The most important factor for choosing the right bicycle is your age. Other factors include health status, duration and frequency of riding. If are a young boy or girl, then mainly size is the parameter for choosing a cycle. On the other hand, if you are an adult, then you have to consider many other things.
With age, flexibility of muscles and joints decreases, therefore several factors have to be considered
These bikes are designed for maximum performance on the road.
Racing bikes are light weight with thin tyres. They are designed for high speeds and usually have gears. The handlebar of aracing cycle is designed such that the rider has to lean much forward agrressively for high speed performance.
Touring bikes are designed for longer periods of riding. To reduce fatigue, they are designed for better comfort. The posture of the rider is more upright. The bicycle has provisions for rack and fender attachments.
Mountain Bikes or All Terrain Bikes are designed for off-road cycling. They are meant for riding outside urban areas. MTBs come generally with front suspension only. These bikes are called hardtails because they do not have suspension at the rear. The front suspension gives a certain amount of comfort to the rider in absorbing bumps on hilly terrains. Lack of rear suspension on the hardtail bikes does not matter much for many people, and also these bikes cost less thereby giving comfort to the rider's pocket.
When you want to ride your bicycle in urban, semi-urban or village areas, hybrid bike is the best choice. It has combined features of both the road bike and the MTB. A hybrid bike has handlebars of an MTB and it gives a more upright posture than a city bike. They inherit the larger wheels of road bikes adopted such that the rims are wider and tyres are thicher.
Adults' Bicycle Size Chart | |
---|---|
Inseam sizeWhat is inseam? | Frame Size |
25 inches | 13 inches |
26 inches | 14 inches |
27 inches | 15 inches |
28 inches | 16 inches |
29 inches | 17 inches |
30 inches | 18 inches |
31 inches | 19 inches |
32 inches | 20 inches |
33 inches | 21 inches |
more than 35 inches | more than 23 inches |
Generally a bicycle's frame size is measured by its seat tube length. It is given in inches for mountain bicycles and in centimetres for road bicycles. Top tube is the tube between the head tube and seat post and decides the reach of the rider to handle.
Although top tube length cannot be changed, the handle bar itself can be raised. In some advanced versions, bike manufacturers give provision for tilting the handle backward or forward in addition to the normal stem height adjustment. Another way of doing this is to use bent seat post, in which case the saddle (seat) can be positioned considerably backwards.