Choosing the Best Beginner Bike

If you are interested in getting started with cycling, you will probably wonder "what is the best beginner bike for me?" When I started shopping for my first bike in over twenty years, my goal was to find a good bike for riding around with my kids and getting a little exercise, and I wanted an affordable bicycle. Now, after getting into cycling during the past two years, and riding many bikes, I've come up with some tips for choosing the best beginner bike.

First, you must think about how you will most likely use the bike, and then you can consider the main bike categories below:

Mountain Bikes - are created for off-road cycling. This activity includes traversing of rocks and washouts, and steep declines, on dirt trails, logging roads, and other unpaved environments. A knobby-tired many-geared mountain bike is what you need if you know you'll be off-road.

Best Women's Road Bikes 2009

Choosing the Right Bike (For Women)

I say for Women, because I truly believe that most road bikes out there are made for men. Lets face it, go cycling on the weekend and a good 70% of riders will be male. Its not a surprise that most road bikes are made for men. But, women riders are different:

We have different bodies - lets face it, we have breasts that get in the way, we PMS - and riding when you have your period and are feeling heavy is not easy. We have smaller hands and our body's are structured differently.

So, I decided to test ride several bikes. My first stop was the Giant. For some reason my friend Mai raves about the Giants, saying it fits her body. I personally tried the Aeryn1, it was nice looking Tri-specific bike, not super light, bu with Shmiano 105 parts (MSRP: $1,725) Giant AERYN1 Bike. The gear change was smooth, but to be honest, it didn't really fit my body...additionally the frame was aluminum, and I really wanted carbon fiber.

Next, I tried the Trek Madone 5.2. The price is on the higher end of my budget, but thought I would try it and see if I can tell real difference (MSRP: $ 4,070). Trek Madone 5.2. Shimano Ultegra components, carbon frame and a perfect ride. The gear shift wasn't as smooth as the Giant, but I could see feel a much faster, smoother ride compared to the Giant (& potentially very dangerous in my case).

Best Entry Level Mountain Bike

Today the market is flooded with bikes of various kinds keeping in mind the plethora of demands customers set. A mountain bike is used for tracking difficult terrains. There are different kinds of mountain bikes available. They are mostly used in adventure races like free-riding, endurance biking, downhill biking and the like. When you choose an entry level mountain bike, you need to look for one that is study, durable and long-lasting.

You can find four categories of mountain bikes available in the market. These are the hardtail bike, the rigid bike, the soft tail bike and the full suspension bike. The first one is devoid of a rear suspension because of a front suspension while the fully rigid bike does not have a suspension at all. The suspension of the soft tail bike is located at the rear. Ideally a bike should be light weight in order to reduce tension from the rider. It is desirable that a bike have a leaning forward body.

The aluminum framed Trek 3900 is a hardtail bike. It is not suitable for rough terrains because its smooth shifting is its main attraction. However, this bike needs to upgrade its disc brakes. It is priced at $480.

Best Commuter Bikes

What defines the best commuter bikes? Defining "best" is totally relative, so factoring in the demands of a commuter; we came up with the following.

1 - They're Comfortable

No one likes to be going to and from work with any stress or tension, or even pain in their body. Part of this is down to riding position, but finding a suitably comfortable bike for your commute is important.

2 - They're Affordable

Getting to and from work shouldn't eat away at your income. Cycling should be cheaper overall than anything. Even incorporating cycling on a small part of your journey can help cut the cost of commuting compared to public transport or driving.

3 - They're Quick

Cycling on the whole must be able to match or shorten the time it take to commute to and from work. Bicycles can generally travel through traffic relatively easily, maintain a high average speed and take shorter, more direct routes (if you know your shortcuts well), but the best commuter bikes must be fast.

4 -...and they DON'T require a shower at the other end!

The bane of a cyclist who commutes is the "sweaty suit syndrome". Simply put, it means you have to have a shower, or at least get changed after you arrive at work. This makes the whole idea of saving time on your journey somewhat pointless, and employers "angst" over having to provide shower facilities.

Best Bay Area Bike Shops of 2010

Here are some of my favorite bay area bike shops of 2010. This isn't a comprehensive review of their quality of service. This is just a survey of all the shops that kept me coming back for more in 2010.

There are so many great bike shops in the San Francisco Bay Area. In this post, I'm not even profiling some of the all-time greats. For instance, the Missing Link Cooperative. Its store and annex have been institutions in the east bay for years. Likewise, the chain store Mike's Bikes is great in many ways. It carries a nice range of Cannondales, Specialized, and other assorted bikes. Also, they have some great sales: where I got my last 3 bikes. Nevertheless, as great as these stores are, they leave room for lots of niches. These niches are filled nicely by the shops I'm about to feature. I love to just visit them every couple of months whether I need anything or not.

The niches seems to fall into 2 categories: style and function. This is not to say any bike shop is lacking in either of these. However, when I think about what keeps me coming back to a given store it is one or the other these qualities. Regarding style, a relatively new shop is at the top of the list.

The Best Bikes For Women

Female athletes interested in performance have their choice of road bikes, time trial bikes and mountain bikes specifically designed for women. Depending on the intended use, components and budget, sport-specific bikes can range from $300 to custom bikes in the tens of thousands. Women interested in casual, non-competitive riding also have many options to choose from. There are plenty of hybrids and comfort cruiser bikes for women to choose from. Now that bike-commuting has become popular, city bikes for women are also becoming more common.

There is no one "best" bike for women - it depends on the type of riding she will be doing, her fitness level, and her budget. Some bikes have the capability of being multi-sport bikes (for road, mountain and city riding), and some are very specialized (such as time trial bikes). If the cyclist has the budget for only one bike, it should be a bike that "does it all". Hybrid and city bikes are probably the best for all-around use. Although they are heavier than road bikes and not nearly as aerodynamic, they are comfortable and can be light enough to ride long distances. Some hybrids are quite heavy and designed only for bike path use; however, city bikes (which are a more road-worthy cousin of hybrids) are more and more present on century rides (100 mile rides) because of their comfort. Hybrids and city bikes are not designed for aggressive trail use, but can easily handle gravel roads or gentle hiking trails if the tires are switched out to knobby cyclo-cross tires for better traction.

Comfort bikes for women are popular with cyclists looking to cruise the bike path or ride around the neighborhood. They are strictly for fun - they are not nimble climbers on the hills, nor maneuverable and responsive as road and mountain bikes, but for a fun, gentle ride that does not blow the budget, they are great.