Welcome to the Bicycle Guide
Cycling is more popular than ever and with more people on the roads and tracks, it's important that you get the right bike to suit you!
The Bicycle Guide has been designed to give you the low down on different types of bikes, together with some listings of our favourite bikes and accessories.
Road Bikes
Drop bars on a road bike are extremely handy if you are serious about cycling and are planning on racking up the miles either through leisure or competitively.
In many instances drop bars offer a lot more comfort and more of an efficient ride because of the position that you naturally put your body in. On long rides when your body starts to tire you will often put your hands on the drop bars and relax, this not only makes it a more comfortable ride but allows you to get into an aerodynamic position that makes the ride easier and more practical. For a road rider, especially competitive ones, it is vital to be as comfortable as possible as many tracks can be miles long. With drop bars they allow the rider to remain in the same position for miles whilst minimising air resistance.
You will often see the more serious cyclist with dropped bars on a road bike as they not only allow the rider to perform better, but look the part too. They look more professional and are designed to help the rider reach their maximum potential. Flat bars in comparison are good for low-speed manoeuvring such as mountain biking that is why you will often see mountain bikes with that kind of set-up. However for road biking drop bars are far better because you mostly steer with the hips. Drop bars are the perfect handlebars for this kind of cycling and you won’t see many road bikers that are serious, without them.
Mountain Bikes
The mountain bike world is a fairly large community and there are many types and designs of bike that cater for all different scenarios with them all having advantages and disadvantages depending on what you require from them.
There are roughly five types of mountain bikes and all tackle different types of terrain and obstacles differently so if you a serious rider or want the best bike to help improve your performance, it is important that you make the correct decision. There are downhill bikes, freeride, cross country, trail, and dirt jump options.
The dirt jump mountain bikes are used for hitting the hard jumps and responding well under pressure, they are very robust and extremely durable. However, they can also be used for slaloms and street riding as they are very light and responsive too. The downhill mountain bike is designed to withstand hard terrain. They are naturally heavier than most other models but are being made lighter all the time to make it easier and more efficient for the rider. The trail mountain bike has a soft suspension system and is built with tactical riding and obstacles in mind. Freeride mountain bikes can be doubled up to be a cross country bike and a downhill bike and are extremely easy to pedal which makes it an ideal choice, especially for beginners that want to try out both cross country cycling and downhill cycling. All of the bikes are very specific in what they do and are designed to perform at their best for the respective sport, so a lot of the disadvantages come if you want to try out another form of cycling with a specific bike built for something else. A freeride bike that is capable of more than one specific sport is probably the best option.