What type of bike is best?

In the world of bicycles, there are many different styles and variations that offer a very specific set of abilities and comfort ranges.  For example, a road bike is built to be as aerodynamic as possible and offer as little rolling resistance to the road as possible. Whereas a downhill mountain bike is built to be extremely strong where it needs to be, with massive shock absorbers to take up as much of the terrain that you face.

When choosing what type of bike you are going to buy, it is imperative that you first take a good look at what type of riding you will be doing the most.  If you are going to be racing in triathlons and road courses then a dedicated road bike is what you are going to want to buy.  If you are going to be riding around as your main source of transportation, then a good bike to choose would be a good quality cross bike.  These bikes can sometimes include shock absorbers but most of the time the offer a nice comfortable ride that doesn’t take a lot of effort to get going on.  Now on the other side of the spectrum, mountain bikes get even more specific in what style is needed for certain riding styles.  For example, gravity bikes are designed with one thing in mind and one thing only, and that is to be able to be sent down mountains at ridiculously fast speeds and to be able to handle massive obstacles and be able to have enough suspension travel for riders to be able to hit jumps on these courses of up to and over 60 feet.  From there things begin to become slightly less crazy with your downhill bikes and then to your cross country bikes.  These still allow for a large amount of suspension travel, but the angles of the frame allow for an easier time in acceleration on flat and inclined slopes.  These bikes can also feature high tech accommodations like adjustable locking suspension and adjustable hydraulic disc brakes.  To be honest some mountain bikes easily have more design and technology developmental hours than some motorcycles.  On the most common and relaxed side of the mountain bike realm, we have the normal trail bikes that can be found in either full suspension, hard tail or static configurations. 

Every bike type listed before all have advantages depending upon what types of riding you will be doing, so the more research and thought that you put into what styles of riding you will be doing, the better off you will be.

      Coming up in the next few weeks I am going to start putting up at least 1 post a week dedicated to a new or interesting car/ motorcycle/ bicycle that i find interesting and feel it needs to be publicized. I hope that you will enjoy the posts for the sole purpose of enjoyment.  I feel that people who are trying to get the word out about their vehicle will always appreciate all the help they can get to become known.

      Like I said, I plan on posting these purely for entertainment value and I aim not to offend any hardcore "brand followers" because i am a human as well and I will be voicing my opinions upon these vehicles. That is the reason for this blog, to share opinions about certain things.

     I look forward to begin posting these articles and I hope you will be too.

      Now, there are many different basic configurations that go into the setup of every vehicle.  One of the most important and complex of these is the transmission.  The purpose of the transmission is that of converting the rotational power provided from the engine and either decreasing the ratio to increase torque for low speed, or raising the ratio of spins from the engine to increase power at higher speeds.

      The way that this crucial part of the vehicle takes form however, varies greatly. The most two common types of transmissions are the automatic and the manual transmission.  The manual is easily the most basic yet effective type of transmission once one knows how to use it.  The manual transmission operates with a foot operated clutch configuration and a manual gearbox to manually shift between the different gears.  This gives the driver the ultimate satisfaction of actually being completely connected to the car and the road, this experience is unrivaled by any other transmission type.

      Automatic transmissions include many different types of shifting techniques. The most common is the fully automated transmission, which includes the mode selector, and the gas and brake (no clutch is present due to it being automated thus where the name automatic partly comes from).  All that you need to have in order to operate this transmission is a brain, an arm and a leg.  Along with the fully automated transmission, there is the automated manual transmission.  This is the same pedal setup and selector setup as a normal automatic except for the fact that there is an option to override into a manual gear shifting mode.  Although you are changing the gears, the clutch is still automated.  The third type of transmission is the dual clutch transmission.  The dual clutch transmission is a similar setup as the automated manual, but with more chances to control the shifting yourself, With the shifters either coming in the form of an up-down selector built into the mode selector, or in the form of paddles aligning with the steering wheel much like that in a Formula One car.  These transmissions allow for a much faster and efficient gear shift, with shift times in some cars having up-shifts as fast as 6 milliseconds.

      The benefits of having a manual versus an automatic transmission and the other way around are very apparent.  In my humble opinion in having driven many of these different transmission types, i would have to say that my favorite transmission type would have to be the manual.  I feel this way for a couple of different reasons.  The first is that I feel like I am preserving a lost art that is rapidly dying out.  The second is that I feel the best manual operators on the planet can still outperform even the best fully automated transmissions in the world wholly on the fact that the computer in the car can still make the wrong decision in what gear to put the car in going out or into a turn, when a person knows exactly what gear he wants at exactly what time.  You just cant achieve that in a computer driven car.

      With this in mind,I challenge all of you who read this to consider the next time you are buying a car, " can i get a manual with this?" or at least "is there an option for me to control the shifts?" because I guarantee that it will be the most fun you will ever have while driving.

      To continue on with my introduction into the different types of vehicles that will be highlighted throughout the rest of the year, i would like to move on to the topic of motorcycles.  With motorcycles, there are three basic types of variants that almost all motorcycles can fall under.  The most common and oldest type of motorcycle is the normal street bike, these can include anything from your super fast racing bikes like hyabusas and ducatis, to more tame long distance cruisers like the Harley Davidson Electra Glide.  The next type of bikes is your off road bikes, the most common of these are dirt bikes, but can also take the form of "modded" and customized street bikes to perform in off road conditions.  The final and most radical form of motorcycles takes shape in the form of the chopper, which is a completely customized and usually hand built motorcycle custom built to the buyer's configurations.  These choppers are extremely unique and can very easily be turned into a unique piece of art that becomes very difficult to replicate.

      There are many contributing factors as to why motorcycles are as popular as they are.  For starters most motorcycles get extremely good fuel economy, with most motorcycles getting around 90 to 100 miles per gallon,  The next reason is the cost of owning a motorcycle is significantly less than a car. A typical basic car can be purchased new for around $23,000.00 when a starter motorcycle can go for as low as a few thousand dollars and sometimes even less.  Another reason that people buy motorcycles is for the freedom you experience when you are out riding on the open road.  It is simply something that is unable to be described to those that have never been on a motorcycle and i encourage every one of you to at least try it one day.

      However, owning a motorcycle also poses many new safety threats.  Without a cabin surrounding the driver and passengers, the elements of the road and nature are in full presence while riding.  This means that the riders are subject to a very wide range of weather from beating sun to driving rain that they must deal with in order to remain comfortable on their ride.  Along with weather, road hazards like branches, potholes, oil puddles, rocks from other cars and metal or glass on the road.  Something as simple as a flattened soda can has been known to cut deeply into rider's legs after being kicked up on the highway from a semi truck.  Also, motorcycles have been known to be much harder to spot, and cars who do not know that motorcycles are in their blind spots can cause serious accidents. Things to help address these problems include, windshields on the bikes, always wearing race-grade leather jackets when riding, installing louder exhaust pipes to let other cars know where they are, and wearing a helmet.

       Another realm in the world of automobiles is the truck and SUV section. Next to cars, this is easily the most popular type of vehicles on the road.  They can range in sizes from the small Jeep Renegade, up to monstrous Ford F-650 super trucks (Most do not consider a normal semi/18 wheeler to be within the realm of trucks and SUV's).  What makes these vehicles so appealing is usually one of two things, their versatility and safety advantages.
 
      What makes these once work-dedicated vehicles so common is largely due in part to the companies who make them began to realize that people were buying these trucks (few SUV's had been invented at the time minus the Land Cruiser, Bronco and Blazer) for things more than work and began to the the opportunity that the market presented them with.  These companies began to add more luxurious options like leather and air conditioning and eventually extended cabs to began to raw more and more people into the truck and then growing SUV market.  What these vehicles offered to the people that most cars couldn't was the capability to take more people and much more stuff different places, and do so in a safe and comfortable environment.  With so many different models and options to choose from ranging from the normal work truck all the way up to fine leather and premium interior package trucks like the Ford F series Lariat, King Ranch, Platinum and Limited models, the options were endless.

     Another smaller but still prevalent reason for the success of the truck and SUV deals with the off-road capability that is presented in some models of daily driving vehicles.  For example, when Ford came out with the original Bronco back in the 60's, the purpose of the bronco was to present buyers who wanted an off-road capable vehicle without having to make the modifications themselves and possibly ruin their vehicles in the process.  Then, in 2010, a division of Ford designated SVT (special vehicle team) came out with a heavily modified version of the F-150 called the Raptor.  This truck was purpose built to be a manageable daily driver with the capability to go out and race in desert the same afternoon.  They succeeded and the Raptor has become an icon of Ford that I am sure will be around for a very long time.  The truck and SUV market in an entirety has become one of the most popular and varied class of vehicles on the road today and there are no signs of that changing one bit for a very long time to come.

      To continue with my last post about the difference the many different categories of vehicles, i would like to continue with my discussion upon cars.
 
      One of the main reasons that cars are so common within the United States and throughout the word is due to a few basic yet very important things.  These factors include the ease of handling, as they are all close to the ground, with a good center of gravity and a very low chance of getting into a serious accident when driven properly.  Another reason for the popularity is their ability to perform multiple different tasks, ranging from family hauler to work site transporter.  Next, most cars are designed with more thoughts about being environmentally friendly than ever before with some cars like the Prius getting up to and well over 50 miles to the gallon. Finally, with these cars being produced ever more efficiently and in larger and larger amounts, the price for many cars is extremely low and it is almost impossible not find at least 10 different super low priced cars on dealership lots all across the country and the world.
   
      Over the years, people have sought out and created many different unique cars with the use of many different types of modifications.  Some of the most common modifications to cars seen around the world include the following.  Engine chipping and tuning for an easy increase and fast boost in power and performance, stroking, boring and camming the engine, which includes replacing the stock camshaft for a more aggressive timing sequence, boring out the cylinder walls to allow for more compression and installing larger pistons into those cylinders to create more power.  Other non-performance upgrades that are very common among car owners is to add larger and better aftermarket wheels and tires, adding lights, re-painting or adding decals to the body, adding body widening kits that help with possible wider tires, tinting windows and adding or removing chrome inserts from the cars.  With all of these options and many more out there, it is becoming less and less common to find a car driven by a true car person that doesn't have at least one modification that adds uniqueness to the car at all, so feel free to go out and have fun with your and don't ever feel afraid to make it your own.

      For the first of many posts in this blog, i would like to begin by first addressing the different types of cars and bikes and other such things that may be brought up throughout the rest of the year.  The first part to this introduction will be on the topic of cars exclusively.

      What encompasses the realm of what is a car is basically anything with 4 wheels, a body, a drive train and different combinations of configurations of what is inside and outside.  This can range from the 2 door coupe, to the family sedan, to convertibles, sports cars, and roadster models.  My personal favorite out of this category would have to be the sports car for obvious power benefits and overall coolness factor of the style.

      With so many different types of styles, the possibilities of all the different options that can go into these cars is endless.  Also, the focus of a company and what its message to the public is though these cars can change drastically within a matter of a few short years.  A perfect example of this is in the car company Cadillac.  In the 50's and 60's this company was one of the most popular and widely known car company known to the public, producing top of the line A-list styled cars.  But when the 70's and 80's came around, things took a turn for the worst and this once loud and proud car company began to produce huge monstrous beasts of cars known today as "land barges" with some weighing up to 3 tons and being over 22 feet long.  Along with this, the styling took a turn for the worst as well and the obvious product of this is found in the Cadillac Seville.  This style continued well into the 2000's with big, blocky and unappealing styling the drove many potential customers far, far away.  Then came a revival movement spearheaded with a new supercharged, tuned up and lighter Cadillac CTS-V, which provided the spark needed for the major overhaul of the total lineup to the sharp, fast and once again elite Cadillac brand.

      Now you may be thinking, "Well that is great, Cadillac made a comeback, but what other cars can I buy besides that?". Well there are a plethora of other options of fast sporty cars to choose from,  The most commonly known and best examples of this include the following.  Audi R8, Gumpert Apollo, Lamborghini Aventador and Huracan, Ferrari 458, Ferrari Enzo, Ferrari F40, Ferrari 599 GTO, Ford GT, Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Corvette, Jaguar F-type, Scion FRS, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Porsche Carrera, Nissan GTR, Lexus LFA, and many countless others.


      With much more to come, thanks for reading and i hope to see you again here soon.