Electric Bikes if You Are 80 Years Old: 3 EBikes Seniors Over 80 Should See!

Are you 80 years old and wondering, should I be riding an e-bike? Well stick around and we'll answer that question.

I'm Dustin and I have nearly 20 years of experience in the bike and e-bike industry. Today we're going to broach the topic: if you're 80 years old, should you be riding an e-bike? Well, before we get into it, hit the subscription 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're doing, and of course product or sorry, product releases. All right, I have hours and hours and hours of doing test rides with riders over the age of 60, 70, and 80, and you can check out our YouTube channel to see a lot of those rides. We've done 20-mile rides on regular e-bikes, 10-mile rides on tricycles, and demonstrations in the parking lot here, and I've come to a lot of different conclusions about riders over the age of 55.

Now let's say you are 80 and above and you're looking to get into the e-bike space and you're interested in getting an electric bike and you're wondering, is this for me? Should I do it? Maybe you're a little bit scared, which is a completely normal reaction. Here's my takeaway. Now I've got three bikes behind me right here, two electric tricycles and an electric bike with a very low step-through. These three bikes are going to be linked in the description below if you want to check those out, and I'll get into those in a second and how they tie into an e-bike for an over 80 rider.

Now, one thing I've noticed with riders over the age of 60 is the degree of physical ability can vary in that age span. Now from 60 all the way up to 90, we had a rider that was 86 years old. His name is Phil, he's in one of the videos. He moved and acted like he was in his fifties. I could not tell for the life of me that he was 85 years old. Now, that's the hard thing about giving advice to anyone over the age of 80, for me to say you should or should not have an e-bike is up for you to determine. But what I've seen, here's what I've seen in experience with the riders that are over 80 and the things that I would suggest and the precautions that I would take.

Now, a lot of riders are getting into e-bikes, number one, reaction times are a little bit slower. Also, the perception of speed and power. Things seem faster when you're a little bit older than they actually are. So what I've noticed is there are certain elements and things in an e-bike that are going to be better to have for someone who's considering an e-bike that's 80 years old.

The other thing I've noticed is while you may believe that your balance is what it once was, a lot of the older riders get onto an e-bike and all of a sudden the balance doesn't feel like it used to be. So the number one thing I would suggest is, to be honest with yourself and have somebody else be honest with you as well about your physical ability before jumping into an electric bike. Because an electric bike, if you're using the throttle and most electric bikes have throttles, all three of these behind them have throttles. Now, you don't have to use the throttle, you could just use the pedal assist with the electric option, or in the case of these, you can also ride them as a normal bike, but they're essentially motorcycles when you're using the throttle. So you need to make sure that physically you're prepped and ready to be able to handle something that essentially can be a motorcycle, right?

So do an honest assessment of yourself, or better yet, if you have a loved one or someone that can give their honest opinion if they think that your balance is up to it, is your body physically up to it? And if they tell you no, my suggestion would be to listen to them. Now, if you clear that hurdle and you think that you are honestly physically capable of it, I think electric bikes are the greatest thing ever for our over 55 riders because you may not have the leg strength you once had. You can use the electric pedal assist and it can help you pedal. It can help you move, and it's going to keep more people on e-bikes for longer periods of time. I also think it's going to keep people healthier for longer periods of time because for those riders that maybe were discouraged about the idea that they can't pedal a bike on their own can now use the pedal assist and be out riding well into their eighties, right? But it's important to pay attention to your balance levels and your physical capabilities.

So to check in on it, yes, I think over 80 riders should consider e-bikes. Now, what I put behind me are three options that I think are great for an 80-something-year-old rider and I'll explain why. Okay, let me start here with our first e-bike. What I think is great for over 80 riders, is our simple step-through electric bike. What's so beautiful about this is how low this step-through is. It's only 13 inches and this is the lowest step-through height on the market. I don't care if you even see bikes with 20-inch wheels or 16-inch wheels. This has a lower step-through because of how the frame comes below the crank and allows for the low step-through height. You step through and you slide on, and now you're on the bike and you can see that the height of the seat can be easily lowered and raised right here. You could bring that down.

You also have an ergonomic riding position, so if you have any arthritis or pain and you need your back to be upright and your arms to be relaxed, you can sit like this and ride in a very, very comfortable position. Also, four custom adjustment points. Raise and lower the seat, tilt the seat, raise and lower the handlebar, tilt the handlebars, and find the position that works best for your body so you can be comfortable and ride safely when you're out there. 500 watts of power in the rear hub motor. You have a throttle here, you have pedal assist. You can dictate the power you need if you want it in level one, only do that. And again, you can use the throttle as you see fit and you can gauge the power by in and out on the throttle here as well. You also have these 2.125-inch tires, which are wider than a road tire, so it's going to give you some better balance.

In addition to that, you have disc brakes that stop on a dime. You also have a seven-speed derailleur here so if you want to ride this like a normal bicycle and so you can, and turn the electricity completely off. You have your screen up here to show your miles per hour, your distance, your battery life, all those good things. But most importantly, the two best things about this e-bike for over 80 riders are the ergonomic riding position and this low step-through which is going to make it one of the safest e-bikes out there if you're considering a two-wheel e-bike.

Now, I've got two other options right here. If the balance has become an issue for you and you feel like at any time you're not able to balance the two wheels, opt for a tricycle. The beauty of electric tricycles nowadays is the power is there. You won't notice that much of a difference between going from two wheels to three wheels and because of the electric assistance, you'll still be able to go all the places you want. So the first one I have here is the Sixthreezero easy transit 750-watt front hub motor. This thing can zip around passengers up to 400 pounds. 16-inch tires, so again, a very low step-through, easy to mount and dismount.

It also has a very easily adjustable handlebar right here, which you can raise and lower, and it has a seat that can raise and lower very easily as well. So you can see again, the ergonomic upright riding position. And this can accommodate riders 4'9" to 6'2" because of this double seat post here, which can allow this to go up higher. Clamp this one, and then you have another one right here. It can come up even more. So that can accommodate a vast range of riders.

In addition, you have your display here, you have the throttle, you have the pedal assist, and you have everything on the other one. What's cool about this is a great indoor/outdoor option. Want to ride this around town. You can bring it indoors as well. The 16-inch tires make it nimble and very easy to steer. And again, we have more videos on this detailing how nimble and how easy this thing is to ride. You also have a reverse option, so if you get into tight quarters, need to reverse out of it, hit that reverse option, and pull backward, you can get out of that space easily.

You also still have the seven-speed derailleur. Also have a rear basket, and front basket, and take tons of stuff with you wherever you're riding or need to go. Lastly, it folds. So you just simply unlock here and now all of a sudden you can fold this right here and you can also fold the handlebar down, which I'll show you in a second. So if you want to take it with you, if you do RVing, or if you need to store it in your house, that folding option is great and nice to have. And then you just click this in right here, like that, clamp that in, and I'll show you right here on the handlebars, just tilt that down like that. These can come all the way down.

So that makes that super easy and transportable. Also easy to store, which I think is a key thing, especially if you're going to have to store this indoors. This is going to fit through a standard doorway. So again, great for an indoor/outdoor option. You can also ride it around town, just a lot of fun, easy, and easy to move, and 750 watts of power and a 10.4 amp hour battery are going to still get you up to 50 miles depending on how you ride it. So if you use a lot of the throttle, you're going to get less range. Heavier riders are also going to get less range, so it's up to 50 miles, but it can depend on how you're riding it and the weight of the rider.

Okay, lastly, this is our cruising e-trike. So if you like to get out and do long rides and you want to get out and cruise on the trail, this e-trike is beautiful for that. And again, if you want to make sure you've got three wheels on the ground and your balance, an e-trike is a great option. Huge rear basket, now you've got the bigger tires which are going to roll smoother, roll easier. It's just a lot of fun because it rolls much easier than the 16-inch tires. Now it's a little bit bigger, you can see, but that's why I'm saying if you want to get out and get on the bike path, go 5, 10 miles. Now, this is a 250-watt hub motor. A little bit smaller than the folding one.

The reason for that, is this is more of a cruiser, long-range, get you out into the open path, 750 watts of power. If we have heavier riders in small spaces, you need more of that torque and more of that power to get going, but on this one, once you're up and moving and rolling, the 250 watts of power is nice. Also, when you push the throttle, it's not jerky. It's a smooth gradual motion, which we found a lot of our 80-year-old riders enjoy. Same thing, four custom adjustment points, ergonomic position, seven-speed derailleur. And you can see all these have a cool design. They also on our website, have custom matching bags. If you want to put those on there to take things with you, that's a great option as well.

So if you're 80 years old and you're looking for an e-bike, the answer is yes, I think you can do it, but do an assessment of your physical ability or have someone do it for you. And if you can't do two wheels anymore, you have great three-wheel electric trike options that exist now that can accommodate lots of different riders to keep you active, to keep you moving. So I would say definitely look into it. Just make sure you're safe and you choose the right electric product for you.

Now, if you have any other questions at all, please comment below or reach out to us, at theteam@sixthreezero.com or email us or call us, sorry, at (310) 982-2877. Now, if you're in the market for an e-bike or an e-trike, take our proprietary body fit quiz on our website. We'll recommend the perfect, sorry, you'll answer a few questions about your body and your life, and we'll recommend the perfect e-bike or e-trike for you. In addition to that, we have a 30-day test ride with your e-bike policy. If you don't love your e-bike in the first 30 days, send it back, no questions asked, no money out of your pocket.

In addition to that, we have a community of thousands of riders. So before you purchase, join our Facebook Pedalers group and download our app, connect with our existing riders, ask them questions, and see how they like their bikes and their e-trikes so you can get comfortable before you make your purchase. And lastly, track, download the app, see other riders using their products, and once you have your bike or e-bike or e-trike, make friends, post in the group, and track your rides on the app. It's tons of fun. So thanks for sticking around. And don't forget, it's your journey, your experience. Enjoy the ride.