Created 4/20/2021
Every mountain biker can tell you that a seat doesn't belong in your crotch while riding, the main reason is once you hit a hill it's going to throw you over the bike, and so a seat position on a bicycle matters a lot depending upon two major factors, the type of bike you are riding and your style of riding. Some BMX riders keep their saddle near the bottom at all times, while others might ride with it up if they do tricks a lot, and that's because it's easier to pop a wheel on a bicycle when the seat is higher than when you are riding it in a much lower position, otherwise you would need to stand up to pop the wheelie, which would likely decrease the longevity of the wheelie. (Sitting down allows you to ride them longer.)
Some ride a bicycle with the saddle midway, it's all about what type of bike you ride and your style of riding truly, but every bicycle needs to fit the rider properly, otherwise you have poor traction, balance, and riding conditions, not to mention it's a bit annoying to ride smaller bikes truly. Bicycle geometry plays a huge role in the purpose of a bicycle, obviously road bikes are built a lot different than a hardtail mountain bike, as each is designed for a specific purpose, and the same applies to every style of bike, each bike is different and is used differently.
Mountain biking requires quick response to terrain, the ability to stop on rocks, gravel, and mud, therefore traction matters a lot, also the travel on the fork makes a huge difference, because higher travel forks are slower and heavier than lower 100mm travel forks, but anything less than 100mm of travel may bottom out a lot on rough terrain. Personally, I'm a hard core hard tail rider, I don't like trail bikes, not just because of cost, but because they are slower in many respects, especially in races and riding normally, and that means they have less usage for me, and I really hate slow bikes on the road or trails.
I've watched someone ride a gravel bike on the trail, sure you can do it, but man it's a rather bumpy ride, whoosh, not to mention the shock your body is going to go through, and shock to your body will greatly reduce the duration you can ride before you get tired, which is why I prefer comfort bikes. I don't like riding slick / thin 700c tires, they are dangerous, have poor traction, and are strictly for racing, but hybrid bikes have larger 700c tires, which make them great for dual sport biking, which includes light trail riding and road riding both due to the higher PSI inflation rate vs MTB tires.
BMX bikes are great for kids, but they aren't built for long distance riding, and they will wear you out quickly due to the amount of work you have to do to get them to keep up with normal bikes with gears, and newer mountain bikes with just 1 crank chainring but a larger number of cassette gears (10/11) doesn't mean it's a better bike, it means you have limited shifting options and can't go as fast or pedal easier than those with multiple crank chainring of different sizes.
Why limit your options? 27 gears are optimal for fitness / hybrid / comfort bikes, racing bikes of course only need two chainrings, preferably larger ones, and that's so they can get the maximum speeds possible when descending, not to mention it's less weight too. When weight matters, it's better to use a carbon belt drive with an internal hub shifter, preferably one with 11 gears inside, and a larger crank to ensure you can get the speed too, but not too large that you cannot climb up steep hills.
The more you read about bicycles the more you learn, each type of bike has quite a bit to learn, and if you just look at the newer road bikes, you'll learn quite a bit because manufacturers have learned a lot more and technology is now growing rapidly. Unlike yesteryears, today many things can be manufactured quickly thanks to new manufacturing equipment, better processes, and automation, which is where computers started playing a much larger roll in manufacturing.
Components, especially carbon fiber ones, have increased in quality, but again price has to be reasonable otherwise it's priced out of market, and that's where a lot of parts just fail, meaning there is just no demand for those $200 carbon seat post. Thankfully prices are beginning to fall in some of the components, which is great for those wanting to build their own custom bicycles, and that may be preferable in a world where bicycles have become ultra expensive due to rising labor cost, tariffs, licensing, and taxes.
Once upon a time they made very high quality cheap bicycles, those days are over, and though you can still acquire some quality bicycles in the used markets, many of the good bikes are gone today. I suspect bicycle trends happen at different times, however many traders / people looking to make a buck snatch up all of the good used deals very quickly, and so you have to act fast if you find a good deal online or through OfferUp. (The app)
The secret of course to getting a good deal is knowing bicycles well, so study quite a bit, and knowing the real street prices for certain types of bikes and brands, because some brands naturally sell for more and are more desirable than others. (Not going to name drop brands here, sorry.) Any hard-core cyclist will know what brands make good bikes and which brands make great bikes, and they've probably ridden quite a few different bikes in their days, so experience is indeed the best teacher.
I've found that older road bikes, particularly older steel ones, are still quite a fast and still a good ride, and they offer more dampening to the road than the aluminum bicycles, which means you can ride longer on them due to less road shock. The larger wheels you use, the more plush the ride, but 29" MTB tires are much heavier than 26" tires, and downhill the 26" is faster, and though I'm not a fan of huge wheels, the 27.5" wheel is great for MTBs too. (Don't let the 29" fans tell you differently!)
I rode a 27.5" GT Aggressor Pro on many off road adventures and the road for a long time, it was my budget mountain / commuter bike, and I put some great tires on them that were puncture resistant to ensure it could handle the urban jungle with a lot of glass and metal on the streets. There's a huge difference from riding a MTB and a good hybrid / comfort bike on the road, the smaller 700c tires that are puncture resistant and have larger tread on them are less likely to get flats then bigger tires.
There are a lot of nuisances that have to be learned, of course you can't learn to ride a bike from any book, but the more information you have, the better chances you have of avoiding disaster, and that's why I say ride on the left instead of the normal legal side, so you can see idiots with licenses doing stupid things. NEVER Expect someone to stop for you in a crosswalk or on the road, expect people to run stop signs, and expect people to move into your path or side swipe you, it happens every day I warn you!
Bicycles are becoming a fad again, bicycle theft has always been an issue, and if you are aware of this, then you will ALWAYS lock your bike up, even when it's at home. Many kids today are not like the kids of yesterday, many of them are drug addicts, and that means your bicycle is an easy score of drugs for them, so be wise and don't even leave your wheels not locked as well!
There is a lot to learn about bicycles, so take your time, learn a little bit every week, and don't forget to support those who help you, because you will need the support too later on! You need a lot of skills to be a serious cyclist today, not just riding skills, but also bicycle repair & maintenance skills, and this in turn will save you even more money!
Thanks for reading, I hope this blog helps you see the truth, and please share a link with others, thanks!.
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