As you know, there are numerous reasons to start cycling. Some people choose to ride bicycles because they cannot afford the cost of gas and automobile maintenance. Some are 'going green' and taking an active part in trying to help our environment by choosing to ride a bike over a car.
Still others simply ride bicycles for fun. No matter your reason for choosing to take up cycling, you need to know some important things before you decide on your first bicycle. Choosing the right bicycle is more than just picking the one that's the best looking. This article is intended to give you a head's up on what you should keep in mind when it's time to buy your bicycle.
We’d be lying if we tried to tell you that fashion shouldn’t play into your choice. The fact is that we all have color and style preferences. These are going to come into play when you are shopping for your bicycle. Using style and fashion preferences as your main criteria is silly, unless you are only getting a bike to look good. Safety and comfort should be considered first. But once you have found the safest and most comfortable bicycles, there is no reason you shouldn’t narrow down your choice further by how the bike appeals to you visually. Believe it or not, your bicycle seat should not sit at its lowest setting, resting against the crossbar. You description want to adjust it up a few inches and take those inches into account when you are choosing your bike. Adjusting your seat up a few inches will give you more clearance between you and the crossbar of your bicycle, which can add quite a bit of comfort to your ride. The goal here is to create a height with your seat so that when your pedal is at its lowest position your leg should be almost (but not quite) fully extended.
The number of gears you’ll use will also affect your choice. If you are going to be travelling in relatively flat places, you will not need as many gears as you would need in rockier terrain or a terrain with lots of hills. Many beginning cyclists think that the more gears a bicycle has, the better it is. You may never have cause to use all the gears. Why spend extra money paying for something that you don’t need? Of course, if your cycling bicycle is going to be your primary mode of transportation you might need to make sure you have enough gears to handle rough situations. As you can see, there are many things to take into consideration when deciding on the perfect bicycle for you. There are people who view the durability of a bike to be most important, this is especially true if you plan to use your bike a lot over rough terrain. These folks are looking to find a bike that allows them to get where they are going without having to worry about a breakdown. Price may be the biggest thing you want to consider. As long as you take your time to find out all you need to know about buying a bike, you should be good to go. Never jump on the first thing that is pretty, because you never know if you are making a mistake.