Welcome to the Co-op's own 'I'm new to cycling and I don't know what type of bike I should buy' guide. Here you'll find the main types of bikes that people tend to speak about, demystified. Think of it as the ultimate bike types guide for beginners! 

BIKE BUYING GUIDE: DIFFERENT BIKES FOR DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES

We usually recommend that you buy a bike for the kind of activity you want it for - although if you want to buy a bike just because you like the way it looks, that's fine too! Do you want a bike mostly for commuting? Do you want a versatile bike that can handle both tarmac and dirt tracks well? Do you want to dress head-to-toe in lycra and attempt the land speed record? Many people who are new to cycling often opt for a mountain bike, purely because it somehow sounds like the most familiar. However, there's really no need to buy a mountain bike unless you a) really like mountain bikes or b) want to go mountain biking. Here at the Co-op we tend to divide our bike types into the following categories based on the activity they're used for:

TYPES OF BIKES:

• Road bikes: Roads.
• Mountain bikes: Off road with hardtail mountain bikes or full suspension bikes.
• Hybrid/commuter bikes: A bit of everything. An excellent urban bike for bike paths and leisure rides.
• Gravel Road bikes: A bit of everything, but with a road bike feel. The adventure bike and cyclocross bikes also come into the gravel bikes category.
• Folding bikes: Commuting, leisure or touring for the short-on-space.
• Electric bikes: An electric-assisted bit of everything from hybrid bikes to mountain bikes.
• Touring bikes: designed for carrying loads over longer distances while remaining comfortable for the rider. These bikes are designed for bicycle touring over long distances carrying a lot of luggage.
• Women’s bikes: All of the above, designed specifically for women.
• Kids Bikes: We sell Specialized, Giant, Whyte and Kids Frog Bikes

We’ll look at each of these in turn so you can get a better idea of what bikes are used for what.

We have one of the largest selections of bicycles UK

ROAD BIKES

As the name suggests, road bikes are designed to ride on the road. Can't all bikes ride on the road, you wonder? They absolutely can. But road bikes are optimised to make road cycling as efficient as possible, and because of that they'd perform terribly on a mountain dirt track

Instead, road bikes are designed to help cyclists get the most out of the road, including the particular geometry (i.e. frame shape) of the bike, the width of the tyres, and the weight of the components. And just in case you were wondering; You won't be able to buy a road bike with skinny tyres and transform it into an offroad bike by putting big, knobbly tyres on. Mountain tyres just won't fit on, full stop.

Defining characteristics: Road bikes generally come with lightweight frames, skinny tyres, drop bar bikes (those are handlebars which curve back down underneath themselves), a high gear ratio (i.e. The gears are set up to favour the ones that help you go really fast, if your legs and lungs are up to it.) and a more aerodynamic riding position.

Get a road bike if: You want fast, efficient cycling on tarmac roads for commuting, competing, or for fun.

Don’t get a road bike if: You want to take it off the road. Skinny tyres means you won't really be able to use a road bike on anything other than tarmac. Icy roads can also be a problem for road bikes.