Bike Advice!

This is my generic general advice for people buying bikes, feel free to ask me any specific questions though.

Determine Your Intended Use:

Before buying anything I would first try to  figure out what you were buying the bike for, i.e. is this commuting? leisurely rides on trails?

Commuting: For commuting I would firstly recommend a road bike. These come in a variety of shapes types so you can get the type most appropriate for you (i.e. don't think of road bikes as being racing bikes or bikes that those crazy spandex clad guys are riding around on!). If you prefer a more upright. If you are new to riding on the road I would firstly recommend a flat-bar road bike (ie. one with straight handle bars and not those that curve downwards), here are examples of what i'm talking about.

If you want a more aggressive type of frame (i.e. think being able to go faster) that you can go with a road bike that has the drop down handle bars. Here is what they look like.

If you expect to be riding in rougher conditions like really beat up roads, unpaved paths or you just want a more cushioned ride you can also buy a cyclocross bike which is a road bike but usually with thicker tires and not as aggressive of geometry.

Recreational: If you primarily going to be using the bike for leisurely rides on weekends or in the park etc, then you can also look at hybrid, cruiser or dutch bikes. These tend to hand a very upright riding style, thick tires, and often handlebars which curve inwards towards you. These are meant to be very comfortable and forgiving bikes. Here is a short overview of different types.

Interchangeability of use: Please note, road bikes can always be used as recreational bikes and hybrids can always be used as commuting bikes. Technically Cruiser and Dutch bikes can be used for commuting as well, but they are really not suited for this purpose at all.They are very heavy, slow, and tend to be the least versatile and will be difficult to use beyond slow leisurely rides. I would never recommend buying a cruiser or dutch bike if you ever think you will be riding for reasons other than slow recreational rides in the park.

Note on Mountain Bikes: Many people often purchase mountain bikes as their first bikes to ride in the city primarily because their thick tires and upright riding style. While there is nothing wrong with this, it is not technically their intended purpose. Thick mountain bike tires while yes are a bit softer on city works and bumps, they are also very slow for this specific reason. Instead consider a cyclocross bike or an upright road bike.

Sizing: The easiest way to determine your bike size is of course to go to a bike shop and try many different bikes, though this doesn't always work perfectly as sizing is not uniform and many bikes with the same size will fit you differently. This is especially true when comparing different types of bikes (i.e. comparing a road bike to a hybrid bike etc).

If you are buying off craigslist or another used place and want a great and thorough overview, here is one. A good rule of thumb as well with sizing is you want to be able to stand over the middle bar (the one connecting the seat with the handlebars) with both feet firmly planted on the ground. You also want to be able to move the seat up enough so that you're on your tip toes (you don't necessarily have to ride with it that high, it just keeps you buying a bike that is too small). When sitting on the bike and pedaling you want to make sure that when your leg extends downward while pedaling that it is almost fully extending. You want to get as close as possible to being able to fully extended your leg (without actually fully extending it)  that is the ideal riding height. This allows your leg and muscles to have the most efficient cadence while pedaling. You do not necessarily need to ride like this after you buy the bike (though it is the most efficient!) but buying a bike with this in mind will keep you from getting one that is too small!

Please note: Dutch bikes and cruiser bikes are built to be able to allow you to quickly put your feet on the ground so being able to fully extend your leg while pedaling may not apply.

Buying a used bike: If you do end up buying used make sure you test ride it. Put it through its paces, go up and down hills, try to adjust anything you need and make sure to bring a multi-tool or screwdriver/allen keys if you have them as often people who are selling things dont have these and you want to be able to adjust it to your size. Also, most importantly make sure to switch through ALL the gears while riding! The gears are the most prone to problems, especially if it wasn't taken well care of. I personally would not buy a bike that had problems switching gears or when they were switched they made a very loud clunking noise, unless you were prepared to spend upwards of $100 to fix. I can provide advice for how to make adjustments when buying the bike to ensure it fits you properly.

Another thing to look for that is easy to do is checking the brakes and tires. With tires check them thoroughly for cracking in the rubber. Alot of cracking in the tire wall signifies a decreased life span for the tire. Similarly with brake pads check to make sure you can still see the lines/groves within the pads. Many bikes have what is called a wear line on the bicycle pad itself, you can use that as a reference point and if the pad has been worn to the wear line they are in desperate need of replacement. If the bike doesnt specifically indicate the wear line you can use this image as a reference point to where the wear line would be on your bikes pad. Neither of these problems are signs that you should not buy the bike, just signs that you may have to replace some parts in the future. New pads are cheap ($10-20) and new tires are moderately priced ($20-40)

Brands: My favorite entry level bikes that I recommend to everyone: Fuji. They are definitely very economical and and also very well built. These are very cheap new and good quality. The Fuji Absolute 2.1 is my favorite entry level bike and it is usually around $350-450

Other brands I recommend are Giant and Trek, though they are more expensive so you can look out for them on craigslist. Stay away under any circumstances from bikes and brands you can buy at target, honestly. This includes schwinns, huffys, magna. They are never worth it no matter if bought in the store of used (especially used!). They use very low quality parts and are assembled by employees who do not know how to properly assemble a bike. If you ever do buy one of these brands you should assume you will either have to get it tuned up or that you will be changing parts/getting service soon.

Hope this helps!

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