Riding a bicycle for any purpose is a good idea. Whether you are riding for sport or exercise, for leisure or as a means of transportation, riding gets you where you want to and helps you get a cardio work out doing what you enjoy. When buying a bike, the activity you have in mind for the bike will help you make a great choice. There are several types of bike to consider and they include:

• City Bikes
• Road Bikes
• Mountain Bikes
• Touring Bikes
• Folding Bikes

City Bikes
City bikes are designed for city dwellers. They are designed for those who are always in competition with other users for the right of way on the road. It is common knowledge that cities are dominated by automobiles. Of course, there are some cities where bicycle riders are given equal privileges on the road. However, if you are planning to use your bicycle to get to work or travel around in a city, you should accept the fact that automobiles shall rule the roads.

City bicycles are designed specifically for traveling within the city. These light weight bicycles come with different types of gears and safety options. The light weight of the bicycle and the multiple gears ensures that the riders can make good speed on the road. As long as you were fast enough, you will not find it difficult to drive on the busy roads. It is only when you become very slow and plod along that others find you to be a nuisance on the road. The safety features attached to these bikes ensure that your bike is never stolen.

Road Bikes
Road bikes are suitable for those who use bicycles for exercise and fitness. Of course, if you are a bicycle racer who takes part in professional races, you will have to go in for a completely different range of bicycles. The unique characteristic of these bikes is that they are very light and very fast. The bikes are designed for expert raiders, people who know how to handle bikes and tend to be pricey.

Mountain Bikes
If you love biking your way to the top of a hill, through the woods or forest trail then this is the perfect bike for you. These heavy duty bikes are designed to withstand the rough and difficult terrain of the mountains and the forests. If you love hiking, you can bring your mountain bike along to travel longer distances with ease.

Touring Bikes
If you love to travel and if you love to travel long distances on your bike, then the touring bicycle is for you. As the very phrase suggests, this bicycle is designed for long distance transportation. This bicycle has adequate space for a luggage as well. These low maintenance bikes will run for long distances without any maintenance hassles.

Folding Bikes
These bikes are designed for those who love biking but simply not have space to store them. On the road there is plenty of space on the road, however, there are no guarantees that there will be adequate space in your home or at your destination. With a cycle than can be folded, it will occupy less space and is perfect for those who want to travel to work on their bikes but cannot do so due to lack of space to park the bike.

Traditional Bikes
If your activities do not fit into any of these categories mentioned above, then you should opt for the traditional bicycle which is a regular bike designed for daily use. It is not as light as road bikes which are for racing not as sturdy as the mountain bikes that take a lot of punishment with a smile.

By Jessica Potisto

Share and Enjoy :

Yes, these bikes are different, both in purpose and performance. Only because of the terrain that they must efficiently negotiate, they are geared up to take these additional challenges.

Gears had to be taken from the road bike technology until Shimano started to make equipment especially for mountain biking. This has now become a serious sport and is also a part of Olympics as an event.

Mountain bikes are so popular these days that over the years they have developed and evolved into a totally different class.

Mountain Bike Ratings

Moving from some simple beginnings, mountain bikes have made some tremendous changes, since they had to be made especially for climbing and moving around mountainous terrain. Special gears, tires, wheel rims, handle bars, stems and the biggest development was the suspension.

The first gear levers were made to go on straight handle bars and then the indexed lever was made for accurate shifting. Different types of tires with treads for all conditions are now available to fit the standard wheel size that now many companies are making.

Handle bars and stems were first made in steel, then alloys, and now carbon and titanium have replaced, thus gaining on weight saving and enhancing strength.

Mountain Bike Parts

Most of the bike parts were follow up coming from the road bike, and modified according to the mountain biking requirements. However the present version that is available in the market is a specialty designed for this very purpose of mountain biking. With specific modifications derived to serve specific purposes, the mountain bike has come a long way.

Frames: Originally these were made from steel, usually in nice shiny chrome, but as technology changed frames with the road bikes, so it did with the mountain bikes too.

Sleek and compact frame designs, lightweight alloy and now carbon fiber are the most popular materials these days. The specialized Stump-Jumper is a classic, and we can buy this in so many styles. Hardtail, Full Suspension, and for full Retro style this Stump-Jumper is classic.

Suspensions: Front suspensions were taken from the off-road motor-bike world, however they had to be lighter but was effectively made possible with the help of alloy steel. Springs were initially used, and later oil, then air for suspension, and which was adjustable for spring and the amount of rebound we got.

Go Where You Like

Cross-country definitely is a hard sport and is a mixture of strength and agility. While coming downhill is completely all technique and agility, with very little strength. These bikes are like motocross bikes minus the engine, suspension in the front and back with a lot of movement, and long wheel bases for comfort, with bigger tires and disc brakes.

All these features are now found on cross-country bikes, with the disc brakes being very popular. However many people still stick to v-brakes for controllability and also full suspension for both front and back.

There are many set ups that we can go for, but would be much better if we make sure what we need, so as to understand exactly what we want.

By Phil Carter

Share and Enjoy :