If you haven’t ridden a bike for 20, 30 or even 40 years, it’s perfectly reasonable to wonder whether getting back on one in your 60s, 70s or 80s is a good idea.
Add a motor to the equation and another question often follows:
Are e-bikes actually safe for older riders?
The short answer is that they can be. But they’re not completely without risk, and pretending otherwise wouldn’t be particularly helpful.
The more useful question is: what can you do to make riding an e-bike as safe and enjoyable as possible?
Quite a lot, as it turns out.
First, let’s acknowledge the obvious
Falling off a bike at 70 isn’t quite the same proposition as falling off one at 17.
As we get older, our bones can become more vulnerable to fractures, our reactions may be a little slower and our balance may not be quite what it once was. Research into e-bike injuries also suggests that when older riders are involved in serious crashes, the consequences can be more significant.
That’s worth knowing.
But it doesn’t mean we should stop cycling any more than it means we should stop walking because we might trip over.
Instead, it means we should be a little smarter about how we return to riding.
An e-bike isn’t simply a bicycle with a motor
If you’ve spent decades riding conventional bicycles, an e-bike can initially feel a little different.
The first difference is weight. E-bikes are generally heavier than ordinary bicycles because of the motor and battery.
The second is acceleration. Depending on the bike and the assistance setting, the motor may provide more assistance than you’re expecting when you start pedalling.
And the third is speed. An e-bike can make it surprisingly easy to maintain a speed that might once have required considerable effort.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi specifically recommends that new e-bike riders spend time getting accustomed to the bike before heading onto the road, practising stopping, starting, turning, balancing and using the different power settings.
That is particularly good advice if you haven’t ridden for many years.
The biggest mistake? Trying to do too much too soon
You don’t need to prove anything.
Your first ride doesn’t need to involve traffic, hills or a 20-kilometre expedition.
Find somewhere quiet and open. Put the bike into a low assistance setting. Get comfortable getting on and off. Ride a few metres. Stop. Start again.
Practise using the brakes.
Make some gentle turns.
Then do it again.
The objective of your first few rides isn’t distance or speed.
It’s familiarity.
You’re teaching your brain and body how riding feels again, while simultaneously learning how this particular e-bike behaves.
You may be surprised at how quickly those old cycling instincts begin to return.
Choosing the right e-bike makes a difference
Not all e-bikes are equally easy to ride.
For many older or returning riders, one of the most important considerations is simply how comfortable and manageable the bike feels.
Can you get on and off easily?
Can you put a foot down confidently when you stop?
Does the bike feel balanced?
Can you comfortably reach and operate the brakes?
Can you manoeuvre it at low speed?
A step-through frame can make mounting and dismounting much easier. The right frame size and riding position can also make an enormous difference to confidence.
Motor behaviour matters too. Waka Kotahi notes that motors which provide assistance progressively as you pedal tend to feel more like conventional bicycles, and recommends lower assisted speeds for people who are new to e-bike riding.
This is one reason we believe choosing an e-bike shouldn’t simply be about comparing motor power, battery capacity and price.
The best bike is the one you feel comfortable controlling.
Learn to use the power rather than letting the power surprise you
Modern e-bikes generally offer several levels of assistance.
There’s rarely any need to begin with the highest one.
Start low.
Get accustomed to the feeling of the motor joining in when you pedal. Practise changing assistance levels. Learn what happens when you start on a hill.
One particularly useful habit is to select a lower gear and lower assistance level when starting off.
That reduces the chance of an unexpected surge just when you’re trying to find your balance.
After a while, controlling the assistance becomes second nature, much like changing gears in a car.
Braking deserves some practice too
An e-bike’s additional weight and potential speed make good braking technique particularly important.
Don’t wait until something unexpected happens to discover how quickly your bike stops.
Practise.
In a quiet area, get up to a comfortable speed and apply both brakes smoothly. Repeat the exercise several times.
Gradually learn how your bike responds.
Waka Kotahi requires bicycles to have effective front and rear brakes and advises riders to leave enough stopping distance to remain in control.
Knowing what your brakes can do is part of knowing your bike.
Speed is optional
This may be one of the most important things for returning riders to understand.
Just because your e-bike can go faster doesn’t mean you have to.
One of the great advantages of an e-bike isn’t speed at all.
It’s effort.
The motor can help you ride up a hill without struggling. It can make a headwind less intimidating. It can help you travel further without becoming exhausted.
None of those things requires you to ride particularly fast.
In fact, if you’re returning to cycling after many years, slower is usually better while your confidence develops.
Choose where – and when – you ride
There is a considerable difference between cycling along a quiet trail on a sunny Sunday morning and negotiating a busy intersection in rush-hour traffic.
You get to choose.
Start with quiet streets, cycle paths or trails where you can concentrate on riding rather than traffic.
Avoid wet or slippery conditions initially. Give yourself plenty of space around pedestrians, other cyclists and parked cars.
As your skills and confidence improve, you can gradually expand where you ride.
You may eventually feel perfectly comfortable riding in traffic.
Or you may decide that you don’t particularly want to.
That’s fine too.
And yes, wear the helmet
In New Zealand, wearing an approved bicycle helmet is compulsory.
But regardless of the law, it’s a particularly sensible precaution as we get older.
Studies of e-bike injuries show that head injuries can be serious, particularly among older riders, and recent research has associated helmet use with better clinical outcomes following e-bike crashes.
Make sure your helmet fits correctly and replace it if it has been involved in a significant impact.
It’s a very simple piece of insurance.
Perhaps the most important safety feature is confidence
There’s an interesting balance here.
You don’t want to be overconfident.
But being frightened of the bike isn’t particularly helpful either.
A nervous rider can become tense. Steering becomes less natural. Attention becomes focused on the bike rather than what’s happening around you.
That’s why we believe confidence should be built gradually.
Start somewhere safe.
Learn the controls.
Practise stopping and starting.
Ride slowly.
Build your skills.
Then move on when you’re ready.
Not when somebody else thinks you should be.
You don’t have to figure it out by yourself
This is where a little patient guidance can make an enormous difference.
If you haven’t ridden for decades, being handed an e-bike and told to “give it a go” isn’t necessarily the ideal introduction.
A good first experience should happen at your pace.
At MeloYelo, our local Ride Guides regularly work with people who haven’t been on a bicycle for many years. Some are ready to jump on and ride immediately.
Others aren’t.
And that’s perfectly okay.
You can start with a conversation. Sit on a bike. Learn how everything works. Perhaps practise somewhere quiet.
Then ride when you feel ready.
So, are e-bikes safe for older riders?
There is no honest way to say that cycling – electric or otherwise – is completely risk-free.
It isn’t.
But getting older doesn’t automatically mean giving up the things that bring movement, independence, adventure and pleasure into our lives.
It may simply mean approaching them a little differently.
Choose a bike you can comfortably control.
Take the time to learn how it behaves.
Start slowly.
Wear a helmet.
Choose sensible places to ride.
And give yourself permission to build confidence at your own pace.
Because the objective isn’t to ride like you did when you were 25.
It’s to discover just how much enjoyment riding can still bring you today.
Related reading
Can You Learn to Ride a Bike Again at 60, 70 or 80?
If the question in the back of your mind is still “But can I actually do this?”, start here.
