Taxonomy: How to define bikes
This isn't easy.
Is that bike a hybrid or a city bike? It's got knobbly tyres, a suspension fork and flat bars but it's not a mountain bike, it's a comfort bike.....
It gets confusing. The following is by common terms. There are other ways.
To explain we need to look at history.
At first there was only one sort of bike. Then people started racing them, and touring on them and detail changes were made to make the basic bike more suitable for specialist purposes. Then the pneumatic tyre, chain and lower saddle were brought together to create the Safety Bike we have today. In the 1890s there were many competing designs until the diamond frame of steel tubes we know and love emerged as the best shape. There is an Open University video here if you don't already know all this.
For many years things were calm in bike design.
Innovations happened, but most companies were run by conservative engineers not novelty seeking marketing people, so not much changed. There were Roadsters for utility cyclists, and lightweights for the enthusiast. There wasn't much difference between a racing bike and a touring bike, at least at an amateur level, as the working man couldn't afford two bikes. There are many stories of clocking off at 5 on a Friday, riding 50 miles to a race with the racing "tubs" (wheels) secured to the front fork with wheel carriers, sleeping under a hedge, doing a hundred mile time trial, sleeping under a hedge again, then riding home to go back to work in the shipyard on Monday.... riding the same bike. (Sometimes improbable quantities of beer feature in the story.)
Had it stayed like this, most people would be just as happy. Indeed, in the Netherlands it has. There the everyday transport bike is a roadster, and the hip young men ride new black roadsters made to a 1910 design.
In the UK things changed. In 1959 Alex Moulton revealed his small wheeled bike, the last of the Three Ways to make a bike that works. This led to many different small wheel bikes, some good, and a folding bike that actually folds properly, the Brompton.
By the 1970s, with more money about, came racing bikes.
Quick definition: to the racing cyclist, all bikes are racing bikes. He will talk about a Road Bike, for racing on the road, and a Track Bike, for use indoors.
OK so: Road Bikes diverged more from touring bikes, and the roadster declined in popularity. About this time the Sports Bike became a category. These look like road bikes from 10m (35m for experts) but have bigger clearances, heavier frames and are for the more casual rider. They often have brake lever extensions (suicide levers) and shortie mudguards. Many of these are pretty good bikes and very practical today, with a few upgrades.
The 1970s also saw silly bikes like the Chopper and the very limited BMX.
In 1985 the Mountain Bike hit the UK market. People had of course been riding off-road for years, but this was something new. It had flat handlebars and looked cool. MTBs were very popular for a few years, them people realised that the small wheels made them slow, and the Hybrid was created. Early hybrids were simply touring bikes with flat handlebars and no mudguards. This wasn't really a new idea, Raleigh had been making bikes like this for ages (the Esprit, the Merlin and especially the Pioneer), but the name and market segment took off about 1991.
The Hybrid has become a very popular type of bike for the commuter and casual cyclist. They are fairly good on the road, can also go quite far off road, and do a bit of touring. Essentially they are bikes for people who can't make up their minds.
My issue with hybrid bikes is that they are a bit too much bike for the people who use them. Commuters don't need 24 gears, they would be better with a single chainring and 7 gears. V brakes (or worse, disks) work very well, but have more stopping power than is ever used and wear out pads very quickly. Aluminium frames make the ride harsh, so suspension forks and seat posts are often added, making the whole bike heavier than it would be with a comfortable steel frame.
A further problem is that many buying guides recommend a hybrid as the best starter bike, so retailers label bikes as hybrids which aren't really. Stick some smooth tyres on a mountain bike and it becomes a hybrid in certain well-known bike retailers. Even roadsters get called hybrids.
Finally we get to today, when the potential for buying the wrong bike is greater than ever. Mountain bikes come in at least four different subtypes, including one that only goes downhill. The Adventure Bike has been introduced as a sexier option for uses which a touring bike would be better for, and the Cyclocross bike is sold to commuters who can't face riding something not made as a racing bike.
There are some good bikes out there. Touring bikes are better than ever, if you keep it simple, and Proper Bikes are called Audax Bikes now. Even the Hub Geared Lightweight can be bought new if you hunt.
Is that bike a hybrid or a city bike? It's got knobbly tyres, a suspension fork and flat bars but it's not a mountain bike, it's a comfort bike.....
It gets confusing. The following is by common terms. There are other ways.
To explain we need to look at history.
At first there was only one sort of bike. Then people started racing them, and touring on them and detail changes were made to make the basic bike more suitable for specialist purposes. Then the pneumatic tyre, chain and lower saddle were brought together to create the Safety Bike we have today. In the 1890s there were many competing designs until the diamond frame of steel tubes we know and love emerged as the best shape. There is an Open University video here if you don't already know all this.
For many years things were calm in bike design.
Innovations happened, but most companies were run by conservative engineers not novelty seeking marketing people, so not much changed. There were Roadsters for utility cyclists, and lightweights for the enthusiast. There wasn't much difference between a racing bike and a touring bike, at least at an amateur level, as the working man couldn't afford two bikes. There are many stories of clocking off at 5 on a Friday, riding 50 miles to a race with the racing "tubs" (wheels) secured to the front fork with wheel carriers, sleeping under a hedge, doing a hundred mile time trial, sleeping under a hedge again, then riding home to go back to work in the shipyard on Monday.... riding the same bike. (Sometimes improbable quantities of beer feature in the story.)
Had it stayed like this, most people would be just as happy. Indeed, in the Netherlands it has. There the everyday transport bike is a roadster, and the hip young men ride new black roadsters made to a 1910 design.
In the UK things changed. In 1959 Alex Moulton revealed his small wheeled bike, the last of the Three Ways to make a bike that works. This led to many different small wheel bikes, some good, and a folding bike that actually folds properly, the Brompton.
By the 1970s, with more money about, came racing bikes.
Quick definition: to the racing cyclist, all bikes are racing bikes. He will talk about a Road Bike, for racing on the road, and a Track Bike, for use indoors.
OK so: Road Bikes diverged more from touring bikes, and the roadster declined in popularity. About this time the Sports Bike became a category. These look like road bikes from 10m (35m for experts) but have bigger clearances, heavier frames and are for the more casual rider. They often have brake lever extensions (suicide levers) and shortie mudguards. Many of these are pretty good bikes and very practical today, with a few upgrades.
The 1970s also saw silly bikes like the Chopper and the very limited BMX.
In 1985 the Mountain Bike hit the UK market. People had of course been riding off-road for years, but this was something new. It had flat handlebars and looked cool. MTBs were very popular for a few years, them people realised that the small wheels made them slow, and the Hybrid was created. Early hybrids were simply touring bikes with flat handlebars and no mudguards. This wasn't really a new idea, Raleigh had been making bikes like this for ages (the Esprit, the Merlin and especially the Pioneer), but the name and market segment took off about 1991.
The Hybrid has become a very popular type of bike for the commuter and casual cyclist. They are fairly good on the road, can also go quite far off road, and do a bit of touring. Essentially they are bikes for people who can't make up their minds.
My issue with hybrid bikes is that they are a bit too much bike for the people who use them. Commuters don't need 24 gears, they would be better with a single chainring and 7 gears. V brakes (or worse, disks) work very well, but have more stopping power than is ever used and wear out pads very quickly. Aluminium frames make the ride harsh, so suspension forks and seat posts are often added, making the whole bike heavier than it would be with a comfortable steel frame.
A further problem is that many buying guides recommend a hybrid as the best starter bike, so retailers label bikes as hybrids which aren't really. Stick some smooth tyres on a mountain bike and it becomes a hybrid in certain well-known bike retailers. Even roadsters get called hybrids.
Finally we get to today, when the potential for buying the wrong bike is greater than ever. Mountain bikes come in at least four different subtypes, including one that only goes downhill. The Adventure Bike has been introduced as a sexier option for uses which a touring bike would be better for, and the Cyclocross bike is sold to commuters who can't face riding something not made as a racing bike.
There are some good bikes out there. Touring bikes are better than ever, if you keep it simple, and Proper Bikes are called Audax Bikes now. Even the Hub Geared Lightweight can be bought new if you hunt.
