You need to be physically active to stay fit and healthy. Riding your bike regularly is one of the best ways to reduce the risk of health problems related to your sedentary lifestyle. Cycling is a healthy, low-impact exercise that people of all ages, from young children to adults, can enjoy. It’s fun, cheap and good for the environment. One of the most time-efficient ways to get to work or to the store is to combine regular exercise with your daily routine.
1. BMX
The BMX bicycle is an acronym for Motor Cross, primarily because this type of bike is a single speed bike that rides around small dirt tracks, quite similar to the nature of motor sports. The abbreviation is often used to describe any bike with single speed and 20-inch wheels. They consist of a small frame, a single gear and twenty-inch wheels which means they are not only stronger but also do much less maintenance than the average bike.
Inspired by the Motorcross motorcycle, the BMX bike was first designed in the late sixties. These are usually based on 20 wheels, but 24 wheels are also available. ‘Real BMX’ bikes are always made with a single speed cassette and a rigid frame. They have high-rise handlebars that make movement easy.
There are two main types of BMX designed for bicycle racing or freestyle riding. These are very similar, but there are some minor differences between the two. Freestyle models often have rear and front stunt pegs which simplifies the techniques.
The other two sub-categories are also known as: Freestyle, Flatland, Street, Vert, Park, Trail, Dart Jump, etc. As always, prices vary from one store to another and from one model to another. The entry-level model costs around $ 600, the mid-range model usually costs less than $ 1,000, while the Pro model costs between $ 1,000 and $ 1,500.
2. Mountain Bikes
This bike is designed with excellent braking system and shock-absorbing features that can easily handle deadly obstacles, rocks, dirt paths, roots and routes. Mountain bikes are designed to withstand steep terrain, which is why most of them consist of lower gears than other road bikes.
They usually have 26-inch or 29-inch wide nabi tires that work wonders between their barriers and loose dirt. Nowadays you get a variety of mountain biking styles, each requiring a unique bike design with specific features. SRAM has cornered the market for MTB groupsets, ranging from low-end Apex sets to high-end Force and wireless e-tap AXS with Red.
3. Road Bikes
Road bikes are best identified by their drop or down-handlebars and skinny tires. Downward-curved handlebars are usually lightweight which helps keep you in a pneumatic position. The lightweight frame makes this type of bicycle especially good for use on numerous sidewalks, including racing, touring, fitness riding, long-distance rides, and daily commuting. If you are most concerned about the variety of options for speed, arm and riding positions, and the efficient transfer of energy to move the bike forward, then you should buy a road bike.
Road bikes are one of the oldest bikes, and over time they retain much of the same design even as they adopt advanced technology. The frames are usually lightweight aluminum or carbon, aggressive geometry that puts the rider’s legs almost horizontally forward over the paddle. These are well known by their thin tires and drop handlebars.
This allow the rider to reach more aerodynamic positions for high-speed racing. The road bike tradition has traditionally no suspension and is uncomfortable to ride on any surface other than smooth sidewalks or roads. This makes them unsuitable for travel, although many road cyclists use them as passenger bikes for quick rides and back trips.
4. Recumbent Bikes
This type of bicycles is more popular as an “unconventional” bicycle because it requires sitting on the ground in a seat that looks like a chair. There are variable bikes with different configurations including long to short wheelbases, two, three or four wheeler variations, as well as under and above the seat steering.
These bikes allow a function such as a sitting leg press to allow the cyclist to rest properly on the back of the bike so that they can turn on larger gears. One particular feature of bikes that is often considered a flaw is that no one can stand on a challenging hill when it comes to its form and design.
5. Touring Bikes
These are almost like traditional theatrical road bikes, except for a few modifications and modifications that make them perfect for long distance bike travel. Touring bikes come with multiple attachment points that allow you to attach fenders, pumps, lights, racks, water bottles and more.
They have super studded frames that allow them to carry heavy loads on the front and rear racks. Most Turing bikes have disc brakes that provide them with improved stopping power, especially on non-paved surfaces. A distinctive feature of Turing bikes is their wide or semi-navy tires that are specifically designed to handle gravel roads.
6. Folding Bikes
Folded bikes are believed to be excellent travel companions. As the name implies, they fold very easily and smoothly, allowing them to fit effortlessly into boats, car trunks or subways. These can even be folded and carried in a portable bag which makes it extremely convenient for passengers who have limited storage space at home or elsewhere. Many have adjustable latches that help the bike break easily.
7. Hybrid Bike
Hybrid bikes are best described as a mix of road, mountain and travel bike designs, making them “do-it-all” types of bikes that provide a wide range of uses. These bikes usually play a combination of wheels the size of large road bikes that work amazingly well in both their paved roads and smooth dirt.
They also feature a flat bar and a head-up ride to ensure better views and comfort. They can often hold disc brakes for reactive and impressive braking, especially when riding in rough weather. Hybrid bikes gained popularity in the 90’s when old style utility roadster bikes went out of fashion.
Recreational cyclists and passengers wanted the advantage of a powerful mountain bike to lose weight and have extra speed on the road bike. Manufacturers start new designs of road bikes with strong aloe frames, straight geometry and straight handlebars. The wheels were usually the same 29 ″ model but slightly thicker, the tires and the frame often have mounting points for the rack.
8. City Bike
City bikes are often combined with hybrid bikes, but these are two different types of bikes. Although hybrid bikes are meant to be ridden both on the road and outside, city bikes are primarily designed for riding in urban areas. This does not mean that it cannot ride on light roads, but the quality of the components and the level of comfort are only the most suitable for city use.
These bikes focus on comfort and practicality, so they provide a straight riding position and a lot of comfort. The frame is usually made of aluminum or steel and the handlebars are often curved and higher than the saddle, which is usually soft and cushioned.
City bikes often carry multiple accessories such as fenders, racks, a basket, lights, dynamo or dynamo hub, a bell, hub gearing, and so on. They usually have a small number of gears or come as a single speed. Most of the city bikes have 26 ″ wheels, rim brakes and smooth tires that are not too wide and provide easy ride on city asphalt.
9. Fat Tire Bikes
Fat tire bikes have so much popularity over the past decade, particularly in beach towns and snow resorts. When mountain bikes became popular in the S0s, some adventurous riders switched from single-speed balloon-tire cruisers to deeper backcountry, giving birth to the pioneers of thick bikes.
Early fat bikes typically use a wide-bodied mountain bike frame to adjust tires up to mountain ″ thick. With the exception of thicker tires, they usually had the same gearing system and handlebars but often had no brakes because disc brakes did not yet exist and caliper brakes did not fit on the tires.
In the early 2000s, specialist bike brand Surley was one of the first original fat-tire bikes, the Pugsle, to feature a custom-built frame and specially designed wide rims. Despite its popularity among expedition cyclists, the Fat Bike Fad really started much later in the 2010s. Nowadays, fat bikes are a common site at popular beach resorts around the world.
High-end fat bikes come in all kinds of materials, including carbon, steel and aluminum. Some have high-quality gearing systems for snow racing events, others have a general fixed-gear system for beach trips. Thick bike tires range in size from 3 as small to 5 ″ thick, typically 26 ″ or 27.5 ″ rim in size. They range in price from 999 on the lower end to $ 5,000 or more on the upper end.
10. Track Bikes
Often referred to as “fixie”, fixed gear or track bikes are primarily used for racers and athletes who train for professional racing. The main reason for this is that as the name suggests, these bikes have a single, stationary gear, which means you can’t coast or free-wheel this type of bike.
This suggests that cyclists or riders who use this bike need to use the power of their feet to stop bending the cranks of the bike and make its speed more restrained. Fixed gear bikes can have several different styles of brakes and handlebars and cyclists usually have to rotate their legs in a constant circle to run at a high speed.
11. Cruiser Bikes
Cruiser bikes come under the umbrella of “specialty bikes” which have very precise end uses and features that set them apart from other types of bikes. Cruiser bikes are meant for leisure rides that will take anyone around the city and their surroundings. Most of these bikes feature 26-inch tires compared to other sidewalk bikes. These consist of comfortable seats that allow for comfortable seat positions and often internally made rear centers that allow easy and convenient maintenance.
Cruiser bikes are designed almost exclusively for casual recreation. These are most popular in beach towns where cyclists use them to cruise along the boardwalk on lazy summer days. Typically, they have a wide, comfortable frame geometry that keeps the rider on the bike down and far behind.
This allows for comfortable travel but makes it faster or more difficult to ride. Cruisers are usually made from cheap materials such as cheap steel or aluminum and often have a single speed drivetrain with a simple coaster brake. They usually do not have suspension but have very large, soft tires that absorb any vibration on the road.
12. Cyclocross Bikes
Cyclocross bikes are basically designed to run around a dirt road consisting of different obstacles and barriers at different intervals. The purpose behind these obstacles is that the rider or cyclist has to get down to mid-cycling and carry the bike for a variety of short periods of time. Most cyclocross bikes come with semi-nibi tires so that the bike can meet the challenges of any terrain.
13. Electric Bike
Electric bicycles (e-bikes) have exploded in popularity recently, but that doesn’t mean they are a new invention. In fact, the first electric bicycle patent was brought forward by Ogden Bolton Jr. in 1895. It describes a typical road bike with a motor on the hub and a battery in the central triangle. Fortunately, the number of different types of electric bikes is almost as wide as the variety of bicycles.
About 120 years later, electric bikes still use almost identical designs, albeit with “slightly” advanced technology. Modern e-bikes typically have powerful motors that can reach speeds of up to 28mph (45km) and small, removable lithium-ion batteries that run all day on a single charge.
These bikes have an electric motor that you can charge by plugging it into a regular outlet. When you paddle, the electric motor provides a support so you can go faster and the hills are easier. Many types of bicycles are available in electric versions, including mountain bikes, road bikes and hybrid bikes (for commuting). You probably won’t get an electric bike anymore. You can still get a great workout or take it beautiful and easy.
14. Cargo Bikes
If you need to transport lots of goods but don’t have access to a car or prefer not to use one, then a cargo bike may be the solution. Many people do not realize how much goods can be transported by bike and cargo bikes that come in different sizes and shapes according to any requirement. From a standard road bike with a small front and rear basket to a trike big enough to carry a fridge, there is a cargo bike for your needs.
Conclusion
Cycling is basically an aerobic activity, which means your heart, blood vessels and lungs all do an exercise. You will experience deep breathing, sweating and an increase in body temperature, which will improve your overall fitness level. Cycling is a great way to control or reduce weight, as it increases your metabolic rate, builds muscle and burns body fat.
If you are trying to lose weight, cycling must be combined with a healthy diet plan. Cycling improves strength, balance and coordination. If you have osteoarthritis, cycling is an ideal form of exercise, as it is a low-impact exercise that puts little pressure on the joints.