Spin your wheels

Wed April 06 2005
Posted Apr 6, 2005
2,453

A North Iowa Feature Story By Mindy Baker, For The Globe Gazette Road, comfort, cross-comfort, mountain, recumbent, novelty. With the choices of bicycles cur-rently available, and prices that range from a couple hundred to a couple thousand, it is easy to get confused on what to buy. "That's why we interview everyone who comes in to buy a bike," said Robin Bennett, owner of Bennett's Bike and Fitness. "What type of riding have they been doing, what do they want to do? That points us to a category." The fastest growing segment of the bicycle industry is the comfort, or cruiser, bike. More retro style with larger tires, big, gel-filled saddles and a more upright riding profile, the comfort bike reduces stress on wrists and shoulders. Still popular are mountain bikes with the single and double suspension for smoothing out rough trails and fat knobby tires for traction. Road bikes, which are light and quick, are making a come-back. A training tool for the more serious cyclist, the road bike is designed for speed with drop handle bars for longer distance or flat handle bars for shorter distance rides. Cross-comfort bikes take the best of mountain bikes and road bikes for a comfort-style bike that offers a little more speed. Novelty bikes, styled after chopper motorcycles, are designed for fun, mostly for children and teenagers. Tandem and recumbent bicycles are becoming more well-known as RAGBRAI (Regis-ter's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa) introduces people to a large segment of bike enthusi-asts. "The important thing is fit," said Steve Duregger, owner of Lakeside Cyclery in Clear Lake. "The top bike manufacturer's make bikes in five or six different sizes. It's not just the height of the per-son, but how long their torso is, how far their reach is. We start with their inseam and try a few sizes from there to get a bike that fits them." "The good news is now bikes are very adjustable," Bennett said. "They even have more women-specific bikes with a smaller arm reach and shorter finger length on the brake handles." Even childrens' bikes are becoming more adjustable, as manufacturers acknowledge that many parents buy bikes extra large for their kids to grow into. "You don't want to get carried away size-wise," Bennett said. "Most of the kids bikes now give the kids room to grow." Mountain bikes are being built more rugged and with stronger, yet lighter, hydro-formed frames. "There's not a lot of call for mountain trail riding, but more teenagers and kids are riding very aggressively on stairs and over rocks," Bennett said. "They need the stronger frames." "It is important people spend some time with a professional to pick out the type of bike they need for what they want to do," Duregger said. "Otherwise the bike just stays in the garage and collects dust." Some of the new features available are disc brakes, which improve braking in wet weather, gel grips and more ergonomic designs. One of the more ergonomic designs is the recumbent bicycle. "They are the ‘King of Comfort,' " Bennett said. "They are designed to reduce back, neck and wrist problems. Riders have a lower center of gravity for better balance, and the prices have really come down on them." Both Bennett and Duregger recommend talking with a bicycle professional and taking a test ride to pick out the perfect ride. "People will come in and laugh at the recumbent or the comfort bikes, but after a test ride they are sold," Bennett said. RAGBRAI will pass through Northwood, and single day passes to ride with the event are avail-able. "I tell people to do it. It's a great event," Bennett said. "Do a little riding beforehand to get ready, but really 60 or 70 miles is not much when riding with thousands."