I do a little volunteer guiding for Monday Night Rides and I ride with a group of older than me folks too. (I call them the Antiques Road Show.) Bad shoes and pedals are probably the worst thing I commonly see. Poor set up of controls is the second thing and it’s just as bad. It’s hard to teach people to ride better when they try and grip the top tube with their knees. Or that can’t reach their brake levers easily. I can accept that some people are deathly afraid of aggressive pedals and don’t want to spend for shoes when they have hiking shoes already. That’s money. But adjustment of controls is free. And so many shops it seems don’t do this. Or even explain how to do it at home. Many small women I ride with are on bars that are too wide. Way too wide. My rule of thumb is if the riders hands are further apart than their elbows, something is wrong.
Pretty much all your advice is spot on.
July 18, 2022, 8:46 a.m. - Andy Eunson
I do a little volunteer guiding for Monday Night Rides and I ride with a group of older than me folks too. (I call them the Antiques Road Show.) Bad shoes and pedals are probably the worst thing I commonly see. Poor set up of controls is the second thing and it’s just as bad. It’s hard to teach people to ride better when they try and grip the top tube with their knees. Or that can’t reach their brake levers easily. I can accept that some people are deathly afraid of aggressive pedals and don’t want to spend for shoes when they have hiking shoes already. That’s money. But adjustment of controls is free. And so many shops it seems don’t do this. Or even explain how to do it at home. Many small women I ride with are on bars that are too wide. Way too wide. My rule of thumb is if the riders hands are further apart than their elbows, something is wrong. Pretty much all your advice is spot on.