I wish I could’ve figured these things out sooner, so in this story, I wanted to gather expert advice on the basics of what people should look for and what questions to ask when buying a bike. (My colleague Michael Venotolo-Mantovani has more tips if you’re going that route.) Next, I’ll take my own bike to a professional fitter and delve into the nitty-gritty of bike fit to see what it’s like to have a tailored ride.
I start without a bike at all. I walked to meet Rebecca Kuo, the community resources manager at Seattle’s Bike Works, a nonprofit where I volunteer. Ko previously ran sales as general manager at Mend Bicycles in the city, and for the purposes of this story we’re pretending like I’m in the market for a bike I’ll use for transportation and general fun. We’ve established that it’s different from my own bike, so I won’t be comparing the two in the back of my mind.
Bike Works sells new bikes and refurbished old bikes, and after a round of questions about what I was looking for, particularly about how and how often I planned to use them, Ko brought out a Trek Multitrack 7200, a powerful hybrid likely from the late 2000s. This ride is straight, pretty, silver and blue, with a short wheelbase, flat bars, grip shifters, and a big, squishy seat, all very different from what you’re used to.
“Hybrid cars are a soft landing ground for many people looking to get into cycling,” she explains.
It checks to make sure there is about 2 inches of space between me and the top of the frame. She then asked me to place my thumb on top of my left thigh and extend my hand flat in the air next to it, adjusting the initial height of the seat directly below it. With Ko supporting the bike, I jumped up so she could adjust the saddle height, making sure I had a slight bend in my knees with the pedal at its lowest point.
“This slight bend helps make sure we’re engaging the larger muscles – like the glutes and thighs – where the strength comes from,” she says. “It also helps keep pressure off the knees.”
From there, it’s time to grab the rails, which can usually be raised, lowered and rotated. We then adjust the angle of the brake lever to make sure I have my hand on it in a comfortable position.
Koo makes sure I look relaxed, not exaggerated, without locked elbows or compressed neck, and not locked into what some call a “meerkat pose,” with a straight back and wrists and elbows so bent as if you were staring over them.
After these modifications, it’s generally a good time to do some initial inventory, as you’ll hopefully be spending a lot of time on this bike. So how do you feel? If the saddle feels wonky, consider a different saddle. If it’s good, it’s time for a test drive.
I hopped on the ride and pedaled around the parking lot, first noticing that giant squishy seat, which is kind of weird…but kind of fun! It suits the vibe of the bike, and I love it. The brakes are nice and attractive. The whole thing looks surprisingly clever.
