Road Bike: Choosing One for A Cycling

How To Choose Your Road Bike, Different Level Of Riders

How to choose your road bike? Well the first question is how much do you want to spend and how much cycling will you do?

The answer to the first question is a difficult one, many people when they are younger they want to ride there bike all day and what to be the next winner of the Tour de France, but they can not afford to spend much on there bike. If they get fit and win some races and get in a good team they will be given a top class bike, but what usually happens is they have to give up and work, have a family etc. When they are older and have more money they can afford the bike of there dreams. As to how much cycling you do, that depends on whether you can justify having the best bike around and only doing a short ride on Sunday morning. Remember you get what you pay for.

Basic Level Bikes.

If you go to the larger sports stores or bike shops they will have complete bikes for sale, probably a alloy frame with Shimano Tiagra or Campagnolo Mirage or a mixture of cheaper components, this bike will be built to a price, will ride fairly well, wont be very light and is a good place to start. To get some thing better, start with a nice alloy frame and if you can afford it, carbon forks, then with what money you have left chose your group-set of either Shimano or Campagnolo and then you can pick your saddle, handlebars, wheel rims and tires, this is all fun, but if you are working to a budget, it can be tricky.

Mid Level, Touring and Possibly Racing.

In this range of bikes you can buy them as a complete cycle, in the cycle shop, sports store or even in the specialist magazines or on the web. It is more fun to choose the components for your frame and how much you want to spend. At this level you would probably be looking at Shimano 105 or Campagnolo Centaur road bike parts and you could possibly buy some built up wheels from Shimano, Campagnolo or Mavic, but first start with the frame, there are many frames out there to choose from, get on the net and look for what you want, it will probably be alloy again, with carbon forks. Alloy seat pin, handle bars and stem and a comfortable saddle.

Top Level Bike For Racing and Pleasure.

Now it gets more difficult, your components would be Campagnolo Chorus or Shimano Ultegra, unless you can afford the top components of both manufacturers. Wheels again would be possibly Mavic, Shimano or Campagnolo, deep carbon rims look Great and have a wonderful ride, but will probably be too expensive, best if you stick to alloy rims for high pressure tires as tubulars, even though they ride wonderfully, will be expensive and a lot of trouble. Handle bars, stem and seat pin could be alloy or carbon, if you have the money. The frame is the heart of your bike and you will want a good one, at this price range alloy is going to be the first choice with carbon forks and possibly a carbon rear triangle. If you look around you might manage to find an all carbon frame at this price, Giant make a very well priced carbon frame in a compact, sloping design, there are others but you will have to spend a lot more money.

The Top of The Shopping List.

When you're looking at a lot of money here if you want to buy a professional road bike. The frame will be all carbon or titanium with carbon forks and maybe a carbon rear triangle or alloy main tubes with carbon front or rear end. The nicest ones on the market at the moment, in my opinion, are Colnago, De Rosa, Pinarello, Battaglin, Time, Scott, Cervelo and many more, all are available in different colours, geometries and sizes, check out there web sites for information and try to make your choice, it's a difficult job. This is a professional road bike so it will have to have the best components, Shimano Dura. Ace or Campagnolo Record are your only choice at this level. Same with the wheels, Dura-Ace or Campagnolo Bora, these can be for high pressure clincher tires or tubulars, tubulars are more trouble but do ride well, but clincher tires are very nearly as nice and much more practical. Handle bars, stem and seat pin will be carbon and your saddle will have a carbon base with a leather cover and sometimes with gel for a little extra comfort.

The Best Bike You Can Afford.

You do only get what you pay for, so get the best bike you can afford, look around the magazines and the web sites and don't forget your local bike shop until you get that little jewel, but be careful not to make your partner jealous!

Read More......

Difference Between a Road Bike and a Mountain Bike

Bikes are one craze among the boys which they really fall for. Many men are especially fond about the custom built motorbikes.

There are many kinds of bikes, and some of the most famous kinds of bikes are road bikes and mountain bikes, they are known for their specialization of their particular task. Road bikes are generally built in such a way so that they enhance the speed, and provide better mileage whereas on the other hand the mountain bikes are built to cater to the stability task. This is the major basis of differentiation between a road bike and a mountain bike. The following four areas will help to identify a better differentiation between a road and a mountain bike.



Design: Road bikes catering to the service of providing higher speed are designed in such a way that the rider’s position is present much closer to the top tube. This hunched position enables the rider to get more power from your legs and the negative impact present in this posture is that it causes much strain on the back. There is a difference present in the handle of both the bikes. On one hand mountain bikes possess wide handle bar offering more control to the rider as against the bent handle bars in the road bike. The handles in the road bike are lowered thus designed to offer more energy which in turn offers greater speed.

Mass: Heavy weight as a known fact imposes greater constraint on the speed .To move down through the mountain it is important that you go down slowly, thus it becomes a necessity for mountain bikes to use heavy weight materials so as to reduce the speed of the vehicle. With a view to make the mountain bikes heavy they even have wider tyres and they even possess many suspension systems so that the ride down the mountain becomes more manageable. As far as the road bikes are concerned, good road bikes are designed with a view to reduce the weight of the bike, they utilize materials like titanium and carbon fibre which allows strength as well as they facilitate the function of reducing weight.

Tyres: Mountain bikes have traction. These are wide and they are closed with a covering material like rubber, which increases the surface area. These features permit the rider to get more control as they are riding down the mountain. The tyres of a road bike are thin and smooth. As far as the maintenance of friction in a road bike is concerned this depends on the surface of the rubber and the skill of the rider to maintain the friction between the bike and the road.

Suspension: Road bikes are built with a sole purpose of providing greater speed; they do not possess this feature, although they have certain materials which absorb the shocks of the uneven roads. Whereas in a mountain bike, there are features like front shock absorbers and rear suspensions.

To conclude you can get a cheaper bike at a price of $200 whereas on the other hand if you are looking for custom made bikes, they can cost you more.

Author: Chris Martin

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/motorcycles-articles/difference-between-a-road-bike-and-a-mountain-bike-520306.html

Read More......

Customizing Your Road Bike

Customizing your road bike is a great way to show your personality and imagination. As you customize your road bike, you will find that you are using it as an extension of your personality.

You will find that no other bike is like one that is customized for you. It is the right fit for your body, including the right weight, height, and feel, and it is made with the right parts and components. A customized bike will be more expensive, but it will be well worth the money because it will ride better and be more comfortable.

One of the first things that you need to decide upon is the top tube. If you have a longer torso, then you will want a bicycle with a longer top tube. You can choose to get a handlebar stem that is longer, but if you do this, then you will need to sit so that your weight will be focused on the front wheel. This may affect the control and handling of your bike, so you may not want to do this. Choosing a bike with a longer top tube would be a much better choice for you.

Woman may find that longer top tubes are not very comfortable because it may cause them to have to stretch to reach the handlebar. This may cause them to turn the stem backwards or they can choose to get a seat post that is longer and a bike stem that can be raised higher.

Bicycles come in a few standard heights. The shorter height is approximately 47 cm and the taller height is 63 cm. You may find that some of the bicycle manufacturers make bikes that are 40 cm for women to ride, but the tubing is usually of a standard size, which makes the ride uncomfortable. To determine which height fits you the best, you will need to try out several of the bikes.

The frame is one consideration, but the handlebar can have a big impact upon the bike's feel as well. The handlebar needs to be at the right depth and width so that it feels right and so that you can control the bike properly. It should be comfortable to ride during races and long distance rides as well. A 73-degree angle is the optimum angle for the head and seat tube for maximum stability.

You will also find that parts like hubs, the headset, bottom bracket, and the seat post are also important facets of your bike. By choosing more lightweight features, you will find that your bike is easier to control and it will go much faster.

Now that you have a bike that fits your body and your needs, you can also add in your personality to aesthetically make it into the bike of your dreams. Adding your own personal touches can be the most fun part of customizing your bike.

It sounds like a dream to have the bike that you have always wanted, but it can cost you quite a bit of money if you are not careful. The fitting costs and special components can cost quite a bit and add in the cost of assembling this custom bike and you could be looking at quite a bill. By making your decisions carefully, you will be able to get the bike that you want and that fits your budget.

Author: Alastair Hamilton

Read More......

Why To Own A Road Bike

The oldest and most popular form of bikes is the Road Bike. These have been an eye-catcher for people since decades and one can easily find several deals on the internet to buy Vintage Road Bikes.

These bikes are popular as they are light weight and have been designed specifically to ride on smooth roads. One can easily sail on a flat road for miles with an ease and speed, which cannot be found in any other bike ride.

Why Are They So Popular

Tires: – The road bikes are swift as they run on thin tires – tires are kept as thin as possible so that the drag produced is minimum. As the friction is minimized, these bikes can attain high speeds within seconds with very little effort. A word of caution - as the amount of friction is lessened on the bike tires; stability of these bikes also comes under scanner. They are less steady as compared to mountain bikes (which depend a lot on stability and road grip due to the terrain on which they are used).

Handlebars: – Propelled by new innovations in road bike design and technology over the last decade, these road bikes have become a treat to watch. The metallic colors and designs often prompt you to stop and have a second look at them. To add style to them, these come with special curved handlebars that give many hand arrangements over long runs. These handlebars also assist the rider to a have a low, smooth riding stance.

Gearing System: – Another astonishing feature about these bikes is the gearing system. In order to provide a relaxing feeling over along distance, most modern bikes have triple chain-rings at the front and around 10 rings on the rear wheel. This allows a huge gear range so that bikes can cope with steep hills and twisting roads. Even the ones used for racing and superior performance employ such gear technology, as high gears are required for faster speeds. Integrated brake levers and gear shifters is another recent advancement that has allowed bikers to change the gear and pull the brakes, both at the same time, with very little movement of hands.

Road Bikes - An Asset to Own

With the amount of work, money and time being invested in road bike technology, it is an investment to look out for. If someone has not driven these latest bikes, that person is certainly missing something in his life.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/why-to-own-a-road-bike-72386.html

Read More......

Road Bike: Fitting A Road Bike Frame To Your Needs

For most of us, well-intentioned but casual bike riders who secretly believe we might be Lance Armstrong's heir if we only had a few more hours a day to spend on our bicycles, buying a new road bike is tantamount to buying a road bike frame.

The frame is what we're thinking of, something new and shiny and colorful, something we suspect even car drivers envy when they see us flash through the snarl of traffic. Truly, a road bike frame is a beautiful thing and part of the reason we love bicycling.

When you have the good fortune to be looking at new bicycles, though, you definitely want to look at a few elements besides the color of a road bike frame. Face it. When you're on your way back home from a long Sunday ride and you're riding your thirty-fifth mile smack into a stiff headwind, the fact that your frame is cobalt blue or even Bianchi green is not going to help you. The length of your seat tube is going to help you and the length of your top tube and even the angle of the three main tubes all put together is going to help (or hinder) you, but color is not.

If you shop at a discount store or even a general purpose sports store, if you get any help at all in choosing a bike that fits you, it will probably consist of a clerk instructing you to stand over the top bar of the frame and see if you can comfortably straddle it with your feet on the floor. This is not really particularly helpful, especially if you happen to have anything unique about your physique, like long legs combined with a short torso. If you have long legs, you can straddle almost any bike, but will your body be able to relax comfortable in the stretch between your saddle and the handlebars? The whole geometry of the road bike frame matters a lot to fit. And fit matters excessively to comfort.

If you're a racer, comfort will not be your only consideration. Indeed, it may be down among the last elements you consider. Speed is not usually built from comfort, and the road bike frame that promotes speed is built of different materials than one used primarily for recreational riding. Frames can be made of titanium, chrome-moly, aluminum or steel, and each metal has different advantages of weight and strength. Frame geometry varies, too, with touring bikes featuring a longer vertical base and top tube than the skittish racing models.

So when you're looking at road bike frames, think beyond the paint. Get a frame that fits both you and your purpose. Whether you do your research online or in a good bike store, you'll be glad you took the time.

About The Author

Alastair Hamilton is a successful writer who offers a truly unique depth of experience in competitive cycling, he also contributes adding technical articles on road bikes to http://www.bike-cycling-reviews.com/road-bikes.html. Reach further information on bicycle components and cycling reviews at http://www.bike-cycling-reviews.com.

Read More......