There are lots of reasons to choose a bicycle as your primary means of transportation. You may not even choose to ride a bicycle as a means of transportation at all. Some people choose to cycle because they need the exercise. Some choose to cycle because they are in competitions with cycling. And there are others who decide to take up cycling as a hobby to share with their family or friends. Regardless of why you are taking up cycling, you are going to have to consider a variety of things when choosing the bicycle that is a perfect fit for you. These tips are intended to help you along your way.
It goes without saying that choosing the correctly sized bike is of utmost importance. To accomplish this you need know your inseam measurement. Simply measure through your inner leg from your groin to the bottom of your foot to find out your inseam. When you get a bike you should be able to lay both feet flat to the ground if need be. This means that you will be able to stop your bicycle with your feet if the brakes do not work—without having to tilt the bicycle and risk doing harm to it and to yourself.
Take 9" away from the total of your inseam if you plan to get a road bike. This is due to the type of tires you will be using for a road bike. These tires will be thinner and designed for efficiency on concrete roads or pavements. You will want to subtract 12" for a mountain bike. Mountain bikes have different tires than a road bike. These tires are designed to handle rocky and jagged terrain so are therefore thicker. Mountain bikes can travel on city pavement but that is not what they find are designed to do.
Just exactly how many gears do you think you’ll use? Traveling through flat areas requires far less gears than riding in a mountainous area. You can’t evaluate the bike only by the number of gears it has. You may never even get around to using all the available gears. It’s a waste of money to pay for all those unused gears. Find out where you’ll ride your bike, especially if this is your main vehicle, and make sure you have enough gears to handle the areas through which you will travel.
There are many different things you should consider when the time comes to buy the perfect bicycle for yourself. It can become a frustrating process at times to try and figure out exactly what bike you need and which accessories you should get to go with it. As long as you go prepared and know what you need and are looking for, you can shed some of that frustration and find the perfect bike.