Cycling: get ready: find a bike that fits you, your budget, your lifestyle

Airman, June, 2004 by Orville F. Desjarlais, Jr.

Many people may find falling off a bike easier than buying one. In the past few years, gears have been upgraded, braking systems have changed and new bikes have been developed. Buying a bike to meet your needs has become a challenge. But picking the right bicycle will help keep It on the road and out of the garage.

More than 90 million Americans, a little less than one out of every three, use a bicycle at least once a month, according to 2002 Bureau of Transportation statistics.

After the automobile, stats show that bicycling is the second most preferred form of transportation. With that in mind, bicycle manufacturers have studied buyers and learned their habits. Discovering which category you fall into will help you select a bike.

People bicycle for a variety of reasons--as a family activity, physical fitness, lifelong leisure pursuit, work commute, competitions or just for the sheer excitement of barreling headlong down a mountain path. Whatever the reason, knowing how you want to use your bicycle is half the battle to picking the right one.

"Decide where most of your riding is going to be done," said Maj. Matthew Belmonte, an enthusiast of the sport who bikes 30 miles a day to work in Naples, Italy. [See "Major Races through Naples Assignment," April 2004] "Hybrids are a good option, but some people feel like the bikes don't do either job very well--they're not great road bikes, and they're not great mountain bikes. Mountain bikes are good off-road, but are tough to ride on the road. Road bikes are fast on the road, but not sturdy enough for off-road riding. Buy what you like and what makes you comfortable," said the operations officer at Allied Forces Southern Europe.

Once you decide on a hybrid, mountain or road bike, saddle up and check the distance between the seat and handlebars. Are the handlebars too far away? Can you dismount without hurting yourself? When you take it for a test ride, can you adjust the seat so your knees are slightly bent? Hopefully, after visiting a few bike shops, you'll find a bike that's a snug fit and fits your budget. There are benefits and characteristics unique to each of the three major kinds of bicycles.

Mountain bike

By far, mountain bikes are the most popular. They were the rave in the 1970s when first introduced and remain popular today, accounting for 70 percent of the national market. During their existence, mountain bikes have matured into three main styles: Full suspension bikes that have some form of shock absorbing equipment attached to the front and rear wheels, hard-tail bikes that only have a shock absorber on the front wheel, and rigid bikes that have no shock absorbers.

Mountain bikes are the SUVs of the cycling world, designed to be ridden in places where few humans tread. They're built for the adventurous who like to avoid the beaten path. One option for people who like to ride both trails and pavement is to buy a second set of tires with thinner road tires, like that of a hybrid. A thinner tire also eliminates "road hum" from high speeds on pavement. On the other hand, the thick-treaded mountain bike tire can roll over thorns and small shards of road trash that would flatten the average tire. So, if you're riding to work every day on rough roads and want the extra exercise, a mountain bike might be what you're looking for.

Road bike

These are the cheetahs of the bike kingdom. Baby boomers probably still refer to them as 10 speeds. They're built for speed and racing. With their light frames and skinny tires, these bikes are for serious riders who don't mind spending money fulfilling their passion for speed.

Because they're built for speed, road bikes don't have lower, hill-climbing gears popular with mountain bikes. Manufacturers previously assumed riders were fit enough to push bigger gears up paved hills. However, a growing number of manufacturers offer road bikes with a third "granny" gear chainring to make climbing hills easy on the knees.

Because the tires are narrow and inflated to between 80 and 140 pounds per square inch, which makes them hard and unforgiving, they're more vulnerable to flats. The payoff is speed and a heck of a workout.

Hybrid

This type of bike is adapted to most peoples' needs. It's a cross between a mountain bike and road hike. Bike makers have stolen ideas from both bikes and combined them to make an affordable solution for the average biker. Hybrid riders like to use their bikes for recreation and fitness. They don't want to get to where they're going quickly. They just want to get there in one piece.

Hybrids are not as heavy as mountain bikes, but still retain the durability of their rugged cousin. Hybrid tires are smoother and narrower than a mountain bike's, and thus don't produce road hum.

Unlike road and mountain bikes, hybrids allow for a more upright and comfortable riding posture. Aerodynamics is traded for comfort. Also, because hybrids are built for streets and hard-packed trails, they usually come with gearing better suited for road bikes than the lower, cliff-climbing gears of mountain bikes.