Home  About Us Text Box: Getting the correct bike for your needs Decide what you want to do with the bike. Where do you want to ride? How often? Is comfort a top priority, or is performance more important?   Mountain bikes have tough frames, good brakes, lots of gears and knobbly tires - perfect for riding off the beaten track. The riding position is quite upright so you can see that tree you’re about to crash into! Suspension is now common, for two reasons: it’s more comfortable, and it can increase traction. Mountain Bikes, however, do not necessarily all have suspension, some have rigid forks and frames, others just have suspension forks and some have suspension front and rear. A related breed of bike is the ATB or All Terrain Bike. This is generally less of a serious bike than a mountain bike (MTB), more for pottering along canal towpaths than proper off-road riding.Types of MTB:Freeride aka XC (Cross Country) This is for what most of us do anyway - a bike for generally playing around in the woods. It may have suspension, but not to an extreme, and will have a good spread of gears and good brakes. Pros... Very versatile - you can use an MTB for anything from commuting to travelling across Outer Mongolia. There’s a huge range available, with prices from £60 to £6000. The fitting of less knobbly tyres will make the bike usable on tarmac. Cons... Bare MTBs need lots of extras to make the most of other uses - slick tyres, mudguards and lights for commuting, for example ----------------------------- You’ll have seen these in the Tour de France. Racing bikes (also known as road bikes) are designed to go as fast as possible on tarmac. Everything is pared down as much as possible to save weight and improve aerodynamics. Racing bikes have quite a lot of gears, but they are very close together so the rider can choose a gear which perfectly matches the conditions. The riding position is quite hunched over to cause less wind resistance, and the drop handlebars give a choice of riding position depending on conditions. Tyres are very thin and at very high pressure. Pros... On tarmac, road bikes are very fast. The slick tyres mean there’s very little drag on the road, and your aerodynamic position keeps wind drag to a minimum. Cons... Because racing bikes are very skinny (especially the saddles) they can be uncomfortable. On cobbles and rough surfaces, the high-pressure tyres don’t absorb much of the vibration, and the hunched-over riding position can be sore on neck, back and wrists.- ------------------------------------- The hybrid is a relatively new style. Also referred to a "Trekking" bikes, they ideally suited to most leisure riders and a good deal of commuters.  Hybrids were first seen in the late eighties and early nineties, but have taken a while to catch on. They feature the best elements from 3 styles of bike available at the time. They originated at a time when most people buying a bike were buying a mountain bike, but often a mountain bike was simply too cumbersome, heavy and slow for the average rider. Designers took the best elements from Mountain Bikes, Tourers and Racing bikes and built a bike which met the requirements of the average rider. A hybrid is fitted with 700c wheels (the same diameter as fitted to racing bikes) but with wider tyres and rims (on average 35mm). These tyres are generally multi condition, in that they have a smooth centre line for efficiency on tarmac, but have knobbly outer tread, to give good traction if the bike is ridden on a non tarmac surface. They are fitted with the same gear systems as mountain bikes, with between 21 and 27 gears, flat handlebars and cantilever or linear pull brakes. Better models feature "fully equipped", ie they come factory fitted with mudguards, and panniers, and some offer suspension seat pillars and adjustable rise stems. All in all the hybrid is the best all round bike there is, it suits the majority of riding that you might wish to do. It is perfect for tarmac riding, even longer journeys, and yet it is more than capable of being taken onto canal footpaths and forestry tracks. Pros... Lightweight, wide range of gears, equally at home on road or on well made tracks and canal footpaths etc. Equally good at long journeys as short. Doesn'y have the "drag" on tarmac that you get with a mountain bike. Cons... Not suited to severe off-road conditions, mountain tracks etc. Stick to well worn tracks and paths. ---------------------------------------------------- Most bikes manufactured are essentially designed for a man's physique, since historically it is mainly men that ride bikes. Recently though, there is an increasing number of women actively taking part in the sport, whether just on a leisure basis or more seriously. Whilst "Ladies" bikes have been available for a good deal of time, the traditional "sit up and beg" style bike which would have been many women's only option, is now sadly unsuitable for the majority of female riders. Whilst perfect for a quick jaunt to the shops, they make riding out with the family on a weekend countryside ride almost impossible. With the advent of the hybrid, many manufacturers extended their ranges of bikes for "Ladies" into this new design, but this is still restrictive for a good deal of female riders. The traditional "Ladies" frame with it's dropped top tube, is not what a large proportion of female riders want. The frame is not as strong as it's "Mans" equivalent. More recently, these bikes have been adapted to better suit the physique of a woman, but without needing to incorporate a dropped top-tube. Women wishing to participate seriously in the sport found themselves needing to buy a mans bike and put up with the discomfort it would cause. To look further into it, you need to understand the differences in physique (apart from the obvious...) If comparing 2 equal height people, one male and one female, of average build for that height, there are some noticeable differences between them; Women tend to have longer legs and a shorter torso, than the equivalent height man. They would also tend to have shorter arms than their male counterpart. This in turn tends to mean that for a given bike, the reach is too great for a woman. The reach is the distance between the saddle and the handlebars. As you can imagine, shorter arms and a shorter torso mean that a woman would have to stretch further to reach the handlebars of a given bike, than the equal height male would. As most bikes were always built for a man's physique, this meant it was uncomfortable for a woman to buy a mans bike. We at Falcon have recognised the demand for quality bikes for women, in the mountain bike and hybrid sector, and have started to build bikes which better suit the geometry required to fit the female physique. We have started to produce bikes which come with shorter stems, and shorter top-tube lengths, even in top flight competition ready bikes. Although many of these bikes appear to be identical to the "male" versions, close inspection of the 2 bikes side by side will reveal the differences. If, as a woman, you want to get serious about cycling, you should specifically ask your retailer for a women's geometry bike, and don't just be fobbed off with the first bike you are offered. The choice isn't huge yet, but it is growing, and there are bikes available at many different price points that would conform to the requirements.  Most of all, shop around for a retailer who understands your needs as a cycling woman. Pros... Comfort of ride, because the design is tailored to the physique of a woman. Ideal if you don't wish to ride a "ladies" bike! Cons... Limited choice at present. Manufacturers are slowly catching on, but progress isn't immediate. Many retailers are unaware of the existence of these bikes, you should however be able to get good advice from a local independent bike shop. You may have to shop around to find someone who can give you good advice. If possible, find a shop which employs a woman cyclist. ------------------------------------------------------ there are also folding , street bmx and trials type cycles available before you make the purchase of your new cycle make sure that it is correct for your needs as we see so many people who are sold a heavy cheap cycle of the wrong style which will only cause discomfort and problems , taking away all enjoyment of getting on the bike . Choose a bike shop to buy a bike , we  want you to enjoy your cycling experiences!             for excellent impartial informative advice check out   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- size chart for junior cycles Choosing the right bike for your child is very important but there is no hard and fast rule that says that you must buy a bike of a particular size for a child of a specific age. If the child is comfortable and not too streched on the bike, and they can manage all the pedals and touch the floor with the ball of their foot, then there is nothing to prevent you selecting a bike in a bigger age category. But as a general rule: 16" wheel cycles - Suitable for ages 5 to 7 20" wheel cycles - Suitable for ages 7 to 9 24" wheel cycles - Suitable for ages 9 to 11                                 l;lllllll Bike Hire    News & Events Workshop Buying Guide Info Centre     Contact Us

          

       
        WEB SHOP

 
 
     All Categories
     Bicycles
     Accessories
     Clothing
     Courses
 
     Fishing Shop
     Clothing
     Permits
     Bait
     Fishing Reports
 
 
 Solution Graphics