[Closed] at what age do you buy your final bike?

Buy a bike and say "I'll never buy another"?

Never say never. Simples.

Retired, on the pension, can afford any bike you want and have the time to ride it?

I keep wondering this and every time I say its the last one I ride it for a couple of years and then decide my legs still work and the bike is knackered so why not , there is a road club in Glasgow with memebrs in their eighties .I'm only 59 so I'll keep going till I can't and maybe take up walking or drooling

When you no longer want to get out and ride. The type of riding you enjoy might change, so will the bike you need, but there's more to riding than keeping up with others. I hope I'll be riding until I can ride no more, and I'll be spending money on bikes right up until that point.

I'd look at it the other way round. When I stop wanting a new bike then it's probably time to call Dignitas.

I can see that it might get harder to justify spending a lot of cash on a bike when you are living on a pension (although maybe not) and my definition of a "nice bike" may change as I get older and my riding evolves, but I can't imagine ever consciously buying my final bike.

Your final bike is probably a Dawes Super Galaxy - so if the bike you want isn't one of those, then it's not your final bike.

[img] [/img]

[url= http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/photos/102-year-old-robert-marchand-beats-own-hour-record/291222 ]http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/photos/102-year-old-robert-marchand-beats-own-hour-record/291222[/url]

how old are you?

What you want to do may change, but as long as you can ride and want to ride, why say last bike?

Bearing in mind what happened to Steve Worland this week you'll probably never know when it's your last bike.

My uncle was 80 at Xmas and still riding best part of 100 miles a week, on the road admittedly, why would you want to be thinking this is my last bike?

I regularly see cyclists in their 50's and 60's riding new, high end road bikes around where I live (Bromley)
I also see guys who must be 70+ riding nice Audax and tourer bikes, so at 41, my final bike is not something that concerns me.. ;o)

If I was conciously buying my last bike I'd do it on my death bed, assuming I die in a bed.

Do I expect to do this? no, I'll keep using and buying bikes for as long as I can move.

How old are you?

47, and I'm probably fitter now than I've ever been since I started mtbing but the clock is ticking, there are trails & places I'd like to ride but I doubt now with work etc and other commitments I'm going to fit them all in

they had to put an over 70's cat in the local big MTB race this year. Don't stop unless you have to, the competition falls away

Im 46 and bought my 'Final Bike' when I was 23, its the only one that has had continual use. I will but more bikes and upgrade as I go, but I will always ride the fixed i bought 20 years ago for its pure simplicity and fun for as long as im able to swing a leg over it!

Problem solved...

[img] [/img]

Just because you struggle a little more with every year that goes by it doesn't mean you have to keep riding an older bike, if I manage to reach 70+ and see a bike I like then I will buy it (you can never have too many bikes).
I would rather spend my hard earned money to help make the twilight years easier than leave it for someone else to spend 😀

@ 50yo I can't really see me buying any new bikes until I've either broken or run out of spares to keep the ones I have going, but then again I never was one for buying new stuff anyway, having said that I recon I may well be ready for a 27.5" full suss by the time I turn 70

My dad's just gone 67 & bought himself this;
[url= https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2858/13399713013_074737895a.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2858/13399713013_074737895a.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/65116677@N02/13399713013/ ]Oldboy[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/65116677@N02/ ]marcusandcath[/url], on Flickr

I went through this dilemma 12 months or so ago. I was in a dark place to be honest, I am now in the light and I am planning a new rohloffed super bike at present.

no surrender RD.......... 😆

I'll stop buying when I've had enough.

Age?

Irrelevant 😉

I was out riding last weekend, and on the final tarmac stretch back home there was a group of about 10 fellas going the other way. I'd put the age range as 60-70ish and they were all on lovely steel audax/tourer bikes, one even towing a trailer. It was a lovely day and they were clearly out for the day.

I'd want to be doing that into my 70s and if I could, I'd want a lovely comfy custom steel bike with nice light bits.

I bought my first proper MTB 4 years ago, aged 47... and justified spending a fair amount on it on the basis that it would last me until I was too old to need anything better. Now I realise how wrong I was... I can see my riding improving for a while yet, and I think I'll still get a kick out of a decent bike when I am in my 60s.

My dad is 62 and recently retired, and is now becoming an outdoor instructor, leading groups mountain biking amongst other things.

You're not too old at 47.

If you don't go spanking your cash on flash bikes, then what are you going to spend it on instead?

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😆

You don't stop doing the things you like because you are getting old you get old when you stop doing the things you like .

47, and I'm probably fitter now than I've ever been since I started mtbing but the clock is ticking

Incidentally I had a grey beard before I bought my first MTB.

I will be too old either when I'm dead or unable to sit on a bike and make circles...

I'm thinking about a custom frame for my 50th in just under 18 months. I'd expect that to be a bike for the rest of my riding life but I wouldn't expect it to be the last I bought.

I'm going to be buried on a brand new bike.

I'm 47 this year, and new carbine on the way. Despite its cost, I'm fairly sure it will be replaced with something new in a couple of years time, as will that one. If you get lots of enjoyment out of bikes, and cost isn't a big deal, then keep them coming.

65 next week and I love building up new bikes. Finished a carbon road bike 2 weeks ago....next project a new hardtail.
Might even race cross again 🙂

[i]47, and I'm probably fitter now than I've ever been since I started mtbing but the clock is ticking[/i]

For heavens sake, you've got another 21 years before you qualify for a state pension. You're fit enough to work but you're feeling a bit past it for cycling?

Ok, you've probably left it a bit late to aspire for Olympic glory, but don't think yourself old before your time.

My dad's just gone 67 & bought himself this;

That's brilliant. Give your dad a high-5 (or make him a cup of tea)!

I buried my dad yesterday and it just brings home that you have to make every day count. Don't stop doing the things you love doing until you literally can't do them any more. Even if / when I can't ride any more I hope I can still build or repair them.

My last bile will *probably* be an electric bike; getting up the hills here can be a bugger. Fortunately there are a few years to go before I'm 75, so battery technology will be even better.

Many years ago I was in J E James treating myself to a nice new Colnago and got chatting to one of the staff.
They'd just had someone in whose riding buddy had recently died and had decided "stuff this, I'm going to buy the bike I've always wanted" so had ordered a Colnago C40 with Campag Record groupset.
Apparently he was 80.....

[i]47, and I'm probably fitter now than I've ever been since I started mtbing but the clock is ticking, there are trails & places I'd like to ride but I doubt now with work etc and other commitments I'm going to fit them all in

[/i]

I'm a couple of years older than you, and tbh my commitments are now less than they've ever been - youngest is 15, so can be left and work is now something that I aim to occupy less time, not more.

Still MTB 2-3 times per week and when my current bike/frame goes 'pop', I'll be buying another.

When I'm not too scared to crash it in a race, I shall have that Pegoretti Responsorium. I took up racing at 45, and given the age of some fellow racers, that may be some time away!

And I agree with the sentiment, 67 is a fine time to buy a Santa Cruz! That really made me smile 😀 . I'm 17 years older than my dad, but if he was around, he'd have done the same by all accounts.

No beard yet 😆 and every bike I buy is the 'final parcel'.

Ramsey Neil - Member
You don't stop doing the things you like because you are getting old, you get old when you stop doing the things you like .

I'm doing the things I like but I'm [b]still[/b] getting old - what am I doing wrong?

I'm 17 years older than my dad

Is there something missing from that 😕

There's an over-60s cat at all races (and over 70 at some clearly), 47 is no age at all!

A couple of other points -

There is a fair chance you'll never know it was your last bike when you hand over your debit/credit card...
My brother died last year (he was 36) he was a keen cyclist and although he had a long term illness, I know this thought never crossed his mind, as he was planning to buy a new road bike just before he died.

There are plenty of people who ride well into their 80s - friends of ours did a London to Paris run a couple of years ago to celebrate a 60th birthday of one of the club members.
The oldest guy on the trip was 80, and from what I've heard, held his own in the 'fast' group...

current age + 1

My wife said i could have a new bike for my 50th but it is a year away so i have convinced her i am getting old and i should really get it now as i would be wasting a year of my life, got the nod tonight to order it only trouble now is i've got £3500 to spend and i'm not sure what to buy

mos - Member
My dad's just gone 67 & bought himself this;
[img] [/img]
Oldboy by marcusandcath, on Flickr

Very nice - but doesn't he mind you leaning your bike on it?

Sounds like you're giving up already rocketdog. I'm older than you (just) and I've got my first custom frame made, waiting to be built up.

When you're ready to give up is the answer 🙂

@rocketdog - I was only a year younger than you are now, when I started MTB in 2008.
Already had a grey beard by then and was decidedly podgy after years of sitting behind a desk.
Fast forward to today, and I have a selection of bikes for most occasions. Not planning to stop buying them (although I have no specific purchases in mind)

As we're both attending SSUK, maybe we could sit around the campfire with some beers and find things to 'grump' about 😉

New Pivot Carbon 429 at age 70, so still working on it.
For what it's worth, I have told Mrs busydog that each of the last 3 bikes was "the very last one"

Lead a 40 mile ride for my club across the Chilterns last year. One of the riders is 80.

busydog - you are a winner in many ways - respect!

As we're both attending SSUK, maybe we could sit around the campfire with some beers and find things to 'grump' about

I'm in

Is there something missing from that

Age 49 and I may have already bought my last bike, a CX last autumn.
I've now got 7 bikes to choose from and can't see any likely riding requirement I haven't already covered. The more personal history they acquire the less inclined I would be to ditch any of them and I'm not bothered by new technology so for the forseeable future they'll all get ridden and maintained.

only a troll could ask a dumb a$$ question like this, close the thread NOW.

I'm 47 and my thoughts are more along the lines of what is my next bike, not my last bike.

I plan on repeating this until I die at which point my daughter informs me that she will sell them all apart from the Yeti - as it will remind her of me.

All sounds perfectly sensible and reasonable to be (except I'd sell the Yeti as well)

My next birthday is 55. I'm certainly thinking about my next bike. n+1 doesn't stop applying because you get older, it's a universal law.

I'm 47 and my thoughts are more along the lines of what is my next bike, not my last bike.

+1 and ditto to the above and the 47yo bit too

RocketDog... you forgot the rules of [b]THE GAME[/b]:

"He who dies with the most [s]toys[/s] bikes wins"

With only a dirisory £325K inheritance tax threshold, you might as well keep buying the best bike in the shop every year you manage to cheat the grim reaper!

Midlife crisis dip before the sports car rebound me thinks 😉

I will be 48 in a few days, having been told by a consultant last year to give up riding as it wrecking my physical skeletal health I sold up or moved most things on...... :(....went back for a review saw different consultant who told me to get out riding and be reasonably sensible I am back riding, enjoying myself and that period just being out makes me value every ride.

New bike not really for me but plenty of secondhand bikes I need........

keep going and enjoy yourself!

Have customers in their 80's that own (and still ride) several bikes.

Have customers in their 70's that regularly still ride mountain bikes properly offroad.

Ride with guys in their 60's that I'd struggle to keep up with.

Rode up Snowdon with a bunch of guys in their 50's the other week, they were all a lot quicker than me going up!

Know guys that started road racing when they were older than you are now, and got a Cat 2 license seemingly overnight!

I'm 33. I'm not as fit as I was 6 months ago, but I'm ok on a bike. 47 is at least 3 decades too early to even contemplate the question!

[quote="belugabob"]As we're both attending SSUK, maybe we could
sit around the campfire with some beers and find
things to 'grump' about[\quote]
[quote="rocketdog"]I'm in[\quote]

It's a date - but definitely no snogging!

At 47 its not unreasonable to have another 30+ years of riding.....
I wouldn't expect a bike to last me 30 years.

First thing to grump about (apart from the abysmal public transport experience today) is forums that don't appear to deal with bbcode correctly 😉

i put a bike together for my dad for his 65th birthday in august. he is riding 50+ miles a week and doing endos outside the pub on it 😀

he thinks it is the first 'proper' bike he ever had, i was just checking he would still be into riding before i got him his first 'proper' bike

he was getting a bit porky since giving up work so i thought a bike was a good idea. as ever a new bike sparked him into getting out on the bike more so i figure ill get him a new one each year from now on