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Most of the sexy bike news we've reported on lately is aimed at the younger cyclist; wicked as it looks, your average senior citizen will not be throwing one leg over the Silver Flyer fixie. "Women and men stop buying bikes as they age, because they fear starting and stopping and getting on and off," retiree Bill Becker told a local paper from his South Carolina town.
Becker, a retired auto assembly line worker, therefore created a bicycle with an innovative and elderly-friendly seat. By flipping a thumb lever on the handlebars, riders can raise or lower the seat on the fly or at rest, making mounting and dismounting an unintimidating affair. A pneumatic air pump does the lifting. Becker's neighbor Matt Papka, a retiree from the finance world, saw Becker riding around on his creation and knew the bike would be a hit on the marketplace. The two teamed up to start a company, Elev8 Bikes, and the first production models are due to roll out this April.
Check out the mechanism in action. (The first half-minute of the vid is fluff, so skip ahead to 0:35 to see the good stuff.)
I’m a lapsed industrial designer. I was born in NYC and figured I’d die there, but a few years ago I abandoned New York to live on a farm in the countryside with my wife. We have six dogs.
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Innovative, Moveable Seat Design Keeps Bicycles Elderly-Friendly
Looking at this design I'd be seriously concerned by the leverage on the bar which attaches the seat to the rest of the frame.
two words.... Height Rite.
http://www.bikepro.com/arch_products/seatposts/ahiter.html