Riding a bike is a great way to get fit and healthy and as well as being a form of exercise you can do by yourself, it is a wonderful way of spending time together when the whole family goes out for a day’s cycling.

Like swimming, cycling can be enjoyed by young and old alike and, as the saying goes, once you learn to ride a bike, you never forget.

The only confusing thing about cycling is wondering what type of bike to get because there are lots of different types of cycles as well as different cycle brands. They also vary a great deal in price.

The best way to find the right bike for you is ideally to get yourself down to a bicycle shop where you can get on one and give it a go.  This is the only way where you can determine how comfortable the saddle is, how easy the peddles are on your feet, whether the saddle height is right or can be adjusted to suit your height, and so on.  These are the sorts of things that you can never determine over the internet.
However, what many people do, is they try out and see which bike is the perfect bike for them and then they buy it online, as it is often easier to get a good discount online.

Let’s take a brief look at some of the types of bicyles that you might come across in your search for finding a bike to ride:

BMX Bikes

BMX started back in the early 1970s when kids started racing their bicycles on dirt tracks in Southern California using the motocross superstart of that era as their inspiration.
The bike of choice at that time was the Schwinn Sting-Ray which, because of its size and availability meant it could be customized for better performance and handling.

By the mid-70s, BMX racing had become a phenomenon and saw children racing normal bikes off-road and around specially built tracks. In 1982, the first BMX World Championships were held and now, as a form of recreational leisure or sport, BMX has become very popular with adults, children and teenagers.

Mountain Bikes

Moutain bikes (also known as MTB or ATB which is short for “all terrain bicycly) are meant to be used for cycling cross country and off the road. They are not intended to be used for city riding but are more for dirt trails, forests, unpaved places – anywhere that does not have smooth roads.

When people talk about “going mountain biking” they are referring to the activity of riding their bikes in terrain which encompasses steep declines, dirt tracks  and sometimes, it can be a very dangerous activity.  Mountain bikes therefore have to be quite durable and be able to withstand the inevitable knocks and run-ins with logs and rocky surfaces.   Mountain bike wheels are usually referred to as “26-inch” wheels although the wheels on these bikes have to be wide and have good traction and shock absorption capabilities.

Mountain biking was not very well-known thirty years ago and have definitely become more mainstream in the last two decades with many households having at least one mountain bike.

Different types of Mountain Bike categories

- Dual or full suspension
Here you have a front suspension fork and rear suspension with a rear shock and linkage that allown the rear wheel to move on pivots

- Hardtail
A frame with a front suspension fork and no rear suspension

Soft tail
A frame with small amount of rear suspension, activated by flex of the frame instead of pivots

Fully rigid
- A frame with a rigid fork and fixed rear, no suspension

Cross Country Mountain Bikes

These are also known as XC mountain bikes and are meant to be used for cross country racing, which involves climbing as well as speed and endurance.

Trail Bikes
These are an extension of XC bikes that are often used by recreational mountain bikers.