You might think that by time you hit your 60s and older that you are not physically capable of starting a new hobby as physically intensive as mountain biking like you could have when you were younger, but this isn’t always the case. If you are still relatively healthy and you don’t have any serious health concerns, you can still enjoy mountain biking in the wilderness.

Even if you don’t have any mountain bike experience, you can still learn and have fun in your golden years, but there are certain precautions that you will want to take and gear upgrades that you will want to keep in mind in order to maximize your comfortability and safety. Here are ten tips to consider before you jump in the saddle to climb some hills.

1. Get A Physical Exam Done With Your Primary Doctor

This is an area you don’t want to overlook, which is why it’s first. Before you go out and buy an expensive bike with all the bells and whistles, you’ll want to make sure you can actually go out and enjoy the bike. Safety should always be your number one priority at any age, but especially when you’re older and may have health concerns you aren’t aware of or don’t know if they will affect your riding.

It is important to be very honest with yourself here. If you struggle with holding a pen or your phone, your wrist might be a limitation you can’t work around. Or, if you have a blood pressure condition that prevents you from exercising for extended periods of time, you will have to take that into account before you take off and plan your rides accordingly.

If there are ways to minimize your health risks, such as taking an inhaler on the trail, do so. You always want to be more prepared than less prepared, so mitigate your risks as much as possible. Before you begin any strenuous physical activity at any age, you will want to get a physical done with your doctor to make sure you can handle the extra physical stress on your body. Mountain biking requires you to be in a decent shape to do it safely, so you should make sure that your body can handle it.

You will want to especially check out your cardiovascular health so you can see if you can safely go into the mountains by yourself and not have something happen to you. Often on trails, you will not have any cell phone service or a way to contact emergency services, so it is really important to get a clean bill of health.

If you have had or currently have any chronic health condition, like heart disease or arthritis, make sure to let your doctor know that you are planning on pursuing mountain biking to get specifically signed off on it. You might need to take it easier on yourself and get extra modifications, such as an electric-powered bike. But if you are healthy enough to go out, mountain biking will help you keep feeling young and stay physically fit.

2. Start Slow And Know Your Own Limits

Even at an older age, you’re probably still feeling young so it’s hard to know where your limits are. But it is really important to identify these and listen to your body before you get yourself stuck in a scary situation, especially if you’re going out on a trail alone.

Start off with really small trails at few the first several trails and, if you find that you start getting unbearable lower or upper back pain when you’ve been active for a while, make sure you find ways to take breaks or get modifications on your bike.

Or if you know you have a slightly longer reflex time, then it is important to choose trails without a lot of large rocks or other obstructions like jutting tree roots. You can usually find reviews of trails online if you search for them. Make a list of some of the trails you’d like to check out and do some research.
How long is the trail? Make sure to double it for a round trip.
Is it marked well throughout the whole trail, so you don’t get lost?
What’s the difficulty rating? Usually, guides will give it a score from one to five, with five being most difficult.
What are others saying about the trail? Read their reviews to know more about what you can expect.

Find trails that will physically challenge you a little, but ones that won’t make it dangerous or impossible for you to complete or even enjoy. When you listen to your body and take a rest when you need to, you will be able to go out mountain biking longer and enjoy your time out in the wilderness, rather than injuring yourself if you push too hard and having to give mountain biking up altogether.

3. Adjust Your Handlebars

You don’t need to always buy specialty items to make it possible for you to enjoy mountain biking, but there are certain modifications you can do to your existing bike that will make it easier to handle and more comfortable to ride for you. Your assessment of your limitations will come in handy here to know which type of modifications will be best for you.

The first thing that you can adjust is your handlebars. Your mountain bike probably came with lowered handlebars, which is the traditional racing position. The idea is that you’re supposed to lean over so you can pedal faster and go faster down hills. But if you experience a lot of upper back and neck pain, being hunched over like that for a long period of time will only aggravate your conditions or possibly make them worse.

To reduce the pain and aches, you can modify your bike by raising the stem, which will raise the handlebars, to where you don’t need to hunch so much or at all. You can also choose to get some high-rise handlebars and either install them yourself by swapping them out with your current handlebars, or you can take it into a shop where they can change them for you.

You will lose some speed and maneuverability when you do this, but it will be a safer and less painful ride for you. Plus, you will be able to ride your bike longer and enjoy the trails more, and that should be most important if you are getting older.

4. Tires And Tire Pressure

A lot of older mountain bike riders are opting for larger tires with less air in them, which helps to reduce the tire pressure. Larger tires are often tubeless, so you can skip lugging around extra tubes in your emergency fix-it kit too. Just make sure you have something to fix the tire should anything puncture it while you are out on the trail.

You can get a tubeless tire kit, or you can bring an extra tube with you to insert it into your tire and fix the tire when you get home. The biggest advantage of wider tires is that you’ll be able to go over rocks, roots, and other obstructions on the trail without having to maneuver yourself and the bike around them.

If you want to find the widest tires for your bike, take it in to a bike shop where they can tell you which tires will best fit your bike frame. A wider tire does not mean to get a larger tire, though. With a tire that is larger around, you will be sitting higher above the ground. With a wider tire, you will be able to cover more surface area and grip the ground better.

Wider tires will also help with slower reflexes. If you struggle to quickly react on a trail, you could crash into a tree or lose control of your bike. Either way, it is not the best way to spend an afternoon in nature. Wider tires won’t help with your reflex time, but they will give you more time to react and adjust your bike to avoid hitting anything.

You can also deflate your tires a little to lower what is called your psi and to maximize your control over the bike. You will want to experiment with what tire pressure is best for you and the bike, so you may need to tweak the pressure and ride it around before you find the best pressure for you. You can also take it into a bike shop where they can give you more suggestions or even do the tweaking for you.

When you deflate your tires, even just a little bit, you lose some speed since it takes more energy to propel the bike. But what you lose in speed you gain in control. Especially if you are new to mountain biking, you will want to take this tip because it will help you get used to mountain biking in a safe, controllable way.

And a bonus to this is that you can ride in terrain other bikers will struggle in. Soft dirt, mud, and snow are challenging with thinner tires, but with wider tires, you’ll be able to glide right through them!

5. Get Better Suspension

You probably won’t be surprised to learn that the more shocks you have, the higher your suspension is which in turn makes you more comfortable. If you are looking at a trail with bumpy terrain then you will want to make sure your bike is either fully suspended or likely more suspended than how you purchased it.

The shocks absorb the bumps and jolts on the trail, and your lower back will thank you since you will be less jostled as you take on a trail. As you get older, consider opting for a fully suspended bike. It might mean that you need to trade in your bike and get another one, but you can find high-quality used bikes if you need to.

If you do need to get a new one to best fit your needs, choose one that is heavier but less rigid. While lighter bikes are better suited for racecourses, you’ll get maximum comfort and control with a slightly heavier bike that is fully suspended that you can enjoy on the trail all day or if you choose to go to multiple trails a day.

6. Get A Cushioned Seat

More cushion can always a good thing, no matter your age. If you experience a lot of lower back and pelvic pain, this will be a good option for you to reduce it. Some people choose to quit mountain biking over a loss of comfort, especially with the seat area, but you can easily make adjustments to ease your comfort levels.

You can either get chamois clothes, which are just padded shorts or pants, or you can get a padded seat that will offer you more comfort as you ride. Some riders, younger and older, opt for both for the extra cushion and comfort they provide

Usually, your bike will come with a hardtail seat, but you can swap it out for a soft-tail one. Just make sure the parts are compatible with your bike, and a bike shop will be able to tell you if they are. The seat is typically called a “saddle.”

Most stock mountain bikes come with a narrow saddle to minimize the weight since narrower seats often weigh less. If you’re not too concerned about adding extra weight in the name of comfortability, you can add a wider saddle that has more cushion available to make sure you both can stay on the bike and so that you can feel comfortable while riding.

There are so many adjustments you can make if you are feeling your lower back pain creep up on you on trails. There is no need to sacrifice your comfort when it comes to putting more cushion on your seat!

7. Make Gear Shifting Easier

It is very important to keep in mind the gear setup you use because it can mean the difference between a total wipe-out on the trail or loving the journey. The great news is that you can upgrade almost any part of a mountain bike, depending on what type you get. Different types of gear will also make it easier and more comfortable to ride, even if rough terrain, but one of the most common is perhaps the one that is most commonly called a granny gear shift.

There is a reason it s called a “granny gear shift.” While it is not always used by older people, it makes it easier to shift gears while you are on the trail. A granny gear shift is the smallest gear on the seat of gears aptly called the “front gears,” or if you’re more vocabulary savvy, the “crankset” or “chainrings.” They’re just the frontmost gears on your bike near the pedal.

In terms of gear size, the smaller the gear, the easier it is to pedal. It will also give you more gears to shift between to control your speed. Since many mountain bikers now prefer a single chainring, as opposed to a double or triple chainring, you might not have the smallest gear on your bike when you purchase it.

If you are struggling to pedal your bike up or down hills, you might want to look into either installing a granny gear yourself or having it installed for you. It can be pretty tricky to add the gear yourself, so if you don’t know what you are doing then it is safer to go to a shop to have them install it for you to make sure that it is connected properly. It will make your mountain biking adventures easier and more enjoyable if you are not getting frustrated about how challenging the pedals are to push.

8. Consider Getting An E-Bike

E-bikes, or electronically ran mountain bikes, are starting to gain popularity, especially among older riders. If you want to go out in the mountains and try mountain biking, but you are not exactly comfortable or confident that you will be able to make it out and back, then you might want to look into getting an electronic bike.

The biggest difference between an e-mountain bike and a regular mountain bike is that the electric mountain bike has a rechargeable electric motor attached to it. This means you get more power than if you were just pedaling yourself. For people who want to get outdoors but don’t feel like they have the strength to pedal the whole way themselves, electric mountain bikes allow them to still enjoy mountain biking.

There are several different types of electric-powered mountain bikes you can choose from, based on what your needs are and what you are the most comfortable with. Class 1 bikes are the only type that you need to actually pedal to go anywhere. They don’t have a throttle to press, so you’ll need to petal similar to a regular mountain bike. They have an assisted speed, so you can go up to 20 miles an hour with them.

Class 2 and 3 bikes have a throttle, so you don’t need to pedal at all. All you do is press the throttle when you want to go, and you won’t go forward unless you press it. Since this kind is propelled by a throttle and not pedals, you can go faster than with a Class 1 electronic mountain bike or a self-powered mountain bike, and you can choose an e-bike that has the speed you’re most comfortable with. Especially if you have arthritis or struggle to pedal, you will want to check out Class 2 and 3 electronic mountain bikes to reduce your discomfort while riding.

9. Look At Getting Disc Brakes

Disc brakes are coming back into style, and for a good reason! With disc brakes, you will be able to stop faster, modulate your speed better, and go confidently in all weather and terrains. It is not just older mountain bike riders who are choosing these high-performing brakes.

If you struggle with your reaction speed, or if you have arthritis and have a weaker grip, you will want to look into getting disc brakes on your bike. If you are lucky to have a mountain bike with disc brakes already installed, you should celebrate!

If you don’t, you will want to go to a bike shop and ask if they can be installed on your bike. Not all bikes are compatible with disc brakes, so if you want to convert to disc brakes, you might need to upgrade your bike with new components or buy another bike outright that is compatible.

The easiest way to know if you can upgrade your bike is to take it into the shop. If you already know a little about the type of bike you have, though, you can easily check this out for yourself. There are several different sizes of disc brakes available that you can choose from, but if you are a beginner mountain biker or you want to take it easy, then the 160mm size of disc brakes would likely work best for you.

Like with everything, you get out of them what you pay for them. Disc brakes range from about $50.00 to nearly $500.00 for the set, not including labor to install it or extra components if you need to upgrade your bike. If price isn’t a factor for you, it would be wise to choose a brake that is more in the middle range of the spectrum to make sure that you are getting a good quality brake but not so expensive to the point where you are breaking the bank.

Even with just the excellent stopping speed alone, disc brakes are worth looking into whether you’re a total newbie on the trails or if you’re a more advanced mountain biker.

10. Give Yourself Some Added Wrist Support

Do you get that sharp pain in your wrist when you do a repetitive action a enough times? Or maybe your wrist just hurts even without the motion strain. Either way, if your wrist hurts too much, you won’t be able to grip the handlebars well enough to be safe.

Not all is lost, though. You can still be able to ride your mountain bike with a few adjustments.
The first of these that you can easily upgrade is the grips on your mountain bike. The grips are just the rubber attachments that are on each side of your handlebars, and they help you maintain your grip on your bars so your hands don’t slip off.

There are two types of mountain bike grips: Lock-on and Slip-on and the names of the grips tell you how they work on your bike. The lock-on grips actually lock onto your bike’s handlebars using a ring attachment. You screw them on and they don’t move until you unscrew them. They are easy to remove since all you need to do is unscrew the attachment, and you can quickly swap them out for newer ones.

The obvious advantage with lock-on handlebar grips is that they won’t be sliding around while you are riding. If you struggle with your grip or if you get sweaty hands then you will want to look into getting lock-on grips to make sure you stay safe and don’t injure yourself.

Slip-on grips do exactly what they say. They slip onto your handlebars easily. You might need to use a lubricant to wriggle them on since they have a tight fit, but you can use anything. This kind is less expensive than the lock-on grips, but you will also need to make sure that you can adequately grip to use them.

If you are going through particularly rugged terrain, or if you are new to mountain biking, then you will want to fork over the extra money to get lock-on grips. They come in different textures, everything from rubber to Kevlar. There are even foam grips that you can get. The grips can also either be smoother or more textured, and the extra texture allows you to keep hold of the handlebars during the more challenging or technical parts of trails.

If you are planning on taking it easy and going on mostly flat and unobstructed trails, you have more of a variety in terms of grip and other gear to choose from since you won’t be going over massive rocks or other rough terrain, and you can more modulate your speed.

Just because you are getting up there in years it doesn’t mean that mountain biking is out of your reach. After you get your physical done or a doctor signs off on you going on the trails, you will be able to enjoy the thrills of mountain biking too. This doesn’t mean you need to be uncomfortable though. With a few adjustments and gear upgrades, you can ride more comfortably on the paths less traveled.