If you need to bridge the gap between urban performance and confident handling, then our guide to the best hybrid bikes will give you all the information you need to know.
While a hybrid bike is best suited to the city, a touring bike is designed to take on everything from a commute to a continent-crossing adventure. They tend to have the same fast-rolling c wheels as road and hybrid bikes, but with fatter tyres that allow you to take on a mixture of terrain in comfort. The more relaxed riding position and more stable geometry of a touring bike mean that you can take on almost anything, whether it be a mountain pass when fully loaded with supplies or a quick spin to work.
Gravel bikes combine road bike looks and speed with loads of frame clearance for fitting fat, knobbly tyres that can sometimes be 35mm-wide or more to get you across almost any terrain, including terrible tarmac, gloopy mud, bridleways, gravel paths and more. You can find adventure bikes made from steel, aluminium, carbon and titanium, and at a range of prices from the affordable to the aspirational.
Adventure bikes that take luggage typically frame bags, saddle bags and bar bags are used for bikepacking, which is essentially touring, but with perceived better fashion sense and hashtags.
Interested in a gravel bike? Our list of the best gravel bikes will help you find the perfect one for your needs. Cyclocross bikes are similar in concept to the bikes listed above, but are designed for the racing discipline of cyclocross.
Their geometry is typically more aggressive than that of gravel and adventure bikes, making them a less attractive proposition for longer days in the saddle. Our list of the best cyclocross bikes compiles all top-scoring cyclocross bikes from recent tests. This is what makes them popular with cycle couriers, who also like their reliability — a legal-minimum fixie with just a front brake has almost nothing on it to go wrong.
Want to know more? Typical town bikes have chainguards and flat pedals, so you can hop aboard in your regular clothes. They shrug off potholed streets, while an upright riding position gives you a commanding view of traffic. A defining feature of recumbent bikes often deemed as a drawback is that one cannot stand up while pedaling up a challenging hill because of its form and design. Cruiser bikes are meant for leisurely rides that one would take around the town and their neighborhood.
Most of these bikes feature wider inch tires as compared to several other pavement bikes. They consist of comfortable seats that allow for relaxed seating positions, and often also internally geared rear hubs that allow easy and convenient maintenance. These bikes usually sport a combination of large road bike sized wheels that make them work amazingly well on both paved trails and smooth dirt.
They also feature a flat bar and a heads-up ride to ensure better view and comfort while riding. They may often contain disc brakes for responsive and impressive braking, especially when riding in turbulent weather conditions.
Many hybrid bikes that are considered as commuter-friendly models include fenders, racks and lighting systems. However, it is important to note that no two hybrid bikes are entirely same so you must choose one according to your requirements and the type of riding you plan on doing. Cyclocross bikes are primarily designed to be raced around a dirt trail that consists of different obstacles and blockages placed at various intervals.
The purpose behind those barriers is that the rider or cyclist has to dismount mid-cycling and carry the bicycle for different short periods of time. These bikes are super lightweight but also tough and sturdy enough to deal with intense conditions of cyclocross racing, which may often, involve cyclists taking laps around courses on pavements, grass and dirt trails.
Most cyclocross bikes come with semi-knobby tires to ensure that the bike can handle any given terrain challenges. I bought an electric mountain bike last summer and love it. These bikes include an electric motor which you can charge by plugging it into a regular outlet.
When you peddle, the electric motor provides an assist so that you go faster and hills are made easier. Many types of bicycles are available in electric versions including mountain bikes, road bikes and hybrid bikes for commuting. I will probably never get a non-electric bike again. You still get a great workout or can take it nice and easy. Learn more about electric bikes here based on my extensive use.
Now that you are aware of the major types of bicycle available for you out there, which one are you going to buy for yourself? Read about Dropper post. Hybrid bikes, also known as comfort bikes, take their inspiration from road bikes but offer a more friendly design for riders who are looking to get from point A to point B without a workout. These bikes typically have a laid-back seat position that most riders find more comfortable and feature flat or extended handlebars that are easier to control than the drop handlebars found on most road bikes.
Hybrid bikes have wider wheels to improve handling, and many have disc brakes to help with stopping on busy urban roads. Cyclocross bikes are a hybrid between road bikes and mountain bikes and offer the best of both worlds, especially for riders who expect to find themselves on dirt and gravel in addition to asphalt.
These bikes are lightweight enough to cover significant miles on the road but have somewhat wider and stronger wheels than a standard road bike to be able to absorb shock when riding off-road. Touring bikes closely resemble road bikes but are built for durability and adaptability rather than speed. These bikes typically use steel frames, which is much heavier and slower than the aluminum and carbon material used in road bikes but is also better at carrying heavy loads distributed over the front and rear of the frame.
Touring bikes typically offer plenty of eyelets in the frame to allow you to add accessories, making them a good option for commuters as well as distance cyclists. In addition, touring bikes typically have the widest gearing range of any type of bike. Recumbent bikes can use either a bicycle or tricycle design and are popular for both leisure and workouts on roads. Recumbent bikes are loved especially among older riders who find that the reclined position of these bikes does not put pressure on their knee joints in the same way as traditional bikes.
While recumbent bikes have to gear to allow them to handle small hills, the reclined position is not good for riding in areas with significant climbing and descending. Electric bikes have become increasingly popular, especially among bike commuters, by reducing the amount of effort that is needed to bike at high speed and over longer distances.
High-quality e-bikes have batteries that last for 60 miles or more, making them useful for long rides. E-bikes are designed to mimic road bikes or mountain bikes, so the considerations that go into choosing other types of bikes also apply to e-bikes. Folding bikes are designed to collapse down to just one-third or less of their normal size when not in use. These bikes are perfect for commuters who need to store their bike in their office or who use their bike as part of a long journey to work involving public transit, or for anyone who has very little storage space for a bike.
Folding bikes typically have small wheels, which somewhat limits them to flat roads since they handle poorly during descents or on any surface rougher than asphalt. Read Best Folding Bike Review. Cargo bikes are the semi-truck of the biking world and are specifically designed for carrying loads. A popular use of cargo bikes is to ride to the store and carry groceries back by bike, but they can also be outfitted to hold one or more children on the rear.
Mountain Bicycles are design for riding rough off-road trails. They have flat or upright handlebars, and a very low gear range for pedaling up steep trails. Most mountain bikes have some type of shock absorbers or suspension. Mountain bikes with front suspension only are called hardtails ; mountain bikes with both front and rear suspension are called full-suspension bikes or duallies.
Mountain bikes with no suspension are called rigid. Mountain bikes can be outfitted for use as touring or commuting bikes, although they would not be as light or efficient as traditional touring or commuting bikes.
Fat bikes , with their extremely wide tires, are included in the mountain bike category. Hybrid Bicycles were originally conceived to provide the advantages of both road bikes and mountain bikes. Their large, padded seats and upright handlebars provide a comfortable riding position, and are best for casual riding around the neighborhood or bike paths, short-distance commuting, and errands around town. They can be ridden on paved roads, but are not as lightweight or efficient as road bikes.
They are ideal for paved or unpaved bike trails, but are not appropriate for rough off-road mountain bike trails. The tires are usually a medium-width with a semi-smooth tread, to provide a fairly smooth ride on pavement, but enough grip and cushion on unpaved trails. Most hybrid bikes have front suspension to smooth out small bumps, but some are fully rigid. Hybrid bikes used to also be referred to as cross bikes , but that term is not used any more in order to avoid confusion with cyclocross bikes see above.
Dual-Sport Bicycles are a sub-category of hybrid bikes oriented towards riders who want the multi-surface versatility of a hybrid bike, but want a little more aggressive style and riding position.
They have a flat or upright handlebar, although not as upright as regular hybrid bikes; they usually have a smaller, more performance-oriented seat, rather than a large comfort seat. Most have front suspension. Dual-sport bikes make good commuter bikes, and are also good for touring on unpaved trails. Cruiser Bicycles are similar to hybrid bikes, in that they are designed for casual riding, and have a very comfortable, upright riding position, and a large, comfortable seat.
Cruisers usually have wide "balloon" tires, and handlebars that are even more upright, and in some cases, swept back compared to hybrid bikes. Most cruiser bikes are single-speed or 3-speed, and have the old-fashioned coaster brake where you pedal backwards to stop.
They can be used for short-distance commuting and errands, as long as your route is fairly flat. Some cruiser bike manufacturers make a wide array of colorful models available, to suit the fashion tastes of any bike afficionado. Flat-Foot Comfort Bicycles are a sub-category of cruiser bikes.
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