Types of Bikes
This article is a brief introduction to some of the different types of bicycle that are likely to be found. It is not an in depth article, neither does it cover every type of bicycle available. I have placed some photographs where possible, and will endeavor to get some more as they become available.
Something different
I thought we'd begin with something different:
A Custom Chopper Bicycle
This is a custom bicycle. You won't see many of these around. One thing to notice if you have a close look at this bike, is that it has no gears and only a front handbrake. Due to it not being a geared bike, the rear brake is inside the rear hub, and can be applied by turning the pedals backward.
The bike can also be stopped by using the front hand brake. It also has a chain guard, which is rare nowadays, and custom chrome mudguards. The front wheel is also larger in size than the rear wheel. It has high riser handlebars and a rear kickstand which is holding the bike up. The pedals are standard platform pedals, which allow you to ride in normal shoes.
BMX Bicycle
Bicycle Motor Cross (BMX) bicycles are designed for rough off road riding. People also use them for stunt riding, and you may see some fitted with stunt pegs.
View of a Large BMX Bicycle
The above example is typical of a BMX bicycle. It also has no gears, but has a front and rear hand brake as can be seen by the two hand brake levers. It has BMX handlebars, and a kickstand mounted behind the pedals. The wheel size is commonly called a 20 inch wheel. These size rims are quite strong and will take a fair amount of punishment.
However riding at high speed on small wheels requires some effort. Also because of the small wheels, the bike is very small and has a low stand over height. Stand over height refers to the space between the top bar and the inside top of your legs. The top bar is the cross bar that goes from the handlebars to the seat.
This bike has no suspension, no mudguards, but it does have a bell. It is fitted with standard pedals, which allow riding with normal shoes.
A small children's BMX Bicycle.
A Mountain Bike
A mountain bike is designed for trail riding and downhill riding. It can also be ridden on the road. They come in many shapes and forms. Some have no suspension, whilst others have front and rear suspension. A mountain bike without rear suspension is usually called a hard tail bike.
A Typical example of a mountain bike.
The above picture shows a typical example of a mountain bike. If you have a close look at it, you will see a lot of differences from the previous bikes shown. This bike has gears. This can be seen by looking at how the chain at the bottom runs down to some pulleys. These pulleys are called the rear derailleur. The rear derailleur keeps the tension on the chain, and when moved by the gear lever, will move sideways and move the chain onto a different cog, thus producing a different gear.
This bike has a rear kickstand, two water cages, and a rear rack. Notice how the handlebars are flat. These are often referred to as flat bars. So if you see a road bike called a flat bar road bike, then it means it has this style of handlebars.
This bike also has some other differences, which distinguishes it from the previous bikes. It uses 26 inch wheels which are the standard for most mountain bikes. This size wheel is fairly strong, especially when coupled with the large off road tyres that are fitted to this bike.
This bike also has front suspension forks and has also been fitted with a suspension seat post. It has standard platform pedals, which allow riding in normal shoes. By looking at the pedal area, you will notice that there are three chain rings. This is what makes up the gear system. It has three front chain rings and 8 cogs on the rear gear cluster, so it has a total of 24 gears. Not all of these are used, which is explained in a later article about gears.
This bike is suited for off road riding and will handle rough terrain quite easy. It is very stable on rough terrain, but is a lot slower to ride on the road when compared to a road bike. It is also suitably geared for climbing hills. One other thing to note, if you look closely at the end of the front fork, you will see a small lever. These are referred to as quick release levers. Instead of having a nut holding the wheel on and having to carry a spanner to remove the wheel, the quick release lever is just opened and the wheel can be removed.
Hybrid Bicycle
Another style of bike that has a similar riding position to a mountain bike, but better road speed is a Hybrid bicycle. Hybrids are a cross between a mountain bike and a road bike. They have an upright comfortable position, road tyres, and are usually a lot lighter than a mountain bike.
A typical hybrid bicycle.
In the above photograph you will see a hybrid bicycle that is being used for commuting to work. It has a rear rack which you can't see because the black pannier bags are attached. It has two water bottle cages and mirrors. This one also has front suspension and a suspension seat post (which you can't see). The pedals allow riding in any type of shoes.
This bike also has flat handlebars, but has an adjustable stem, which can alter the tilt of the handlebars. The height can also be adjusted with this style of handlebar neck. You will note that the tyres are a lot thinner than the above mountain bike.
These tyres are designed for riding on the road. The thinner the tyre, the less rolling resistance, and hence a faster riding speed. One thing that may not be obvious from the photo is that the chain rings on this bike are a lot larger that the ones on the mountain bike.
The bigger the chain rings, the faster the speed you are able to ride at without having to pedal too fast. This bike was later fitted with mudguards and a front pannier rack. The wheel size on this bike is referred to as 700c and is bigger than the 26 inch wheels on a mountain bike.
The larger diameter wheels also make them slightly weaker than a smaller wheel. This bike was also a 24 speed bike.
Touring Bicycle with trailer attached.
One more example for this article is a touring bike with a BOB (Beast of Burden) YAK trailer attached.
Mongoose Randonneur with BOB trailer attached in Como, South Perth.
The above photo shows a typical example of a touring bike. It has three water cage fittings, front and rear racks, and some extremely large front chain rings, when compared to the above mountain bike. These are actually road bike chain rings.
You will notice that this bike has some rather strange handlebars. It has a set of normal drop handlebars, and has also been fitted with aero bars (also called tri-bars). The wheel size is 700c which is the same as the hybrid, but this bike has wider tyres.
It is also fitted with a handlebar bag, front panniers, a rear rack top bag and a tri bag on the cross bar. Hidden in the shade is a suspension seat post. This bike does not have any suspension and is an aluminium frame with steel front forks. The pedals are dual platform, which means one side allows riding in normal shoes, and by flipping the pedal over, the other side has a cleat.
This bike can also be fitted with rear mounted panniers, but in this photo the trailer is attached. This is a typical example of a bicycle trailer. The BOB YAK is one of the common types of trailers and has been around for many years. This trailer has also been fitted with two oversized rear water cages. The single wheel trailer tracks quite well behind the bike, and sometimes it?s easy to forget that it is there.
This bike also has the ability to be fitted with mudguards. This bike is mainly a lightweight road touring bike, but it will handle some off road riding. For something more heavy duty an expedition bike could be used.
Stay tuned because I hope to find a picture of one. I will also add in some other examples of bikes, including a road racing bike.
