Purchasing a Bike | Bike Types and Important Factors to Consider

Purchasing a bike can be an exciting as well as challenging experience nowadays. Because of the advances in this industry, it’s quite difficult to choose a bike. Whether you are buying a new bike or replacing the old one, you will be confused due to the many specialisations. Bikes look simple, having only 2 wheels and an engine, but modern designs, features, and special uses mean you need to think carefully before choosing one.

Before buying a bike, just ask yourself, What is the purpose of a bike for you? Your purpose will guide the type of bike you should buy, whether you want it for commuting, weekend rides, fitness, long trips, or just getting around your neighbourhood. Your right decision will make your every ride enjoyable. 

So, in this article, we will discuss the important factors you should consider before purchasing a bike. After reading, you will confidently make the best choice for you. 

Types of Bikes to Consider

There are many types of bikes depending on your needs. Here we will discuss some types of bikes, such as:

• Road Bikes
• Folding Bikes
• Hybrid Bikes
• Electric Bikes
• Gravel Bikes
• Mountain Bikes
• Step-Through Bikes
• Dutch-Style Bikes

Let’s explain these bikes one by one and see which one would be the best fit for you. 

Road Bikes

Road bikes come with skinny tyres. These are good for planes or even surfaces. These bikes come with a drop handlebar, which bends your body towards the bike, making you more aerodynamic. These bikes are good for commuting, fitness rides, event rides, or racing. But you may feel uncomfortable on these bikes when riding on uneven surfaces. These are not good for bumpy terrain, as tyres may be damaged. 

Folding Bikes

These bikes are foldable. You can fold these bikes and take them anywhere with you. You can put them under your seat in the office. These are not designed for long rides or for terrain surfaces; these are only good for short rides and on even surfaces. Purchasing this bike can benefit you in such a way that you want to ride to the bus station, then fold it and carry it with you. And, after leaving the bus, you can again cycle to the office. These bikes come with small tyres and fewer gears. They convert to a very short size on folding.  

Hybrid Bikes

Purchasing a bike is quite challenging, like what you should buy, whether a road bike, a fitness bike, or a solution that can fit in both these conditions. So, hybrid bikes are the best option for you if you are looking for a bike that you can ride on the street and also on uneven surfaces. These bikes are also known as ‘fitness bikes’, because of their versatile options. 

These bikes come with large-diameter wheels, which help in increasing their speed. And, also wider tyres, which are good for terrain surfaces. These bikes are more popular for fitness riders, offering an upright position for riding. You will get exercise benefits from them. It looks similar to a mountain bike, but it is good for on-road rides. This is an affordable and comfortable option compared to road bikes. 

Electric Bikes

E-bikes are becoming popular nowadays due to their affordability. These bikes come with a battery pack. This battery pack helps you on longer journeys or riding on steep hills. There are two options in it; its power can turn on automatically, or you can activate it on your own when needed. These bikes are not very environmentally friendly. You have to charge them, because their battery will die after some time. These bikes can be a good replacement for fitness bikes for those who struggle to complete their cycles with standard fitness bikes but are unable to drive for some reason. So, the fitness riders can complete their cycles on these bikes. 

Gravel Bikes

Hybrid bikes fall in this category, as we discussed earlier. Gravel bikes are best for multi-surface riding. These bikes also come with a drop handlebar, shifting you into a more aerodynamic position. These bikes have wider tyres to ride on terrain surfaces. 

Mountain Bikes

Mountain bikes are the opposite of road bikes. These bikes can ride on bumps, dirt trails, roots, and rocks. These come with shock-absorbing features. There is a feature in these bikes known as “full suspension” or “Hardtail”. If the bike is full suspension, this means that it has a suspension on both front tyres, and hardtail refers to only one suspension, either on the front or rear. These bikes come with more gears and wider tyres with fine brakes and thick frames. These bikes are good for off-road rides; you can ride these bikes on any terrain surface. But these bikes are not good for on-road rides, as they will not be as fast as road bikes. 

Step-Through Bikes

These bikes are designed with a lower middle section. Due to lower crossover, these bikes offer easy riding. If you are a rider who has to frequently ride on or off, then this bike is the best option for you. You do not have to raise your legs high to ride on this bike. 

Dutch-Style Bikes

These bikes come with high handlebars and a lower crossover. So these bikes are easy to ride on. These bikes are popular due to having a basket on the front. They come up with no or fewer gears, making it suitable for urban riding. These bikes allow an upright position, making it comfortable to ride. 

Specialty Bikes

If you do not find the best fit for you in the above options, here we have some other choices that will help you make your decision for purchasing a bike easily.

Cruiser Bikes

These bikes are good for leisurely rides. Whether you want to ride in your neighborhood or at a vacation home, this is the best option for you for purchasing a bike. These bikes come with a relaxed riding position and fewer gears, making them feasible for even surfaces.

Cargo Bikes

These bikes come with lots of gears. These bikes can lift heavy weights. So, purchasing a bike like this is an amazing option for carrying home groceries. These bikes don’t have enough speed.

Touring Bikes

These bikes are almost similar to road bikes. These bikes come with more gears, drop handlebars, and thicker frames. These bikes are good for long trips, and they have good speed. These bikes are lightweight like road bikes, but also sturdy. These bikes are good for holiday rides. 

Tricycles

These cycles come with three wheels. Their design may vary, like two wheels on the front and one on the back or vice versa. Purchasing a bike like this can be the best option if you have balance issues. These bikes are good for disabled people and also for those who have not ridden for a long time.

Important Factors to Consider While Purchasing a Bike

After understanding all the bike types above, you will have an idea of which type of bike you should buy. But, only knowing bike types is not enough. Here are some important factors you need to consider before purchasing a bike: 

Suspension

If you go with full suspension, as we discussed earlier, having suspension on the front and rear will cost more. So, if you are under budget, then you should be careful about the suspension. While a hardtail comes with suspension on the front, it will also offer you a smoother on rugged places, but not like a full suspension. 

Bike Size

When you are looking for a bike, it’s important to consider the bike size. Before purchasing a bike, make sure that the bike size you are purchasing matches your height, riding experience, and flexibility. There are two important factors to consider before purchasing a bike: “standover height” and “cockpit length”. 

Standover height is the length of the top tube from the ground. You should make sure you can safely ride the bike. The cockpit length refers to the distance between the saddle and handlebars. If this distance is too big, you may feel cramped, or if this is too small, you may feel uncomfortable. So, choose this cockpit length according to your height. 

Frame Material

This is an important factor to consider before purchasing a bike. You can go with carbon or aluminum. The carbon frames are good in quality and offer premium rides; these are also lightweight. But these frames may be costly. On the other hand, aluminum frames come in different prices. If you are budget-conscious, then you can choose aluminum.

Setting a Budget Before Purchasing a Bike

It is also important to consider the budget before purchasing a bike. It will be an investment for you. So, consider buying the best version. Set your budget according to your needs, then look for a bike that fits within your budget and needs. Like if you are new to cycling, then you do not need to buy a brand new bike. You may choose a second-hand bike. 

Online Platforms to Buy a Bike

Online platforms selling bikes are a good option to get an estimate of the price. Like, if you want to compare which bike would cost how much. And, with specific features, how the price changes. There are some popular tools, such as: 

• Cycletrader
• RevZilla Classifieds
• RumbleOn
• Facebook Marketplace

Conclusion

In this guide, we have discussed all the important factors to consider before purchasing a bike. It will help you understand what things you should keep in mind before buying a bike. We discussed the things shortly, not in detail, but this is gonna give you a lot of benefit.