How to choose good bike
How do you decide on a bike that is the right fit for you? Which parts should you focus on when picking a bike? Plenty of Amazon Cheap Bikes are worth every penny and some may not be! Let´s make things simple in this article.
I was also concerned with these and many other questions when I was buying my first bike from Amazon back when I was a kid. There were a lot of low quality bikes on offer, which didn´t deserve their name or price. I also clearly remember a few of my friends, who thought themselves lucky when they were given new bicycles for Christmas or for their birthdays. And I also remember their disappointments that followed soon after, when their bicycles felt apart. Their parents didn´t want to pay too much and they didn´t know how to choose a good one. Cheap bike can be good bike!
Here are the basic things that I’ve learned over the years, about choosing a dependable new bicycle that befits you:
First of all, you need to know what type of bike to choose. It depends on where you ride the most and what´s your riding style. ...
FULL ARTICLE HERE
What is the Right Size for Me?
No matter what type of bike you choose, make sure to pick the right size. You can see our easy bicycle size chart here. There is also an easy leg inseam method of choosing the right size bike. Amazon helps you with you to choosing the right frame size. Be careful to not confuse it with wheel size. You must think about ....How Much Should I Pay For My Bike?
Depends of how much and where you would like to ride. We all know the saying that you get what you pay for. It is very often the same with bicycles. While it isn’t written in stone, when you have decided on your preferred bicycle type, as a rule a higher price translates into better performance and durability. You can´t get a bike for racing with the same price as a bike, that is meant just for cruising. Furthermore a “Sunday cruising bi
ke” don´t cost as much as one,that sees long training times and competitions.
ke” don´t cost as much as one,that sees long training times and competitions.
Mountain Bike
You can get it approximately from $350 to $500, which while you can handily use for soft riding, isn’t suitable for the mountains. For that you need a bike from $600 to $1500. Above that start the racing bicycles. The prices on Amazon can often be around 30% lower. A decent hard-tail mountain bike (with front suspension) you could get for around $1000 and with Full-Suspension for $2200. Road bike prices start a little higher for the same levels.
Cheap Mountain Bikes here!
City or Hybrid bikes
you should expect to pay starting from somewhere around $250. If you are an everyday cyclist and are in the market for something dependable for long term use then $400 would be a good starting price. There really are no classes of Cruiser bikes but as usual, the more it costs, the more it lasts.
Which Components Should My Bike Have?
It is mostly the components that make up the price of the bike and that which can fail you on cheaper bikes. Brakes, Discs, Cassetes, Derailleurs etc are all very important to get right. The biggest manufacturers of bicycle components are SRAM and Shimano. They offer different quality-classes. One person can be happy with something very inexpensive, while another may break their X0 or XTR.
Entry level bikes mostly have Shimano Alivio or Deore, and the road bikes – Claris to Tiagra.In our reviews, we don´t make the decision hard. We analyze the components and let you know, for whom the bike is suitable.
SRAM vs Shimano
Shimano
When it comes to MTBs for Sunday-riders Shimano has Alivio, Deore or other word-written-name quality-classes. For heavier riding you should look into the Trail class and Shimano offers SLX and (Deore) XT for this purpose. If you like to push your bike to limit, then XTR class is for you. For beginner, Deore is enough.
For road bikes, the group-set (collection of parts) hierachy for Shimano is Claris – Sora – Tiagra – 105 – Ultegra – Dura Ace from cheapest to the best.
SRAM
For Sunday riders – X4 and X5. If you pedal harder and love to race, then you should look forSRAM X7 and X9. for ultimate performance don´t look under SRAM X0 or XX. SRAM parts are more often used on well-known brand bikes. For road bikes, classes are Apex – Rival – Force – Red. For beginner, Apex and X5 is enought, Rival or X7 is perfect.
Most of Amazon bikes have Shimano details. Compagnolo also offers group-sets but on very few bikes. Additional Info about Sram and Shimano parts on Diffen.com
Which Bike Brand Should I Choose?
No clear answer. We all know Scott, Trek, Giant, GT and Specialized from our childhood. Times have changed, and the Bicycle-world with it. Those brands have become huge brands over the years, which is why you have to pay a lot (25-50%) just for the name, plus extra for their consultants, warehouse costs etc. On the other hand, there are many good young manufacturers with no name recognition, who have proven themselves to produce quality Amazon bikes with good components. But at the same time a good deal of those no-name bikes are garbage. So it is very important to analyze every bike. Diamondback, Tommaso, Momentum, Kestrel make solid bikes. Nice Amazon bike reviewsBut not all of their models are good. And there are also other decent lesser known manufacturers. What if the bike doesn´t fit me?
Actually, saying that you should try your bike first, is an over-rated suggestion and has no real meaning, being more of a myth! Why´s that? Because there are several ways to adjust your bike. Main aspect that plays a role in comfort is the height of the saddle, height of the frame, angle and length. And for the handlebar, you should look at its height, angle and stem height. They pla
y a bigger role than all of us can imagine and they cure 99% of the cases, when the rider doesn´t feel him- or herself comfortably.
y a bigger role than all of us can imagine and they cure 99% of the cases, when the rider doesn´t feel him- or herself comfortably.
Need further advice or convincing? Then here is the TOP TIP: I chose between two carbon fiber road bicycles – the one from Amazon was 2015 Kestrel Talon. I got it and tried about 50 miles after which it started to feel uncomfortable. Then I tried the bike I suggested to my friend – Nashbar Carbon 105. It felt pretty good at the start and I decided to use this bike in 125 mile race. The beginning was good, but after 40 miles my hands started to die and my back became numb.
Bottom line
Don´t be afraid of cheap bikes! Choosing a bicycle can be fairly difficult, as you can see. And you don’t want to buy one that won’t last and end up paying extra for the repairs. Make your decision wisely, and know that we want to help you with it because we, as avid enthusiasts of bike riding, believe that every person should have (at least) one GOOD bicycle! If you see this picture, then can you know, that you can trust this bike! Choose, ride with us!
