I had a bunch of time to kill yesterday afternoon so I went to a local bike shop and looked at some bikes. I’ve gone in several times up until now to casually look at bikes but since I’m kinda in the market for one I went in looking for specific price points and component setups. Here’s what I found at one particular shop.

$500-$850

These were clearly your beginner level bikes with all of them featuring 8-speed Shimano Sora and Tiagra component groups. I have a 7-speed now so moving up to a 8-speed doesn’t seem like that much of an improvement. All of them had no-name brakes and the shifting mechanisms aren’t nearly as functional as something with Shimano 105 or above shifters. Bikes in this range included the Trek 1.1 or 1.2 and some of the low-end Specialized Allez. Like I said, these looked to be beginner level bikes and not something I wanted to get.

$1000-$1500

I would classify these as intermediate level bikes and most likely the price point I’ll be targeting if I have to buy brand new. Most of these bikes came with at least 105 components with some variances here and there in shifters, brakes, or derailleurs and were all aluminum frames with carbon fiber forks. For instance, you may see a bike with 105 shifters, derailleurs, and cranks but no-name brakes. Or 105 everywhere except perhaps an Ultegra front or rear derailleur. The hard part was finding the combination of components I liked on a bike that was the right size and color. I found what I thought was a great deal ($1199) on a Specialized Allez in Saxo Bank colors with 105 everywhere except the brakes.

$1600-$3000

The bikes in this range are what I consider geared towards advanced level riders. You start getting into carbon fiber rigs with Ultegra or better components and nicer wheel sets. Personally, I think when you’re paying this much money you’re paying for weight savings more than anything and with somebody like me riding one of them I just don’t think the extra cost is worth it. If you know what I mean. Granted these are some nice bikes but I believe these are out of my price range and, truthfully, think that I probably weigh too much to be riding carbon fiber.

$3000 ++++

Either Pro level bikes or bikes for folks with too much money who think they’re Pros after watching the Tour de France. You name it and these bikes had it. I actually caressed (?) a Trek Madone 6.9 and just had to shake my head at how light it was. There’s no doubt it weighed less than the bag I take to work everyday. At $8,000 for the one I fondled I’m not surprised they aren’t flying out the door in today’s economy. They had a nice group of ten or so that were just standing there for show.

That’s certainly not a detailed synopsis of what you get for the money but I think you can basically see how it’s broken out by price. It seemed to me that you got more for your money with Specialized than with Trek (at least in the intermediate level price range). They had Cervelos but I can’t even afford to walk down that aisle.

This particular shop did have a used/demo section that had a nice Bianchi with a full Ultegra setup for $1,350 but for some reason I just can’t get over two things with Bianchis. First, I hate the traditional green color most of their bikes are painted in (makes me want to gag). Second, is that I can’t help but think ‘woman’s bike’ when I say or see ‘Bianchi’. I don’t know why. I don’t even have an ex-girlfriend called Bianca.

Call me picky but color is somewhat important to me. The low-end beginner bikes featured a lot of red (on the Specialized) and Trek has some funky looking bright color schemes I don’t like. Not until you get into the $1000-$1500 price point do you see some imagination with the paint jobs like the Saxo Bank setup on the Allez I liked or an awesome blacked-out scheme on another Allez that totally blew me away. Even at the intermediate level I still didn’t like the Trek paint jobs.

Here’s two questions for my readers:

1. What did you look for when you purchased a bike (components, colors, prices, etc.)?
2. What is the big difference between 105, Ultegra, and Dura Ace? Is it weight?

Here in North America we’re rapidly approaching the end of Summer and if you’ve been riding your bike in the evenings like I have then you’ve no doubt noticed that sunset is coming sooner than it was at the beginning of the month. In fact, we’re losing a minute of sunlight each day while the Blokes and Sheilas in Australia are gaining a minute. I did a long evening ride a couple of weeks ago and felt I could have used a light then so I thought now would be a good time to talk about bicycle lighting.

Why use a bike light?

1. First and foremost, you’ll want to use a bicycle light for safety. As the sun begins to set earlier each day our evening rides stand a very good chance of concluding in civil twilight (the sun has set but it’s not quite dark yet). There’s enough light to see but it is becoming more difficult due to lack of light and shadows. If you’re having a hard time seeing then other folks are probably having a hard time seeing you. In this instance, a bicycle headlight and/or tail light will make you more visible to other riders approaching or overtaking you and, probably more importantly, you’ll be more visible to car drivers who are feeling the effects of decreased light as well.

   Not only do bike lights improve safety so you’re more visible to other riders and drivers but you’ll be doing yourself a favor by using a headlight to illuminate where you’re riding. The area I ride is in pretty good shape but there are spots on the trail where an improperly illuminated rut, hole, or seam could see me injuring myself, another rider, and/or damaging my bike. A good headlight or helmet light will help illuminate the path you’re riding.

2. Another reason you’ll want to use bicycle lights, and often forgotten, is that in most cities it’s required by law to have a light if you’re riding during darkness. Check your local laws but, even if there isn’t one, you should still have lights due to the safety concerns above.

Things to consider when choosing bicycle lighting

1. What type of riding do you do? If you’re a road cyclist you may not need as robust (tough) a light kit as a mountain biker.
2. How long do you ride in the dark? If you ride for long periods of time in the darkness you may need bike light options that offer long-life batteries or generators.
3. Are you environmentally conscious? If so you may chose lights with rechargeable batteries or a generator over bike lights that require replacement of dead batteries.
4. Is it very dark where you ride? If you’re a trail rider or ride in areas where there is no street lighting you may need bicycle lights that are very bright.
5. Are you on a budget? Simple lighting systems for bikes can be very affordable where more advanced lighting options can put a strain on the bank account.

What kind of power source do you need?

1. Standard Household Batteries. A lot of the smaller head and tail lights for bicycles use two to four double or triple A batteries for power. These are convenient and due to the small size (and power output) of the lights you can get run times upwards of 60 hours or more depending on the mode (constant light versus flashing) used.
2. Rechargeable Batteries. Like a lot of electronic devices these days, you can get bicycle lighting that uses rechargeable batteries for power. Not only is this convenient, it saves money, and helps the environment. Battery options include Nickle-Metal Hybrid and Lithium Ion.
3. Power Generation Systems. For those looking to have a lighting system that is not only super environmental friendly (no batteries required) but can last a long time (as long as you pedal it works) then this could be what you need. These lighting systems are run off a generator that’s attached to your wheel and makes electricity as long as you’re moving. Some have battery backups or reserves for when you’re stopped.

Halogen, LED, or HID?

The type of bulb you choose can have a big impact on the quality of light emitted. The type of bulb itself doesn’t generally drive the cost of the lighting system up as much as other components (type/size of batteries and accessories) but your higher quality lighting systems are generally LED or HID with rechargeable batteries. The bestselling lighting systems are typically household battery powered LED units with 3-5 LEDs.

1. A halogen lamp is an incandescent lamp in which a tungsten filament is sealed into a compact transparent envelope filled with an inert gas and a small amount of halogen such as iodine or bromine. The halogen cycle increases the lifetime of the bulb.
2. Light Emitting Diodes (LED) are an electronic light source. LEDs have many advantages over traditional light sources including lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, and smaller size. LED bike lights are very popular and what I use.
3. High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps are a type of electrical lamp that produces light by means of an electric arc. HID lights give a greater amount of light output per watt of electricity input than incandescent lights.

What to get?

As you can see above there are lots of options available but choosing a basic bicycle lighting system (a headlight and a tail light) isn’t hard. Find a balance between your needs and budget. You can easily find a good LED headlight/tail light combination that will fill your basic needs and meet safety and legal requirements. If you need something with a little more power or rechargeable batteries you can go that route as well. In addition to Amazon.com, Real Cyclist also has a good collection of bicycle lighting or you may find what you’re looking for at your local bike shop. It really doesn’t matter where you get it. Just make sure you have some kind of bicycle lighting if you’re going to be cycling while it’s dark.

Most of us started cycling a while ago and have learned a lot over the years. There are more and more people coming to this sport everyday though and I thought it would be cool if we could provide some examples of things we’ve picked up that the newbie might not know but should know. I’ll start.

1. What’s the current technology is. When I bought my first bike 15 years ago I really wish I knew what the current technology was on road bikes. If I had I probably would have bought a bike with STI (shifters combined with brake levers) instead of downtube shifting.
2. How much the sport of cycling can cost. It can cost as much as you want to spend on it but for the newbie they may not realize how much of an investment their making beyond the initial cost of a bike. Stuff like maintenance, clothing, and expandables (tubes, tires) is stuff they may not be thinking about.
3. How to not have your butt hurt. Too many new people to cycling start off by riding too much too soon and invariably end up quitting or becoming disgruntled because their nether regions become sore beyond belief. If they’re taught to take it slow and easy at the start to get their body accustomed to time in the saddle they’ll be much happier.

Those are just a few ideas. Let’s hear what you have to say whether it’s more on one of the items above or something new.