Bicycle Mall

A road bicycle is a term often used to mean almost the same thing as a racing bicycle, but in fact, the two species are completely different. In fact, in one way, the term road bicycle may be considered inclusive of almost every kind of bicycle except for hybrid bicycles and mountain bikes. As its name implies, a bicycle is designed to be used on roads. Such a broad definition includes the cruiser bicycle, which is the kind most bicycle rentals stock; this one is designed for comfort over speed or performance. The mark of the cruiser bicycle is the thick, cushy, padded seat and the upright handlebars, which allow you to keep your back straight while riding, albeit at the expense of speed and performance. The group known as bicycles also includes the utility bicycle; this is the kind most often used within the large cities, especially in Europe, for getting from one place to another within a limited distance. The utility bicycle almost always has a basket, and is lightweight, small, and portable. It is also typically inexpensive.

A touring bicycle might also be considered a class of road bicycle; although its performance and durability are more reminiscent of the mountain bicycle or the hybrid bicycle, it is nevertheless used on roads, especially for longer trips where one might be carrying more gear than on a cruiser or utility bicycle.

And the road bicycle species also includes, although as we have just seen, it certainly is not limited to, the racing bicycle; this is the kind used, for example, in the Tour de France, or in any other paved racecourse where speed is necessary and takes place over comfort. It would be foolish to say that a road bicycle is synonymous with a racing bicycle, but certainly a racing bicycle is one kind of road bicycle.

The three wheel bicycle is most accurately referred to as a tricycle, for its three wheels, but we have not found that definition helpful, as it all too often denotes a child's toy. Who among us does not hear the word 'tricycle' and think of the three wheeled toys we played with as children, then abandoned as soon as we were old enough to ride a bicycle? A cycle of three wheels is not, in fact, a bicycle--and therefore, 'three wheel bicycle' is a contradiction in terms--but it the terminology most often used to describe a cycle with three wheels when describing the adult equipment and differentiating it from the child's toy, and it is therefore the terminology we will use.

In fact, the three wheel bicycle is used very often in adult equipment. Most recumbent cycles, for example, are in fact these bicycles, as are some tandem cycles, although these are not by any means the only cycles built on a three wheel cycle plan. These bicycles, in fact, are very popular these days because their extra wheel gives them added stability. This is one reason why the child's toy, the tricycle, is built as a three wheel bicycle; it is possible to over turn a tricycle, but it isn't easy.

The use of the three wheel bicycle design in the tandem cycle--and, for that matter, in the recumbent cycle--is also fairly obvious; again, the three wheel design gives just that extra bit of stability so that you don't fall over the moment you--or your partner, in the case of a tandem cycle--stop pedaling. The three wheel bicycle design is especially important in the recumbent cycle, however, and you will scarcely ever find a recumbent cycle with only two wheels, because when you are in a reclined position, you need for the cycle to be able to hold itself up when you mount or dismount. These models of bicycle can do this, where other cycles cannot.