Which bike? - decision tree

Lumen

There are a lot of "which bike" threads.

I can't be bothered to draw a flowchart, but here is my attempt at a textual decision tree ("stop when an answer matches").

Feel free to tear to shreds.

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Are you capable of taking advice? (No - flat bar hybrid or full suspension MTB)

Do you have a deathwish or possess god-like immortality? (Yes - brakeless fixie)

Will you almost always be cycling on muddy, rutted off-road trails? (Yes - Hardtail MTB)

Do you want to ride fast on the road over long distances for fun rather than transport? (Yes - Road racer)

Do you want to ride slowly, in smart clothes, in all weather? (Yes - city bike with mudguards and enclosed chain)

Do you have a substantial beard and/or several pairs of sandals? (Yes - drop-bar tourer)

Do you want just one bike for road and light off-road riding? (Yes - geared cross bike)

Will you only ride in flattish urban areas in good weather? (Yes - braked singlespeed racer)

Do you want to climb significant hills? (No - singlespeed cross bike)

Do you want maximum speed and don't mind dodging potholes (Yes - audax racer)

Otherwise: geared cross bike or drop-bar hybrid

Raam

The first one is my favourite

lukester

Missed a few:

Do you wear a long scarf and have foppish hair, or are you a character in a surreal humorous novel? (Yes - vintage high nelly)

Do you have blue rinse hair and furry boots, and favour a tartan shopping trolley over a bag? (Yes - Triumph 20)

Raam

Do you think you are a better cyclist than you actually are? (Yes - carbon fibre road bike)

ROK ON

Looking at the thread, Blorg could really to with a beard, to match the sandals and specs. A sort of John Lennon on a bike:D.

Vélo

ROK ON wrote: »

Looking at the thread, Blorg could really to with a beard, to match the sandals and specs. A sort of John Lennon on a bike:D.

No he's better off looking like Gerald Goode!

CheGuedara

I like it! Didn't see the rest of the posts till I was finished but did my best for it with word - still, maybe worth putting on the wiki?

thebouldwhacker

That works (and looks) quite well.... should be put in the wiki I reckon

L'Enfer du Nord

Lumen wrote: »

There are a lot of "which bike" threads.


Otherwise: geared cross bike or drop-bar hybrid

Can someome please post links to a few examples of a "drop-bar hybrid", can't remember seeing one, maybe I just mistake them for road bikes. Ditto "geared cross bike" are there many of these on the roads?

Lumen

L'Enfer du Nord wrote: »

Can someome please post links to a few examples of a "drop-bar hybrid", can't remember seeing one, maybe I just mistake them for road bikes. Ditto "geared cross bike" are there many of these on the roads?

IMO drop-bar hybrid/geared cross bike/drop-bar tourer are all different flavours of the same thing, characterized by various combiantions of:

- Wider tyres, either knobby (cross) or smooth (urban)
- Large clearances for the wider tyres and/or mudguards
- Long reach caliper brakes, mini-Vs or discs (to cope with the clearances)
- A longer head tube and shorter top tube, to give a more upright position
- Longer chainstays, to compensate for the rearward weight shift of a more upright position
- Eyelets for mudguards/racks.

Whether they are sold as cross bikes, tourers or hybrids is as much about marketing as anything else.

Examples: Specialized Tricross, Kona Jake, Van Nicholas Amazon.

edit: and here's a very tasty tourer