Many differing options are available to you as you look to purchase a bicycle. Even for those people who are paid to ride, buying a new bike is hard. Because there are so many choices, it is hard to buy a new bike. Imagine the future: how safe, comfy and stylish do you need the bike to be. How far will you ride and where will you be riding? Keeping on top of all the new ideas coming out with bicycling, as well as choosing between the old options, makes choosing a bike hard. Opting for the correct bike for you is as easy as using these simple criteria.
Cost is almost always a factor when trying to choose the right bike. Of course you are going to need to think about how much you will ride your bike as well as where you are going to be riding it, but cost is one of the most important things.
Good bicycles can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. That doesn't mean all bicycles are going to cost that much, so don't worry; there is no reason why you can't find a great bicycle that is in your price range. You can go to auctions and find some of the best bikes available for a fraction of the price of new ones.
If you want to ride a road bike, you will need to subtract about nine inches from your inseam measurement. This is down to the tires a road bike equips. Road bikes are meant for city cycling—the tires are thinner and work best on concrete paving. If you are looking for a mountain bike, you will want to subtract about a foot (twelve inches) from your inseam measurement. Again this is to account for the size of tires. You will find them to be much bigger and designed to handle rocky terrain. You can use mountain bikes for city cycling, but the opposite is not true and they are nowhere near as good on city streets as road bikes.
Be certain to leave adequate room between yourself and your bikes crossbar. When browsing for a bike try some out, make sure the seat is a few inches above the crossbar. Sit on it and make sure you can rest your feet flat to the ground. You will want to leave different clearance lengths depending on the type of bicycle you are buying. If you are buying a touring bike, for example, you only need an inch or so of clearance. With a mountain bike a clearance of 3" will be necessary.
When you get a bike your main goal should be to find one that physically suits you. This is the most important thing to consider when looking into using content a bike to get around. Comfort and saftey are the two most important aspects of riding a bike.