Skip to main content

What to Look for When Shopping for a Bike?

20 September 2024 by Wrench Science

Whether you are a first time buyer or looking to add to a growing collection of bicycles in your possession, making a new buy checklist of what you want out of your next bike can help you avoid any pitfalls and buyer’s remorse when you ride home with your new wheels.

What are the best bikes to buy?

Our first piece of advice when we’re asked about the best bike to buy is always, decide what type of riding you want to do and what terrain you’ll be facing. These are the two biggest indicators for what type of bike you should be looking to purchase. If you say primarily backwoods gravel fireroads to get away from heavy car traffic, then we’d suggest you look at the latest gravel bikes or perhaps a lightweight XC-mountain bike. 

If you are all about road riding and even looking to do some racing, then we have a wide range of racing and all-roads bikes that could interest you. Do your ambitions tend more towards endurance adventures with maybe a bit of bikepacking included? Then there are a lot of brands that cater to those more durable, comfort-oriented road and gravel bikes. Are you committed to commuting and a little weekend exploration? Check out the variety of e-bikes that could make your life much easier.

How to buy a bike? A new bike checklist

Even with these few examples you’ll have noticed that there is still a huge range of options within each riding style and focus. One thing the cycling industry is not lacking at the moment is choice. Many bike brands are trying to gain market share by offering every possible style and configuration option any individual could want. That means there is likely the perfect bike out there for you. The challenge is finding it. 

Making a new bike checklist of what you want can weed out the pretenders.

  • What’s your budget?
  • What’s your size?
  • Do you want easy maintenance or the latest tech?
  • Do you want to test ride first or order online?
  • Do you have preferred parts and accessories?

Budget can be the pinch point

Don’t worry if you can’t lay out 5-figure amounts for your next bike. It’s true that top-of-the-line options have gotten crazy expensive in most types of bikes, from road bikes to mountain bikes and even e-bikes. But most brands offer an excellent “trickle-down effect” for their bikes and components. So a second or even third tire option might offer most of the most important features that the most expensive version does, it will do so at a much more accessible price point. 

It's important to define your budget and then stick to it. Buyer’s remorse is a great way to dull the excitement of new bike day. It might take just a little more research to find the perfect option for the price you can afford. 

Don’t compromise on size

If you are lucky enough to be a fairly average sized person, then you will have a pretty easy time finding the perfect bike for you even if you are on a strict budget. A lot of brands sell most of their bikes in pre-builds, which can pigeon-hole you into whatever sizing they think is perfect for the average rider. Don’t be afraid, though, to tell the salespeople that you’d prefer a different crank length, stem length or handlebar width, for example. Much of the time, their parts can be changed without extra cost. And in any case, riding a bike that is not properly sized for you will be a huge buzzkill. 

For anyone who is slightly smaller or bigger than average, finding the right bike might be a bit more complicated for you. If you are looking at carbon frames, of instance, not all brands have the financial wherewithal to have the tooling required to make a wide range of sizes. Inevitably, the sizes on the outside of the size spectrum suffer. Never fear. There are still quite a few brands that cater to non-average body sizes. Think Ibis for mountain bikes and Pinarello for road bikes. These brands have committed to having a wide size selection that offer exceptional fits for anyone ranging from barely 5-foot to people well over 6-foot-4. 

What bike size should you choose? Check it out in our article!

Are you a home-mechanic?

If you are an expert mechanic or don’t mind paying a bike shop mechanic to work on your bike, then you don’t really have to worry about how easy a bike is to work on. But if you are just starting out on your journey as a home bicycle mechanic, then you will want to consider just how much of a learning curve you want to experience. 

That is to say, modern bikes have everything from internal cable routing to hydraulic disc brakes and tubeless tires that require special sealant to function properly. It can all be quite complicated, fiddly, time consuming, and curse-word inducing. You might want to keep that in mind when looking to buy a bike. Though it is hard to find new non-disc brake bikes, rim brakes can be much easier to deal with from a mechanic’s point of view. They don’t need bleeding and can be adjusted much more easily to avoid rubbing and squealing. 

For road bikes, brands like Passoni, Pinarello and Colnago still do rim brakes. For mountain bikes, you’ll need to check the used bike market, and even then you probably won’t want to buy a rim brake mountain bike, which they haven’t been producing for a couple decades. 

Internal cable routing is de rigueur for professional road and even mountain bikes. And it’s hard to find a top-of-the-line bike now without proprietary cockpits and internal cable routing. Even some professional bike mechanics rue that trend. But frequently the second and third tier offerings are more accommodating. External routing and regular handlebars with separate stems will not only be easier to maintain but will allow you to dial in your fit much more precisely. Going that route can also prove to be more budget oriented as well. 

Do you want to test ride or trust the online process?

If this is the first time you are buying a bike, and you are wondering how to buy a bike, we can't stress enough the importance of test riding a few bikes beforehand. If you have one particular bike in mind, definitely test ride that if at all possible. And then make an effort to test ride a few other brands just to make sure you are happy with your choice. 

Test rides can be difficult to arrange if you are not an average-sized rider because most shops don’t have the inventory to accommodate all sizes. So you might have to hunt down a few bike shops before you can test an adequate number of bikes. But once you find your perfect ride, you will be thankful that you have made the effort. 

Buying online becomes much easier with subsequent purchases, once you have a very good idea of the geometry you prefer, the materials you like, the ride quality you are looking for

What components do you want?

Once you know things like the style of bike, the terrain, the frame material, and the budget you have in mind, then you can start looking at things like the components and accessories. If you are planning on buying a frame and custom building it, then you can have the fun and satisfaction of choosing every part and making sure it is the perfect size for you. Wrench Science excels at helping customers custom build their bikes. If you want to go that route, we can help guide you step by step to make certain you get the perfect bike at the right price.

Many brands have introduced pre-builds to simplify the buying process. This route can sometimes offer the best value for money, but it will inevitably limit your personal choice. But you should do the necessary research to know whether you want to have Shimano, SRAM, Campagnolo components. What wheels do you want? What tires will suit your riding needs? Do you want to stick with tubed clinchers or are you inclined to try road tubeless? Or stick with the tried and traditional tubular (though fewer wheel and tire brands offer that option). 

Will you be bikepacking? Do you want your bike frame to have extra attachment bosses for things like paniers, extra water bottle cages, or mud guards? Will you be riding early mornings or late evenings, necessitating lighting solutions? Do you want to have special attachment points for those types of accessories? The list could go on. And that’s before we even begin to discuss clothing options. The list could go on and on. 

Conclusion – make a checklist before buying a bike

Buying a bike is one of the absolute best things you can do for yourself. It will give you the opportunity to travel great distances while staying close to nature. To find the perfect bike for you and your needs, it can help enormously to make a checklist of priorities and budget. With the amount of choice currently available in the cycling market, your shopping experience could be extensive, but the result certainly will be hugely rewarding.

Author:

Wrench Science

Professional Bike Shop

Wrench Science

Wrench Science is a professional bike shop specializing in custom builds and customer service. Founded in 1999 by current CEO Tim Medina, Wrench Science offers expert advice for customers looking to buy the perfect bicycle for their riding needs. On the blog we share our knowledge and experience on all topics related to bicycles!

START SHOPPING