Ageing former roadie wants something stable

tomcardiff

I gave up road cycling after my second serious concussion, each of which took me a year to get over (the effect is cumulative apparently). Happily settled into trail running as an alternative and then sprained my ankle. Looking at getting back into cycling to keep up my fitness but I can't afford to fall off and hit my head again, so I need something more stable and less twitchy than your average road bike. Speed not that important. Any suggestions or recommendations? I thought about getting a rigid single speed mountain bike, possibly converting it to fixed (I used to ride fixed before it was for idiot hipsters) and fitting slicks.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... -20-frames for £360 with British Cycling discount is a decent deal. Wide bars will improve stability.

Alternatively, look at a drop bar bike, but then git some wide gravel bars, such as https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/HBNIRM3/n ... -handlebar

mrb123

Touring bike?

hantstooflat

Trike?

tomcardiff

HantsTooFLat wrote:

Trike?

Had thought of a recumbent trike, but they're way more than I want to pay.

cougie

Fat bike ?

tomcardiff

cougie wrote:

Fat bike ?

Amazing how quickly things change - I've only been out of cycling for five years but Fat Bikes (and 'gravel bikes') have appeared since then.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Halfords have stopped selling the Voodoo fatbike I've had nearly 2.5 years, it was great to help me regain confidence after my RTA. 4" tyres and 720mm (now 747mm with upgrade) bars, very stable. Swapping out the Vee Mission Command tyres for Jumbo Jims made a massive improvement to tarmac rolling resistance.

The cheapest worthy fatbike buy these days is the Calibre Dune sold at Go Outdoors, I'd advise simply factoring in a pair of JJs (the spec changed to Juggernaut Pros a while back, which are very light, but don't roll well apparently) and a set of hydraulic brakes to replace the cable ones. It sales, it can come down to ~£500.
http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-dun ... ke-p347149

svetty

It's not the bike that will fundamentally determine your risk of falling off but your riding skills and decision making.

Moonbiker

It's not the bike that will fundamentally determine your risk of falling off but your riding skills and decision making.

Agree

I don't feel anymore more stable on a mtb than road bike, im still pretty usless at cycling along any distance with no hands on both annoyingly.

No prolonged two handed victory celebrations for me or rding along no hands taking gilet off & making it look effortless. :oops:

Keep meaning to practice more to master it.

First.Aspect

Gravel bike, or touring bike, if you want drop bars, relatively fast but longer wheel base etc for stability. These would open up some light off-road stuff for you as well.

Agree with others that this might not be what you need, but only you know what your symptoms are and I certainly understand if you would want something with less twitchy steering than a full on race bike, if your confidence in your reflexes isn't as high as it used to be.

yiannism

Svetty wrote:

It's not the bike that will fundamentally determine your risk of falling off but your riding skills and decision making.

I was coming to say that. The only thing, is that wider tires are more forgiving on the mistakes.

By the way, the one who suggested a trike he never ride one. They are way less stable than the regular bikes.

Monty Dog

Gravel bike with 40mm+ tyres - big rubber is so much more forgiving on rough roads, loose surfaces and you'll only lose a little bit of top-end speed. I also have a fatbike but the last thing I'd want to do is ride it for long periods on the road.

DeVlaeminck

Yes wider bars, longer stem, fatter tyres, probably some geometry stuff I've never really got my head round (fork trail, wheelbase etc) all have an impact on stability. I've got a short stem on my race bike and just gone from 42cm bars to 38 and it's noticeably more twitchy - though I think it feels like it handles slightly better.

95% of not crashing is taking more care though, going slower helps too as you get longer to react to some situations.