Tips When You Are Buying a Bicycle

When buying a bicycle many people think they will simply go to Wal-Mart and buy one there because they offer the best prices. Let me tell you right now that the bikes sold at Wal-Mart are utter crap. They may look like the bicycles sold at your local bike shop but they are made of poorer quality components.

A cheap bike from Wal-Mart will constantly break down, will probably not be assemble properly, and even if it was assembled properly it still will not function the way a bike is supposed to. Spend the extra money and buy a quality entry-level bicycle from your local bicycle shop.

In the long run you will be much better off than buying a bike from a mass department store. You will ride the bike more, it will be more fun to ride, and you will not have it constantly breaking down. The better components and assembly of a bike store bike is well worth it.

When you buy a bike from a local bike shop you will get a bike that has been assembled properly. After you ride your new bike for a little while it is important that you take the bike back in to get everything checked out again. The cables and other components will need slight adjustments. When you buy a bike from a bike shop this is often included into your purchase price. You can be assured that you are riding a quality bicycle that has been put together in a way to allow you to get as much enjoyment as possible from your new bicycle.

Most people buy a crappy bicycle from a mass department store or they spend their money wisely and invest in a quality bicycle to ride from their local bicycle shop. Another alternative is to buy a bike online from Bikes Direct. Bikes Direct sells many quality bicycles and you can get them much cheaper than a comparably equipped bike from your local bike shop. You also will not have to pay tax on your purchase.

You should however talk with your local bike shop first because you will want them to do final assemble of the bike you buy from Bikes Direct and ensure that everything is assembled and working smoothly. Some local bicycle shops will not assemble bikes from Bikes Direct because they feel it is cutting into their business; however most bike shops will happily assemble their mail order bikes for a fee. These companies understand that they as a bicycle shop need to develop relationships with their customers, even if the initial purchase did not come from their particular store.

Bikes Direct sells a wide variety of bicycles including fixies, Mountain Bikes, Full-suspension mountain bikes, road bikes, carbon fiber road bikes, 29er mountain bikes, and even track bikes.

As long as you buy a quality bicycle from either Bikes Direct or your local Bicycle shop than you can focus on the most important part of bicycling, and that is to have fun. Regardless of your age, where you live, or what style of bike you ride a bicycle can bring a lot of joy. Riding bikes is very fun, healthy, and will give you a chance to explore your City in new ways and see things that you never would have notice if you had simply been passing by quickly in your car.

People who ride bikes may choose to do so for health reasons or they simply use the bicycle as a mode of transportation for commuting. There are numerous reasons people will ride bikes but all of them are based around the fun factor. You may be grumpy after a bad day at work but then when you hop on your bicycle to commute home you begin to alleviate some of that built-up stress and actually be enjoying your day.

When you ride your bike, whether around town or around the mountains, you should carry a small backpack with you and have everything you need to fix a flat and other emergency bicycle repairs that can pop up periodically.

For mountain bikes do not ever buy spare tubes from Wal-Mart. You want to always buy your tubes online or from your local bike shop. Get quality thorn resistant tubes and then have the tubes filled with Slime. This will help small thorns and other objects from causing your tires to immediately go flat when they penetrate the rubber on the tire. You also need to carry a small tire pump with you that is easy to use. Add in some snack food such as beefy jerky and peanuts, your bicycle helmet, and then you are ready to hit the bike paths.

When you buy a bike for the first time it is highly recommended that you buy from your local bike shop instead of an online website such as Bikes Direct. A competent local bike shop employee can help you to find the right bicycle that suits your riding interests as well as your budget. If you want to ride both around town on paved surfaces as well as dirt trails in the mountains than you do not want a carbon fiber road bike designed for racing. A hard-tailed mountain bike is like the SUV of cars. It can work around town as well as up in the mountains.

Even if you know that you want a mountain bike, there are still a lot of choices. Some of the choices could be full suspension or hardtail? A regular mountain bike or a 29er? 24, 27, or 30 gears? There are numerous options and a local bike shop can help you to narrow down the choices of bikes to help you to find the very best bike for your riding interests. Never buy a bicycle because it looks stylish to you. Other people do not care if you look stylish. Real bicyclists simply want you to get a bike that you are comfortable with and will enjoy using regardless of what style of bicycle it happens to be. Riding a bike is a lot of fun, unless you buy a cheap crappy bike from a mass department store such as Wal-Mart.