Key aspects to choose the best bike

Buying a bike is an important decision. You'll be spending a large or small amount of money on it, so you should expect it to meet your needs from day one. Whether you want it for commuting to work or for outdoor exercise on the weekends. However, there are many factors to consider. At compare.net we want to give you an analysis of the most important ones so that you can choose the bike on offer that's right for you.

What type of bike do you need?

That's the first thing you need to think about.There are the following types:

• Urban bikes. These are suitable for city commuting. They are totally rigid and have wide and comfortable saddles, ergonomic handlebars and robust frames. They also come with accessories such as, for example, baskets for backpacks and bags or mudguards to protect your clothes from puddle water and surface dirt.
• Folding bikes. An excellent alternative to the above. In fact, they are also urban bicycles. Their peculiarity is that their structure folds in order to take up less space and can be carried by hand on public transport. They have smaller wheels (generally no bigger than 20 inches) and very simple transmission systems (one chainring and a few sprockets).
• Mountain bikes. The real stars of many online and physical bike shops. They have 26-inch, 27.5-inch or 29-inch wheels, depending on the model, and are specially designed for riding off-road trails in the middle of nature. However, they are not all the same. The trail and cross country models are the most common among less experienced users. However, there are also specific models for the Enduro or Downhill disciplines, for example.
• Road bikes. Are you looking for a cheap bike with which to ride long cycle touring routes and even climb mountain passes? Then this is the type you need. They are the lightest and are designed to cover a large number of kilometres in each session. To give you an idea, they are the same ones used by riders in well-known races such as the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia or the Vuelta a España.
• Trekking bikes. Also known as hybrid bikes or gravel bikes. The reason? Their design is halfway between a road bike and a mountain bike. In this sense, they have the same wheel size as the former (28 inches), but their thickness is intermediate between the two and they have engravings and treads like the latter. So they adapt perfectly to both road and unpaved trails.
• Electric bikes. A good alternative when buying a bike if you have suffered an injury some time ago, if your physical condition is not very good but you still want to use this transport system or if you are afraid of standing still on a slope. These types of bikes, which can be urban, mountain or road bikes, have pedal assistance systems based on a battery-powered electric motor.

The size of your new cheap bike

The cheap bikes, just like the most sophisticated ones on the market, are sold by size. In fact, this is also the case with bicycle helmets. These sizes depend primarily on the height of the rider. Choosing the right one will determine the degree of comfort you will feel when pedalling:

• XS bikes. 160- 165 cm tall.
• Bikes S. 165-170 cm tall.
• Bikes M. 170-179 cm tall.
• Bikes L. 179-186 cm tall.
• Bikes XL. 186-195 cm tall.

Needless to say, in case you're looking for a bike on sale for kids, those measurements won't work for you. In that case, what determines the size is the diameter of the wheels:

• 12 inch wheels. 85-100 cm tall.
• 14-inch wheels. 95-110 cm tall.
• 16 inch wheels. 110-120 cm tall.
• 20 inch wheels. 120-135 cm high.
• 24-inch wheels. 135-145 cm high.
• 26 inch wheels. From 145 cm tall.

What's your budget for buying the bike?

Another important question. Remember that there are mountain bikes and road bikes that are well over 10,000 euros.

• Cheap bikes for 300 euros or less. These are very simple bikes that, in most cases, are only useful in the urban environment. They are equipped with low or medium quality components and it is often difficult to find similar spare parts when they break down.
• Middle range bikes (between 300 € and 1000 €). Here we begin to find interesting models of prestigious international brands. Generally, they have quite light aluminium frames and higher quality components.
• High-end bikes (between 1000 € and 6000 €). This is probably the largest market segment. It also includes electric bikes, whose average price is usually around 1500 €. In this space you can already find bikes with carbon frames, titanium drivetrains, etc.
• Premium bikes (over 6000 €). This category includes the top of the range of the brands present in online and physical bike shops. There are more models than you can imagine that ostensibly exceed €10,000.

Choose the best cheap bike easily

In short, if you follow the advice that we have just given you from comparar.net, finding the bike on sale recommended for you according to your needs and tastes will be very simple. In fact, many cheap bikes hide higher quality components than their price would suggest as brands often run good promotions when they are discontinuing a model or launching an update.

So, if you're planning to visit online or physical bike shops soon, bear in mind what we've just told you.