It’s Wednesday, that means that its GreenOptions article day, as always you can see the latest of my articles at GreenOptions.com Enjoy.

We all know that driving around a couple thousand pounds of steel, glass, and plastic, by burning gasoline just to go down the street to drop off a library book, or pick up lunch, is an inherently silly endeavor. If you think about the power of your car, 0-60 in such and such, this or that horsepower, 300+ miles per tank, it becomes clear that cars are highly powerful machines that are for most tasks woefully over-engineered. For most people, especially those that live in cities, using your car every day is the equivalent of using a sledge hammer to polish the fine china.

So what then are we to do? We could all walk, or we could all take public transportation (if your area has it), but these have their drawbacks. Walking is slow, public transportation can be a turn off for some (crowded trains, poor bus service, lack of routes, doesn’t go where you want, etc). It is often much faster, and fun, to ride a bicycle.

For people who last picked up a bicycle when it had training wheels on them this can be a daunting task. What sort of bike should they use, and what kind of gear do they need?

What sort of bike should I use?

Before we can answer this question we might need a little general information. There are a couple different types of bike. Each has features that make it “good” at doing a specific task. I say “good” because you can use a bicycle for just about anything, but some models are better than others. Here is a quick run down.

Road Bike: These bikes are light framed bikes with skinny smooth wheels that are meant for road riding. With there light frames and skinny wheels they can be a dream to ride, so long as you have a rather smooth surface. The skinny smooth wheels and the lack of shocks mean that these bikes handle poorly in off-road or wet/icy conditions.

Mountain Bike: These bikes are sturdy, heavy bikes that often have shocks, and springs to absorb the shock of jumping off of rocks, or hard trail riding. These bikes often have large fat tires that have knobs or large tread on them. The heavy frame, fat tires, and non-aerodynamic frame make these bikes harder to ride long distance on roads. If you want to take your bike off some sweet jumps, or tear it up on the trail these bikes can be a joy.

Hybrid: If a road bike and a mountain bike where to have a baby this would be it. These bikes have slightly wider tires, often with a light tread to help with grip, but still skinny enough to make it easy to ride long distances. They also often feature a slightly beefier frame making it easier to take a jump off of a curb, or a pot hole. These bike often have a lower center of gravity, making them more “sure footed” than a road bike, but not as good as a mountain bike.

Recumbent: These are the “sit down” bikes. They can take a bit of getting used to, but can be very comfortable for very long rides. As you are sitting in a seat you don’t get the sore rear that you would get with a hard seat road bike. I know people who swear by these bikes for long distance rides (100+ miles in a day “a century”).

BMX: These are the smaller bikes you see on the x-games. The small frame, and simple gearing, medium-fat tires, and sturdy frames they are great for tricks and jumps. They are not, however, going to do well in long distance rides. The small wheels and lack of gearing means that you would have to pedal, a lot.

So what one is best for you? Depends, what you want to do? If you want to commute to work, try a hybrid, or a road bike. Need to commute to work over some very rough roads/off road try a mountain bike with smooth wheels. Want to do a double back flip, try a BMX. Since most people will use there bike to run errands, commute to work, and do small trips I would recommend a hybrid. They are comfortable for longer trips, but as we will cover next can be easily customized for many tasks. Once you fall in love with riding your bike to work, and to do errands and you want to try a longer rides, an entry level road bike might be your thing. I have ridden a road bike for years now and can testify to both the speed and the power of these bikes.

What gear should I use:

There is a lot of stuff for your bike, and for you to use while riding you bike. I am going to recommend gear that would best suit a person doing a bike commute, or running small errands.

Absolute must have gear items:

Helmet: You should get a bike helmet that is free from damage, and rather new. Bike helmets are one time use items, if you are unlucky enough to have gotten in a crash and your helmet is cracked, you have to get a new one. Get a helmet that allows air flow over your head, to help cool you off.

Proper shoes: If your bike has normal pedals, any kind of sneaker will do. If your bike pedals have special clips you should have shoes that match those clips. Riding your bike with high heals, or huge boots will make it hard for you to control the bike and could lead to injury.

Spare tubes: These items are super cheap, and trust me if you are stuck out on a long ride because you got a flat tire you will be glad you have them.

Small pump: No good having a spare tube if you don’t have a pump to fill it. You can get very small pumps that can be mounted to the bike.

Tire spoons: These little plastic do-dads allow you to easily change a tire. They cost almost nothing and will make changing your tire infinitely easier.

Water bottle: It is always good to stay hydrated; a water bottle can be mounted to the bike easily.

Front and back lights: If it’s dark, you need front and back lights. Cars can’t see your front light through you, and having them on both sides will alert cars to where you are, well before they run you over.

Optional gear:

Gloves: Some people get sore hands from gripping the handles, bike gloves can help with this, and depending on who you ask can make you look cooler (this is debatable).

Backpack: Many people ride with a backpack, or messenger bag. These can be though of as the “trunk” for your bike.

Basket/Crate: You can get a basket for the front of your bike, or mount a crate on the back; these make excellent places to put groceries.

Saddle bags/Panniers: Need to carry a laptop, suit, something else larger getting bags that fit over the front or back tires can give you the space needed.

Trailer: Need to move something really big, you can get trailers that allow you to carry just about anything on your bike.

Fenders: Getting both front and back fenders will protect you from getting the dreaded “swass” or swamp ass. Because of the way wheels spin when you ride, any water you run through is going to shoot right up the front of you, and right up the back of you. Fenders can be great to keep you looking good after hitting that puddle.

Baby wipes: Need to look and smell better when you get to work, a box of baby wipes can clean off the grime.

Pant straps: These handy little Velcro strips can be attached to your right leg in order to keep your pants out of the chain. They also come with fun reflectors that will keep you safe.

If you have a special need, the best place to find information on bike gear is your handy LBS (local bike shop) it has been my experience that LBS employees have a deep passion for biking and will be able to give you a wealth of knowledge gained over the years. They are nice people, who will be more than happy to answer all your questions, even the ones you think might sound silly. They will let you try out gear, help you find stuff that fits, and in general help awaken a fire in you for biking.

Happy pedaling!