With each new model year, a lot of technology and marketing talk promises a smoother, smoother ride.
But the truth is, the easiest bike to ride isn’t that elusive or high-tech.
In fact, you already know the styles that guarantee an easy and completely pleasant ride.
Contents
This is the easiest for most people to ride. Here’s how to find a bike that’s easy to ride. Moderately upright posture. Slightly rear handlebars Wide tires. High quality brakes (of any kind) Don’t worry (much) about weight
This is the easiest bike for most people to ride
Hybrid bikes and upright city bikes are the easiest types to ride in warm terrain.
They are comfortable, forgiving and just the right amount of easy.
They also tend to feel stable with light loads, such as commuting or groceries.
Furthermore, city bikes and hybrid bikes are the easiest accessories for practical use.
Are mountain bikes not easy to ride?
Mountain bikes are very forgiving and stable.
They are the easiest bike to ride on rough terrain thanks to the big, knobby tires, very strong brakes and (generally) suspension.
If you stick to asphalt or soft gravel, mountain bikes are overkill compared to hybrids.
Road bikes aren’t technically more difficult to ride, but they take a lot longer for new riders to get comfortable with.
Driving position and tight tires are the main factors, along with others covered at length in this article.
They are a different experience than the straight bars or rear bars and wider tires that most of us grow up with.
And that’s enough, because they are designed for different purposes, especially speed.
Even as an experienced rider, it took me several rides before I felt at home on a road bike.
It’s true that beach cruisers cruise at low speeds on smooth roads, but they struggle in other scenarios.
Here’s how to find a bike that’s easy to ride
It’s amazing how easy it is to find a bike.
It’s best if you try several bikes in a row while the last one is fresh in your memory.
The driving position is comfortable, relaxing and intuitive.
Sitting at the head with familiar weight distribution makes it easy to ride in everyday conditions.
It catches a lot of wind, and the pedals make it harder to use all your leg muscles.
You’ll find a Dutch bike (or something similar) very comfortable, and you won’t be on it long enough to lose speed.
If you’re doing hills or longer, windier hikes, then going a little further is a better compromise.
You’ll also miss out on the sheer comfort of a traditional city bike, but it’s still much roomier than the cramped cabin of most road bikes.
Of all the factors that make a bike easy and enjoyable to ride, the handlebars are the most overlooked.
To achieve a natural and comfortable wrist angle, the grip area should recede at least 30°-45° as in the first image.
This alone does not determine whether the bike is easy to ride, but it helps you feel relaxed.
This is necessary to control in a very aggressive ride.
Wider tires are smoother, more comfortable and have more traction.
This makes for an easy and relaxing ride over a wider area of terrain.
And within reason, they are no slower than tires.
It depends on the style of the bike, but anything above 35mm (usually labeled “35c”) is good for decent streets.
It is also important to use the correct tire pressure.
Any tire will feel hard if it’s too firm!
The improvement in ride quality is worth the effort of dialing in the right pressure.
Entry-level bikes (eg $500-$600) tend to fail with brake quality.
They work well for all practical purposes (when properly fitted), so they’re the safest bet if you can’t try before you buy.
A common misconception is that heavy bikes are much harder to ride.
Unless you’re racing or throwing the bike into some mid-air tricks, it makes almost no practical difference.
Granted, accelerating from a standstill is a more difficult task on a significantly heavier bike, especially if much of the weight is on the wheels or tires.
Spend your hard-earned money on practical, durable pieces, not weight-breaking details that don’t make walking significantly easier.
However, the characteristics of an easy-to-ride bike have not changed a bit: a partially or fully upright position, relaxed handlebars, wide tires and reliable brakes.
Any bike that meets these simple criteria is likely to feel intuitive, comfortable and relaxing in the saddle.
As little as $400-$800 is enough for a bike that will make you feel right at home.
For specific suggestions, go to my city/urban and entry-level hybrid guides as a starting point.
When I bought my first “real” road bike after mountain biking, the new bike felt wobbly and unstable.
Are road bikes hard to ride?
Are road bikes hard to ride?
Road bikes are not difficult to ride, but they feel different than riding other types of bikes.
A road bike can feel spindly and unstable compared to a mountain bike or hybrid bike, but they are much faster to ride.
If you’ve been wondering what makes a road bike different from a mountain bike or a hybrid bike, read on.
In this article, we’ll discuss why riding a road bike is harder in some ways and easier in other ways.
We’ll discuss balance, comfort, gears, hills and whether road bikes are suitable for beginners.
But first, we’ll discuss whether road bikes are more difficult or easier than mountain bikes.
Table of Contents
Are road bikes harder (or easier) to ride than mountain bikes? Are road bikes harder (or easier) to ride than hybrids? Is shifting more difficult on a road bike? Are road bikes easier to ride uphill?
Are road bikes harder (or easier) to ride than mountain bikes?
A road bike is no harder to ride than a mountain bike.
It’s just different.
Road bikes are specifically designed for riding on paved roads, while mountain bikes are designed for rough terrain.
Mountain bikes are designed for off-road riding.
They are heavier, longer and have different gears.
Although mountain bikes will feel more stable because they are designed to handle rocks, tree roots, and bumpy trails, they are slower on pavement.
You can definitely ride a mountain bike on the road if you want to.
However, since it is heavier and has larger and thicker wheels, it will take more effort to carry it along with the bike.
Road bikes, on the other hand, are designed for smooth riding and speed.
They may feel squishy and unstable compared to mountain bikes, but once you get used to them, you’ll find them faster, more responsive, and pedaling on pavement.
You can try riding a road bike off-road, but your skinny, squishy wheels probably won’t have enough traction and grip to go over rocks and push you through dirt trails.
Now that we’ve discussed the difference between mountain bikes and road bikes, what about something in between, like a hybrid?
Are road bikes harder (or easier) to ride than hybrids?
Road bikes are a little more difficult to ride than hybrids.
Hybrids are designed for comfort and ease of use.
A hybrid bicycle is a combination of other types of bicycles.
So you will have a more comfortable position, easy gears and a stable and balanced bike.
A hybrid bike can tackle easy off-road terrain with its slightly wider and more compact wheels.
But since this puts you in a more upright and relaxed position and has fatter wheels, you’ll sacrifice a bit of speed.
Road bikes are not as easy to ride as hybrid bikes.
First, a road bike puts you in a more aggressive stance to make your entire body more aerodynamic.
This position means you’re leaning forward, which takes some getting used to.
Road bikes also have a thinner tire with higher tire pressure than a hybrid bike.
These types of tires give you a faster ride, sure, but they also have less grip on the road.
When you first start riding a road bike, skinny tires might feel a little out of control at first, but you’ll get used to it with practice.
Are they difficult to walk?
If you want to know, check out our article Are recumbent bikes harder (or easier) to ride?.
Is it harder to balance on a road bike?
When you get on a road bike and take it for a spin, you may feel that balancing is more difficult than other types of bikes.
This is especially true if you’ve never tried a road bike before.
Road bikes may be more difficult to balance because the tires are thinner and softer.
Road tires can make your bike go faster on pavement, but they also seem more stable.
Not only that, but the geometry or frame shape puts you in a position that feels a little more precarious.
The seat of a road bike is slightly higher than the handlebars.
So when you’re riding a road bike, you’ll be leaning forward rather than sitting upright, which can also make balance feel a little tricky.
However, thanks to the laws of physics, you can balance it really easily on a road bike.
When you ride a little faster, it will be easier for you to stay upright because your bike wants to stay in motion.
Because road bikes are designed for speed, they help you balance when you’re riding.
Are road bikes uncomfortable?
Road bikes can be uncomfortable if they don’t fit you properly.
Road bikes have “aggressive” geometry that leans the body forward to reduce wind resistance.
Hybrid bikes, on the other hand, have a more relaxed rider position.
This relaxed position makes them feel much more comfortable because the handlebars are higher and you can sit more upright on the bike.
Wider, more mature tires will absorb more road vibrations, making hybrid bikes slightly more comfortable than road bikes.
Mountain bikes are also slightly more comfortable than road bikes for the same reasons.
They have a more upright position and wider tires.
Many mountain bikes also have suspension systems, which take out a lot of the bumps you might feel when riding.
Road bike suspension is comparatively more limited.
Are road bikes good for beginners?
Road bikes are good for beginners if that’s the type of riding you want to do.
If you’re just getting into road cycling, you want a good entry-level road bike.
For example, the Giant Contend 3 is a great bike to start with in road cycling.
The Contend gives you a great ride with a comfortable position, a seatpost that reduces road vibrations, a light but affordable frame and the option to fit wider tires if you want.
It’s not the cheapest bike for beginners, but it will give you a great start with a balance of comfort, quality and price.
What if you don’t want to get into pure road cycling?
Then a hybrid bike is probably your best choice as a beginner rider.
Hybrid bikes give you a balance of comfort and handling, so you can take your bike to a variety of terrains without worrying too much about what will happen to your bike (or you!).
Is it harder to shift gears on a road bike?
Road bike gears are no more difficult to change than hybrid or mountain bike gears.
In fact, once you get used to it, they may be easier to use than the typical handlebar crank gears found on other types of bikes.
Road bike gears can actually be smoother and require less effort to shift.
Shifters, your gear controls, are on the handlebars of modern bikes.
So if you’re about to climb a really steep hill, you might want to switch to the small front chainring to make turning much easier.
If you’re going downhill, switch to a large front chainring to make pedaling more difficult.
Some mountain bikes have only one chain at the front.
The rear cassette has a wide range of gears, including a ‘grandma gear’, a gear designed to make climbing easier.
Are road bikes easier to ride uphill?
Road bikes ride easily uphill on paved surfaces.
Most road bikes are designed to be light, which is an advantage when you’re climbing.
They also tend to have a wide range of gears to choose from, so you can put your bike in an easy gear and rev it to the top.
However, the exception is when you ride uphill on an unpaved road, such as gravel or dirt.
Your road bike has thin, soft tires that won’t give you the traction you need to climb that climb.
So if you’re looking for a bike that can tackle rocky hills, you’ll want to look into mountain bikes or hybrids.
They’ll have wider tires that give you good grip, and while they’re a little heavier, they might even have that extra easy gear to help you get through the challenge.