When trying to decide on the best type of bike, think about these questions:

- Who do you ride with?
- What do they ride?
- What have you had in the past that you liked?
- What have you had in the past that you disliked?
- What would you like to do with your new bike?
- How much money are you comfortable spending?

Road bikes are fast and easy to pedal on pavement. They are incapable of operating off the road. Many people find the riding position difficult to maintain for a long time.

Mountain bikes are harder to pedal and slower on pavement. But they have a cushy ride, an upright riding position, and can travel easily on a wide variety of surfaces.

Hybrid or cross bikes are almost as fast and easy to pedal as a road bike, while being almost as comfortable and versatile as a mountain bike.

Comfort bikes are just that—comfortable. They are less efficient, but sitting on one is much more comfortable.

Cruisers are fun to look at and, when ridden at a relaxed pace, they are ideal for admiring the scenery, exploring the neighborhood or beach.

At Bike Attack, we've got em all!

Buying A Bicycle

What factors should I consider when buying a bicycle?

First of all, if you come to the store at Bikeattack, I ask you, "What is the Purpose? What do you want to use the bicycle for? What do you want to do?" Those are the type of questions I ask. And from then on, the second ones are, "What type of initial investment?" or, "How much do you want to spend?" This way I can put you in a category, so I can hit the money, the value that you want to spend, so you're a happy cyclist. Those are the questions I usually ask, so that way you have the correct bicycle and are a happy customer..

When should I get my child their first bicycle?

My child just saw a bike and that was it. She just wanted to have it. For me, when the child starts walking to the level when they are really running, that's the time you throw them into bicycling. Their bones are growing, their bones are strong; it's time for them to go for a nice bike ride. Most kids learn to cycle between 4 and 7 years old.

What are 'road bikes'?

A road bike is a lightweight bicycle. It weighs approximately fifteen to twenty pounds, and has drop bars.. A road bicycle is fast, agile, and quick, but can only be ridden on paved streets

What are 'fitness bikes'?

Fitness bikes are basically like a road bike, except they have a more upright positions. The majority of our customers have road bikes, but they don't want that stretched top tube - they want to be in a more upright position; that's a fitness bike. The majority of our customers want a fitness bike with a 700c rim, and it's the same as the Tour de France bikes, but it has a comfortable seat and a comfortable handlebar position and stand position - to me, that's a fitness bike.

What are 'comfort bikes'?

A comfort bike is the same as the fitness bike. Many focus on the comfort of bicycles these day, but you want the speed of a road bike of various gears. Comfortable bikes are bicycles you can ride comfortably, with a nice seat and an upright position.

What is a 'beach cruiser'?

A beach cruiser is my favorite bicycle. A beach cruiser is a 26-inch tire balloon type bicycle. It has a fat seat, fat tires, is really cushy, and the handlebars are upright. A beach cruiser makes you really comfortable, puts you in an upright position, and allows you to just enjoy the beach.

What is a 'performance road bike'?

A performance road bike has super-lightweight wheels; either it's a carbon-fiber frame or it's a titanium frame. It's really light. That's the type of bike that you see on TV that Lance Armstrong uses. That's the type of road bike. It has 10 speeds in the back, and it has 2 speeds in the front. That is a performance road bike, and its' 700 Cs - really fast with thin tires.

What is a 'mountain bike'?

A mountain bike is a 26-inch bicycle, which you can ride on dirt up in the mountains, not like the Tour de France bike that Lance Armstrong uses. You can ride this on dirt, really rocky sections, really steep sections, single-track, and fire road. You can't do that on a road bike or racing bike. Mountain bikes are the type of bikes that you can use to climb on mountains, comfortably and safely, when you're out in the woods with no cars.

Now that you've considered how you'll bike and have zeroed in on your buying tendencies, the next step is considering what type of off-road rig best suits your needs. Check our chart to see what the different models offer:

What are the different types of bicycle brakes?

The difference between handbrakes, foot brakes and disc brakes are: for disc brakes there are two types - the ones that are cable actuated brakes, which are from manufactures Hayes or Avid, but they also make hydraulic brakes which are used similarly to motorcycles and cars. You also have another type of brake, which are hand brakes, which are cantilever brakes, and you have V brakes, which are cable actuated. Of course, you also have the old style, the coaster brake, which are in the hub and to stop you have to kick the pedal backwards. These are coaster brakes.

Should I buy secondhand bikes?

With second hand bikes, I don't what know what the other individual did to that bicycle. I don't know what happened. My advice is that second hand bikes are a no-no unless you know the person very well. Bikes purchased on sites like craigslist can appear to the average cyclist to be ok, but upon further inspection have bent forks, bent frames, and improper parts. We have seen countless used bikes have repair problems greater than the cost of the bike. My advice is buy once and buy right.

Why not just buy a cheap bike at a discount retailer?

That's a terrible mistake for consumers, especially if you buy a bicycle from big superstores. First of all, service is a factor. Safety is another factor - they just want to push you products that are not safe, with cheap service. The majority of all the bikes that are from the big superstores, we always fix them. You end up spending more to repair it than using it. Buyers need to come in for service, and that to me is not safe and it's not fair for consumers of bicycles. One more thing about buying bicycles from a department stores! For example: these bicycles are assembled using power tools. Many times the fasteners (nuts and bolts) are stripped. Many times we have seen new bicycles from department stores come in for brake repairs, as well as the rest of the bike. These bikes can be dangerous by the way they are assembled with loose bolts, wheels on incorectly and other assembly issues. In the long run, bicycles that are purchased from a bicycle shop may be less expensive overall. “You get what you pay for” Kurt Vonnegut.