Knowing what to look for in your new bicycle is of paramount importance. Even for those people who are paid to ride, buying a new bike is hard. Considering the various factors makes purchasing a bike tough. Evaluate the safety, comfort, and use of the future bike. You also need to see how the bike looks, and how frequently you’ll ride and the location of those rides. How can you make a decision when there are so many different choices available, and new options being released every day? Opting for the correct bike for you is as easy as using these simple criteria.
You must make sure you get a bike that is the appropriate size for you. To do this, you will need to measure your inseam. Your inseam is the amount of inches from the bottom of your foot, up the inside of your leg to your groin. The goal is to be able to sit on the seat of the bike and still rest your feet flat on the ground. This is for safety more than anything else, if your brakes should fail you will not be able to easily stop the bike otherwise.
For road bikes take away 9 inches from the total of your inseam. This is to account for the size of tires you will use on a road bike. Road bikes are meant for city cycling—the tires are thinner and work best on concrete paving. If you are looking for a mountain bike, you will want to subtract about a foot (twelve inches) from your inseam measurement. Again this is to account for the size of tires. These tires are designed to handle rocky and jagged terrain so are therefore thicker. You can use mountain bikes for city cycling, but the opposite is not true and they are nowhere near as good on city streets as road bikes.
You should already have your safety gear bought and ready to go. Bicycle helmets are something completely different than they once were. Not only do they look a lot better than they used to, they are also built better to provide greater protection. You should never even think about riding the bike without first putting on your helmet. You'd be surprised at how many lives have been saved from that one simple thing.
If you are going to be taking your bike off road, then you need to also invest in some knee and elbow pads, as well as ankle and wrist guards. Pants clips are another great investment, especially if you are using your bike as your sole means of transportation. These are clips that keep your pants legs up and out of the way of your gears and chain.
When looking for a bike your main goal is to find one that suits additional hints you physically. When deciding upon using a bike for transportation you need to keep this in mind. You need to feel safe but also comfortable on your bike, otherwise you won't enjoy riding it!