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Why cycle? What cycling will do for your health

Get on your bike. How you can make cycling part of your life

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Buying a bike

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Buying a bike

If you are going to use your bike regularly and travel any sort of distance, you need a bike that is comfortable, durable and preferably fun to ride. But what sort of bike would suit you best?

The various styles - from superlight racing bikes to the traditional sit-up-and-beg roadsters, via rugged mountain bikes and nifty folding bikes - give very different riding experiences. The right style for you will depend on the types of journeys you are going to be making on your new bike and the length of time you expect to be in the saddle.

Where to shop

Look for a bike shop staffed by enthusiastic cyclists. Unless you know exactly what you want in terms of bike style and size, you should aim to ride before you buy. A good local bike shop will be able to help you find the right sized (and priced) bike and should let you have a test ride before you buy.

General issues worth considering

In general, the lighter your bike is, the better. A lighter bike takes less of your pedal power to lug up hills. This is no trivial matter since as soon as you start cycling, hills sprout up in places you'd swear there were none before. And a lighter bike is easier to carry, an important consideration if you live in a flat or need to take it on the train.

Regrettably, weight and price and are inversely proportional. Spend £79 on a new bike and at the first sight of an incline you can expect to feel like the bike is hitched to a caravan. However a speedy featherweight, carbon-fibre machine may require you to remortgage the house!

Below we summarise the strengths and weaknesses of the various styles of bike, focusing on bikes for commuting to work.

Racing bike

Racing bikes are designed for out-and-out speed. They have a stiff, lightweight frame, narrow wheels with high-pressure tyres, and alloy components. Dropped handlebars allow the rider to tuck into a windcheating prone position, while a narrow saddle give the rider's legs plenty of room for pedalling.

The lightness and agility of a racing bike is useful on a fast commute, especially if there is lots of stopping and starting. But the ride is not very comfortable: the narrow wheels and a stiff frame are not good at soaking up the bumps and potholes of city streets. Also the head-down position doesn't make it easy to spot hazards in the road ahead.

Pros - light and fast. Ideal if speed is your thing.
Cons - can be expensive. Not the most comfortable type of bike available. Some of them may not be able to take the fittings for mudguards or a luggage carrier.
Cost - Specialized Allez '04 - £499.99
Summary - for the serious lycra-clad pedaller.

Touring bike

Designed for comfortable cycling over long distances and times, tourers sacrifice speed for comfort. Tourers tend to have a longer wheelbase and a more flexible frame than a racing bike. Tourers also have luggage racks and other sensible accessories like mudguards already fitted. These add-ons do add to the weight of the bike and it will be less nippy around town than a racing bike.

A tourer has dropped handlebars, like a racer, but the brake levers are usually positioned so that they can be reached from the top of the bars, allowing you to ride in a more upright position.

This style of bike is perhaps best suited to a relatively long commute, without too much heavy traffic to deal with. It wouldn't suit someone whose journey involves lots of bumping up and down urban curbs.

Pros - comfortable and great for load lugging - your office clothes, shopping or work materials.
Cons - not the most agile type of bike available.
Cost - Dawes Horizon, £399.99
Summary - good for longer distances and carrying loads. Ideal for longer weekend rides or cycle holidays

Mountain bike

Designed to survive truly wild terrain, a real mountain bike has to be light and tough. True mountain bikes have strongly-constructed wheels that are smaller (26"/600c) than a traditional bike's (28"/700c). This, and the smaller, stiffer frame makes the bike more nimble off-road. Knobbly tyres ensure the bike can cope with mud, while the array of gears (up to 27) and heavy-duty brakes equip the bike for the steepest of ascents and descents. Mountain bikes now routinely come with front or front and rear suspension for improved off-road handling and comfort.

A mountain bike's ability to soak up the lumps and bumps and it's agility make it as much at home on busy city streets as on alpine trails. However, this off-road ability doesn't tend to come cheap - a quality mountain bike costs upwards of £400, although there are entry level bikes from manufacturers such as GT and Scott for around the £230-250 mark.

Beware, however, of the cheap (less than £100) mountain bikes on sale in supermarkets or car accessory shops. These only have a passing resemblance to true mountain bikes and may not be up to job of off-road cycling. This may not be an issue if you only ever plan use your bike to pop down to the paper shop on a Sunday morning. But regular use, or a venture onto the dirt, will soon reveal that cheapness translates into a bike that is heavy, uncomfortable and liable to turn to rust after a ride in the rain.

Pros - a genuine mountain bike can be an excellent commuter's bike - durable, fantastic brakes, comfortable and fun to ride
Cons - off-road tyres are noisy and inefficient on tarmac - replace them with touring tyres for commuting. Probably the most popular target for bike thieves.
Cost - GT Avalanche 3.0 '04 £249.99
Summary - are you paying for off road ability you don't need?

Traditional bike

A traditional sit-up-and-beg bicycle conjures conjure up images of a baker's delivery boy struggling up steep cobbled streets, or of university dons pedalling serenely among dreaming spires. These bikes have big wheels and a large, open-angled, steel frame designed for comfort. The raised handlebars allow for a fully upright riding position, giving a commanding view of the road ahead. A ladies version may have a step-through design, making skirt wearing a more dignified prospect. Low-maintenance hub gears (the chain should never fall off) complete the sensible package.

Dutch and German brands such as Fahrrad and Gazelle arise from cultures more used to mass cycling. The bikes are practical, easy to look after and long-lasting. Try one before buying a mountain bike, unless you really plan to ride in the mountains.

Pros - comfortable. Comes with essentials such as chain guard, mudguards, carrying rack and maybe even dynamo-powered light.
Cons - probably on the heavy side - for stately rather than sporty progress.
Cost - from about �250. Fahrrad T100 £465
Summary - not the coolest of bikes, but sensible.

Hybrid bike

A cross between a mountain bike and a more traditional bike. Not an out and out mud-plugger, but borrowing the off-roader's tough design, big range of gears and powerful brakes, and matching them with the larger, more efficient 700c wheels of a traditional bike. The combination is a useful compromise - a strong bike that can manage the odd ride along a tow path, but with a comfortable, relatively high-up riding position ideal for commuting.

Lightweight aluminium alloy frames, once reserved for lightweight racing bikes, are now common on these bikes. They give a more sporty feel to the bike because of their stiffness, but can also mean a less comfortable ride. Compare an aluminium-framed bike with a steel-framed one to see which you prefer.

Only rarely do the hybrids currently on sale come equipped with all the essentials of a practical city bike - lights, lock, mudguards, carrier or pump. Budget for these when comparing a hybrid - often marketed as fashionable 'urban' bikes - with a more comprehensively equipped traditional type of bike.

Pros - a good all rounder
Cons - Jack of all trades...
Cost - Specialized Crossroads £269.99
Summary - perhaps the best city bike if are looking for a fun ride as well as practicality - once you've bought those essential "accessories" that is.

Folding bike

Forget the nasty Shopper bikes of the 1970s. Welcome to nippy little machines that can be converted within seconds to a neat, hand-luggage-sized package, suitable for carrying on to most forms of public transport - bus, train or taxi, even in the rush hour.

The folding bike is perfect for people who live and work within cycling distance of the train station. While not ideal for longer out-of-town cycling journeys, folding bikes are cleverly engineered so that there is only the lightest penalty in terms of comfort or performance. Indeed their small wheels and light weight make folders such as the Brompton, agile and fun to ride around town.

Pros - perfect for door to door travel.
Cons - nifty engineering and lightweight materials tends to make these bikes more expensive
Cost - Brompton C-3, £375
Summary - your personal integrated transport

Bikes for women

Most bike styles come adapted in some way to suit women. This is mostly to do with the smaller frame sizes, or frames without the crossbar of a traditional "diamond" frame. These design features make it easier to stand over the bike when at a standstill. The other main difference is the saddle, which tends to be broader on a woman's bike.