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October 24, 2009

How Much Should I Pay For A Bicycle?

Millions of people worldwide are riding bikes, from the casual rider to the competitive athlete. The question you must face is what is the best bike for me. If you are thinking about buying a road bike then there are some things you must ask yourself to help determine the best choice for you.

What is the reason I want to ride?

What price should I pay for a bike?

What differences are there between the lower and higher priced bikes?

Determining the reason why you want to ride a bicycle is very important and the reason why it is the first question we must ask ourselves. If you aren’t interested in riding regularly then you may be able to just purchase an entry level no frills bike. Because you will not be riding as long or as hard you won’t have to do as much maintenance. It makes no difference on which bike you get there will always be maintenance that has to be done. You won’t need the designer components that the higher priced bicycles have because there will be no need to shave a few seconds off your time. The problem is that the lower-range bicycles have components that won’t perform as well or last as long as their higher priced counterparts.

The Tommaso Velocita Road Bike is a first rate example of a mid-range bicycle that offers both quality and lower prices.

The price of the bike will also be a determining factor for many people when deciding the best road bicycle for them. A beginner-level bike should cost between 200 and 400 dollars depending on where you buy the bike. This bicycle will suit you well as a casual cyclist because you won’t be putting a lot of miles on the bike. If you were planning on riding more than just once or twice a week then you would be better off buying a mid-range road bike. Medium priced bikes will set you back anywhere from 500 to 1200 dollars based on the bike and where you purchase it. If you are planning on making cycling an integral part of an exercise program or you would like to even compete at your local events then you should consider a bike that will stand up to the stress you will be placing on it. The best road bicycles can vary in price by as much as 4 to 5 thousand dollars with the upper end at around 9000 dollars and the lower end 2000 dollars.

The difference between the low priced, mid-range price and the higher-range priced road bicycles are basically in the quality of the components of the bike. Many beginning riders won’t notice how heavy his bike really is until he he sees his friend scream by him on the road with his 14 pound Tommaso with an upgraded derailleur and crank set. The novice may not even notice that he has to slow way down when he comes to the bend in the road at the bottom of the incline while the higher-ranged bike seems to glide effortlessly through the turn with speed and confidence.

This is only several examples that should have given you enough insight to help you choose your next road bike wisely. Your long term and short term goals are the keys to choosing the best road bike for you. Base your decision by choosing a bike that has stood the test of time and has a manufacturer that is well known in the cycling community for producing a quality product.

As a cycling enthusiast I have had the opportunity to ride many different types of bikes over the years. I put together a site of the best selling and most popular road bikes in the three price ranges based on sales and customer feedback. A great entry-level bike is the Schwinn Prelude. A very popular mid range bike is the Tommaso Dura Ace road bike. The best high end road bike is the Lamborghini La Dolce Vita. You have to check these out before you buy your bike.

August 22, 2009

New Genesis 2010 Road Bikes

Filed under: Specialized Bikes — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 7:40 am

Less than a month before release, Genesis has finally released details and images for their 2010 lineup. Despite the bikes being the 2010 range for Genesis, they are actually released this coming September so you don’t have to wait as long as initially thought.

For the new year’s range, Genesis has entered the road bikes market once again. The first bikes up on the list are the Aether 10 and Aether 20 racing bikes.

Designed mainly for daily commuters, the Aether is perfect for city travel. Both feature ALX-9 aluminium frames as well as carbon-legged forks. However, everything comes at a price and this is no exception. The cheaper of the two bikes, the Aether 10, will set you back £599.99 and features a mix of new Shimano 2300 and Sora parts. To go for the next up model, the Aether 20, it will cost another £200 on top of the Aether 10. Part of the £799.99 price tag goes towards paying for the mix of Shimano Tiagra and Sora parts that the bike is made of.

The next bike is the Vapour. This bike will cost you around £850, which is justified as it features an ALX-9 6069 aluminium frame. To match the new lightweight frame, you also get a newly designed front hanger mount which has been designed to make braking more positive, according to Genesis.

The third bike on the lineup is the Flyer. This one features an extensive range of stylish features, not to mention being a singlespeed bike. This particular model features a white chain, chrome cable clips, all attached to a Reynolds 520 steel framework. This amazingly good looking bike will cost you £599.99, not a bad price really. However, this bike is missing bottle bosses, allowing you to attach bike accessories, I can only assume that Genesis assumed that anyone riding this bike couldn’t possibly sweat through their cycle clothing.

Along side this array of road bikes revealed also came a range of improved mountain bikes. The first one is the Core which comes in two varieties. The cheaper model is the Core 40 for £999.99 and then the higher priced Core 50 for £1,199.99.

The next one up is the Alpitude costing £1,699.99, not to be mistaken with the Altitude, features a Reynolds 853 steel frame, perfect for long trails.

If you’re looking for a relatively cheap mountain bike, the new iO is the best suitted. This bike comes in two different versions, the singlespeed, costing £599.99, or the eight-speed version for £1,099.99. Both versions come with a Reynolds 520 steel frame.

The last bike in the list is the Altitude, despite having 5 different variations. The lowest priced models, the Altitude 00, priced at £799.99, and the Altitude 10, priced at a more expensive £999.99, both come with a Reynolds 520 frame. As the altitude number goes higher, so does the price, the next up is the Altitude 20. This model features a high quality Reynolds 853 steel frame and will set you back a whopping £1,449.99. If we overlook the 4th model and jump straight to the impressive Altitude Ti, also the most expensive model. This final model is the most expensive at £2,799.99 and it comes with a titanium frame.

July 18, 2009

Which Type of Bike do you use to get to work?

Filed under: Specialized Bikes — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 10:38 pm

We’ve seen them all, the wide array of different cyclists on their morning commute. All wearing different cycle clothing, from suits to lycra. All riding different types of bikes ranging from streamlined road bikes to slow and steady granny bikes.

Obviously the choice that people make as to which type of bike to ride is based upon what they are going to use it for. A number of things affect your choice of bike, what things you need to take with you, how far you’re going, will they have showers at the office.

Most likely many people think that they have made the right decision when it comes to making the morning commute. But have they really? Would it work out faster for a granny bike to get to work over a fixed gear bike? You would instantly think now, however, I think I can prove you wrong.

If you take 4 different cyclists and see how long it takes them to get from their homes to work. If we pick out 2 lycra wearing cyclists and place one on a road bike and the other on a fixed gear bike. Then pick up your other 2 cyclists, one on a granny bike, then other on a mountain bike.

Of course a large number of people will think that the fixed gear and the road bike will shoot off and beat the others by miles. This is true, however, they haven’t won the race yet. When these 2 get to their work, they are basically a waterfall of sweat. So for them, you have to add on the time for a shower onto their travel time.

For the other 2, the mountain biker did get there quite quickly, however, still a little sticky, a shower might be required. Finally, the granny bike, it may have come last, however, the relaxed ride is sweat free. No need to have a shower, the rider simply walks into work.

So once you factor in all the amount of time taken for each cyclist to get to their work, and then add on any extra time to recover from the cycle. The granny bike takes the victory at a steady speed. It really does show that slow and steady will win the race.

Next time you get ready for the commute, take a moment to think about the fastest way to get there.

June 11, 2009

Cycle 100 Miles In A Day Like Me

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

May 24, 2009

The Giro Continues

The Giro de Italia has now completed 14 stages and Menchov is still in the lead after a few mountain stages. As stated last week Mark Cavendish took his revenge and won three stages in the current Giro but both he and Pozzato retired before the stage yesterday and are now out of the running for more stage victories. Cavendish retired as his team wants a full recovery before the Tour De France when the Pocket Rocket will be looking for stage victories and perhaps the Green Jersey for points winner. Pozzato was feeling pain in his knee as a result of a fall.

The general classification is still open though after the victory of an Australian, Simon Guerrans, yesterday in a semi mountainous stage. Menchov, Di Luca and Leipheimer are serarated by just 43 seconds so there is still a lot to play for in the Giro this year. Lance Armstrong is putting up a good show but not threatening to take the honours at the moment. Unusually it would seem that the presence of Armstrong does have an effect though as nobody else seems to be takng the race by the scruff of its neck due to the respect for the 6 times Tour De France winner.

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