First, let’s get the disclaimer stated right up front. This article is not intended as medical advice, and it is no substitute for a conversation with your doctor. Never get on any bicycle without first having the consent of your doctor.
Consider an E-bike for Continued Knee Rehabilitation
First, let’s get the disclaimer stated right up front. This article is not intended as medical advice, and it is no substitute for a conversation with your doctor. Never get on any bicycle without first having the consent of your doctor.
It’s No Walk in the Park
Knee replacement surgery brings a difficult and prolonged period of recovery and rehabilitation. It definitely is no walk in the park. Indeed, it will be a long time after surgery until you can actually take a walk in the park!
Surgeons say patients should realize that recovery from a total knee replacement is measured in months, not days. Before the patient can even think about getting on a fat tire e-bike, or any bicycle, there are a couple of very important hurdles to clear.
1. Home Therapy
Many physicians will want the patient to have two to four weeks of physical therapy administered in the patient’s home. A qualified therapist will typically schedule three sessions per week, teaching and assisting the patient in how to begin using the new knee. Even with good pain management, therapy will be accompanied by the challenge of severe pain as the range of motion is developed and muscles begin to regain strength. When the therapist is satisfied with the patient’s progress, it is time to begin outpatient therapy.
2. Outpatient Therapy
For more intensive rehabilitation, several weeks of therapy in an outpatient facility are needed. A qualified licensed therapist assists the patient with increasingly challenging use of the knee. The goal is to regain full and normal use of the new knee. Once again, the expression “no pain, no gain” becomes appropriate. While the knee will not be as painful as in past weeks, patients must “grin and bear it” while working to achieve full mobility.
As a part of outpatient therapy, patients may find themselves on a stationary bike, pedaling under the close watch of the therapist. Very likely the pedal resistance is set quite low, and the seat adjusted so that there is only a slight bend to the knee. As time goes by, resistance may be increased, as well as the angle of the knee bending.
As a reward for all the hard work in therapy, strength increases, range of motion improves, confidence is gained, and mobility is achieved. Before you know it, you can trade in that stationary bike for an e-bike and enjoy an easy ride in the fresh air and sunshine — but only with your doctor’s consent!
Choosing an E-bike for Knee Rehabilitation
At a casual glance, you might think almost any e-bike will be great for recovering from knee problems, but this is not the case. It’s important to exercise prudently, and Magicycle makes it very easy to gradually increase your level of fitness. This is true for everyone, including those dealing with an injury, arthritis, deteriorating joints, and other restricting factors. Too many seniors experience injuries from loss of balance and falling, and that’s while walking and standing–not necessarily while working or exercising. Regularly riding an e-bike can improve leg strength, joint mobility, and your sense of balance as documented here.
A key consideration for choosing an appropriate e-bike after knee replacement is the ease of mounting and dismounting the bike. The required extension of the knee and leg must accommodate the size of the rider and the degree of rehabilitation. In most cases, it is best to limit your search to e-bikes that have a step-thru frame.
Step-thru models are much easier to mount and dismount. Additionally, some step-thru models allow riders to easily place both feet on the ground as the bike comes to a stop. This is a critical feature, as the new knee must be protected by the bike being well-balanced at all times. Step-thru models provide for the minimal raising of the knee while mounting or dismounting the bike. To get you started in your search, here are three Magicycle fat tire e-bikes that could be considered.
Magicycle Jaguarundi Folding Step-Thru
This fat-tire electric bike is the ultimate in convenience. With its small form factor and folding capability, almost anyone has room for the folding Jaguarundi. Most importantly, it is easy to get on and off this bike.
Magicycle Jaguarundi folding ebike is the model that many riders will think of as the most user-friendly ride produced to date by Magicycle. It is a fun, powerful, and compact fat tire ebike that can take you to work or the local park—and it can get you there on pavement or trail in style and comfort.
Fat tire e-bikes are great fun to ride on all types of terrain, but their sheer size can make them difficult to transport on a bike rack. The large size can also be problematic for anyone with hurting joints and restricted mobility. Folding fat tire e-bikes are less common than more traditional frames, but they conveniently open the door to new possibilities. For example, you might need to toss your fat tire e-bike into the trunk or rear seat of your car. Even within your home, you might choose to fold it into a compact rectangle that fits nicely in a corner of the room. Or perhaps just fold down the handlebars to let the Jaguarundi rest neatly against a wall.
City riders who don’t need to transport their bikes are nevertheless very appreciative of the Jaguarundi’s convenience. The ability to fold means it takes up less space in the home, perhaps fitting in a corner or under a desk. Without the folding feature, fat tire electric bikes for adults could be an impossibility for a small apartment situation.
Magicycle Ocelot Cruiser Step-Thru
The brother of the Ocelot Pro, this cruiser will get you where you want to go. Its 52 volts 15-amp battery powers a 600-watt hub motor. Very importantly, the Ocelot’s motor puts out a full 70 Newton Meters of torque.
Torque is important because of its relationship to power. You can think of torque as the power available for turning the rear wheel on your e-bike. The torque can be provided by a motor or by the pedaling of a bike rider. The harder the rider pedals, the more torque is applied to turning the rear wheel. In the same manner, the more powerful the battery and the better the motor design, the more torque is available for turning the rear wheel and propelling the e-bike forward.
A motor with 70 Nm of torque gives your e-bike quicker starts and more powerful hill-climbing ability than a lesser motor with a lower torque output. Magicycle is absolutely the leader in available torque, giving you more power than any competitively priced e-bike! To summarize, higher torque provides quicker takeoff, easier starts on an uphill incline, and greater ease of climbing hills.
With the release of the Ocelot, the Magicycle Design Team maintains its reputation of developing strong high-quality e-bikes that are also very appealing to the eyes. This gorgeous fat tire e-bike is reminiscent of a beach cruiser that can easily traverse soft sand beaches while admiring the scenery. The comfortable wide seat, full fenders, and 4″ wide all-terrain tires make the Ocelot ideal for cruising city streets, countryside lanes, off-road trails, or the ocean shores.
In short, the Magicycle Ocelot consistently does its best—long-range rides, smooth pedaling, and sure-footed travel on everything from grassy knolls to sandy beaches or forest pathways.
Magicycle Ocelot Pro Cruiser Step-Thru
Magicycle received many requests for a cruiser that is more convenient for fat tire e-bike riders as small as 4’10’ and yet also comfortable for riders up to 6’2”. The MAGiCYCLE Design Team worked long and hard to perfectly meet the demand for such a bike. The introduction of the Magicycle Ocelot Pro long-range electric bike is bringing fresh excitement to fat tire e-bike enthusiasts. It has even more power and range than the Ocelot (non-pro version).
If you’ve dreamed of a smaller, stylish, quality fat tire electric cruiser bike that retains both power and comfort, this is it. The Ocelot has a laid-back beach cruiser styling…nimble, beautiful, and comfortable. For riders uncomfortable with the big 26” tire cruisers, the Ocelot opens up a whole new world of cruising comfort. Although smaller than Magicycle’s original cruisers, you can see that the specifications exceed what e-bikers might have expected. With their 20″ fat tires, both Ocelots are worth considering for anyone with physical restrictions, including knee rehabilitation.
Painful and Slow, but Worth It
Unfortunately, there’s no avoiding it — recovery and rehabilitation following a total knee replacement is a long and slow progress, typically bringing more than its share of pain. For most people, following the guidance of the home therapist and the outpatient therapist leads to a satisfactory conclusion. The prize is the joy of regaining full mobility and resuming the activities you love, so keep your eye on the prize!
If you feel a fat tire e-bike could make an enjoyable contribution to your rehabilitation, be sure to insist on a brand that owns the factory that builds its e-bikes. This is critical, as it is simply impossible to maintain quality control when a brand doesn’t own a factory. MAGiCYCLE owns the factory that manufactures its e-bikes. This makes it one of the very few elite e-bike brands that actually own a factory. Many e-bike brands are simply selling e-bikes purchased from a factory that supplies multiple brands.
For the best in quality and customer service, consider owning a Magicycle. It’s a great investment in your ongoing health!