycling again really only to work (15 minutes walk) or to the shops just a little further away. But I've a few things I'm worried about.

1. I have a disability that restricts how much I can turn my head to look around me so is there mirrors I can get to be able to see around me?
2. I'm worried it will be like learning all over again and I can't put up with loads of falling as I have a bad knee.

magicbastarder · 29-10-2016 9:57pm

yep, you can get mirrors which attach onto handlebars, or even onto bike helmets.

68 lost souls · 29-10-2016 10:10pm

My knee is soar if I don't cycle I find cycling helps it. We can't give medical advise though

For mirrors there are plenty of options, check this out https://www.evanscycles.com/en-ie/accessories/mirrors_c

Beasty · 29-10-2016 10:37pm

Cycling is one activity that puts little stress on the knees. In terms of "learning" again after all these years, you should not have any problems. It's just like....

....riding a bike - you never forget how to

Wishbone Ash · 29-10-2016 11:29pm

PucaMama wrote: »

... I'm worried it will be like learning all over again......

You never have to learn to ride a bike twice. It's a certainty just like death and taxes.

HivemindXX · 29-10-2016 11:31pm

Beasty wrote: »

Cycling is one activity that puts little stress on the knees. In terms of "learning" again after all these years, you should not have any problems. It's just like....

....riding a bike - you never forget how to

That may sound like sarcasm but it is really true. I started again in my 30s after last cycling when I was 18 or so. It took around 10 minutes to get the hang of it. I didn't come close to falling.

I see people with mirrors on their bar ends which seem effective, I'm not sure that you can get a similar thing for road bikes but you may be able to and you can always use helmet mounted ones. However you may not have a problem, when cycling you don't really turn your head that far and it can be more of a 'down and back' look than a 'really turn your head' look.

robyntmorton · 29-10-2016 11:53pm

The only thing you need to "relearn" is confidence. The actual cycling skill is still there...

doozerie · 30-10-2016 12:10am

HivemindXX wrote: »

I see people with mirrors on their bar ends which seem effective, I'm not sure that you can get a similar thing for road bikes but you may be able to and you can always use helmet mounted ones.

I've used MTB bar end plugs in road handlebars in the past. The fit wasn't exact but it was close enough, so I'd guess that at least some of the mirrors that sit into bar ends would work on both MTB/hybrid and road bars - assuming the mirror bit can be tilted the 90 degrees needed to go from one to the other, that is.

I also recall seeing bar plugs for road bike where the outer face of the plug was the mirror. Seemed like a neat option, the plugs flared out a little to the end face to give greater surface area for the mirror but they weren't a whole lot bigger than conventional plugs from what I remember.

Wishbone Ash · 30-10-2016 12:13am

You can get little convex bar end mirrors for road bikes. I've seen them for sale abroad.

doozerie · 30-10-2016 12:21am

These are the ones I was thinking of: on Amazon

No idea how well they work in practice though.

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Chuchote · 30-10-2016 7:03am

I tried a mirror for a while, to indulge worried friends, and didn't find that it worked well. Because it was convex, it disguised how close the cars were. But there may be others that work better.

I also have a problem with turning to look behind, because I'm very shortsighted, so there's a gap in where my glasses are effective. But actually you don't need to turn around to look (at least when you get used to it), it's more like a small turn of the head and a swivel of the eyes to side and back - hard to explain but you'll soon do it.

You'll need to learn to anticipate the danger of 'dooring' - people in cars opening doors in front of you without looking. For some reason you can't see into modern cars as well as former cars, but you learn to keep out enough from the side and cycle with caution.

Falling is not a normal thing for non-sport cyclists. In my last 20 years of daily cycling, I think I've fallen off once, last year, in my own driveway, which then had potholes and seams in its cement; I tumbled slowly over and recovered by putting my hand down. Hurt my shoulder, but not badly.

A 15-minute walk is a 5-minute cycle. You should be fine. Have a lovely time.

cython · 30-10-2016 9:29am

Beasty wrote: »

Cycling is one activity that puts little stress on the knees. In terms of "learning" again after all these years, you should not have any problems. It's just like....

....riding a bike - you never forget how to

The one caveat I'd put with this is you might need to unlearn some bad habits RE cadence. Specifically, a lot of people in your situation can have a habit of grinding heavy gears and turning the pedals slowly - this may exacerbate (or even cause) a knee injury, so try to keep your legs turning the pedals at a rate no less than 60rpm (an easy cadence to estimate, as it means one turn of the cranks per second).

As other posters have said, we can't give medical advice, so this is not intended as such, more a means of reducing the mechanical load on your knees.

Chuchote · 30-10-2016 10:44am

Also, if your knee is sore, go and talk to your doctor. (Sorry if that counts as medical advice!)

I say this because a fat friend has told he can't cycle because he has a condition that has eaten away the cartilage or something in his knees.

PucaMama · 30-10-2016 5:04pm

thanks for the advice everyone!

also ive a bad knee because I dislocated it 3 years ago, both of them can be a bit unstable.

Type 17 · 31-10-2016 4:45pm

PucaMama wrote: »

thanks for the advice everyone!

also ive a bad knee because I dislocated it 3 years ago, both of them can be a bit unstable.

Well, check with your doctor, as your exact injuries may not follow the rules, but as a general rule, improving muscle-tone around joints is good for their stability, and cycling is a great way of improving muscle-tone, so cycling should be good for your knees (but check with your doctor, as your knees may be exceptions to the rule).

Chuchote · 31-10-2016 4:57pm

Also, once you've checked with your doctor and if she or he gives you the ok, could I suggest that you take your bike in to a good bike shop (say roughly where you are and people here can direct you) and get it adjusted to your size and shape in turns of the saddle up or down or back or forward and handlebars ditto. This can make a huge difference to the sore bottom or otherwise, and also to the strain on your knees.

edireland · 15-10-2017 5:06pm

PucaMama wrote: »

I havnt cycled in years (since I was a child about 12) but I'd like to get a bike and start cycling again really only to work (15 minutes walk) or to the shops just a little further away. But I've a few things I'm worried about.

1. I have a disability that restricts how much I can turn my head to look around me so is there mirrors I can get to be able to see around me?
2. I'm worried it will be like learning all over again and I can't put up with loads of falling as I have a bad knee.

Try a step over electric duch style bike they have different power setting.
I use this type of bike when my back was sore.
I used high power assist on the way back when my back got sore.

smacl · 15-10-2017 8:22pm

doozerie wrote: »

These are the ones I was thinking of: on Amazon

No idea how well they work in practice though.

They're the ones I use. Helpful enough but I still look around changing lanes, me being quite short sighted. Also no use if you're in the drops. For a hybrid and short commutes, something with a larger mirror a bit closer would be a better bet.

Cycling

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