Getting the Right Parts for Your Bicycle
Many types of vehicles can be found around the world today, and one of the most common ones is the bicycle. First pioneered in the late 1800s, this light, engine-free vehicle has spread around the world and become vastly popular due to many factors, from a bicycle’s low cost and ease of use to its lack of an engine and pollution. Such vehicles can be used for transportation, recreation and leisure, or competitive racing, and different bicycle models, as well as their parts and accessories, can be found by customers around the world at retailers and online catalogs. A bicycle saddle, or the seat, is something that should suit the rider’s needs, and carbon fiber bike seats, leather bike saddles, anatomical bicycle saddles, and more are options for riders with different needs or preferences, and other features aside from bike seats may include headlights, baskets, or new parts such as chains or tires for maintenance issues. Just how common and popular are bicycles today, and what is the correct bicycle saddle type for a racer or casual rider?
On Bicycles
These are widespread vehicles that represent a large market worldwide, and in some parts of the world, they replace automobiles as the main form of wheeled transportation. Around one billion of them exist around the world today, in fact, outnumbering cars two to one. In the United States in particular, they can be used mainly for transportation (such as riding to work), leisure such as cruising in a park or using a mountain bike, or taking part in official, sanctioned bicycle races. In the year 2015, for a fairly recent example, total sales for bicycles and their accessories came out to $6.2 billion, and $1.2 billion in used bicycles was sold in that same year. More and more Americans are also choosing to commute to work with bicycles, often as a convenient way to get exercise and reduce pollution as a means of going green. Many American states have reported a 46% increase in the number of adults commuting to work this way since the year 2005, and the cumulative effect of removing all those cars from the road can add up. This is also great cardio and that offers many health benefits.
Bicycles are popular around the world because of their convenience, especially in more impoverished communities. Cars cost only a slim fraction of the price of a car, and they do not need fuel or expensive maintenance like cars do (their maintenance is much cheaper). Cars do not make any noise, which can have a calming effect, and they are easy for kids to learn how to use, which makes bicycles more accessible than cars. Bicycles are also easier to store than cars, given their small and narrow profile, and they are light enough to carry around since they do not have an engine. Bicycles can also be used for transport with a basket in the front or a palette of items on the back. In some parts of Asia, for example, many farmers and other tradesmen carry their wares across a city or town in a bicycle instead of a pickup truck.
Parts for a Bicycle
Bicycles all have the same basic concept, but different models may be designed with different purposes in mind, and this includes the bicycle saddle, or the seat. Bikes built for racing on paved surfaces such as a road will be built for that job, such has having large wheels with narrow, smooth tires, and the bicycle saddle on a racer bike will be designed to match. These saddles are narrow and hard so that the racer’s leg movement is not interfered with, and racers lean forward rather than sit directly on the saddle anyway, so comfort is not a factor. By contrast, more leisurely bikes will have a bicycle saddle that’s wide and soft enough to directly sit upon, and they will accommodate the sitting bones of any rider. This is a must, since casual riders sit directly rather than lean forward and want a comfortable ride, and they don’t have a racer’s need to keep their legs totally clear of the saddle at all times. Saddles can even be made of leather for increased durability and comfort.
