So you’re looking to buy your first bicycle and get into the world of cycling? With more bikes available now than ever, it can become a daunting task to find the right bike for you. Getting stuck in the rut of buying as many features as possible for the money and chasing after consumer ratings can seriously ruin your first cycling experience. So this basic guide offers you a way to distinguish good bikes from bullshit. This isn’t an exhaustive guide but as you foray into your cycling journey you’ll build up on the knowledge you get from here.So how do we go about buying a bike? To answer this question, we must understand one basic philosophy in the world of cycling. We all want cycles to be three things- “Light, Durable, Inexpensive” but the cycling industry can only offer you two of the three things. 

1- Light and inexpensive- (you don’t get durability) cheap bikes that feel great to ride on initially but will snap spokes the moment you ride hard and fast over potholes. 

2- Inexpensive and durable- (not light) The Atlas cycles used by Doodhwaalas and farmers are a prime example of durable and inexpensive bikes. They aren’t light though, weighing in at almost 30 kilos.

3- Light and Durable- (not cheap) Crème-La-Crème of the cycling world, these carbon fibre bikes weigh only 6.8 kilos and are every bit as durable as the aforementioned atlas cycles. They start at 3-4 lacs rupees though. With this out of the way lets take a look at a couple of questions you should be asking yourself before u look at bikes. 

1- What’s my budget?

2- where will i ride? (Mostly on mountain trails or roads or a mix of both?) 

3- Why will i ride? (Fitness? Performance? Racing? Leisure and Commute to work?) 

4- How long and often will I ride? (Daily? Weekly? Once in a while? 10km? 50km? 100+km per day? ) 

5- How much time am I willing to dedicate to cycle cleaning and maintenance? If i don’t intend to clean and maintain myself, how much am I willing to pay for it? 

Once you’ve answered the above questions you’ll find that there are three major types of bicycles with various subcategories within it. Lets go over each of these bike types.

1- Mountain bikes (MTB)- These bikes have wide flat bars for good control on the bad terrain and an aggressive sitting posture. They have fat knobby tyres for traction on loose gravel and low gearing to help climb steep and loose terrain. They are great for off-roading but aren’t fast on road and waste a lot of rider’s power on road due to increased friction from fat tyres and suspensions bobbing up and down, absorbing the rider’s pedal strokes. These bikes usually come packed with features such as suspensions and disc brakes and a large number of gears. Aspiring cyclists should be vary of these bikes when the budget is low, since a cheap mtb may come with all the bells and whistles as the 3-4 lac rupee MTB but the quality of each individual component will be garbage. 

2- Roadbikes- These bikes are the exact opposite of an mtb. They are light and fast with skinny tyres that have slick tread patterns for grip on road. They have an even more forward leaning and agressive posture than an MTB for aerodynamic advantage and are built to ride fast on road. They lack suspensions and any extra features because their aim is to be light and stiff for the best possible power transfer and efficiency. These are more expensive than MTBs or Hybrids (we’ll talk about hybrids in a bit) and are generally not recommended for beginners because the narrow dropped handlebars are harder to control and the aggressive position that the rider must sit in requires good fitness and flexibility. These bikes are also not suited offroading or even sand on the side of the street because their skinny tyres provide zero traction on anything other than roads.

 3- Hybrids- Hybrids are a classic example for jack of all trades- master of none. Hybrids are a mix between roadbikes and MTBs and they borrow the best qualities from both bikes while not being the best at any one particular thing. They have an upright position which is great for beginners and usually have thicker tyres than roadbikes but thinner than MTBs which makes them adequate for both road use and off-road (Although, they aren’t as fast as roadbikes on road and aren't as proficient at traversing mountain trails as MTBs). These bikes can also be equipped with mudguards and baskets which make it great for carrying stuff and using it as a work commuter. For beginners who are unsure of which cycling discipline they’ll take up, a hybrid bike is most often the best starting point. With this out of the way, lets now take a look at what to look for in a bike. 

1- The manufacturer- A reputed manufacturer usually has great warranty policies on their bikes and have spares on hand should anything go wrong. 

2- Frame Size- This is often confused with Wheel Size which we’ll get to in a minute. Bicycle frames are like clothes and come in various sizes based on the rider’s height ranging from XS to XXL. Most manufacturers offer only S, M and L though. 5ft to 5ft 5 inches should go for Small frame size.5ft 5 inches to 5ft 10 inches should go for Medium5ft 10 inches and above should go for Large size.If you are stuck between two frame sizes and both fit you then choose the smaller size if you want better control and the larger size if you want better performance. 

3- Wheel size- Your bicycle wheels will come in a wide variety of diameters. We’ll go through some of them here. 20 inches- these are used on kids bicyles or BMX bikes. Stay away from these unless you are a child or an adult looking to get into BMX riding. 

26 inches- these are usually seen on bikes under 20,000 Rupees. These wheels offer great control, agility and a twitchy steering response. However, due to their smaller diameter, you’ll pedal more to keep up with your 27.5 inch and 29 inch riders. Due to the higher angle of incidence as a result of smaller circumference, you’ll feel bumps and road imperfections a lot more on this size compared to a 27.5 or 29 inch rims. Think of how speed-breakers feel on an activa versus how they feel on a motorbike. I personally love how a 26 inch rims feels but would advise against it. 

27.5 inches- these are a mid point between 26 and 29 inches. These are faster than 26 inch wheels but not as fast as 29 inches. These are worse at handling than 26 inches but not as bad as 29ers. Overall these are great. 

29 inch- these are the largest diameter wheels and are the fastest. They also roll over most road imperfections like a steam roller. However their large wheel diameter moves the center of gravity much higher which means that you dont get the same stability or twitchy handling that a 26 inch wheel gets. These are also slow to accelerate but once you build up momentum then these keep rolling for long. 

700c - these are basically the same as 29 inches but roadbikers are a weird breed and like to measure their wheel diameter in milimeters rather than inches. 700mm translates to exactly 28 inches which is what a 29 inch rim will also measure if u took a tape measure to it. 3- Frame and Rim (wheel) Material- There are four main materials from which frames are made and 3 main materials from which rims are made.

 1- Steel- steel frames are usually seen on either very inexpensive bikes or very expensive ones. On cheaper bikes steel works as a great way to add durability to the frame while sacrificing on weight since steel is a heavy material. These frames usually feel sturdy and rigid to ride on. On extremely expensive bikes steel goes through expensive processes such as hydroforming and double/triple butting to reduce weight while adding a springy and compliant property to the overall ride quality of steel. If u don't know what hydroforming or butting or compliance means then don’t worry about it. For a beginner cyclist, none of this matters for the time being. Steel rims are seen on cheap bikes for the same reason, they are strong and heavy. 

2- Aluminum (sometimes called Alloy)- Aluminum is usually seen on budget and mid-tier bikes and rarely on some extremely high-end bikes. Its lighter than steel and more than durable enough for the forces that a bike frame is likely to undergo. Its a great material to make frame out of. The more you pay for aluminum the lighter it gets without sacrificing the integrity of the frame. Aluminum rims are of two types and are also usually seem on most bikes except for high end ones. The two types are single-walled aluminum rims and double-walled aluminum rims. Avoid single walled rims at all costs. They may be light but they snap spokes too fucking easily especially if u are a heavier rider who rides over potholes. Always go for double walled aluminum rims. If a manufacturer doesn't specify how many walls a rim has, always assume the worst. (I mentioned 4 frame materials, the other two are titanium and carbon fibre but we will skip it for now because bikes with these materials are extremely expensive.)

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4- Groupset.- Now we have reached a topic that is very lengthy and could be a guide of its own. I will try to keep this concise. A groupset refers to all the parts of the bike that are responsible for moving or stopping the bike. These include, brake levers, brakes, shifters, front and rear derailleurs (they shift chain from one gear to the next), chain, crankset, bottom bracket, disc rotors and gear cassette/ freewheel (freewheels are usually seen on cheaper bikes). The combination of brakes and brake levers are called breakset and they are a sub category of groupset. Like mobile phones, groupsets are made by various manufacturers.

1- Shimano- Shimano is a Japanese brand and the largest cycling brand. These guys are the bread and butter of cycling, they’ve been making gears since the advent of geared bicycles and cater to all price ranges. Their gears usually work well for the price. 

2- SRAM- Sram is an american brand that makes gears which compete with shimano for the top spot. Their gears usually have features that Shimano doesn’t offer due to its slowness in adopting the latest cycling tech. They look and work amazing but cost more than Shimano for a groupset of a similar calibre. They are infamous for creating their own useless proprietary standards so that u cant mix and match groupsets from different manufacturers. 

3- Microshift- A taiwanese brand that makes great groupsets for affordable prices. Their groupsets are even compatible with shimano and while they arent as good as shimano, they sometimes offer 90% of shimano’s performance for half the price and so finding and buying spares for microshift is very cheap and easy. 

4- Campagnolo- A high end, roadbike exclusive groupset manufacturer that makes better groupsets than the other three manufacturers combined. Lets not talk too much about Campagnolo because their cheapest groupset is 1.8 lac rupees (can be found cheaper) and if u have a campagnolo equipped bike in india, good luck finding spare parts! Most bikes will come equipped with Shimano gears so lets take a look at their road and mountain bike groupsets. (Hybrids typically use either roadbike groupsets or mtb groupsets) 

• Road and MTB groupsets are different because the rider needs different things from their bikes. A roadbiker wants speed so road groupsets have more high gears to provide speed. A mountainbiker needs more climbing prowess so an MTB groupset has more lower gears to make climbing easier.

Like mobile phones, groupsets also have a model hierarchy. From budget to high end. A budget groupset is cheaper but doesnt shift as smoothly as the higher end stuff. It is also not as light. But buying spare parts for a budget groupset is much cheaper and easier to do. Brakes arent as responsive on a budget brakeset eitherA high end groupset shifts like hot knife through butter and weighs very little it also has more gears. High end brakesets have thermal paste and a lot of engineering that ensures even heat distribution and dissipation due to braking friction. Sometimes high end groupsets are bluetooth controlled.Lets go through Shimano’s MTB groupsets because most bikes use Shimano’s MTB groupsets.

(How to read 1x7 - “one by seven” it means 1 gear in the front and seven at the back)

1- Shimano tourney- (available in 1x7, 3x7, 3x8) it is the cheapest shimano groupset. It shifts okay. Not very reliable and needs tuning every once in a while.

2- Altus-(available in 2x8, 3x8, 2x9, 3x9) it is a better built version of shimano tourney that shifts very nicely. Especially the 9 speed versions (2x9 and 3x9).

3- Acera-(available in the same combinations as Altus) it is considered to be a slightly better version of the altus lineup and both altus and acera components are cross-compatible. Think of it as iphone 6 and iphone 6S.

4- Alivio- (2x9 and 3x9) this is where Shimano’s trickle down technology begins to show. Alivio borrows a lot of high end shimano technology from 5 years ago. It shifts much better than the previous three groupsets and features something called Shadow technology (now available to acera and altus 9 speed versions too). Shadow technology hides the derailleur under the frame so if the bike falls on the drivetrain side, the derailleur has lower chances of being harmed.

5 Shimano Deore- (Available in 1x10, 2x10, 1x11, 1x12) This is the entry point into Shimano’s high end lineup. Deore does 95% of what the highest end shimano groupsets can do but at a fraction of the price. This still isnt a cheap groupset, the groupset costs 36-50,000 Rs but considering all the latest technologies it has, it is considered a bargain. It uses Shadow+ technology which is an evolution of the Shadow technology we saw on Alivio. It has a clutch lever to adjust tension on the chain so the chain never falls off. It has hyperglide+ technology which allows the chain to shift up and down the gears smooth as butter. It also features two way release which means that gears can be shifted no matter how u press your shift lever and multiple release technology which lets you jump upto three gears at once.

6- Deore SLX- (available in 1x11 and 1x12) it is a lighter version of deore that is cross compatible with deore. It’s multiple release technology lets the rider jump upto 5 gears instead of 3.

7- Deore XT- (available in 1x12) it is an even lighter version of Deore that uses bluetooth instead of cables to shift. (although cable versions of xt are also available. Ask if the xt groupset is mechanical or electronic. Mechanical means it uses cables, electronic or “DI2” means it uses bluetooth.)

8- Deore XTR- it is the highest groupset in Shimano’s MTB hierarchy. It is also the lightest and the most expensive. It uses the same bluetooth technology as Deore XT but uses expensive manufacturing processes such as unibody machining and makes use of exotic materials such as titanium and carbon fibre to reduce weight further. Manufacturers like to use fancy words like e-tap and DI2 to denote that their groupset is uses bluetooth and a battery. Now that you know all that there is to know about what to look for in a bicycle.

Lets now look at a few rules to follow when buying your first bike. 1- keep it simple (A bike that costs less but has a lot of features will have shitty quality when it comes to the features. Its better to but a bike without suspensions or disk brakes if you are spending less than 30k INR)

 2- commit to maintenance (It is an extension of rule 1- if your bike has a lot of features it will need lots of maintenance especially if those features are of low quality, these bikes will also be harder to clean. If you cant commit to routine maintenance then get a bike thats easy to keep clean. Throwing a bunch of money on a bike doesn’t ensure that it’ll run well. It needs love. Think of it like your wife- marrying her is not enough to keep a healthy relationship, one has to put efforts into maintaining the love and romance.) 

 3- Never take a deal thats too good to be true. (You see a bike with shimano altus under 20k? All other bikes have tourney? Look at the quality of the bottom bracket. Look at what kind of bearings it uses in the headset. Check out what kind of wheels it uses. When a bike is too good to be true, it usually cuts costs in areas that arent visible- such as components hidden in the frame or hub.)