Arthritis question

[emily_in_nc]

My husband has a Trek Cruiseliner 3-speed, aluminum bike. It is really light for a cruiser bike! I looked far and wide for a ladies Cruiseliner model, but never could locate one. The local Trek shops don't stock them, though I guess they might have ordered one for me. I ended up finding another ladies aluminum cruiser (single speed, coaster brakes) on craigslist and went with that (see my sig) as it was used and thus a lot less expensive, and still a very nice cruiser bike.

That said, a cruiser bike is just that. We bought these bikes for riding on the beach. The position on them is very upright. It's not a bike I'd want to ride for long rides as it's not built for speed at all. Just some things to consider.

Best of luck to you, and sorry about the arthritis pain.

[katerine]

My arthritis is very tied to the foods I eat, particularly gluten and to a lesser extent tomatoes and other veggies of that family, also corn, cow's milk, sugar and beans. There are other foods that give me trouble but those are the principal ones. People think it must be a nuisance to be so restrictive, but the pain relief is worth it. In the past tumeric hasn't helped much but I think I will try taking it again and see how I do. Thanks for the suggestion.

My knees are now affected and I'm hoping that a three speed might be easier when I'm having an episode. I realize that you get what you pay for, but I really can't swing anything more than 500 at this time so that does limit my choices. We have a great lbs nearby and I have researched all the brands they carry and made a list of possibilities, including used. Worse comes to worse, I'll have the old junky bike fixed up and ride it until something better comes along. There's always a way.

This is such an awesome place. People's eyes tend to glaze over when I want to talk about bicycles, even my very supportive DH, but here I can read all I want about bikes and have people understand my single-minded quest to ride a bike despite some physical setbacks. Joy.

[gabriellesca]

Welcome Katerine - I don't post as often but read alot. its a really great forum and I agree with the eyes glazing over syndrome. The minute I start talking about riding or the Tour I put people to sleep!

I don't have any advice at all but I also suffer from arthritis - mine is in one of my ankles due to an old injury and I'm really struggling with it this year as I get back in the saddle and really hurt after riding - not sure if it has to do with clipping in and out. I also have issues with tennis elbow which breaking, shifting, and drinking from my water bottle REALLY hurts. I can't imagine how tough it must be for you. So sorry!

Hang in there and please let us know how it goes finding your new bike.

[surgtech1956]

Can't comment on the bike, but welcome to TE.