When you’re on the market for a new bike, no matter your reasoning behind it - knowing what company to trust and what type of bike to get can be extremely stressful at the best of times.
Our founder has been through this process for decades when first testing what bike types will work for the public. Now, with years of experience behind our team and endless amounts of research, we have the answer to help you.
In this blog, Reilly Cycleworks will be giving you a guide to finding a bike for life so that all the stresses of searching for a long-lasting bike go away. Carry on reading to learn more!
What Are Your Interests?
The first step to finding a bike is assessing what you actually need the bike for. Cycling is a wonderful way to gain some well-needed exercise on your journey to becoming a healthy human being.
However, the goal of just exercising isn’t what everyone wants. There may be some of you out there that are looking to go into a competition and want a bike that can withstand the pressures of daily, strenuous rides.
Therefore, if you look at the differences between these two people, you will notice that they will need opposing models when choosing a bike for life. At Reilly Cycleworks, we customise bikes for all types of riders - so it is not a problem in our case. Let’s take a look at the different bikes that suit competitive and leisurely riders:
Commuter Bike/Mountain Bike (Leisurely Rider)
If you’re a more leisurely cyclist, then you don’t want an extremely lightweight bike that makes you feel like you’re going at the speed of light. You would rather have something more controllable and suitable for beginners.
Therefore, we would recommend that you take a look at a commuter bike or mountain bike. A commuter bike for your typical rider is perfect for going to and from work or to and from the shops daily.
Commuter models will be less adaptable to rough terrain due to their functions only being designed for simple rides.
Whereas, if you’re a leisurely rider who wants to explore on a longer ride and go for weekly rides in the mountains and or forest - a mountain bike will be a more suitable choice.
Whether your destination includes uphill or downhill battles, along with smooth-sailing and uneven terrain - mountain bikes will be your best bet for the most stable, yet beginner-friendly bike for these circumstances.
Road Bike (Competitive Level)
Now, if you’re looking to compete on the road and are not a fan of rough surfaces, then a road bike will be the optimal choice for you. Road bikes have incredible speed features with their incredible lightweight frames and disc brakes - allowing you to stay on par with the competition ahead of you.
The wheels/tyres are also extremely thin, permitting a more aerodynamic function to your ride. Along with that, when you find yourself climbing out of your saddle when going uphill, the handlebars have versatile grips, so you can comfortably hold on when standing or sitting.
Classic and top-tier are hard to find on the market nowadays. However, our Reilly Fusion which was launched this April will be the perfect partner to match your road cycling desires.
Gravel Bike (Competitive Level)
While gravel bike designs are also usable on road, they’re certainly not as effective as road bikes on road races. However, if you’re looking to compete in off-road races, the capabilities of gravel bikes are unmatched.
With drop-down handlebars for optimised ride position, gravel bikes allow you to make excessive progress on bumpy terrain. Not only that but their wider tyres and stable steering features will ensure that you have the best chance of keeping your balance during competition.
If you’re looking for an elite, high-performing gravel bike, view our Gradient T47 gravel/ adventure bike today to enjoy the wonders of the off-road surfaces.
What Frame Material is Best For Long-Lasting Bikes?
Now that you have a better understanding of what types of bikes you can choose from, there are also some vital technical components that ensure that your ‘long time bike’ stays functioning on a consistent basis.
Frame materials are arguably the most important detail of creating a lifetime bike for a user, as the materials have different properties that react accordingly to certain weather. In that case, if you’re serious about keeping a bike for a lifetime, there is only one frame material that you can keep for a long time (lifetime if taken care of with love):
Titanium Frames
Here at Reilly Cycleworks, our founder Mark Reilly dedicated himself to researching bike frames and all the opposing practicalities of each one. Although carbon frames, aluminium frames and steel frames all have their advantages, there is not one that stood out like titanium.
After testing out multiple alloys, our team of experts finally hit the sweet spot with the premium grade 3AL-2.5V titanium for durability, comfort and beauty. The base of all these advantages supplies the optimal balance for peak performance and lifetime features.
Due to titanium frames' high fatigue strength and high melting point, it has corrosion resistance like no other. With the titanium oxide additive, you will notice that there are layers of protection that fight against rust-build-up.
Therefore, if you leave it out in the rain one night, it will not be as devastating to you as if it were a high-rust material - like steel for example. Of course, optimal storage indoors is still better for the material but worrying about rust, if stored outside, will not be a concerning issue with titanium alloy (especially Reilly’s hand-built 3AL-2.5V titanium).
How Much Are You Willing to Spend?
Lastly, the only question you have to ask yourself in our guide to finding a lifetime bike, whether you want it to be a race bike, long-distance bike, etc, is how much are you willing to spend.
Now, if you were competing in the Tour de France next year, then we would recommend you go for the highest-level road bike there is - but most likely that is not the case.
If you’re doing local or national races, to gain an advantage over your competition, we would still recommend going for high-level road or gravel bikes (depending on your preferred terrain).
Yet, if you’re becoming a cyclist for the fun of exercise, training, exploring, etc - spending less, but finding a reliable bike is still key (otherwise maintenance costs will be through the roof).
Now that we’ve supplied you with all the relevant information you need, you may have come to a resolute decision on your lifetime bike. If you need more assistance on the topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to our expert team!