Buying Your First Bike

Buying your first bike can open a gateway on a journey you'll love, or the parting with hard earned money to purchase an item that following its first use will be exiled to the furthest reaches of the shed or garage.We have 3 main types of bikes that are available from Bike Barn. They are the Mountain bike or MTB, the BMX, and what has become known as Hybrids that include trekking, comfort and city bikes. We also have a small selection of road bikes available for racing or commuting.

 

 

Mountain bikes are hard hitting, have good brakes, a lot of gears (up to 27), and are usually fitted with knobbly tyres. They are perfect for cycling off the trail blazed track. Your riding position can be upright, or, if you prefer, very streamlined, dependent on the bike. Suspension is very common now on MTB's, infact it can be difficult to find a mountain bike without suspension. Suspension is used for two main reasons, comfort and to increase traction.

 

You can get MTB's just with suspension at the front provided by suspension forks. These are ideal for general road and easy-going off-road use, offering a higher degree of comfort. Alternatively you can get full suspension MTB's, with suspension front and rear. These can be ideal for off-road use, but are not recommended if you cycle chiefly on the road.

 

You can still get cycles which have rigid frames and forks and these are ideal for general road and sporadic, mild, off-road use. These are referred to as hard-tail MTBs. MTBs are available with wheel sizes other than the standard 26" although these 20" and 24" bikes are purely childrens' bikes. With various add-ons or modifications MTB's can be a very versatile form of bike, although once the modifications are made you usually have a slightly different 'type' of bike.

 

 

The BMX originated way back in the 70's but grew in terms of popularity during the early 80's. BMX was originally the human powered form of Moto-Cross where instead of a motorbike, riders would race around a circuit of bumps and jumps on a small framed, 20" wheel bike, with a single gear.

 

This style of bike became very popular with younger cyclists, particularly teenagers who adopted this new manner of bike as their own. However, as with many types of bikes, the BMX evolved into more than just a race circuit bike. BMX's tend to be more durable than other types of bikes, largely due to their small frames and because they have only a single gear, they also tend to need less maintenance.

 

There are generally 2 types of BMX:- Firstly, the Race BMX. A basic, no frills machine built for speed. Secondly, the Freestyler. The first evolution of BMX, designed to be ridden purely to perform tricks and stunts, usually fitted with smooth instead of knobbly tyres and have a mechanism to allow the steering to be rotated through 360 degrees without entangling the brake cables. In addition, you will usually find stunt pegs fitted to one or both wheels.

 

 

The hybrid is a relatively new type of bike. Also referred to as Trekking, comfort and City bikes, they are ideally suited to leisure riders and a good deal of commuters. Hybrids first appeared in the late 80's and early 90's. This was a time when most people buying a bike were buying a mountain bike when really they needed something far less awkward and heavy.

 

The designers of the time took the best elements from mountain bikes, tourers and racing bikes and built various bikes which met more of the requirements for the average rider. A hybrid is fitted with 700c wheels but with wider tyres and rims than a racing bike. These tyres are generally multi condition, in that they have a smoth centre line for efficiency on tarmac, but have a knobbly outer tread, to give good traction if the bike is ridden on a non-tarmac surface. They are usually fitted with the same gear ratios and systems as mountain bikes, with between 18 and 27 gears, and similar braking systems.

 

More expensive models come factory fitted with mudguards, and pannier carrier(s), some even offer suspension seat posts and adjustable rise handlebar stems. These are often referred to as "fully equipped hybrids". The hybrid is no doubt the best all round bike there is for the leisure cyclist. It is perfect for tarmac riding, even longer journeys, and yet it is more than capable of being taken onto canal footpaths and forestry tracks.

 

 

Cycling is good for you - we all know this, but just how is it beneficial?

 

All the info you need on Mountain Biking

 

A nutrition guide for 6 common ride types