Which Type of Bicycle is Best for You?
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When I was a kid you had very few choices in what type of bicycle you would ride. Most bikes were simple single speed bikes with coaster brakes. Your top speed or hill climbing ability was dependent upon your leg power and nothing more. In my teen years, I got my first 3-speed Schwinn bicycle and the world of cycling would never be the same for me. The selection of gears made bicycling a lot easier and longer trips seemed to be much faster.
I recall seeing the first mountain bicycles making their way to the market with a softer seat and a straight handlebar which provided a much more comfortable riding position. The only negative I saw was the harse ride provided by standard mountain bike tires.
Somewhere around mid early nineties, a few of the major bicycle companies started producing new hybrid bicycles. In the beginning they simply took a popular road bike and exchanged the handle bars for straight bars. Most shipped with a tire the same size or just a bit larger then their road bikes, only with a deeper tread. In most cases the early hybrids were a bit more comfortable then the standard road touring bike but their tires made them a bit worse on streets and only good for gravel or dirt paths off road.
Today, it is easy to be confused between terms like mountain bikes, comfort or cruiser bicycles and hybrid bicycles. Comfort bikes are generally well sprung and soft seated versions of what we’d refer to as old fashioned cruiser style bikes. These are comfortable for easy riding along asphalt roads, dirt paths and beach areas. You’ll probably tire of this bike quickly if you want to do any distance riding or use your bike for commuting to work or school. But they server well for short trips.
The typical mountain bikes today provide a good upright sitting position with adjustable seat height and handle bars. They might provide 18, 21 or 24 speeds via handle bar twist grip shifters. Most mountain bikes will have front fork suspension and many will also have rear wheel suspension. There are various schools of thought on the value of this type of bike suspension. Some riders feel it provides too soft a ride for serious hill climbing while others value the smoother ride. The simple truth is that most who ride mountain bikes never do any serious off road riding or hill climbing but selected this style bicycle due to the appearance or upright riding position.
Hybrid bicycles are somewhat of a multi-purpose bike that brings together features of mountain bikes as well as road bikes. Unfortunately, the price is usually more expensive then mountain bikes.
A good alternative to buying a new hybrid might be just to upgrade your current bike. Most all bike owners will save their bicycles for years. The first thing to consider is where you can find a good variety of bicycle parts for sale. I suggest reading the entire article to help you decide if a Mountain Bike or Hybrid Which is Best for you.