Bicycles for the average Joe and Jane can fall into three categories: Road bikes, Hybrid bikes and Mountain bikes. Road bikes are light, fast, and mostly ridden for racing or biking fast on paved surfaces. Hybrid bikes are a go-between a road bike and a mountain bike; the handlebars are like a mountain bike and the wheels like a road bike, but the tires are slightly fatter than a road bike tire.
Bikes sell at retail outlets for very cheap rates and at bicycle stores. I would recommend that if anyone were going to do any serious biking, other than riding round the block, it would be better to get a bike from a specialty bicycle store in the town you live in. Bicycling is dangerous. A rider must ensure that they have a bicycle that fits well to match the riding conditions. Furthermore, you want to develop a good relationship with a neighborhood store to ensure your bike will also be safe for riding.
Enthusiastic riders may have at least two bicycles, one mountain bike and another road bike. Moreover, if you do not ride on very rough surfaces and are not in competitive mode, you can also fair well with a hybrid bicycle that is good for the road and off-road. However, I would not recommend riding a hybrid over grassy and rough conditions.
Enthusiastic riders may also want to visit the websites of some of the famous bike manufactures like Trek, Bianchi, Orbea, etc and browse through all the models before taking one at first sight at bike a store. Trek bikes bikes classify under various categories, including urban bikes for rough town riding with special puncture resistant tires.
The more sophisticated cyclist or someone with plenty of energy to spare may want to purchase a bicycle or bicycles for a purpose. In that case, you can look at a wider array from the basic types mentioned above (road, hybrid, and mountain) to others like cross bikes, city bikes and cruiser bikes. In addition, within each of these categories there could be sub-categories fine-tuned to the road condition. Then there are folding bikes, which you can just pack-up and take it with you. One day I observed a Japanese man get off the train at the train station, unfold his bike and was on his way home in a minute.
In the USA, bikes in a specialty store can range in price from $500 to $20,000 or more. The more expensive bikes make from materials used in the space shuttle, like carbon fibers. Other expensive bikes make from special magnesium alloy tubes that are impossible to damage or from a combination of carbon and titanium. The expensive bikes are lighter and can work wonders for serious bikers who race and want extra speed with less energy. One of my biking friends correctly made a gesture to me once that it would be better for a rider to lose five pounds in physical weight rather than pay $4k to $5k extra for a bike that is five pounds lighter. On the other hand, these light bikes are comfortable because they do not wobble and give you a float type feeling responding quickly to a riders push on the pedal. With my biking experience, I know that a light bike is easy to go uphill. On very long rides, the timing on a light bike can make some significance. However, for average riders there is no need to spend thousands of dollars to enjoy a good ride.
As much as you can enjoy biking, you are also engaging in a dangerous activity. Therefore, caution is necessary. Always wear a helmet, never apply the front brake, do not take unnecessary risks and ride on terrain suitable for the type of bicycle. Although you may not be able to attain speeds of Lance Armstrong, you can come downhill faster than he could ride. Therefore, biking speeds can reach 40 to 50 MPH when most dangerous accidents happen with fast downhill riding.
I have road bikes for the paved road, mountain bikes for going off road and a sport bike for short commutes near my home. My best mountain bike is a Bianchi Super Grizzly. My best road bike in an Orbea Replica. The other town bike is a Trek Touring 520. Two other low-end bikes, which I keep in Florida, are a Bianchi Brava and a Trek mountain bike.
I enjoy biking very much because it takes me to places near and far with less effort than running and at a much faster clip too. I get to see my neighborhood, other neighborhoods. Furthermore, you can just be amazed at the potential your neighborhood has to offer when you get off to the woods and the pathways. As you can see from be a good sport that most of us who adore the outdoors can surprisingly have a great backyard vacation without spending a penny.
Remember to be very careful of your children and grandchildren when they ride a bicycle and teach them the dangers of applying the front brake. Ensure they wear a helmet and observe all safety rules. It is horrible to see a child hurt. Wearing a helmet can save your life, and by setting an example you can save another life too. Ride carefully and enjoy the great outdoors.
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