Bicycles For All Ages- What You Should Think Over While Shopping!

Biking is fun for everyone! Not only is it a wonderful way to get around, it provides you with your daily dosage of exertion and activity as well. So while bicycles have principally been a means of transport for a long time now, that is no longer the case. Bikes keep you fit. Bikes can add adventure to your dat. Bicycles also keep the surroundings cleaner. And for the more self righteous ones - bikes make you feel like you are doing the world a favour!

What to look at:
So you've decided to buy a bicycle, now the first thing you've got ask yourself is:
* Who's going to be using it?
* What it will be used for?
* How much are you willing to spend on it?
Your reason for buying a bike

Among many bike lovers, while most choose to bike casually, either to school, university or even work; some more adventurous ones have also been a part of stunt biking groups, professional biking clubs or mountain biking associations. Biking is a great hobby and with so many options to choose from, you can decide how best you associate with this great invention! However, before you jump to any of that, you do need a bike. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when purchasing a bike either for your kids or for yourself.

Purchasing a bike for your toddler

So you've decided to initiate your toddler to the wonderful world of cycling; now the right time to get your toddler a two wheel bike is when they have reached age 3. By this age, kids have properly developed motor skills as well as a sense of balance and self sufficiency. Buying a bike for your child requires some research. Just knowing the brand and the colour preference is not enough. The bike needs to be comfortable enough for the child to ride, especially if the child is starting out learning to ride a bike.

The details

Bike sizes are classified via the size of the wheel. There are recommended wheel sizes for all age groups. When purchasing a bike for your child, pick the bike with the correct wheel size of 12 or 14 inches. Take your child with you for bike shopping. Make sure her legs reach the floor. When riding a bike, this will give the child more self confidence. Also make sure you purchase a pair of detachable side wheels for training her so she can learn to balance. Another important thing to keep in mind is to purchase a bike that is light in weight. Since you toddler is learning to ride, chances are she might fall a few times. And a heavy bike will worsen the experience. So while it is a bit more expensive, it is worth the investment. And while you are at it, don’t forget to purchase a bike helmet!

Bikes for kids in their pre-teens and teens

By the time your kids are in pre-teens or in their teens, they will have mastered the art of riding a bike and would have long outgrown the toddler bike. Now is the time for something different! Since they are a bit grown up, they will want more say in the purchase decision. It is best to get to know what it is they are looking for. Now, remember, kids might want the world, but you are working with a budget. So make sure your child is aware of it before hand so he can do his bit of research as well within that budget.

Ergonomics

In this age group, most kids will use the bike to go to school and for after school activities like meeting friends, taking part in local racing competitions etc. Consider the ergonomics of the bicycle. Make sure the handle bars are not too close to the seat as it will exhaust your child quite easily. And ensure that the seats are comfortable. The ideal wheel size for a pre-teenager’s bike is 18-22 inches. Make sure bikes for your young teen have coaster breaks for additional safety. Teenagers can use the same bike size used by adults, which is a standard 24 inches. Take your children with you so they can test ride the bikes before finally choosing one which fits their requirements and your budget. Also, don’t forget to accessorize. Items like extra headlights, water-bottle, reflectors, mirrors, radio etc. will personalize the bike for your child.

Considerations when purchasing a bike for adults

The ideal bike size for adults is 24 inches. When purchasing such a bike, ask yourself a couple of basic questions. Is the bike for casual riding or exercising or for a special hobby like mountain biking or for sports? You can opt for a single gear or multi-gear bike giving you the convenience of varying speed limits, based on where you are riding it. These days road bikes offer speed ranges of 12 to 21, to choose from. Another important thing to look for is adjustable seats and handle-bars.

Before you make a final purchase, test ride a couple of bikes since unlike kids, you are not likely to outgrow the bike you purchase. This also means you should go for something that is not just sturdy but also light.

Today, there are different brands with various models of bikes catering to all these specific requirements. Based on your requirement, choose the right bike for your needs.

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Bicycle Rims And Wheels, Your Bike Cant Go Anywhere Without Them

The first bicycle wheels were from a horse drawn cart, made of wood with a metal band round the bicycle rim, very hard and very uncomfortable to ride. Then a man called Dunlop (Scottish) invented the pneumatic tire, this along with Macadam (another Scot) inventing the tar road surface made cycling a lot more comfortable.

The bicycle rim, like the bicycle frame hasn’t changed much in design, its still round and always will be. From the first wooden rims the next were made of steel, then alloy and now if you can afford it, carbon. Of all bicycle parts the bicycle rim can make a big difference to how your bike handles. First the weight of your rim affects your sprinting and climbing as the weight will low you down, for a long, flat effort the weight isn’t so important as when you get the wheels rolling the weight can help to keep them going. The shape of the rim can be important also, a flat rim is best for climbing as aerodynamics are not so important on a hill, a deep section, aero, rim will help you cut through the air, but in a cross wind could cause you handling problems.

Bicycle Rims Materials

The different materials used for rims are very important also, steel is heavy and if damaged can be difficult to pull back into shape, but because its so strong it is quite difficult to bend in the first place and steel is cheaper than all the other materials. Alloy is probably the most popular rim, it can be made in any shape and profile, flat or aero, but not too deep as it would then weigh too much, most deep section rims are of a alloy braking section nearest the tire which is then mounted to a carbon deep section for lightness and aerodynamics and a very beautiful looking bicycle rim. As with most things if money is no problem you can go for the best, this would be an all carbon rim, strong and very light, but there are a few problems with these rims, first they don’t brake so well in wet conditions and you must use special brake blocks for carbon and they can be expensive, also the rim has to be perfectly round and not have any bulges in the rim wall as this will make braking quite erratic, carbon is a difficult material to work with and must be well looked after.

Types Of Rim To Consider

There are also two types of rim to consider and this depends on which kind of tire you want to use, first there are tubular tires these are glued on to the bicycle rim, cost more and are difficult to repair after a puncture, but for racing they feel and ride wonderfully. Clincher tires have improved a lot recently and are nearly as good as tubulars for performance and are easily repairable and more reasonably priced. Most manufacturers make all styles in both systems.

So which should I buy? Not an easy answer, as there is so much to choose from, years ago you went to your local bike shop, picked out which hubs, spokes and rims you wanted and he would build your wheels, but now most rim makers also manufacture there own wheel sets, Mavic, Shimano and Campagnolo are probably the best known, check out there web-sites for all there new goodies, there are other brands and if you go to your local cycle shop or look in the bike magazines you’ll find them. There is a lot to choose form, but they are all round.

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