As a follow up to the article on cheap carbon frames I wanted to make a few additional points about bicycle quality that are less specific than one frame material. To begin, I think that everyone should ride bicycles. Bicycles provide low impact healthy exercise that is fun for all ages, and even more fun to do as a group. To get started you need to have a bicycle. If you already have one, or need to get one, here are some simple rules to follow when looking for a good bike.
Go to a bike shop!
This isn’t an elitist bike snob statement, it’s a statement made for your safety. Here’s why. When bicycles arrive from the manufacturer, they come in a box with some parts removed. The shop needs to assemble these parts and adjust them. Most department stores do not employ professional mechanics. That means that the stellar customer service you get at Walmart is assembling your bicycle. This is not a good thing.
Parts aren’t parts
Each part on the bicycle has a specific purpose. To illustrate this lets talk about brakes. Brakes slow you down and stop you from moving forward. If the brakes are of poor quality, or poorly adjusted, the results could be fatal. Stopping suddenly when a car cuts in front of you, or when the trail ends suddenly are not tasks that you want to entrust to cheap parts. Here is a test to see if you have good brakes, or if the bike you are shopping for has good brakes. Go into a department store, or out to your garage if you bought a department store bike, and try to bend the metal parts on the brakes with your bare hands. If they bend, or are loose, or the levers are loose or bend you have bad brakes. When you are rolling down the road and apply the brakes there are significant forces being exerted on the brakes. If your brakes are of poor quality, or badly adjusted they may not be up to the task.
So far I have just talked about the brakes but you can connect the dots for the rest of the parts: Poor quality = reduced reliability = increased safety risk = your life and health in the hands of a crappy collection of parts. Think about a few other consequences. Handlebars fail, you crash, maybe loosing your teeth or being run over by a car. Wheels fail, you could have a very long walk ahead of you. The frame breaks…you get the idea.
What style of bike?
Assuming that you have walked into your local bike shop, you are now confronted with having to choose between all the styles of bikes. While there are multiple choices they really break down to one thing, where do you want to ride? If you want to ride on park trails, paved and unpaved, or in the city at a slower pace, a hybrid may be the best bet. Hybrids have smooth tires that are fat like a mountain bike. They have upright handlebars for good visibility. These are great bikes for everyone. Now here are the guidelines for straying from the hybrid. If you want to go fast, or far on the road, get a road bike. If your idea of a trail is more dirt, rock, and ruts get a mountain bike. This is a great set of general guidelines to start with. To hone in on the exact bike from the three styles talk to a bike shop or email me and I’ll try to answer your more specific questions.
How much to spend?
As the old adage goes, “you get what you pay for”. But what are you paying for? With bicycles you are getting reliability, durability, weight, and longevity. The more you pay the better these qualities become to a point. Unless you are racing in the Tour De France, or training as hard as the pros do, you probably don’t need the top of the line parts (components). Unless you are planning to never ride don’t get the bottom of the line either. The middle ground is a nice safe place to start looking. Think of it this way, if you fall in love with the sport do you want to go out and buy a new bike right away because you cut some corners? Do you want to spend out for the de-luxe bling only to be depressed every time you look at the bike and realize that you never ride it? Do some shopping and ask questions. Down the road when you are totally committed and it becomes a lifestyle then you can re-invest in a top of the line bike, and keep the old one for trips around town and locking up to the bike rack.
If you are an established rider I recommend either Ultegra, or 105, unless you can settle for nothing but top of the line. I can personally testify that Ultegra will last nearly forever and it is very reliable. 105 won’t last quite as long, and is a little heavier, but if you’re on a budget, can’t wait to save up another few hundred dollars, and don’t want a used bike, 105 is a good option. The same is true in mountain bikes. Aim for XT, or LX. Both are great component sets, and follow the same logic as the road groups I’ve mentioned. Ten years ago I could have stopped there but there are new players in town, SRAM and Sampson and they are looking to be fantastic products with the same level of quality as their Japanese competitors. Last, but not least Campagnolo. This venerable manufacturer was and is the Ferrari of bicycle parts. They have always had great quality and reliability but were tended to be on the expensive side. I personally haven’t ridden anything newer than Nuevo Record…that from the 60’s so it’s hardly relevant. Because they tend to run on the expensive side most mid-level bicycles are not equipped with Campy parts. They tend to reside on the high end bikes exclusively. With any of these choices, ride them. The only way to tell which one you like is to ride the ones you don’t like.
Which Brand?
The second most common question is “Is this a good brand?” Sure. If you’re looking at a bike shop it’s probably a good brand. Many of the manufacturers have their bikes made in the same factory in Taiwan, or China. So even if the sticker says Brand X, or Y the same company probably put it all together. This is even more true of the mid to low range of bikes. As the bikes get more expensive there is more variety in the manufacturers and your shopping gets trickier. If you’re riding at that level you can read the magazines, talk to friends, and go on test rides to help you decide.
Buy your accessories
When you purchase your bike buy all the accessories you will need. Here’s a list:
- helmet
- gloves
- tubes
- tire levers
- patch kit
- seat bag
- tire pump
- bottles
- bottle cages
- padded bike shorts
Not only should you be able to get a deal on these items when you purchase them with a bike, you need them. These accessories will all make you ride more comfortable, safer, and allow you to avoid being broken down on the trail or road. Even if you don’t know how to change a tire, having the tools will allow a good samaritan to help you out.
Make some friends
The best way to start riding and stay riding is have friends that ride. Everyone needs motivation. If your friend is going on a ride it will help you to get out the door. It’ll be more fun and you’ll want to do it more. Riding by yourself can be very boring, especially really long rides. Additionally the slightest obstacle, cold, rain, wind, can be just enough for you to put off riding that day. If you have friends that say “who cares, let’s go anyway” you’ll forget about it because you don’t want to be the wimp, or let your friends down. Lastly the more the merrier. Riding in a group of two is fun. Riding in a group of 10 is fantastic!
Conclusion
These are just a few of the basics to get you started, hope they help. If you have any stories that you can relate let me know by commenting.