There are many types of biking and cycling and if you are finding it hard to find what will suit you best you are not the only one but dont worry I put this article together just for this purpose and after reading this it would be much easier for you to make your choice choose what kind of bike you need and how much that bike should cost you and what you should look for in the type of bike you need.
What kind of Riding do you want to do on your bike :
The first question that you should ask yourself is what type of biking you are considering doing on your bike for example there are many people who pick up biking just for exercising alone! some like to learn cycling to perform different tricks, some like to travel and some people want to ride gravel and rough terrain on their bike and some just want to buy a bike to use as a transport
Here’s a quick break of what you had like to do and the best possible bike that would suffice your needs
Biking only for exercise = road biking
Biking to learn cool tips and tricks & other free-style biking = BMX bikes & dirt jumpers
Travel biking = gravel bikes & Mountain bikes
Daily use biking = commuter bikes
Road biking and some gravel biking = hybrid bikes
Mountain biking = Mountain bikes
I have listed all types of biking that are usually out there I didn’t mention electric bikes because they simply fall into those categories as well and that will also depend on your budget as well.
This list was only for you to narrow down what you think you want to narrow down here’s another view on things to make a further better choice.
Here’s what role your age plays in choosing your bike:
If you already have decided on what kind of bike you need here’s a quick trimming that you should do on your thoughts to put it simply what age you are will also impact how your interest might bend or you had like to do more on your bike
It always happens with everyone especially if you have a limited budget you should give it a quick thought and let me break it down this way
If you are young and you have mountain biking trails near you then you should probably get a mountain bike because you are most likely going to want to start mountain biking & if you have bike parks near you are most likely going to want to get a BMX or a dirt jumper
if you are a middle-aged person wanting something to exercise and somewhat for daily use as well then a commuter bike is more than enough of course if you have an interest in another type of cycling then go for it there is no “best age to start cycling”
The Most Best choice if you are confused about what type of mixed bike type would cover your future interests there are 2 main ones that would fit the criteria very well Gravel biking & mountain biking of course if you have mixed thoughts but you can be specific as well as I have listed above as well.
IMPORTANT: When buying a gravel bike keep in mind that Some gravel bikes are road race bikes with tire clearance, some are endurance bikes, and some are drop bar mountain bikes so make sure that you consider in which category you fall in most and buy according to that
The next most important thing that you may think about is the budget here’s how that works.
The budget you would need or you should have :
The main concern that most people have is the budget what amount is sufficient to buy your bike of choice Here are some things that you should understand
- If you are buying a commuter or a common bike for daily use then 300-400$ is more than enough for a good bike
- If you had like to buy a bike that is used for competitive sports (Mountain biking & road biking) or for long rides touring (gravel bikes) then you should probably never go under 500$
There are rarely any good bikes under 500$ for competitive sports or long-distance bikes and they are very hard to come by since they are occasionally released and its fairly hard to get one before they run out of stock So if you are buying a bike other than a commuter or a normal bike a beginner good (mountain, road or a BMX or a dirt jumper) would cost you over 500$ and if you had like to buy accessory with them right away like a spare tube, sealants, patch kits, etc it would cost you around 700$
As a recommendation, I would advise you to buy your first entry-level bikes in max 500-1000$ as well because you can resell them easily later on if you had like to & they are more than enough to gain experience on them and learn the basics of your riding style.
If you are a bit short then save up some money for the bike and you can buy other accessories later on little by little if you have extra cash to spare I would advise you not to spend it carelessly and save it once you learn the basics of your biking style you may want to upgrade to a better bike and that money would benefit you most at that time.
Which brands you should consider buying from :
There are things that you should always look for when buying any bike from any brand and you should always make sure that they dont fall into these criteria, I specifically didn’t call out any brand because my personal opinion would get in the way as well so here are some things that you can keep an eye on before buying from any brand
- Lesser known or crazy expensive brands
- supermarket bikes
- avoid brands that dont offer some kind of warranty on frames (especially for mountain bikes & BMX and road bikes)
- Permanently fixed parts bikes
These are the kind of brands that if they have any of the characteristics you should definitely avoid there are many trustworthy brands out there that offer alot of variety based on your budget and quality like
- Trek
- Cannondale
- Basso
- Bianchi
- Giant
- canyon
- Cervelo
There are tons of others just like it a quick google search can help you in this as well, Moving on to the next question that most of you might have.
Should you buy a new or used bike (pros and cons of both) :
As a beginner, you might think of buying a used bike rather than buying a brand new bike which would cost you alot that can be a good investment as well that is if you hit the right mark I wrote about used mountain bikes as well that you can check out as well the cons with buying a used bike are of course they are used and you might get one which has an expired warranty, worn out parts that you might not notice right away like cassette and other problems that might look just fine on the outside but there are ways to get a perfect bike as well but as a beginner, I wouldn’t recommend it strongly
The other option is a new bike which may lack in features for the same price you might get a good used bike but then again a new bike usually has a warranty and you dont have to worry about alot of things.
These are the things that you should consider before making any purchase the final question that you might have is where to buy from online or offline
Where to buy your bike online or offline :
There are again 2 scenarios to this step as well
- Do you feel comfortable buying things online
- what brand or online store you are buying from
These are the two things to consider the first one is fairly simple if you are okay with buying things online or not and the second one is if the website or the online store you are buying from accepts returns in case of an accident on delivery like Amazon if you are okay with these and know your way around then sure you should buy online
On the other hand, if you are not okay with buying your bike online then there are many outlets of famous bike brands around you you can use google maps to spot them or visit your nearest bike shop and ask them if they should guide you in the right direction and might even drop some good recommendation.
Final thoughts :
There are some main things that you should not compromise on
- Good well known brand with fair prices
- Bike should have replace parts and they shouldn’t be fixed
- Bike should have some kind of warranty
- online or offline store should be willing to accept returns
As long as you can only get these 2 things right you can always resell your bike easily if you made a mistake while buying or you had like to upgrade by selling this one later on.