Perhaps if there is one question that people like to ask an experienced rider it is "What kind of bike should I get." The answer is really quite simple: "Get whatever the hell you want!" There are a thousand considerations before ever buying a bike. There are questions that people don't ask themselves before they buy and there are facts that people just don't know until they have been at if for a few years.

People have asked about GT and Haro... People ask what to get that's NOT a GT or Haro. They want a Hoffman bike- GOTTA be a Hoffman!!! Or forget the complete bikes they want to build it from the ground up- hey they've got $400.00 to spend they should be able to get quality! (wrong) Or there are the kids that see Huffys (crap) in bike shops and remember how much fun they had on the Huffy death bikes while learning to ride and want one. In the end though it will be personal preference and there are arguments for and against most bikes on the market. There is NO perfect complete bike. There is no perfect bike for EVERYONE. So think about what you want hard and ask yourself the following questions.

The most important detail is figuring out how much money you want to spend on a bike. If you only have $200.00 then your options are limited. There are many bikes out there in this price range, but most of them suck. I mean THEY SUCK!!! Why? The brakes won't work, the bike will not be very strong, the wheels might be 48 spoke but they will be regular aluminum with unsealed hubs. The bike may not come with pegs, and if it does the odds are that they won't be bolt on style. The handlebars and seat will be bottom of the line and will quickly get destroyed or you will realize how terrible they are. The thing that you will find worth keeping: The SST Oryg that comes standard with the bike. Maybe the seatpost and chain. Not much else I'm afraid.

Now ask yourself this- Why did the above paragraph reference pretty much everything on a bike OTHER than the frame and fork????

This is what first time buyers never realize: FRAMES are inexpensive. Okay, they really aren't inexpensive, but when you look at a pro that rides a $1,700.00 bike you have to realize that only about $300.00 - $400.00 is frame and fork. The rest is the components that make up the rest of the bike... That is $1,300.00 worth of components (bought individually). Bicycle manufacturers these days offer complete bikes with 80% top-notch components on their bikes for about $700.00. Just like with cars it is MUCH cheaper to get the whole package up front instead of accessorizing later on- about half the price or less.

So what components should you be looking for? Chrome plated rims- Ukai, Peregrine, Alex, Araya (Super 7X) and some other rims will hold up to a fair amount of abuse. Super Pro rims by Peregrine (also bearing the name of Ukai) are a tested and true classic. If you can find it on a stock bike, sealed bearing hubs will last ten times as long as unsealed bearing hubs. TRUST ME- this will save you hours of headaches later on. Pegs- deep socket style pegs- at least 4 inches, most riders are using 5 inch pegs now though. Brake levers and brakes- Dia-Compe 990's and Dia-Compe Tech 77 brake levers are THE brakes of choice. They are tested, tried, and true. The seat should have oversized rails- look at them if they don't look big then you may have to replace it... not terribly expensive but a pain. If you are looking to do flatland riding you will want the back wheel to have a freecoaster on it. These run the full scope in quality and price but to buy one aftermarket and have it laced into your wheel will run upwards of $80.00 (at least)! Handlebars on better bikes can be the ones of choice. Unfortunately there are about 100 different handlebars on the market that people like for one reason or another, you just have to figure out what you want. The frame isn't as important as the forks are. If at all possible you should try to get 1 1/8^th inch forks with 1/4 inch dropouts. A quality clamp-on stem and a good hollow bolt to hold it together (not an Aheadset).

What else should you consider? Frame length, your height, how much you weigh, how you will be using the bike. All of these are personal choices and considerations and the perfect bike for me may not be the perfect bike for another person that is my height and weight. They may ride street, or want something lighter, or a different set of handlebars.

The final question is: HOW IMPORTANT IS A NEW BIKE??? The reality is that for a first time buyer it ISN'T that important. Some kids get into riding and get out of it and sell their $800.00 bike for $300.00 within a year. Some kids just have lots of money and get new bikes on a regular basis. There are places that advertise used bikes for sale (The Protyle web-site is a good starting point). You might be able to get that $1000.00 bike for less than $500.00 and then have enough money left over to upgrade or change what you don't like or what was pretty worn out on the bike already.

What would I recommend as a complete bike? I wouldn't! Bike companies change what is on bikes far to often to be able to keep track of all the different bikes and all the different components that come on them. I have a few bikes that I have seen complete this year that look decent but I have not ridden- The Hoffman Bikes EP with chrome wheels, a freecoaster, good components, and a decent frame design. The GT Show- ALUMINUM frame (?), good parts, freecoaster, good brakes, kind of pricey... but weighs half as much as most other flatland bikes. There are a couple of bikes from Trek that I think have good components and are reasonably priced. There frame is of questionable quality... but if the price is right it may be worthwhile.

Don't ask what to buy because you will either get ONE response from someone that has only ridden for a year and doesn't really know, or you will get a hundred responses, everyone of them being legitimate for various reasons. What you should do is go to all the local bike shops and test ride EVERYTHING that looks decent and then follow the rules above.

If you are wondering why I don't know all about the bikes out there- It is because once you HAVE a top of the line bike you shouldn't need to replace anything but tires, and brake cables on a regular basis. Wheels and axles should take a few years to go through. Seats will wear through annually. Chains... well chains depend on your riding. For flatland chains last forever. Handlebars should last forever. A good fork will last forever (nearly). A good frame will also nearly last forever. Cranks (3 piece) and good pedals will last nearly forever.

What do I mean by all this? I mean that in the last 5 years I have bought ONE new frame, and that's just because I wanted a change. I JUST bought new rims after 7 years. I have bought one pair of handlebars and probably 5 seats, and 50 brake cables and a couple dozen tires.. and a few tubes, and (maybe) 2 rear axles. My cranks, chain, hubs, front axle, pegs, fork, brakes, brake pads, seat post, seat post clamp, spokes, chain tensioners, bottom bracket, pedals, sprocket, headset, brake levers, and Oryg have been perfect and shouldn't need to be replaced any time soon.

If you really want to know what I think you should buy... DON'T e-mail it in.

If you have a SPECIFIC question- post the question on the site or e-mail it in and we will try to add the response to this page.