3WHAT KIND OF A BIKE IS IT?
fig. 2 Road Bike
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Adult bicycles can be broadly categorized into four types, according to the intended use for which the bike was designed: Road Bikes, Mountain Bikes, Cross Bikes and City or Cruiser Bikes. While there is a lot of use overlap in bike design, each type of bike is designed to provide optimum performance, comfort and safety under specific use conditions. Which type is your new bike?
The Road Bike, sometimes called a racing bike because it is derived from the bikes used by bicycle road racers and triathletes, is for fast travel, hard training and competition on paved surfaces. It is the lightest, most aerodynamic and “fastest” type of bike. Because it is generally ridden on relatively smooth paved roads, its frame is made as stiff and light as possible, and its frame geometry is designed to give it quick, very precise response to rider input. Its components, especially wheels, tend to be lighter than those for other categories, again because they are not designed to get banged around as much. Its dropped handlebars, sometimes equipped with aero bar extensions, are designed to give the rider good leverage for climbing and sprinting, and to position the rider in an aerodynamic "tuck" for speed. Its
But: The ride tends to be too stiff for comfort on rougher surfaces. The frame and components are too light to take the pounding of
