Lemme ask you. What would you do when you want to buy a bike? Would you just head to a bike shop nearby and randomly select and buy a bike? You could do that. But, you’ll probably risk of buying the WRONG bike. – So, how do we choose the right bike?
Likewise, before you want to buy a house, you spend some times to look for the suitable house. You’ll probably check the location, design, transportation facility and even the potential appreciation of the house before you make the purchase.
Or, when you want to buy a car, you look at the function, specification, the size, the design, the brand and even the colour before you buy the car.
You consider before you purchase the two things above. You won’t simply point at those things and just say “I want to buy this”.
So, same thing like you want to choose the right bike. I believe you don’t want this to happen. So, treat it like buying a house or a car, you need to have consideration before you buy a bike.
Here, I would like to share with you 10 simple factors that can help you choose the right bike.
1. Types of bike
There are various types of bike out there. And, different types of bike have different purposes, either for leisure riding, transportation, adventurous or even speed riding.
In your mind, you maybe have shortlisted the types of bike that you would like to buy based on your purpose. This is sensible. But, you may not be aware of the alternate bikes which may serve the same purpose as well (discuss in section Purpose).
This section aims to introduce you different types of bike which helps you expand your horizon when you want to choose the RIGHT bike.
The COMMON types of bike and also the characteristics and functions are:
Road bike
- High saddle position
- Dropped handle bar
- Usually no suspension
- Cassette and chainrings
- Thin wheels and tires
Road bike is easy to recognize and distinctive from other types of bike. It is very stylish. But if you look closely at the riding posture of the cyclist, you’ll notice the riding posture is quite uncomfortable.
That is the design for aerodynamic cycling. This allows cyclists to achieve aero-position when cycling, which tends to reduce the frontal area to reduce frictional drag and air-pressure drag.
High saddle position and dropped handle bar allow the cyclist to learn forward so that the direction is parallel to the ground. As the name suggests, road bike is designed for road and speeding riding.
Mountain bike
- Flat handle bar
- Front or full suspension
- Thick tires
- Big cassette and small chainrings (some only have one chainring)
Mountain bike is totally the opposite of road bike. It is designed for gravel and trail riding. Therefore, it has suspension and thick tires to handle the bumpy terrains. Flat handle bar enables cyclists to have a better grip on the riding on the bike.
Touring bike
- Long wheel base with big wheels and tires
- Pedal relatively close to the ground compared to other bikes
- Front and rear racks /mounts
- Multiple bottle mounts
- Could have dynamo light
This bike is best used in touring or travelling long distance, especially you need to carry a lot of bags and luggage from one terrain to another terrain. That is why it has those racks / mounts to carry your bags and water bottles.
Long wheel base ensures cyclists to have enough space of pedaling without the disturbance of the bags or luggage when riding.
Hybrid bike
- Combination of road bike, mountain bike and touring bike
- Flat handle bar
- Wheel size similar to road bike
- Thinner tires than mountain bike
- Rear rack
- Could have dynamo light
This is the combination of road bike, mountain bike and touring bike. Yeah, the purpose of this bike combines the purposes of those bikes as well.
Indeed, this bike is aimed for COMFORTABLE riding on the road and trail. This bike is suitable for city riding and as transportation. Similar to touring bike, some cyclists install rear rack to put their bags on the bike while riding.
Gravel bike
- Combination of road bike and mountain bike
- High saddle and dropped bar (like road bike)
- Thick tires (like mountain bike)
Frankly speaking, I couldn’t really differentiate this bike with hybrid bike because this is also the combination of road and mountain bike, as well as the purposes.
But, if you look closely, this bike has a better distinction from hybrid bike because the top part of the bike looks like a road bike whereas the bottom part looks like a mountain bike.
Although this bike is designed to ride on the road and the trails like hybrid bike, this bike leans more towards the PERFORMANCE side of the riding because the dropped bar and high saddle allows a more aerodynamic cycling.
BMX bike
- Single gear
- Relatively small bike compared to other bikes
- Low saddle position
- Flat handle bar
- Front and rear pegs
- Thick tires
- 360º front wheel rotation / swing of bike frame and wheel
Based on the features and specifications, I believe you already know this bike is usually used for cycling tricks and stunts. Low saddle position allows the cyclist to ride out of saddle. Gyro brakes system allows the cyclists perform 360º rotation of the front wheel.
Apart from the cycling tricks and stunts, this bike can be used as transportation in the city.
Cruiser bike
- Usually one gear
- High handle bar (usually with cruiser handle bar)
- Low saddle position
- Could have front basket and rear rack
- Could have dynamo light
This provides the most COMFORTABLE yet the SLOWEST riding because of the high cruiser handle bar and low saddle position, as the cyclists sit almost vertically on the saddle.
So, this is the perfect choice for chill riding and as a form of transportation in the city. Cruiser bike is very common as a form of transportation in the city in some countries, especially in Japan.
2. Know the purpose to choose right bike
Now, let’s move internally and think thoroughly of your intention to buy a new bike.
You need to have a MAIN purpose when you choose a right bike. After that, it is better to think of a SECONDARY purpose (if available).
Why?
Let’s say you want to use the bike to travel within the city and use it as transportation, there are several suitable types of bike. – Cruiser bike, BMX bike, and hybrid bike, for instance.
Here comes the importance of secondary purpose. Apart from transportation, would you like to use it for speeding or riding on trails? – If yes, you may need a hybrid bike or a gravel bike.
Unless you are determined that you only need a bike for a SOLE purpose, then you don’t have to consider the secondary purpose.
3. Budget
You have your budget to buy a house or a car; you even compare the price and the quality of the grocery, eg vegetables or meat, before your buy them.
There is no exception when it comes to buying a bike. You need a REASONABLE budget.
Why reasonable?
This is because you will use your bike over a long period of time. You need to weigh both the price and also the quality of the bike. – Of course, you want to make sure it fits your budget when you want to choose the right bike for you.
For example, the range of the price of bikes can be very reeeally wide, from 2 digits to 4 digits or even 5 digits!
And, you won’t expect to buy a road bike with $90, right? – Because you have a reasonable expectation that a road bike is a high-end performance bike and this bike cannot be justified by merely $90.
Not only on the types of the bike, the price is determined by the material of the bike frame as well (discussed in section below).
4. Materials of bike
Do you know the material of your bike frame? If yes, then do you know why the material is used in your bike? If no, perhaps we can explore this.
Materials are crucial in determining the functionality and the durability of the bikes and this directly determines the price of the bike.
The common types of materials that are used in the bike frame include:
Steel
- Heaviest amongst the 4 types of materials
- Durable, but can get rust
- Excellent for fork material into any shape
Based on these, you will get the idea that steel could be a cheap material for bike frame. It is the heaviest materials and it gets rust if is not taken care of, so you need to make sure the frame is painted to avoid corrosion.
Despite the above, steel is a good choice to get a custom bike frame without paying the price of a high-end bike because of its flexibility in shaping.
Aluminium
- Won’t get rust
- Light
- Can be used to shape for aerodynamic bike
- Stiff
- Not durable
Aluminium is the most popular materials used in bike frame, because of the enhancement of manufacturing process, which makes the aluminium bike frame more affordable than carbon fiber and titanium.
Furthermore, it is also used in shaping for racing bike like road bike. So, this makes the economic choice for the road cyclist to choose aluminium road bike before switching to the high end road bike like carbon fiber or titanium.
Although it won’t get rust, aluminium is stiff which doesn’t absorb road vibration which makes it wear out more quickly, and it makes the cycling not as comfortable as others.
Carbon fiber
- Lightest amongst the 4 types of materials
- Excellent shaping flexibility
- Stiff but low density (allow road vibration absorption)
- Resistance to corrosion
- Specialised labour skill in moulding
Carbon fiber is non-metal material in moulding the frame. By looking at the characteristics, you realize carbon fiber is an ideal material for aerodynamic bikes. – And you won’t be surprise that this technique is also applied in manufacturing airplane.
Unlike steel and aluminium, high specialized labour skill and time is required to mould the carbon fiber frame. Thus, you’ll also expect the price is higher than aluminium and steel.
Titanium
- Very durable
- Very great resistance to corrosion
- Light
- Stiff but low density (allow road vibration absorption)
- Specialised labour skill
Aside from sharing the similar characteristics of carbon fiber, titanium bike frame is arguably the most durable compared to other materials. – So, you could expect high bike frame premium price, too.
Not only with its excellent characteristics in aerodynamic cycling, titanium is cool and stylish with its silver bike frame.
5. Size of bike
When you buy clothes or shoes, you look for the suitable size. We know the unfit size will make us uncomfortable and unattractive when we wear them.
Buying a bike is essentially the same thing. In addition, selecting the RIGHT size of bike is even more crucial because a bike costs much more than clothing. – Talk about price of 3-digit or up to 5-digit bike!
But, getting to know the size of the bike, like S, M, L, etc, is not enough, because the measurement in determining the size for each manufacturer could be different. – You may still risk of buying an incorrect size of bike if you rely on this spectrum.
Instead, look for the actual MEASUREMENT. The taller you are, the bigger the bike frame and the wheels should be.
Well, you don’t have to worry about the actual measurement of the bike frame and wheels. In fact, there are standard guidelines or tables on the internet which you could check the recommended measurement.
Here, you can refer to the table prepared by BikeXchange for the recommended measurement. – Just like checking trigonometric or normal distribution table, it’s convenient.
So, you have no reason that you are unaware of this, right? Nothing is worse than buying a too big or too small bike which you feel uncomfortable riding it and despise it after you have spent your HARD-EARNED money on it.
6. Handle bar
You notice the types of handle bars are kinda standardised based on the types of bikes, eg, dropped handle bar for road bike and flat handle bar for mountain bike.
But, it doesn’t mean you couldn’t tailor it, right? Because you are the one who rides the bike, and the setting of the handle bar should be based on your expectation.
There are three common types of handle bar for your understanding and consideration.
Dropped handle bar
This kind of handle bar is designed for aerodynamic cycling. This allows the cyclist to lean forward to reduce the frontal area to achieve greater speed.
If you wish to choose a dropped handle bar, you can look at 3 criteria:
- Width – determined by width of shoulder and flexibility of your arm
- Reach – how deep the reach of the dropped bar. A really deep reach can be quite aerodynamic, but may be uncomfortable
- Shape – how curved the dropped handle bar is. Some provides more ergonomic drop to provide better grip
Upright handle bar
A very common and straight forward design handle bar. This allows comfortable and better grip on the handle bar but at the same time is not built for aerodynamic cycling.
For choosing an upright handle bar, you can look at the following criteria:
- Width – width of shoulder and flexibility of your arm
- Design – various type of upright handle bar, such as flat handle bar, riser handle bar, and cruiser handle bar
Cruiser handle bar provides the most comfortable grip yet the slowest riding compared to flat handle bar and riser handle bar. This is because the cyclist is sitting almost vertically without leaning forward while riding.
Bull-horn handle bar
Combination of dropped handle bar and upright handle bar. While the cyclist can grip like normal upright handle bar, this provide another grip option for the cyclist to lean forward to grip the “bull horn” for better speed.
Thus, it is an ideal option / transition for the cyclist to transit from upright handle bar to dropped handle bar for aerodynamic cycling.
7. Saddle
Saddle comes with various forms. Some are with cushion and some are not.
And, you could also see some saddles are wide and bulky and some saddles are narrow and slim.
Why are the differences? Because different types of saddles are used in different types of cycling.
Take a look at the cruiser bike. The saddle may be wide and bulky and with cushion. Or, take a look at the road bike. The saddle may be narrow and slim without cushion.
In aerodynamic cycling, notice the cyclists ride out of saddle when sprinting, their body posture is “narrow” as to reduce the frontal area. A narrow and slim saddle does the same thing, too. – I guess you won’t see a bulky and wide saddle on a road bike, isn’t it?
Or, you won’t want narrow and slim saddle on a cruiser bike, because this saddle was not as comfortable as a wide and bulky cushion saddle.
Regardless of what kind of riding we want to be, we want to be “comfortable” sitting on the saddle, especially for long hour and distance riding. – There are even various designs of narrow and slim saddle to improve the saddle comfort.
8. Testing before you buy
You can buy your bike either on the internet, at the department store or at the bike store.
If possible, you could buy at a bike store because you can TEST the bike and CONSULT the expert before you buy the bike. Or, at least you can also buy at department store which provides free testing.
This is crucial especially when you want buy a high end bike. After all the explanation above, you need to “test” them. Even if the above sounds “reasonable”, those are pointless if you feel the bike is not comfortable or not right for you.
Just like when you want to buy a car. You’ll definitely want to test driving the car that you are going to buy!
Free testing also allows you to consider a better option and consult the expert on the bike shop for his recommendation to suit your need. – You may be surprise that you can spend less with a better suited bike!
9. Maintenance of bike
Ok, after you buy a car, you need to send it for maintenance to ensure the performance of the car is preserved. As a driver, you need to know the mileage of your car, the frequency of maintenance and also the location of maintenance.
You should also apply the same principle to your bike! Your bike is also a vehicle. The more you ride, the more it wears out! – Simple as that.
The maintenance cost depends on the spare parts of your bike, such as the brake pad, tires and even the chain. The cost of those spare parts depends on the type and mileage of your bike which you should also consider even before your buy a bike.
So, are you willing to incur the potential maintenance cost?
If possible, it is recommended to learn how to repair and maintain your own bike. Because sending your bike to the bike shop for maintenance service is another cost, unless you are willing to pay for guaranteed maintenance.
10. Resale value of bike
Even before you buy a bike, think how long you expect to ride that bike. Maybe 2 years, 5 years or 10 years?
What will you do to your used bike after that expected years of riding? Will you leave it in the garage; are you gonna give to others; will you sell your used bike?
If you plan to sell your used bike, then it is better to know its resale value. – That is exactly important to know even BEFORE you wan to choose the right bike for you!
Resale value of the bike is the expected selling price of second-hand bike. This helps you reduce your cost of buying of your next bike. You can either trade-in with your new bike or sell to other cyclist.
Usually, resale value depends on the brand, model, mileage and the types of bike. You may refer to BicycleBlueBook.com to check the resale value. Or, it is also no harm to consult the expert at the bike shop on this matter when you are buying a bike.
Also, who knows maybe you decide to buy a second hand bike, instead a new one?
Final thought: choose the right bike
Treat buying a bike as buying a house or a car. It is always better to have consideration and some basic understanding on the bikes before making a purchase.
Think of the purpose of your bike, how much your budget is, whether the quality of the bike justifies the price, and whether the price justifies the budget and also your purpose.
To choose the right bike, spend some time to research and think what you care about. After all, you want a bike that you are comfortable riding with, a bike which fits your purpose.
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