How to Buy a Bicycle by Tom Holub

This seems like as good a time as any to discuss purchasing and sizing a bicycle. If you already have a bike and aren't interested in getting another one, you can skip down to the Sizing section. Having more than one bike is way cool, though, especially if your bike is your only form of transportation.

I'll start by saying that low-end bike-store bikes have gotten a lot better over the last 10 years; you can't really go wrong. As a general rule, it's worth spending extra money up to about $700 or $800;after that you're paying for stuff you don't really need. If the guy at the bike store is telling you about some cool feature the bike has (like under-bar push-button shifters) you are probably paying for stuff you don't need. The features you need on your bike are pedals that go around, brakes that work and shifters that work; everything else is vestigal. That's not to say that you should buy the cheapest functional bike; you should just be aware that extras aren't really necessary.

Note that I said low-end *bike-store* bikes. Do not buy bikes from Target, Toys R Us, or any other non-bike store. Those bikes are cheap in dangerous ways; the brakes are particularly bad. They're heavy, they're constructed by morons, and they are practically impossible to adjust properly. Do yourself a favor, buy a reasonable bike. Expect to spend $250; in this case, you get more than what you pay for.

I should get some terms defined here. Your frame has 4 tubes:

TOP TUBE: The, uh, top tube. The rear brake cable usually runs along it.

SEAT TUBE: The tube that holds the SEAT POST.

DOWN TUBE: The other main tube, the diagonal one on the bottom. It has shifters on some road bikes, usually has waterbottle brazes, and the shifter cables usually run along it.

HEAD TUBE: *Not* a cheesy porn flick. This is the short tube that connects the down tube to the top tube. Inside it are the

STEERER TUBE and the STEM.

STEERER TUBE: The tube connected to the FORK (which holds the front wheel) and the STEM through the HEAD TUBE.

STEM: Controls the STEERER TUBE and holds the handlebars. It is adjusted via an allen bolt (usually) on the top.

SEAT POST: Holds the seat. It is adjusted by a bolt at the top of the

SEAT TUBE. It holds the seat in a clamp; the seat is adjusted via a bolt on this clamp.
I look for the following minimal features in a bike:

ALUMINUM WHEELS: Not only are they lighter than steel, they're easier to keep in adjustment, and they are *much* better at braking when wet. They say that upgrading your wheels is the easiest way to upgrade the performance of your bike; start off with good ones.

NO IDIOT LEVERS: If your bike is a road bike with the curved "drop" handlebars, the brakes are mounted on the "hooks." On cheap bikes, in addition to the main brake lever, there is another lever that extends inwards, parallel to the bars. Do not buy a bike with these; they are extremely dangerous (they don't brake well enough to use in an emergency) and they're a sign that the bike is not designed well. If your bike has these levers, I suggest removing them.

NO STEM SHIFTERS: Again, this is for road bikes; on some bikes, the shifters are mounted on the stem (the thing that holds the handlebars). The idea is that they're closer to your hands and therefore easier to use; the reality is that you have to raise your center of gravity while twisting your body to use them. They also are very susceptible to being hit by your knees while climbing (a very bad scene), and in an accident they can wind up goring your throat. Insist on down-tube or bar-end shifters for road bikes.

As you probably know, there are three main types of bikes:

ROAD BIKES: Dropped handlebars, thin tires, down-tube shifters. Road bikes are lightweight and fast and have significant advantages over the other types for road riding. They can also ride on packed dirt roads without much trouble; they can't ride in loose dirt or sand. One drawback road bikes have in Berkeley is that, because of their narrow tires, they don't handle bumps and potholes as well as the other types. One advantage they have is that thieves don't seem to be interested in them.
Touring bikes, such as the Bridgestone RB-T, are road bikes with wider tires and a more relaxed geometry to handle bumps better. I find them to be excellent for commuting; my main commuting bike is a Schwinn Voyageur (sadly, Schwinn no longer makes it). They are slower than other road bikes but faster than the other types.

One problem you'll have buying a road bike is that most bike stores don't carry inexpensive ones, so you'll find it difficult to get a test ride on anything cheaper than $500. Since I highly recommend a test ride, this is a significant drawback.

MOUNTAIN BIKES: Straight handlebars, big knobby tires, handlebar shifters. Mountain bikes own the lion's share of the new bike market; they're fun to ride and cool to look at (people who want to look at their bikes rather than ride them tend to buy mountain bikes). They are great at handling bumps and can also ride in loose dirt or on singletrack trails. They are significantly slower than road bikes on roads; just yesterday I was riding my mountain bike and felt like I had no energy at all. They also are targets for thieves in Berkeley; if you own a mountain bike, be prepared to take extra precautions to protect it.
Mountain bikes are viewed as being more comfortable because your riding position is more upright; this is incorrect. This position is more comfortable only while you're looking at the bike, or perhaps sitting on it in the bike store. It puts more strain on your lower back, and the lack of extra hand positions also causes problems on long rides. Mostly because of the theft issue, I can't in good faith recommend a mountain bike for commuting in Berkeley. If you're looking for a bike you can take anywhere, or if you specifically want to ride off-road, mountain bikes are great, but I think taking them to campus every day is a bad idea unless you have a private office where you can keep them.

HYBRIDS: After the mountain bike boom of the early 80's, people started realizing that they weren't riding their mountain bikes off-road. Since mountain bikes have significant disadvantages on-road, hybrids were created to combine the features of mountain bikes and road bikes. They usually have an upright riding position but less so than mountain bikes. Their tires are wider than road bikes' but usually not too knobby. They often have handlebars with more hand positions than mountain bikes do.

As you might expect, they are faster than mountain bikes but slower than road bikes. They are theft targets more than road bikes but less than mountain bikes. They are better in loose dirt than road bikes but aren't really appropriate for serious off-road riding. I find that hybrids make decent commuting bikes, but the upright riding position makes them undesirable for long rides. For around-town riding they're good though. There tend to be a lot of hybrid selections under $500 since they're aimed at casual users.

There are also recumbents (bikes on which you sit on what looks like a deck chair) and tandems. Recumbents are comfortable and attract a lot of attention; they are bad at climbing hills but good at flats and downhills. There's a growing recumbent market. Tandems (two-man bicycles) are the most fun you can have on two wheels, but good ones are expensive.

HOW TO CHOOSE A BIKE
First, obviously, you need to decide how much money you are prepared to spend. I advise being generous, as I said earlier; spending extra money will get you a better bike. Expect to spend at least $250; you won't get many choices at that level so realistically you should expect to spend $300. If you can't afford to spend that much, you can get good deals on good used bikes. If you look around lots of people never ride their bikes and eventually wind up just dumping them. A used quality bike will serve you much better than a new Target junker.

Once you have a price range, head to a bike store. Do not allow yourself to be rushed; test-ride a number of bikes and don't skimp on the rides (details on test riding below). Consider theft resistance; does the bike have a quick-release seat that you'll need to buy a cable for, or take with you? Look at the frame joints; are the welds (or brazes) clean or sloppy? Are the wheels true? The brake lever end should have a maximum travel of about 2 inches (a little less for mountain bikes) and you should not be able to bottom it out. Are the brakes sidepull or cantilever? (Cantilever brakes are mounted on pivots on the fork and seatstays, with the main cable pulling a transverse cable, which straddles the wheel. Sidepulls are mounted directly above the wheel with the cable pulling them together on one side.) Cantilever brakes are good if you plan to put fenders on the bike (which immensely improves cycling in the rain). Sidepull brakes tend to work more smoothly and stay in adjustment better.

Tom Holub for www.TotalBike.com