Appendix A
Intended use of your bicycle
WARNING: Unde rstand y our bik e a nd its inte nded us e. Choos ing t he wrong bicycle for y our purpos e c an be
hazardous. Using your bike the wrong way is dangerous.
No one t ype of bic ycle is suit ed for all p urposes. Your retaile r c an he lp you pick the “r ight tool for th e job” a nd h elp you
understand its limit ations. T here are m any types of bic ycles an d many variations within eac h t ype. T here are ma ny t ypes of
mountain, road, racing, hybrid, touring, cyclocross and tandem bicycles.
There are also bicycles that mix features. For exampl
e, there are road/racing bikes with triple cranks. These bikes have the
low gearing of a touring bike, the quick ha ndling of a racing bike, but are not well suited for carr ying heavy loads on a tour. For
that purpose you want a touring bike.
Within each of type of bicycle, one can optimize for certain purposes. Visit your bicycle shop and find someone with expertise
in the ar ea th a
t interests you. Do your o wn homework. Se emingly smal l changes suc h as the ch oice of tires can im prove or
diminish the performance of a bicycle for a certain purpose.
On the following pages, we generally outline the intended us
es of various types of bikes.
Industry us age c onditions a re ge neralized a nd ev olving. C onsult y our de
aler about ho w you i ntend to us e y our
bike.
High-Performance Road
CONDITION 1
Bikes designed for riding on a paved surface where the tires do not lose ground contact.
INTENDED To
be ridden on paved roads only.
NOT INTENDED For of
f-road, cyclocross, or touring with racks or panniers.
TRADE OFF Material us e i
s optimized to deliver b oth li ght weight an d specific perf ormance. You must
understand tha t (1) these typ es of bikes are intend ed to give an ag gressive racer or competitiv e c yclist a
performance advantage over a relatively short product life, (2) a l ess aggressive rider will enjoy longer frame
life, (3) you are choosing light weight (shorter frame life) o ver more frame weight and a longer frame li fe, (4)
ight weight over mor e dent resistant or rugged frames that weigh m ore. All fram es that are v ery light need
frequent inspection. These frames are likely to be d amaged or broken in a crash. They are not designed to take abuse or be a
rugged workhorse. See also Appendix B.
you ar e choosing l
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