Choosing a bike
Our chart below shows what type of bike is good for different purposes. Your local bike shop can give you the best advice about buying a new bike or repairing an old one. If you want a bike for commuting and for leisure, you can either buy separate bikes, or buy separate wheels or tyres for different types of riding.
You can find out more about electric bikes with the electric bike buyers guide or AtoB magazine’s review of electric bikes.
| Road | Touring | Mountain | Hybrid | Folding | Electric | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rough surfaces | No | No | Yes | Some | No | No |
| Speed | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Long distance | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Comfort | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Commuting | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Carrying panniers | No | Yes | Some | Yes | No | Some |
| Taking on trains | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some |
| Taking on buses | No | No | No | No | Yes | No |
Several bike shops in Wiltshire allow you to pay for your bike in easy monthly payments. It’s worth finding out if your employer runs, or is willing to set up, a Cycle to Work scheme. You could save up to 40% on the price of your bike and accessories and also pay for them in stages. As the choice of bikes available to you will vary depending on your employer’s scheme provider, make sure you’re still able to buy the right bike for you.
You can also buy second-hand bikes cheaply. Follow the below steps to get the best bike possible:
- Always buy from the seller’s home address and ask about the bike’s history.
- Ask for the bike’s frame number.
- You can then check this on sites such as Bike Register to make sure it hasn’t been stolen.
Did you know?
If you cycle to work all year, on average you’ll only get caught in the rain 10 times?