This is the most important part of the process of selecting a new bike. It would be ideal if you can foresee what you will be using the bike for which may be difficult if you not already an avid rider. As you develop your love for cycling, you may try different types of riding.
Our staff are focused on finding the best style of bike suited to your cycling patterns, we certainly want to see you grow your cycling interest.
Mountain Bikes
MTB’s were designed in the ‘80s to ride in the mountains, however they are well suited to city use with smaller wider wheels than a traditional road bike to enable riders to cross tram tracks, ride up/down gutters or take on a little off-road adventure. They provide a softer ride, more gears, high performance brakes, fatter tyres, stronger wheels and frames. If you are primarily a city or bike path rider, swapping the tyres to a road tread improves your speed considerably.
APB (All Purpose Bicycle) is a lost term, now all 26″ off road tyre bikes are called MTB (Mountain Bikes). APB bikes look just like a MTB but they do not have the strength and little for what many think they are designed for, the bikes are heavier than many other choices, fat tyres and generally a short ride position with a high handlebar position. Great for pottering around on bike paths, streets and light off road use. If you intend on heading deeper bush, you may find this bike will flex and require more service and will operate a bit sloppy before too long. Many parents buy this style for kids because they are the cheapest, if your kid is near the bush or likes to play, buy better or budget for repairs. This is the type of bike easily found in a department store. See one here
Recreation Mountain bikes are a little lighter, also with knobby tyres and generally a short ride position with a high handlebar position. Great for bike paths, streets and light off road use, the upgrades from APB will be better quality equipment which will resist corrosion, smoother operation with a stronger lighter construction. Not much more on the wallet from the APB and worth every cent. If you want to refer to your bike over the dinner table with pride, this is where it begins.
Cross Country bikes are available in rigid frame and dual suspension (fork and frame has suspension). Usually lighter with sharper geometry and a long top tube with a fairly low bar position they are designed for speed and a wide variety of terrain. Some city riders prefer this style for the versatility of terrain but forfeit the road speed however, with road type tyres fitted they can serve as a great all round commuting bike. More expensive bikes will have specific off road features like adjustable fork resistance (not to be confused with preload explained in the fork section later on). Some bikes can be modified to a road wheel if the bike runs disc brake hubs, this means you can ride off road as a MTB and drop your road wheels in as a road specific speed machine. This has some gearing limitations although is a very good option. If you are considering a dual suspension frame, you will add cost, weight, loss of efficiency, service and lower resale cost at the end of your ownership. Although they are great to ride and often look great, it is wise to make sure you want the ride it offers and you are prepared for the negatives. There are also many different designs that offer different pro’s and con’s, for example: some are heavier but have better efficiency or some have a bush at key pivot points and not sealed bearings but most important of all is how much PISM (pedal induced shock movement)
Here bikes are designed for a bit more off road, fire trail and single track. The bike will be lighter and have more seal protection against mud and grit, smoother travel suspension that may also have travel dampening which keeps the bike in contact with the ground as well as giving a softer ride. The geometry will be more suited to performance with a longer top tube and steeper angles. Many bikes in this level will have disc brakes.
A free-ride bike is for the “out of bounds” nut who wants to ride off grandma’s roof! Designed for very hardcore riding in an urban environment or hardcore off road. Free-ride bikes are available in rigid or suspension frames. They usually have a heavier, stronger, chunky frame and running gear but still retain fairly steep geometry for climbing (riding uphill) and getting around but will be much slower than a XC bike. They have lots of fork travel and usually come in much smaller sizes because you ride them kind of like a BMX bike and a smaller bike is easier to control.
They are great for kids who are rough on bikes except the gears will still be a vulnerable mechanism. More suspension and often less gears, this is a very popular choice but a bit specialized. See a free ride bike here
Although they are very different to the bikes described above, we could say DH (Downhill) bikes fit into the same category, they are more like motocross bikes without the engine and should not be confused with any bike that has rear suspension. They are specifically designed for riding off the edge of mountains at high speed with heaps of plush suspension travel with very heavy construction and laid back geometry. This combination is awful for any other use but they are loads of fun for serious down hilling. See an example here
Much lighter, better protection against the conditions and less servicing. The ideal bike for cross country but not so good for jumping or extremely rough terrain. Performance bikes are popular all rounders because they have steep long geometry which is closer to a road bike and not too bad for commuting. If you want one bike for everything and stay around the apex of value for money this is where you get the most bang for your buck. See a performance MTB here
If you love your off road riding and your an enthusiast for trails or racing, this is it. Light, strong and smooth. Probably not as good value for money as ‘race’ but if your in the bush a lot want the advantage, it is often worth the extra. You can also fit larger wheel off a road bike in any bike with disk and you can have a road/city bike by changing wheels, speak to our staff for more information about what is possible.
Hybrid bikes are a cross between a traditional Road Bike and an MTB. They are chiefly designed for city and bike path use but are also okay for smooth unsealed paths. Cross bikes can have the smaller MTB size wheels (comfort bike & cruiser) that have been designed for soft slower riding and will be quite heavy or the larger road bike wheels and can have thin tyres, lighter frame and less comfort features. Most have a lighter frame with MTB parts. Hybrids are faster and lighter than an MTB, but often have a short frame that puts you in an upright riding position that is very comfortable but not the most efficient riding position.
Comfort bikes are basically mountain bikes with road tyres (smaller MTB wheels) and lots of comfort design considerations with a very high handlebar ride position. They are heavy bikes but great for getting around if your not in a hurry but you want to be comfortable.
There is a variation between the Hybrid and Mountain bike called a Cruiser. Cruisers have a very upright ride position, fat tyres for riding in sandy conditions, and a low seat height for stability. They have a lot of style and they are comfortable but not ideal for longer rides as they are heavy and your body is not in a very powerful riding position. See one
If you have a road bike at one end of the scale and a free ride MTB at the other end, neither are specifically suited to town riding, City (hybrid or commuter) bikes have a place between the common choice and for path and recreation riding they cant be beat. Larger wheels, steep short comfortable geometry and larger gears for commute speed. This is really taking the best of both worlds at a low price point with speed and comfort. Many people don’t like them because they are not as fast as a road bike or as versatile as a MTB but if you’re a city rider, this meets just about everything you need. See a picture of one
Sport bikes are either a fast version of a hybrid or a road bike with flat bars for more control. Either way, they have more performance geometry (lower and longer), lighter and less heavy comfort design. They are best suited to a rider who wants a hybrid style bike but also wants to go faster, ideally suited to couriers, commuters, introduction sport riding except for close riding groups (peleton or bunch riding), you can get tangled up with other riders with flat bars. The bikes generally have lots of threaded mounts for pannier bags and accessories, with loads of gears and other features, they make ideal touring bikes. See an example
Road bikes cost more to produce as the STI (integrated gear/brake lever) is much more expensive and globally the market is not as big. Road bikes are lighter, faster and if you’re riding longer distances with training or commuting, it will be much faster than any other option, however the bikes are harder to control, are very bad on slippery surfaces, tram lines or unsealed roads etc. This is because the thinner tyres have less air and less thinness at contact and they puncture easily from intrusion. They also pinch flat easily if you bottom the tyre out on changing surface or debris, therefore you are required to top up to a high pressure at least weekly. Not an ideal short distance city commuter but as for faster and longer rides, road bikes have it all.
Recreation level bikes will often have 3 front chain rings for beginners for hill riding or touring. The big benefit here is that no matter how much you spend, if you’re cruising for training and not sprinting or climbing with an expectation of performance, a cheaper road bike rolls just as well as an expensive bike and unlike MTB, the cheaper bikes have the same features.
Sport bikes have a lighter construction, better equipment and are much like ‘Recreation’ bikes to ride but the equipment will last longer. Usually they do not have more features as right across the ‘Road’ range. Your money buys performance.
This is where you get the most for your money, this level of bike has better running gear that will perform for those who do big km, plus they have a lighter frame. Ideal as a first bike or a beginners race bike. It will serve you well, offers great value for money and hopefully will maintain good resale value. See an example
Although we are now in the zone of light weight and long lasting equipment, how well does it transfer power? Even the best bikes flex everywhere under load although you can see it while riding, it uses a lot of wasted force to flex your crank 2mm and the bottom bracket 8mm. This is why some bikes feel responsive and some feel sluggish. If you shop on price alone, you will find bikes much cheaper with similar features, you have to ride to appreciate the difference and if you want a sharper feel, this is where it begins.
Here all is considered, rigidity, weight, longevity with special attention to finer features like more rigid lightweight bars, wheels etc. You will find lots of carbon fibre which is light and strong (better power transfer) plus has a bounce and vibration absorption that will make the bike more comfortable on longer rides or very lightweight brittle aluminium for ultimate power transfer at the expense of comfort. Bikes in this level usually need some customization to suit your individual needs and there is a lot to consider. Please feel comfortable to have us help you through the choices.
