How to pick your next bike.

One thing we hear about in the VIP Club is how much people love their bikes. Often they talk with great fondness of their ride (many even give their bike a name).

Naturally, as they think about their next bike, they’ll ask the group for their opinion.  “What do you think I should buy?” they’ll say.

You have lots of options when it’s time to buy your next ride starting with: How many bikes should you have?  N+1. Where N is the number you have now.

Here are some thoughts:

1. Spend time in your Local Bike Shop (LBS). They love bikes too and should ask you questions about how and where you ride.  Let them get to know you. Budget matters so get a number in mind before you start.

2. Surf online. Check out all the manufacturer’s websites. You’ll start to notice how bikes are packaged and what components and wheels show up at what price point.

3. Consider a used bike. Start following models on eBay and see what they sell for. A bike with 10,000 miles on it is just getting broken in. You might catch a break on craigslist too. Your LBS might even have a line on some trade-ins.

4. Buy a frame and build it out yourself. Makes for a great winter project.

5. A good time to buy a bike is late December, early January. That’s when the new model years start to ship and the older ones go on sale. You can score a great deal if they have something in your size.

Don’t forget to test ride the bikes, if you can. I test rode a Cannondale, Fuji, Specialized and Trek bike on the same day and liked the Cannondale best. All were great. It was tough!


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