5 Things To Know BEFORE Buying A Bike

if you're buying a bike in 2022 then the  technology that you're getting for your money   is the best it's ever been but buying a  bike can still be a bit of a minefield so   in today's episode we're gonna arm you with  some information that will help you with   the decision process you own a bike shop don't  you sell me that sixteen thousand pounds sato start by buying the right type of bike we see  quite a lot of people coming through here who   have bought a bike that is frankly way too long  way too low they're buying a race bike it's free   so if you consider that racing bikes  you know there's a hint in the name   they're intended for racing they're designed  around a 20 year old 60 kilo athlete who can   pedal at 400 watts all day long which is probably  about double what most consumers can regardless   of how much you think you might be able to push  400 watts all day long you can't and the amount   of power you put through the pedals aids in  sustaining your torso angle so a professional a   rider who has no upper body mass and is able  to put out you know very high levels of power   for all day long he's able to tolerate a longer  lower position than a consumer is so you're not   really comparing apps with apples and this  is the problem with the bike industry as a   whole for the most part in that they're designing  bikes for professionals rather than the end user   so if you're just starting out or you're just  going to be a weekend warrior you're not going   to do any racing it's a really good starting  point to start with an endurance orientated   bike they're more comfortable they are typically  a little bit easier to ride and more importantly   most importantly they fit a little bit better  because they've got a taller head tube the top   tube is shorter the whole thing is a little bit  more relaxed and it's just generally conducive to   working better for consumers so i tend to  recommend almost always buying an endurance   buying can you give me some examples of endurance  bikes a specialized ruby the canon endurance uh   scott maker addict uh it's just the addict i  think rather than an xrc which is basically   the same bike but with a slightly more relaxed  geometry looks the same same carbon all that uh trek makerbot called the damani giant defy  cannondale synapse look 765. there are lots   of more endurance orientated bikes out there  particularly the canyon and the scott actually   they kind of look exactly the  same as their race orientated kin   but they're geometrically you know can uh  connor go also does a high version of their   c series bikes so uh you know you can get a  bike that looks cool but it fits well as well   all right the corner in particular when i used to  work my previous employer i used to sell a lot of   corners and all of them were highs rather than the  sloping geometries what most people want which is   what most bike shops stock unfortunately so  there's a lot to be said for buying a bike   that fits you if you're a bike brand please  please make a relaxed version of your frames what about buying bikes online the good thing  about buying box online particularly with uh   you know brands like the likes of fairlight and  canyon these these kind of direct to consumer   models is that you get a lot more value for your  money yeah sorry you get a lot more bike for your   money value is more than a monetary element you  do get a better on paper spec and if that's what   you're interested in then then you know have at  it particularly can you make fantastic bikes for   what for the uh for the price and we actively push  people to to buy canyons however the minefield is   that we is the sizing structures are extremely  misleading geometries are misleading so take   this for an example so i've got the geometry up  here for a cannondale synapse let's take the 54   centimeter sizing which is the kind of the  average size if you look at a 54 centimeter   not one number here has 54 centimeters on  it so 54 centimeter bike actually has a 55   and a half centimeters top tube right that's 25  mil longer than my top tube which would render   a 54 centimeter too big for me the point of  getting across here is that do not take the   size as the actual size a lot of the time the  size the the size number will be the length of   the seat tube for instance what we're actually  really interested in is the reach of the bike   that's the most important thing because you can  you can adjust the saddle high by raising low on   the seat post the reach is significantly harder  to adjust so i guess my advice would be to look   at the geometry tables read and understand the  geometry tables and then be a bit more informed   about your purchasing decisions right and i think  the other problem with particularly buying bikes   and bike shops and i had this i had this last  week where i had a guy come in here and he was   like six foot riding a 58 centimeter bike  that his bike shot that sold him like no on   no planet in this solar system so should someone  who's six foot be riding a 58 centimeter bike   it's just way too big i ride a 52 53 centimeter  bike and i'm five foot ten so i'm kind of average   height and i would ride a small in in most brands  bikes you know like logic would dictate the   you know because i'll buy a medium t-shirt  or medium pair of shorts or whatever it might   whatever it is uh logic would dictate that i  would buy a medium bicycle not the case in a   look for instance i would ride a small this is  a small 785 53 and a half centimeter top tube   it's only a centimeter shorter than the  cannondale synapse and that's a racing buy sizing   recommendations on most websites seem to be based  on the saddle height being about 20 mil too high   and if you consider that the most common bike  fitting algorithm system is owned by the biggest   one of the biggest bike manufacturers and  said system has a strong correlation with   excessive saddle height that kind of makes  sense look and read the uh the geometry   tables and be a bit more informed about it  which brings us on to our next point though have a bike fee before you buy a bike this is the  other way around to what the industry tells you   the problem is that if you have a bike fit on  a bike you've already bought it as soon as the   bike's right in the first place so and this  isn't just about coming here for a bike fit   there are lots of people out there that have jigs  like this you don't need to have a bike with you   in order to have the fit because a fit should be  about a rider's needs and limitations not about   the limitations of their bicycle my ethos in  terms of buying bikes is fit first by later be   informed about the rider's needs and limitations  and allow that to dictate the bike that they buy   rather than just saying oh you know i wanted to  buy this top top-end racing bike and i'm gonna   try and make it fit think about it you know  be more informed we very often help riders   don't buy a canyon or a fair light or whatever it  might be um to go and buy something that we don't   sell because ultimately we're not really here  to sell bikes we do sell bikes we sell very nice   bikes that's not the core of our business our core  of our business is in bike fitting and it's about   it's about helping people be more informed about  their purchasing decisions at the end of a bike   fit you come away with an understanding of what  the optimum crank length is what the best pedal   system is handlebar width saddle models seat post  setbacks all of these things and i mean it can end   up being a little bit more expensive you've only  got to do it once if you do it right the first   time if i was to go and buy an off the shelf bike  i would typically change the handlebar the saddle   depending on the brand definitely the crank uh  straight away without even riding the bike you   know and those that can represent a reasonable  expense this takes all of the guesswork out of   the equation i think that's the problem you're  not relying on a sales person or a big big bike   manufacturer telling you what size you should  be on you you know you're taking advice from   someone who has spent some a reasonable  amount of time with you first bye later which group said to buy i mean are they really all  different more technology packed into a group set   now than you ever have done and i think when  i'm advising customers on how they're spending   their money and what and what they're buying i  try and think about aspects of their purchase   that are actually going to make a difference  to their lives the difference between 105 and   and ultegra these days is so minimal 105  has now gone into it into the electronic   realms uh it's the same with srab red that you  can get basically the same functionality from   uh from uh rival access as you do from red uh you  know it's wireless electronic system i don't think   that these high-end groups is gonna really make  a difference to your life we were just talking   off-camera weren't we about how functional and  how well uh even something like a claris group set   works it's better than what you would have gotten  10 15 years ago you know all of the shifting   and the ergonomics like yeah this claris lee for  instance has got reach adjustment you can operate   on the drops which some of you may not remember  the old saw shifter which had a thumb shifter at   the back at the top here not the same as cam bag  it was inoperable on the drops and you know it   just didn't work there was no reach adjustment to  the lever this is incredible and you know you can   buy well as we found earlier you could buy a class  group for group set bike for a thousand pounds   i can't believe an entry-level bike now is a  thousand pounds so it's clearly there's there's a   brexit and a coveted story to this as well but but  i think that you don't necessarily need to have   all the bells and whistles you don't need to  have electronic this and you know electric like   that do you really need durates i mean it's not  question need is it it's a question of what and   i think that's the thing like you know dura ace  at same with sram red same with super record eps   they represent the the highest possible level  you're talking more usage of titanium and more   carbon fiber most importantly you're talking about  improved bearing surfaces and sealed cartridge   bearing surfaces is it going to make a difference  to your life no it's not it's not going to make   you go faster it's not you know might make you  feel like you're going to go fast but it's not   ultegra is more than sufficient for most people  in fact now with with 105 going to electronics   you know it begs the question do you even  need more than y5 it's really more about   what's going to make a difference  to your life and spending   thousands and thousands of pounds on top-end  electronic group sets probably isn't going to   make you much happier or enjoy the sport much it's  not going to enhance your enjoyment of the sport this is the single most important part of your  purchase this is where all the power goes this is   what stabilizes your feet this is what stabilizes  your knees this is what impacts your saddle   interaction we found using pressure mapping that  we can reduce pressure going through the saddle by   up to 50 just by administering arch support this  is where you should spend your money going back to   what i was talking about earlier about things that  make a difference to your life this is going to   make a difference to your life no you don't have  to spend 450 pounds on the latest heat moldable   technology but having a shoe that fits you that's  going to make a difference to your life i think   the the tip here or the recommendation here is  don't spend all of your money on a bike save some   money for shoes don't just you know if you've got  a 3 000 pound budget spend two and a half grand on   a bike and 300 pounds on shoes because okay 300  pounds sounds like a lot of money people scoff   at 300 pounds on shoes but then they're going to  spend 3 000 pounds on wheels this makes you go   faster if done correctly i mentioned in previous  videos we offer a shoe fitting service here i'm   sure there are lots of businesses out there that  do the same um it's which is really all about   ensuring that you're getting the right shoe so if  you're gonna go buy shoes buy them online yeah you   can try it but you're better off going somewhere  which actually specializes in shoes potentially   has a bike fitting you know go to your bike fitter  go to someone who is actually going to assess your   feet measure your feet and sew the right shoes  rather not necessarily the most expensive just   the right shoe that marks the end of today's video  i hope you enjoyed it any questions please put   them in the comment section down below equally if  you'd like to book a fit shoe fitting a bike fit   a coffee with james you can't book a coffee with  me thank you for watching and see you guys soon

Channel: Cade Media

Views: 407,858

Keywords: cycling, bike, cyclist, race, bicycle, road, francis, cade, fitting, fit, tuesdays, bikefitjames, tips, new, newbike, carbon, aero, power, shimano, sram, specialized, tarmac, trek, scott, foil

Id: M4tJW-l7XU0

Length: 12min 1sec (721 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 28 2022