Cycling with OA in the knees - great discovery??!

jalith3
jalith3 Member Posts: 19
edited 27. Apr 2010, 07:31 in Living with Arthritis archive
Hello to all,
I am fairly new to this forum although I have not visited since last year. I found the encouragement and support especially heartwarming.
I need to contribute now and write about something that has made an enormous difference to my wellbeing and fitness recently. Hopefully it might also help others out there.

I have always cycled.
Living in NZ for many years I participated in long distance recreational rides (100 miles +)
Later in Africa's heat and humidity I chose to ride my old trusty mountain bike rather than travelling in the oppressive heat of a car.
I now live in the Netherlands which could be described a 'biker's heaven". Here the cyclist enjoys good protection under the law, there are excellent well-lit cycle paths everywhere and although generally expensive bikes are made or modified to cater for just about everyone.

When we arrived as a family six years ago I bought a new, recent model Dutch bicycle and on the back was fitted a child seat for my toddler. We travelled everywhere by bike together. It was wonderful.
Dutch bikes are generally large and are 'ridden high' (ie:you have to 'hoick'your weight up onto the seat as you move off, getting down with both feet onto the ground when you stop) and this new bike of mine was the same.

Four years ago I developed OA in my left knee -things got a bit harder but I was still able to continue with the school run (one hour return trip) pulling my young child behind the bike in his Burley trailer. I continued winter though to summer in all weathers. At minus 8 degrees it got a bit on the nippy side but I was fine as long as I wore thermals and windproofs over my legs.
Less than eighteen months later my left knee 'went' and xrays confirmed OA once more. I continued with the cycling, `even more important at this point as swimming had ceased to be an option for exercise. (I was finding it hard to make the walk from the changing rooms to the pool on slippery floors).

Over time both knees have worsened but last year I had a very nasty fall in the garden. Bad bruising to the chest, an injured shoulder - later diagnosed by MRI as a ruptured and retracted rotator cuff tendon. Worst of all I hurt both knees, the left one very badly. After over a week, hardly able to move and in awful pain, my specialist gave me a steriod injection to assist healing so that I could at least get more mobile and back on the bike.
However there was no real improvement at all and at this point it was decided that knee replacement(s) would be done sooner rather than later despite my (young) age of 50 years.
I was no longer able to ride my bike safely. It was excruciating putting my weight onto one leg in order to get up on to the seat. I was utterly miserable because by this time it was getting really difficult to get out of the house at all. I could manage with crutches to get to the car and sometimes get into the garden, but I was infact, gradually becoming housebound. With three children, a large three storey house and two house rabbits life was already difficult enough.

*******It is well known that cycling and swimming are the recommended types of exercise for people with severe arthritis in the knee joint. Continuing this exercise right up to a TKR can help the recovery afterwards as the leg muscles are already strong!


I started brainstorming and thinking of other options.......Is there a bike that exists or can be modified for someone like me????
We started to ask 'those that might know' and found there was such a bike but it was quite hard to find and anyway now out of production.
I left requests at bike shops and within three weeks I was phoned to come and look at what they had...

The 'magic machine' in question is called the 'Revive' and is (or rather was) produced by 'Giant' the large bike manufacturer. (Search on the web for 'Giant Revive' and you should get a good picture of it) In 'bike-speak' it is categorized as a 'semi lay-back'. Infact it looks a bit like a bicycle equivalent of a Harley Davidson. A few tassles flying in the breeze from the handlebars and a good leather jacket and you would hardly tell the difference..?!!??

It is absolutely perfect for someone who has knee joints that are well past their 'use by date'. Once one leg is over the low frame (no cross bar) you sit straight onto a very ample saddle with a back rest. You put each foot forward rather than down onto the pedals. No lifting, no strain and your feet are within easy reach of the ground like on a motor scooter.
I was talking to a Dutchman recently about it and he commented that it looked a 'lazy' bike. Not so.
Although fitted with good gears it has small wheels and is quite heavy so you really have to work to move it along. It's not the easiest bike to ride initially because the steering is rather jittery but you get used to that. The seat can be easily moved up and down, backward and forwards and there is a lot of adjustment to the handle bar position so this one machine will fit a wide variety of sizes -although it may indeed be a bit small for a very tall man.

I am aware that cycling in the UK is a whole different business. Cyclists are deemed nuisance value on busy roads, the infrastructure does not provide for bikes and of course the terrain is very varied -but there are still lots of opportunities. I imagine it will not be easy to find this bike in Britain -it may never have been imported. You may have to ask around a lot or advertise.

If anyone reading this is interested I am happy to help in whatever way I can - I know you can find them here in Holland and I could make enquiries. Holland is only a ferry trip away from the UK...
Please contact me if you need more information.

Best regards
Sarah

NB. If there is anyone with knee arthritis who has a standard bike and has lowered the seat r.i.g.h.t down - Please be careful!!! If your seat isn't at the correct height your legs will not get 'almost' fully extended when the pedals are at their lowest position and this can put unnecessary strain on an already damaged knee joint.
Go to a really good specialist bike shop and get them to check that your bike is set up properly.

Comments

  • skezier
    skezier Member Posts: 11,333
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Sarah,

    It's nice to meet you and thanks for the info that sounds like a really good bile, i don't know if they are about over here but I shall look.

    I promise you not all UK driver think cyclist are a nuisance...... :wink: We are slowly getting there with bike lanes and paths popping up all over the place. I don't cycle mush anymore, I have advance oa in my spine and it objects to what I do to it enough during the day and does find bikes a bit 'sore' but that one sounds like it could be the answer, it couldn't object to the seat at least! :)

    I do,have oa in my knees and did have the key hole thing and clean up done on them 20 years or so ago and as long as I don't ride a horse they are fairly well behaved but of late they are getting a bit stiff so I could well benefit from that kind of bike.

    I hope your not down to 8 degrees yet? We are slowly getting warmer here...... Personally I hope our met office is right about a dry summer......... Think they may be right as the may is all out early.....

    You take care and I shall see if they are about over here, Cris
  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 29,332
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Sarah
    Nice to meet you from me too!!!!
    Wow! What a great story!
    I HAVE seen a 'lazy' bike I have!!! I thought it looked brilliant and was some sort of sports model.
    Would it help me who has back problems as well and sort of sciaticish pain??
    So glad you have it and that it is good for you.
    Take care
    Toni x
  • woodbon
    woodbon Member Posts: 4,969
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi, I'm a driver and used to be a cyclist, still do ride sometimes, the the lanes here are a bit bendy and narrow! :shock: I try to be considerate to cyclists, but some are not very good at being awere of cars.
    Cycling is great, have you been to any specialist shops, small places that do repairs and build bikes, there are places, but you have to hunt around. I've known, when I lived in the cyling city of Oxford, people who build their own bikes! Have you tried the internet?

    I hope you find what you want, as its so good for you and a fun thing to do with the family. My husband can't ride a bike, thats one of the reasons I ride less! :) Love Sue
  • bailey27
    bailey27 Member Posts: 689
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi
    I love to cycle aswell. I have recently thought about taking up cycling instead of running. You are pushing me closer, thanks!
  • elnafinn
    elnafinn Member Posts: 7,412
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Sarah

    Of course I remember you. We had banter about bicycles when you last logged on which as you say was ages ago!

    I love my bicycle and call it my limousine. I loved cycling in Holland when I have visited. I bike around here and have paniers on the back - 3 - for my shopping and a basket on the front. It is a flat ride to town and near home. I would prefer to bike than walk any day. Sometimes I do both. My bike is fairly heavy with three gears and it is a comfortable, sit up and beg bike.

    I had a total knee replacement last year and all went well. I need to have the other one done at some point. as you can imagine I was soon riding by bicycle again - not many weeks after the op.

    I am a grandmother now to a nearly nine month little girl and she is a real tonic for me. I see her at least once a week and she is a wonderful addition to my life and my husband's too.

    I just googled the Giant Revive and it called it a rich man's toy? electric moped in disguise? surely not a 'serious' bike? :D:lol: 8)

    I will have to remember the name should I need one in the future. They were not cheap!

    I hope you have a good weekend. We have a bank holiday here so everyone is hoping for good weather! 8) :lol::D

    I hope you will join in with us more often, if you have the time.

    Love and best wishes,
    Elna xx
    The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.

    If you can lay down at night knowing in your heart that you made someone's day just a little bit better, you know you had a good day.
  • elnafinn
    elnafinn Member Posts: 7,412
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Sarah again! :D

    I thought I better rush out and hang the washing out as time was going on! Then got carried away with some pruning and hedge trimming. :D We have a sunny day here.

    I am sorry to hear about your knees. I remember well that we had dodgy knees in common. :roll: :roll: That was some fall you took too. SNAP! I had a nasty fall on black ice in January 2005 and gave myself a massive in-operable rotator cuff tear. I went down for the op and the surgeon told me when I came round that there was nothing to "knit together" and I have to live with a very odd looking shoulder now and do exercises to keep it working in some way and have adapted how I use that shoulder :roll: all good fun, I don't think!

    Will you have your knees done or are you managing ok now?

    Hope we speak soon,

    Love
    Elna x
    The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.

    If you can lay down at night knowing in your heart that you made someone's day just a little bit better, you know you had a good day.
  • nickynysmon08
    nickynysmon08 Bots Posts: 111
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    jalith3 wrote:
    Hello to all,
    I am fairly new to this forum although I have not visited since last year. I found the encouragement and support especially heartwarming.
    I need to contribute now and write about something that has made an enormous difference to my well being and fitness recently. Hopefully it might also help others out there.

    I have always cycled.
    Living in NZ for many years I participated in long distance recreational rides (100 miles +)
    Later in Africa's heat and humidity I chose to ride my old trusty mountain bike rather than travelling in the oppressive heat of a car.
    I now live in the Netherlands which could be described a 'biker's heaven". Here the cyclist enjoys good protection under the law, there are excellent well-lit cycle paths everywhere and although generally expensive bikes are made or modified to cater for just about everyone.

    When we arrived as a family six years ago I bought a new, recent model Dutch bicycle and on the back was fitted a child seat for my toddler. We travelled everywhere by bike together. It was wonderful.
    Dutch bikes are generally large and are 'ridden high' (ie:you have to 'hoick'your weight up onto the seat as you move off, getting down with both feet onto the ground when you stop) and this new bike of mine was the same.

    Four years ago I developed OA in my left knee -things got a bit harder but I was still able to continue with the school run (one hour return trip) pulling my young child behind the bike in his Burley trailer. I continued winter though to summer in all weathers. At minus 8 degrees it got a bit on the nippy side but I was fine as long as I wore thermals and windproofs over my legs.
    Less than eighteen months later my left knee 'went' and xrays confirmed OA once more. I continued with the cycling, `even more important at this point as swimming had ceased to be an option for exercise. (I was finding it hard to make the walk from the changing rooms to the pool on slippery floors).

    Over time both knees have worsened but last year I had a very nasty fall in the garden. Bad bruising to the chest, an injured shoulder - later diagnosed by MRI as a ruptured and retracted rotator cuff tendon. Worst of all I hurt both knees, the left one very badly. After over a week, hardly able to move and in awful pain, my specialist gave me a steriod injection to assist healing so that I could at least get more mobile and back on the bike.
    However there was no real improvement at all and at this point it was decided that knee replacement(s) would be done sooner rather than later despite my (young) age of 50 years.
    I was no longer able to ride my bike safely. It was excruciating putting my weight onto one leg in order to get up on to the seat. I was utterly miserable because by this time it was getting really difficult to get out of the house at all. I could manage with crutches to get to the car and sometimes get into the garden, but I was infact, gradually becoming housebound. With three children, a large three storey house and two house rabbits life was already difficult enough.

    *******It is well known that cycling and swimming are the recommended types of exercise for people with severe arthritis in the knee joint. Continuing this exercise right up to a TKR can help the recovery afterwards as the leg muscles are already strong!


    I started brainstorming and thinking of other options.......Is there a bike that exists or can be modified for someone like me????
    We started to ask 'those that might know' and found there was such a bike but it was quite hard to find and anyway now out of production.
    I left requests at bike shops and within three weeks I was phoned to come and look at what they had...

    The 'magic machine' in question is called the 'Revive' and is (or rather was) produced by 'Giant' the large bike manufacturer. (Search on the web for 'Giant Revive' and you should get a good picture of it) In 'bike-speak' it is categorized as a 'semi lay-back'. Infact it looks a bit like a bicycle equivalent of a Harley Davidson. A few tassles flying in the breeze from the handlebars and a good leather jacket and you would hardly tell the difference..?!!??

    It is absolutely perfect for someone who has knee joints that are well past their 'use by date'. Once one leg is over the low frame (no cross bar) you sit straight onto a very ample saddle with a back rest. You put each foot forward rather than down onto the pedals. No lifting, no strain and your feet are within easy reach of the ground like on a motor scooter.
    I was talking to a Dutchman recently about it and he commented that it looked a 'lazy' bike. Not so.
    Although fitted with good gears it has small wheels and is quite heavy so you really have to work to move it along. It's not the easiest bike to ride initially because the steering is rather jittery but you get used to that. The seat can be easily moved up and down, backward and forwards and there is a lot of adjustment to the handle bar position so this one machine will fit a wide variety of sizes -although it may indeed be a bit small for a very tall man.

    I am aware that cycling in the UK is a whole different business. Cyclists are deemed nuisance value on busy roads, the infrastructure does not provide for bikes and of course the terrain is very varied -but there are still lots of opportunities. I imagine it will not be easy to find this bike in Britain -it may never have been imported. You may have to ask around a lot or advertise.

    If anyone reading this is interested I am happy to help in whatever way I can - I know you can find them here in Holland and I could make enquiries. Holland is only a ferry trip away from the UK...
    Please contact me if you need more information.

    Best regards
    Sarah

    NB. If there is anyone with knee arthritis who has a standard bike and has lowered the seat r.i.g.h.t down - Please be careful!!! If your seat isn't at the correct height your legs will not get 'almost' fully extended when the pedals are at their lowest position and this can put unnecessary strain on an already damaged knee joint.
    Go to a really good specialist bike shop and get them to check that your bike is set up properly.

    reply
    I hope the following may b helpful to you. I rode a bike for a year or two, but getting saddle sore was a problem i was unable t overcome so I gave it away. I am and always have been a walker, doing ten twelve miles when the spirit took me, but typically less than this.
    doing too much and walking down some very steep hills did my knees in, then it turned to osteo arthritis. also my hips have gone bad although things are much improved after careful handling by more my now more thoughtful self. a few weeks back they were getting very bad, walking was becoming a problem, my right hip ached a lot, quite nasty at times. then, I came across the idea of using knee supports, and someone here mentioned vulkan.
    I did a google on this and simply ordered some. they are not cheap, but I have to sets, now, and wear them religiously when I walk. thy have utterly transformed my life and walking is almost back to the old days. I thought walking was coming to an end !!
    I mention this as I think something similar will help you when cycling, stiffen and strengthen the area around the knee joint. you may not take to them immediately, but will get used to them.

    i suggest the medium or large sizes. don;t get the ones with the velcro fastener, I found them useless. you need the full elastic sleeve that fits like a pipe over the knee joint. it may solve your problem, similar can be bought at tesco or boots i believe but have never tried them.

    hope this is of help,


    Nick
  • jalith3
    jalith3 Member Posts: 19
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    skezier wrote:
    Hi Sarah,

    It's nice to meet you and thanks for the info that sounds like a really good bile, i don't know if they are about over here but I shall look.

    I promise you not all UK driver think cyclist are a nuisance...... :wink: We are slowly getting there with bike lanes and paths popping up all over the place. I don't cycle mush anymore, I have advance oa in my spine and it objects to what I do to it enough during the day and does find bikes a bit 'sore' but that one sounds like it could be the answer, it couldn't object to the seat at least! :)

    I do,have oa in my knees and did have the key hole thing and clean up done on them 20 years or so ago and as long as I don't ride a horse they are fairly well behaved but of late they are getting a bit stiff so I could well benefit from that kind of bike.

    I hope your not down to 8 degrees yet? We are slowly getting warmer here...... Personally I hope our met office is right about a dry summer......... Think they may be right as the may is all out early.....

    You take care and I shall see if they are about over here, Cris

    Thanks Chris for your mail. You may not yet need a bike like mine if your knees a just a bit stiff , as long as you can take all your weight onto one leg you should be OK on a normal bike. But really cycling is a fantastic way to go for this kind of arthritis. I'd be interested in whether anyone finds a Giant Revive in the UK.
    Best wishes, Sarah.
  • jalith3
    jalith3 Member Posts: 19
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello to you Elna again
    Thanks so much for your encouraging message and pleased to see you are enjoying life especially with the new little member of your family!! Grannies have a very special role to play.

    (I don't think I have quite the hang of sending replies here - when I read the topic once more they seem to be appearing all over the place - any one see what I am doing wrong?? I would have liked to answer the mails individually )

    Elna, I am just hanging on in there. I have already turned down one chance of the operation - just trying to shed some of this weight!!! I put on soooo much after my last child and have not yet got it all off. I walk around the house with one crutch but when it gets bad ie: not enough sleep and too much time on my feet I need two for support. Then I get desperate because of course with two crutches there is no free hand with which to pick up things. I could probably make it about five metres or so unaided but only on flat, smooth floors. Outside or trying to get to the car I am useless. Always feel as if I am about to fall over on uneven ground.
    My problem is compounded by a ridiculous domestic situation - my son presently on a 'gap year' before university came home after staying with relatives in the UK on the understanding that if he didn't get a job here he had to help me around the house. The novelty wore off early and he spends nearly all day glued to his laptop whilst Mum hobbles around all day. Neither has he made any effort to get work. No support from my husband really whatsoever and am rather powerless at the moment not being mobile. I was always a really assertive person and can't believe how vulnerable I feel now. I'm sure there are others on this forum will identify with this....
    By the way the model of bike I have does not have an engine although I know there is a motorized version, and yes it is quite expensive but it means I can get away from the house and move easily and gracefully which I can no longer do on my own legs..
    Best regards
    Sarah

    Elna
    elnafinn wrote:
    Hi Sarah again! :D

    I thought I better rush out and hang the washing out as time was going on! Then got carried away with some pruning and hedge trimming. :D We have a sunny day here.

    I am sorry to hear about your knees. I remember well that we had dodgy knees in common. :roll: :roll: That was some fall you took too. SNAP! I had a nasty fall on black ice in January 2005 and gave myself a massive in-operable rotator cuff tear. I went down for the op and the surgeon told me when I came round that there was nothing to "knit together" and I have to live with a very odd looking shoulder now and do exercises to keep it working in some way and have adapted how I use that shoulder :roll: all good fun, I don't think!

    Will you have your knees done or are you managing ok now?

    Hope we speak soon,

    Love
    Elna x
  • greyheron
    greyheron Member Posts: 167
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Sarah and everyone !

    This thread seems to have set a tradition of lovely long postings, sorry I can't carry on the trend but just wanted to add that for those of us that never managed to learn to ride a bike (e.g. me), static bikes you can use at home are a great alternative even if the scenery isn't as good!

    The full size ones are quite dear so best to try out before you buy. But I've got a minature version - a set of pedals on a stand that you put on the floor, you sit on a chair and pedal away. I gather that the effect is not quite as good as the full-size version but still much better than nothing.

    I got mine from a mail order catalogue but I think Argos sell them ???

    Happy cycling!

    Wendy
  • elnafinn
    elnafinn Member Posts: 7,412
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Sarah :)

    I am happy for you that you can get away on your bicycle from a son who does not willingly help you out and a hubby who is not really interested! Perhaps they would become a little more "interested" if chores did not get done, like clean clothes, food shopping and a meal on the table!! :lol::lol:

    :( Excess weight, will unfortunately not help knee matters. I do feel for you. It all sounds really difficult, no wonder you do not have time to post on the site.

    Would using a stroller indoors help any, for support, at least you could carry some things that way and take them from A to B. My mum has a frame on wheels with two shelves that she find really helpful for carrying things. Crutches are so annoying, you put one down and it never stays there but crashes onto the floor! Horrid things, but of course very useful as a means of getting around. They are sooo exhausting too.

    I can understand how you feel vulnerable. I suppose you could become assertive in your domain at home and go on strike!

    I do hope the situation eases for you. Would love to hear from you as and when you have the time. I shall not forget you. :D:lol:

    Love
    Elna x
    The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.

    If you can lay down at night knowing in your heart that you made someone's day just a little bit better, you know you had a good day.
  • elnafinn
    elnafinn Member Posts: 7,412
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Thread bumped up for 8) its a grin honest, Airwave, Joseph

    E x
    The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.

    If you can lay down at night knowing in your heart that you made someone's day just a little bit better, you know you had a good day.
  • sharmaine
    sharmaine Member Posts: 1,638
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Sarah

    I agree that keeping up some level of activity keeps muscles strong for major total knee replacement surgery. Prior to my first knee surgery I could not make even one revolution on a bike, however, I bought a mini cycle machine that could be used whilst seated or lying down. I could only manage to cycle whilst lying down but it was enough to keep my thigh muscles strong and I am sure it has helped in my recovery. Since my operation I have been using the cycle machine at my physiotherapist. We also have an exercise bike at home but making the turns of the pedals on this is not so easy despite adjusting the seat.

    Sharmaine

    jalith3 wrote:
    Hello to all,
    I am fairly new to this forum although I have not visited since last year. I found the encouragement and support especially heartwarming.
    I need to contribute now and write about something that has made an enormous difference to my wellbeing and fitness recently. Hopefully it might also help others out there.

    I have always cycled.
    Living in NZ for many years I participated in long distance recreational rides (100 miles +)
    Later in Africa's heat and humidity I chose to ride my old trusty mountain bike rather than travelling in the oppressive heat of a car.
    I now live in the Netherlands which could be described a 'biker's heaven". Here the cyclist enjoys good protection under the law, there are excellent well-lit cycle paths everywhere and although generally expensive bikes are made or modified to cater for just about everyone.

    When we arrived as a family six years ago I bought a new, recent model Dutch bicycle and on the back was fitted a child seat for my toddler. We travelled everywhere by bike together. It was wonderful.
    Dutch bikes are generally large and are 'ridden high' (ie:you have to 'hoick'your weight up onto the seat as you move off, getting down with both feet onto the ground when you stop) and this new bike of mine was the same.

    Four years ago I developed OA in my left knee -things got a bit harder but I was still able to continue with the school run (one hour return trip) pulling my young child behind the bike in his Burley trailer. I continued winter though to summer in all weathers. At minus 8 degrees it got a bit on the nippy side but I was fine as long as I wore thermals and windproofs over my legs.
    Less than eighteen months later my left knee 'went' and xrays confirmed OA once more. I continued with the cycling, `even more important at this point as swimming had ceased to be an option for exercise. (I was finding it hard to make the walk from the changing rooms to the pool on slippery floors).

    Over time both knees have worsened but last year I had a very nasty fall in the garden. Bad bruising to the chest, an injured shoulder - later diagnosed by MRI as a ruptured and retracted rotator cuff tendon. Worst of all I hurt both knees, the left one very badly. After over a week, hardly able to move and in awful pain, my specialist gave me a steriod injection to assist healing so that I could at least get more mobile and back on the bike.
    However there was no real improvement at all and at this point it was decided that knee replacement(s) would be done sooner rather than later despite my (young) age of 50 years.
    I was no longer able to ride my bike safely. It was excruciating putting my weight onto one leg in order to get up on to the seat. I was utterly miserable because by this time it was getting really difficult to get out of the house at all. I could manage with crutches to get to the car and sometimes get into the garden, but I was infact, gradually becoming housebound. With three children, a large three storey house and two house rabbits life was already difficult enough.

    *******It is well known that cycling and swimming are the recommended types of exercise for people with severe arthritis in the knee joint. Continuing this exercise right up to a TKR can help the recovery afterwards as the leg muscles are already strong!


    I started brainstorming and thinking of other options.......Is there a bike that exists or can be modified for someone like me????
    We started to ask 'those that might know' and found there was such a bike but it was quite hard to find and anyway now out of production.
    I left requests at bike shops and within three weeks I was phoned to come and look at what they had...

    The 'magic machine' in question is called the 'Revive' and is (or rather was) produced by 'Giant' the large bike manufacturer. (Search on the web for 'Giant Revive' and you should get a good picture of it) In 'bike-speak' it is categorized as a 'semi lay-back'. Infact it looks a bit like a bicycle equivalent of a Harley Davidson. A few tassles flying in the breeze from the handlebars and a good leather jacket and you would hardly tell the difference..?!!??

    It is absolutely perfect for someone who has knee joints that are well past their 'use by date'. Once one leg is over the low frame (no cross bar) you sit straight onto a very ample saddle with a back rest. You put each foot forward rather than down onto the pedals. No lifting, no strain and your feet are within easy reach of the ground like on a motor scooter.
    I was talking to a Dutchman recently about it and he commented that it looked a 'lazy' bike. Not so.
    Although fitted with good gears it has small wheels and is quite heavy so you really have to work to move it along. It's not the easiest bike to ride initially because the steering is rather jittery but you get used to that. The seat can be easily moved up and down, backward and forwards and there is a lot of adjustment to the handle bar position so this one machine will fit a wide variety of sizes -although it may indeed be a bit small for a very tall man.

    I am aware that cycling in the UK is a whole different business. Cyclists are deemed nuisance value on busy roads, the infrastructure does not provide for bikes and of course the terrain is very varied -but there are still lots of opportunities. I imagine it will not be easy to find this bike in Britain -it may never have been imported. You may have to ask around a lot or advertise.

    If anyone reading this is interested I am happy to help in whatever way I can - I know you can find them here in Holland and I could make enquiries. Holland is only a ferry trip away from the UK...
    Please contact me if you need more information.

    Best regards
    Sarah

    NB. If there is anyone with knee arthritis who has a standard bike and has lowered the seat r.i.g.h.t down - Please be careful!!! If your seat isn't at the correct height your legs will not get 'almost' fully extended when the pedals are at their lowest position and this can put unnecessary strain on an already damaged knee joint.
    Go to a really good specialist bike shop and get them to check that your bike is set up properly.
  • elnafinn
    elnafinn Member Posts: 7,412
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I wonder how you are, Sarah a year on. Would love to hear from you, if you call in here at all. There was a time when you were on the forum fairly often :D

    Miss you. :D

    Love
    Elna x
    The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.

    If you can lay down at night knowing in your heart that you made someone's day just a little bit better, you know you had a good day.