The Future of Racing Bikes

Road bikes or racing bikes are designed to go as fast as possible while making sure of the rider's safety. They are mostly featured as skeletons of bicycles, but there is a reason why it looks so bare. This is because everything is toned down in order to save weight and improve aerodynamics, which is crucial if you want to go as fast as you can. These two factors will help give more speed. There are many gears for the racing bikes, but they are clustered together so that the biker can choose immediately which gear to use for the occasion. Its riding position is hunched over to offer less wind resistance. Some will favor drop handlebars, which will cost the rider to hunch over more. The tires are very thin and very high pressured, and one mistake on a hole can puncture it.



Types of Racing Bikes

There are several types of racing bikes. The most common is the standard racing bike, which is perfect for road riding. The riding position is hunched over, but still high enough which enables the rider to see where he is going. It is also very fast.

Another would be the time trial bike, which is designed to go as fast as possible around a circuit or an oval on a closed-off road. The riders are very much hunched over. Some would prefer the use of extensions on the handlebars for added comfort, to get a better grip on the handles and to get their hands forward. Others would still attach smaller front wheels to modify the riding position to something even lower than the usual.



Another would be the track racing bike, which is raced indoors on oval circuits. There is a single fixed gear with no brakes. A rider can only stop by slowing down the way he pedals, and the gear makes it impossible to suddenly stop pedaling. This racing bike is stripped down to the absolute minimum with no extras to make it lighter and faster.

Remarks for the Racing Bikes

On the plus side, racing bikes are very fast. The slick tires offer very little drag on the road, and the aerodynamic position keeps the wind drag to a minimum. On the other hand, because the bicycle is very skinny, it is often called as uncomfortable by other riders. The tires do not absorb much of the vibration when it comes to rough surfaces, and the hunched-over position can be very painful to the neck, back, and wrists.

Whatever your speed thrill though, the racing bike will probably outstrip it. Racing bikes are fast, light, and very versatile. They can pass through very narrow places and leave that police car in the dust. If ever things get sticky, racing bike rider will just pull his throttle downward, and the next you will see is the dust in your eyes.

Buying Racing Bikes

If you are interested in buying a racing bike, you can look for websites offering such in the Internet. You can also look at newspaper ads and bicycle magazines. They feature racing bikes for sale that there will so many for you to choose from. You have to remember though that if you are going to buy it online, you should check first if the website is legitimate so as not to waste money.

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Are electric bikes the future?

With the rise in the use of electric bikes, the question that must be asked is whether they will eventually make conventional bicycles obsolete. Last year 23 million were sold worldwide, and the number is expected to double by 2012, according to Electric Bikes Worldwide Reports, a biennial publication tracking the industry.

No one would argue with the fact that switching your commute from a car ride to a bike ride creates a host of benefits for both you and your surrounding environment. European governments warn the public about heart disease, high blood pressure and obesity; all of these can be combated by getting on your bike in the morning and commuting to work on two wheels instead of four. Exercise, even at moderate levels, helps to reduce stress and depression as well as improve mood and self-esteem. The financial benefits to be gained from cycling can be quite substantial, saving users money on commuting (compared to public or personal motorised transport), parking charges and gym memberships. As well as money, bikes can save you time, avoiding traffic jams and enabling you to take shortcuts that cars are unable to access.

But could it be the small drawbacks that are preventing the majority of people from making the switch to cycling from other modes of transport? This is where the electric bike comes in. It provides all of the benefits of a regular bicycle, but with the added bonus of not arriving at work needing a shower since it helps to reduce the effort of pedalling uphill and into headwinds. You can still take exercise which helps you on your way to fulfilling government health recommendations, you are still lowering your carbon footprint, and saving money.

All good models can be used manually, fully powered or power-assisted. If more people who would not otherwise cycle were to use electric bikes instead of cars, this would lower overall carbon emissions. An argument put forward by the editor of A to B magazine is that the small amount of energy used by the electric bike is actually offset by its increased use compared to that of the manual version, since electric bike users ride further and more often than traditional bicycle users, and this reduces the average carbon emissions per mile - the manufacturing process is the largest contributor to carbon emissions.


Electric bikes have no road tax, no insurance, no MOT, and no license plates. They are limited to a maximum speed under power of 15mph (although you can pedal faster than this if you want) and an average power of 200W (250W for an electric tricycle). At present in the UK, both E-bikes and Pedelecs are covered by this, although there are moves to make E-bikes conform to the same regulations as mopeds. The limits are: 200W continuous power (250W for tricycles and tandems), 15mph maximum assisted speed, maximum weight 40kgs (60kgs for tricycles and tandems). As long as your cycle is within these limits, and you are over 14, you can ride your bike legally on UK roads with no restrictions.

On top of these benefits, the electric bike compared to the traditional bicycle saves even more time because even though top speed is capped, electric bikes are able to keep a more constant speed, rather than slowing down on the tough or uphill stretches. This higher average speed actually makes electric bikes safer than conventional bicycles on the roads since fewer cars will overtake, and as A to B magazine points out, the faster your acceleration, the sooner you can get out of trouble.


So electric bikes offer safety advantages over regular bicycles, save you more money on transport, are more user friendly; and still provide healthy exercise.

With all these advantages over the humble bicycle, we think electric bikes are the transport of the future. So how can you get involved? If you live in the mainland UK, you can get yourself a good quality, affordable electric bike, quickly and easily online- and delivered to your door from Bristol-based the Electric Bike Company. Why not change the way you travel today!

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