More and more of our inventory has come to consist of Giant bikes as time has progressed. This can be attributed to two major reasons: 1) Giant bikes are very popular, and 2) We are very happy with Giant as a company. the products of giant have withstood the test of time again and again and thry have been extremely reliable.
Giant electric bicycles are high quality and are designed with a great deal of care. Once purchased, the owner of a Giant electric bicycle has to do very little to maintain the bike outside of your standard bike maintenance; the batteries need to be recharged, but the other electrical components rarely require any input, if any attention is even needed at all.
The Giant Suede E was a more recent addition to Giant’s line-up of electric bikes, and as such you still see plenty of them on the road. It features both pedal assist and a throttle. The Suede E’s secondary throttle feature allows for boosts in power and some light, effortless cruising in addition to pedal assist.
The Giant Twist Freedom is the newest addition to the world of electric bikes even folding electric bikes. The Giant Twist embodies some of the best features of the Giant Lite and the Giant Seuede E, years of user feedback and market research, and other new innovative improvements and cutting edge technology. Much like the Giant Lite, the Twist works with pedal assistance. You can set it to three very effective modes of assistance while enjoying an incredibly comfortable, easy ride. And the best part yet? You have two light-weight, slim batteries to alternate between. When one gets low, simply switch over to the next by means of a switch on the handlebar, allowing for an unprecedented range. A rear rack,7-speeds, pannier bags and fenders complete the package.
When it comes to road racing, particularly in time trials, everyone is looking to be a light as they possibly can. Pro cyclists are on very strict diets and watch their weight very carefully, but the racing bikes also need to pretty trim. Over the years the weight of time trials bikes had dropped quite dramatically, around 50g average over 5 years. If you’re thinking this is nothing, there are a million riders who will testify to just what a difference this makes. So what are the latest developments to come on scene, aimed at shaving another few pounds off?
Carbon fiber shoes. When it comes to cycle clothing, strong and light is the key. Racers want their shoes to be very firm so that none of the energy that they generate is lost and instead all past into the crank. Traditionally there has been a tossup between using hard materials which were usually heavy or lighter ones that softer and not as effective. New shoes made from carbon fibre are the answer to both problems, being a great deal lighter and most shoes and much stronger also
Titanium spokes. Believe it or not, the weight of your spokes can add up to make a big difference in the overall weight of the bike. Carbon fiber spokes are available but their strength is not that affective when they so thin, so they are made thicker and have an impact on aerodynamics. The preferred option is now titanium spokes Zipp wheels now use and can be made to the same size steel ones, but are around half the weight.
Fully carbon bikes. The ultimate in performance racing is the bike made almost completely from carbon fiber. As mentioned previously, this makes the bike incredibly strong but does not compromise on weight. The comfort of the ride is also something that has impressed those who have trialled carbon bikes, which is of course important.where carbon fiber does currently slip up is the price of the stuff. Until the price of carbon fiber comes down dramatically, it will always the material of the elite.
It seems that cycling becomes more popular as a sport every day and new makes of bikes pop up all the time. Most frequently bikes are made from some form of steel but as technology advances, so more materials have become viable options. A very popular alternative at the moment is aluminium, which is even now being used in snowboards and surfboards. Lets take a better look at the qualities of aluminium and see how it compares to steel?
Strength. Steel frames tend to boast approx twice the strength of an aluminum frame, which could suggest that aluminum would not be suitable for high impact bike riding. However, because of the fact aluminium is such much lighter than steel (40% lighter) the frames can afford to be thicker and thus match the strength of steel. However, there are some occasions where the forces put on a bike frame require quite strong steel and aluminium just would not be suitable.
Performance. aluminium has about 33% of the stiffness that steel has. Whilst you would automatically think a more forgiving ride would result, bike riders tend to say the opposite is true. Many say that they find steel-framed bikes have greater comfort. Aluminium bikes do outperform steel bikes in some sectors such as road racing and hill climbing events due to their better weight but again, most choose steel for bike riding that requires great strength of frame
Cost. The cost of a frame is dependent on various things, most commonly the steel or aluminum quality. There are now steel products on the market that are light enough to almost rival aluminum, however the cost for these is often quite large. Also, as aluminum use becomes more widespread, is costs in lower end products is coming down. However, due to the fact steel is more readily available and is the standard for most new and second hand bikes, it is usually cheaper than aluminium.
Someone bugging you for a dirt bike? Take a good look at an electric mini dirt bike as a great alternative to the gas hogs. Your neighbors will thank you as they are almost silent unlike those obnoxious gas bikes. Dirt ebikes don’t have parts that get hot enough to burn you. These bikes just plug into a wall outlet, and the highly efficient batteries are designed to work smoothly with the ebike motor.
Ebike mini dirt bikes are far less expensive to operate than their gas powered cousins, as in order to get the equivalent of a full tank of gas you have only to plug it into the power outlet in your wall for a few hours and you are ready to go. No more lugging around dangerous gas cans in the back of your car on the way to the dirt bike course or paying far too much a gallon to fill the thing in the first place! Your only cost to run a mini dirt bike is the electricity, which will save you about 90% of the cost of gas.
Electric powered mini dirt bikes run very clean and are better for the environment than gas models and are much quieter, too. They do not put out harmful exhaust fumes like gas motors, and the only pollution from them comes from the risk of improper battery disposal and whatever was used to provide the energy for your home in the first place. Because power plants have strict standards nowadays, that will be much less of an impact than gasoline, so shrink your carbon footprint and ride electric! You can also cut down on noise pollution with these bikes too, as they are much, much more quiet than gas powered motors. Unlike the noisy gas dirt bikes, these mini dirt bikes only hum softly, making them great for rides in the country as wel as city courses.
Unlike ebikes used for commuting, distance isn’t much of a concern with a mini dirt bike. That means tht you can push the powerful motor to it’s extreme, and still and power left for stunts. It doesn’t take a long time to recharge the batteries, so you can be back on the track again quickly.
One of my goals last year when I started to use my bike a bit more seriously was to cycle 100 miles in a day. It sounds easy after all those guys on the Tour cycle that every day for three weeks and more over mountains and stuff. So I tried for the first time, here in Spain we work in kilometres so it actually sounds further, I had to go 160 kilometres. It was summer and hot so after about the first twenty kilometres, 15 miles, I was a bit dehydrated. I turned around and just made it home before literally collapsing in a heap with jelly legs.
I thought that what I needed was some training so I got online and looked for a training course that suited me. Well what I found was this Training course. It told me what I needed to be doing, what mistakes I needed to avoid and a whole lot more. Three months later I did it. Therefore I highly recommend this course as it comes from experience. It takes you by the hand, or the pedal with step by step instructions of how to get to where you want to be.
If you want something for not so specific a target then check out David’s training programmes here. Loads of information about how to train for cycling from a master cyclist
