Choosing and Buying a Bike

This is something people often don’t consider when buying a bike. If you plan to use a bike for grocery shopping, commuting, going on picnics or overnight trips you will probably need to have some carrying capacity on the bike. This means it needs to be a bike on which a carrier/pannier rack can be fitted. Some bikes are not suitable for this.

Of course there are other ways to carry things such as a backpack but this can be uncomfortable and is generally not advisable unless it is very light. A large saddle bag or a handlebar basket can be fitted to most bikes but the capacity of this will be limited

This is a very important question and may have a large influence on the bike you choose. New bikes range in price from €100 to €10,000. Luckily you can buy a bike at the lower end of this scale and it will probably be quite adequate for your needs. However, as a general rule when you buy a bike you get what you pay for.

The more you pay the higher the specification and generally the higher the quality. A cheap bike will have cheap low quality components which are more prone to causing problems than those on a more mid price bike. A cheaper bike may also be very heavy which is manageable if you stay on flat ground but noticeable when you come to hilly terrain.

While a bike for €100 may be usable it is probably wise to spend something in the range €300 to €400 at a minimum on a new bike. If you stretch to €700 + you are into the bottom end of the higher quality bike range.  Over €1100 you are well into the higher specification, lightweight models. 

Spend what you can afford and do not be tempted to stretch above this unless you’re very certain you’re buying a bike that you will really appreciate. An option to consider is buying a secondhand bike and this is discussed later on.

Although the prices available for bikes at internet based bike stores can be very attractive, it is generally more satisfactory to go to your local bike shop to buy your bike. You can try out various bikes – sitting on them and in many cases it will be possible to go for a short test ride. Also -

• You’ll get the benefit of advice from the bike shop staff.
• You can leave the shop not only with a bike size that suits you but also with the saddle and handlebars adjusted to fit you.
• If you have any problems with the bike you can bring it back to the shop – if you make an online purchase you will need a lot more effort to get any issues with the bike resolved.
• If you need your bike adjusted or tweaked after you buy it, generally bike shop owners/staff are much better disposed to customers who bought a bike from them than made an online purchase.

There are some large bike shops in the country with a vast range of bikes available in stock and then there are small bike shops, which may be more local to you but have a smaller range in stock. In this case even if they don’t have exactly what you need, they may be able to order it for you. However, despite the advice given above, if you are certain about what you need, very good offers can be found online.

Making sure your bike fits and is adjusted to suit you

Like buying a new pair of shoes, you should always buy a bike that is the correct size for you. If your bike is too big or too small it will be uncomfortable to ride and can cause all sorts of aches and pains unnecessarily. When buying a new bike you have the chance to make sure it is the correct size. The staff in any good bike shop will ensure that your bike is the perfect fit. However, don’t rely entirely on the bike shop staff and go armed with some understanding of how you should feel on a bike that is the correct size.

General bike fitting guidelines:

• A good rule of thumb for a bike with a cross bar is, when you straddle the bike the bar should be no more than 4cm away from your crotch for road bikes and hybrids and about 5cm for mountain bikes.
• When pedaling, your legs should never feel over stretched (saddle too high) or scrunched up (saddle too low). A general guide to find the correct saddle height is to put your heel on the pedal and when your leg is at the bottom of the pedal stroke it should be more or less straight. When cycling, the ball of your foot will be on the pedal and at the bottom of the pedal stroke your leg will have a slight bend in it.
• Your arms should be sloping forward to reach the handlebars, but not stretched.
• Sitting on the saddle you should generally be able to reach the ground with your toes.

If when you are on the bike the saddle or handlebars have to be adjusted to their highest or lowest position to feel comfortable it is possible that the bike frame size is too big or too small for you. 

Buying a second hand bike

A possible option to allow you to buy a higher quality bike for a lower price is to buy second hand. Lots of good bikes are sold at very reasonable prices through the classified ads by individuals.  Some bike shops also sell second hand bikes. However, there are pitfalls. You can be unlucky and buy a well used bike which needs a lot of work to maintain it or worse still come across an unscrupulous seller who sells stolen bikes.

The best source for second hand bikes is likely to be either a reputable bike shop or an acquaintance who is selling a bike he/she no longer needs.

If you are planning to buy a bike see details of the Bike to Work Scheme here.