Many different means of evaluating a bike make purchasing a new one difficult. Even for pro bicyclists, deciding on their next bicycle can be a challenge. Because there are so many choices, it is hard to buy a new bike. You need to think about safety, comfort, what the bike will be used for, how often the bicycle will be used, where the bicycle will be used and, if we’re being honest: style. All the existing options make it hard to make a choice; this choice is made more difficult by all the emerging technologies. Take the easy road, and use the tests we suggest to choose your new ride.
We’d be lying if we tried to tell you that fashion shouldn’t play into your choice. The fact is that we all have color and style preferences. These preferences must be listened to when getting your next bike. Obviously, the style and fashion elements of the bicycle should not be your top priority (unless the bicycle is just for show). You really need to look at safety and comfort issues before any others. When you’ve assembled some bikes that are both comfortable and safe, then look to see which you like the looks of better.
You should always make sure to give the bike a test run before committing to buying it, though. You should never buy a bike until you have ridden it first, if only for a couple of minutes. This makes perfect sense because you know you'd never buy a car without test driving it first.
Why wouldn’t you do the same with a bicycle? You need to do this especially if you are spending a lot of money on a bike that you know you will use for a long time. You need to make sure the bike is a perfect fit. Not only should it be the correct size for you, but it should be easily adaptable to your lifestyle, meaning your riding style. You would never want to ride a bicycle that was uncomfortable for you.
The number of gears you’ll use will also affect your choice. If you are going to be travelling in relatively flat places, you will not need as many gears as you would need in rockier terrain or a terrain with lots of hills. A bike isn’t better just because it has more gears than another. Sometimes bike riders don’t ever use all the gears on their bike. It’s a waste of money to pay for all those unused gears. If your bike is going to be the main means of travel for you, you absolutely must get the number of gears you need for the situations in which you’ll ride.
There are lots of things to think about when you are trying to find the right cycling bicycle to fit your description needs. There are tons of varieties of bicycles, as well as innumerable amounts of accessories available to you, so sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming. As long as you go prepared and know what you need and are looking for, you can shed some of that frustration and find the perfect bike.