Town-n-Country Bikes
What to Look for When Buying a Bike
What to look for when buying a bike.
When you come into our stores you will see that we have a number of bikes available for purchase.
Some of these will look similar but in fact
will have different features and riding characteristics,
and thus it is good to know what kind of bikes are out
there so you can get what you want for your style of
riding.
Disclaimer:
This is by no means a definitive categorization. There
are plenty of people, including our shop employees, that
use Mountain bikes for commuting, and obviously BMX Bikes
are the primary style used by kids today for pretty much
every sort of riding that they do, be it freestyle or to
and from school. Typically however, a style of bike will
provide certain characteristics, advantages, and
disadvantages. The final choice is up to the person
riding the bicycle.
In addition, the constant evolution of riding causes
blurring between each style. Free ride Mountain bikes
share some characteristics with Freestyle bikes and some
road bikes are geared very much towards comfort.
This list is separated into 3 Main Categories;
- On Road,
- Off Road,
- and BMX.
On Road Bikes:
Comfort Bikes:
These bikes are on the fringe of an 'On
Road' Bicycle, and in fact share a great many features
with the mountain bikes from which they descended. They
feature 26 Inch wheels, Mountain-Bike Style (Large range)
gearing, Mountain bike style brakes and often have
Suspension Forks and Seat posts to help provide a
comfortable ride. Their smaller wheel size provides good
acceleration characteristics and decent off-road
capabilities, but creates more work for riders trying to
maintain a high speed.
Advantages:
Small Wheel size provides good acceleration, Frame
styling provides comfortable ride.
Disadvantages:
Small wheel size creates work when maintaining high
speed.
Examples of Comfort Bikes:
- Diamondback Wildwood
- Specialized
Expedition
Hybrid Bikes:
Hybrid bikes start to have features closer
to that of a traditional Road bike. They typically have
the same gearing and basic features as a Comfort bike,
however the frame is a bit closer to that of a road bike,
and instead of 26 inch wheels, the Bicycle uses 700c
wheels. the 700c wheel is a larger size, a bit smaller
than the 27 inch that used to be popular. They are very
comfortable even for longer rides. Many high end hybrids
do not have suspension forks, but even these are still
comfortable because of the larger wheel size. The primary
drawback is the slightly higher amount of work required
to accelerate from a stop. Also, though not necessarily a
drawback, some people find the geometry of hybrids is
'too comfortable.'
Advantages:
Frame styling and Larger wheels provide comfortable ride,
Easy to maintain speed.
Disadvantages:
Larger wheel size creates more work for acceleration.
Examples of Hybrid Bikes:
- Raleigh Passage 6.5
- Specialized Crossroads
Flat Bar Road Bikes:
Flat Bar Road Bikes are again, one step
closer towards a 'full' road bike. They feature Frames
with geometry very similar to a full fledged road bike,
and have road-style gearing (Close range versus large
range.) The Flat handlebars provide a still mostly
upright position for comfortable city riding. Their
primary disadvantage is the lack of different handlebar
positions for longer rides, and are slightly less
comfortable than Hybrids. This is a tradeoff primarily to
gain speed.
Advantages:
Larger wheels provide comfortable ride, Easy to maintain
speed, Fast.
Disadvantages:
Lack of variety of hand positions can cause discomfort
for longer rides.
Examples of Flat Bar Road Bikes:
- Diamondback Kalos
- Specialized Sirrus LTD
- KHS
- FUGI
Road Bikes:
Road Bikes are designed for mid to high
speed riding on pavement. Think 'Tour de France' and
you've got a road bike. There will be varying designs of
these, some more geared towards comfort and some more
geared towards sheer speed than anything else.
Advantages:
Fast, Light, easy to maintain speed.
Disadvantages:
Designed for sheer efficiency at the expense of some
comfort.
Examples of Road Bikes:
Masi 3VC Dura-Ace
Raleigh Intrigue 2.0
Specializedd Allez
KHS, Flight
FUGI
Touring Bikes:
Touring bikes are very similar to road bikes, although they have some differences. Touring bikes are Designed for long journeys. For instance if you wanted to bike across the state, a touring bike would be right up your alley. They feature mounts for racks to carry all of the equipment you would need for such a journey, and typically also feature a second set of brake levers near the center of the handlebars, making them very versatile. Lastly, Some Touring bikes feature Cantilever brakes to provide the stopping power necessary for when you're carrying heavy loads of gear. However, Many people ride touring bikes that never go touring simply because of the high level of comfort they offer.
Advantages:
Fast, Moderately light, easy to maintain speed and has lots of options for mounting racks.
Disadvantages:
Comfort and versatility is gained at the expense of some
efficiency and weight increases.
Cyclo-Cross Bikes:
A Unique Breed of Road bike, Cyclo-Cross
bikes are Designed for Both On road and Light Off road
riding. Cyclocross originated as a form of riding to help
racers maintain their strength in the off season, by
racing on courses that while can primarily be ridden,
have sections where you must mount and dismount from your
bike. Due to the nature of Cyclocross races, these bikes
typically have knobby tires, relaxed geometry and heavy
durability. These features make Cyclocross quite suitable
For city riding or someone looking for a 'do-all' road
bike.
Advantages:
Fast, Moderately light, able to take punishment.
Disadvantages:
Heavier than normal road bikes, typically start at a more
expensive price range than other styles.
Triathlon Bikes:
Triathlon bikes are designed for one thing and one thing only; Going fast! They feature Aerodynamic designs and very lightweight frames. However they are designed for relatively short rides compared to other road bikes. As a result they sacrifice comfort for speed, both in terms of frame design and weight (Sometimes just a little added weight in the right places can make a bike much more aerodynamic.)
Advantages:
Very Fast, Light, easy to maintain speed and has an
aerodynamic profile.
Disadvantages:
Focus on speed results in a bit less comfort.
Fixed Gear / Single Speed Road Bikes:
Fixed Gear and single speed road bikes are similar to other road bikes but have one primary difference. Where on most modern road bikes you have anywhere from 16 to 30 different gear combinations, These bikes have only one. In fact, Fixed gear road bikes get their name from the gear being 'fixed' to the wheel, and thus whenever the wheel is turning, the pedals are as well! Fixed gear bikes have a bit of a learning curve but many people feel that the constant linkage of the pedal movement with wheel movement gives them a better connection to the road. In addition the lack of gears makes maintenance very easy.
Advantages:
Fast, light, Very easy to maintain
Disadvantages:
Lack of gear choices mean you have to pick your setup
carefully.
Fixed Gear riding has a learning curve.
Off Road Bicycles:
Trail Bikes:
Trail bikes are designed primarily for off road usage, with very small drops in the trail. They are geared more towards speed than durability, but as their name implies they can take it out on the trails. Trail bikes can either have no rear suspension (Hard tail,) or a short travel rear suspension (typically 120mm (about 5 inches) or less)
Advantages:
Light weight gives good performance.
Disadvantages:
Not intended for 'very' heavy duty usage.
'All
Mountain' Bikes:
All Mountain Bikes are geared towards
rougher riding. They will typically be heavier duty than
a comparable trail bike, at the expense of weight. All
mountain bikes are typically medium-travel rear
suspension (around 160mm or 6 inches) although there are
some hard tail models that can take the abuse.
Advantages:
Design allows for rougher use on the trail with more
comfort.
Disadvantages:
Heavier than Trail bikes, less efficient.
Freeride Bikes:
Freeride bikes are about taking it all.
Typically freeride bikes have longer travel full
suspension designs and a geometry that is more geared
towards descending than climbing the trails.
Advantages:
Design allows for bigger drops, more stunt like riding.
Disadvantages:
Heavier than Trail bikes, less efficient.
Downhill Bikes:
Downhill bikes are the end all, be all of
mountain bikes when it comes to durability. They are
typically designed for, as the name implies, downhill
courses where there is very little climbing, since the
suspension is set up for very rough riding. Some people
like to say that downhill bikes pedal like a bowl of
spaghetti.
Advantages:
Design allows for huge drops, Durability
Disadvantages:
Very inefficient for uphill pedaling.
BMX
Bicycles:
Freestyle:
Freestyle bikes are about doing tricks like barspins, 360s, bunny hops and the like, typically with the help of ramps to get in the air. They will typically have 2 or 4 pegs on the axles to aid in performing tricks.
Dirt Jump:
Dirt Jump Bicycles are similar to Freestyle bikes, but are set up more for dirt jumping, launching oneself over ramps and performing more simple tricks. typically however the parts and frame are designed to better handle the abuse of jumps however.
Flatland:
Flatland bikes are about doing tricks as well, however their name comes from the fact that the tricks are performed on flat ground, without any ramps to help. Flatland bikes almost always have pegs to aid in performing tricks, and many also have what is called a 'freecoaster' hub to keep the pedals from turning while the bike is moving backwards.
Race BMX:
Race BMX bikes, as the name implies, are geared towards racing. They often have aluminum frames as opposed to the steel seen on other styles of BMX bikes in order to help lower the weight. They can very from size from 'Mini' (20" Diameter wheels with skinny 1" wide tires) to 'Cruiser' (24" Wheels with 2" wide tires.)