A Guide On How To Choose Your First Bicycle

Source: Active

Buying your first bicycle or looking for one new model? Most have some purpose or need to ride a bicycle. Hence, it’s important that your ride feels best and safe for yourself when you buy one. Here are some tips which will help you to achieve the best choice while buying the bicycle.

Know Your Budget

When it comes to buying a new bicycle of any kind, there are lots of options available in the market and it all depends on your riding needs. It all depends on the budget and experience of a rider. Make sure your purchase is worthy and fulfilling for you.

Doing Proper Research and Deciding the Specifications for Your Requirement

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One of the important factors which will interest you to ride more is the experience and feel you get when you sit on the saddle for the first time on the bike. Choose the bike which matches your riding style and needs. One who likes to ride a bicycle only for fitness purposes or losing weight can get the best bicycle under ₹ 15,000. 

If you have the purpose of riding long distances on the road, then go for the road bicycle with thin tires. If you have an interest in riding a bicycle in off-road terrain and doing stunts then it is best to go for MTB (Mountain Terrain Bicycle) or BMX (Bicycle Motocross Xtreme). Also, look for a bicycle enthusiast or an expert who has better knowledge and can help you to choose the best bicycle.

Deciding on Bicycle Specifications

Here are some tips for choosing the best specifications which can enhance your bicycle riding experience.

1. Frame Material & Size- Typically, bicycle frame material comes in 3 forms. Steel, Aluminium alloy, and Carbon Fibre.

Steel frame bicycles have better elastic frame flex and are easy to repair and weld. It provides more riding comfort but lags in agility and acceleration. Also, rusting is a problem in the long term. The aluminum alloy frame has less metal density and is lightweight, providing more agility and acceleration compared to the steel frame.

Carbon fiber frames on the bicycle are best when it comes to strength and being lightweight. You don’t have to worry about rusting problems. However, this material is expensive and not affordable on a small-budget bicycle.

About the frame size, depending upon bicycle frame geometry and model size, a chart is provided which describes the correct choice applicable to the rider.

2. Brakes- One of the most important factors while riding fast and safe is to brake. Often, brake performance can literally affect our riding performance efficiency by 40%. There are 2 basic classifications of brakes:

Source: Park tool

Rim brakes or V brakes: Typically found in less expensive bikes and road bikes, they contain rubber pads that rub on the rim and help you to stop your bicycle with ease. Merits are that it is lightweight and one. Cons are- being easily affected by weather, typically in the rainy season when water hits the pads reducing the performance.

Disc Brakes: Economical and provides the best braking performance when it comes to emergency braking. Pros of having a disc brake are a better gripping performance, unaffected by weather, and easy to maintain. The only downside is that it adds to the weight of the bicycle and repairing disc brakes is a little complicated and intricate.

3. Gear or Non-Gear Bicycle: 

Source: Sandro cycles

One of the biggest debates for laymen in the field of bicycles is about choosing a single gear bicycle (non-gear bicycle). Most of the commoners think that a non-gear bicycle is best when it is concerned with achieving exercise goals.

Actually, it's a wrong perception. Well, having a geared bicycle does a lot of improvement when it comes to maintaining your riding efficiency and maintaining riding power over the long term. The problem is, many people don’t know the correct gear shifting knowledge. 

“In terms of effort, a geared bicycle helps to maintain rpm (revolutions per minute) of crank or legs according to speed which maintains constant and uniform flow in power input thus improving our legs health.”

Having a geared bicycle prevents us from getting sprains and cramps while climbing difficult terrain or uphill for a longer duration. Overall efforts are the same and the power required overall to achieve the climb is the same in both the cases of having a non-gear or gear bicycle.

“Remember it's always better to wait for your dream bicycle than to make a rushed-up decision.”

Above were some of the key factors which will influence your bicycle riding experience and your interest over the long term. So, make sure while looking for a new bike, always look out for bike reviews and search for a proper bicycle store in your nearest area.

Written By - Prajwal Barate