So you've decided you want to be a biker. Well, the first thing is, obviously, to buy a bike. You can't very well do much with a biker club or even go out riding if you don't have one! But if you've never purchased a bike before, you may not know what to get or what to even look for. Here are some tips for buying your first bike that you might want to take into account before you make your purchase.
What type of bike do you want? That's the first thing to consider. Do you want a fancy show bike or a bike that looks like it was built for speed? Do you want to purchase an American brand, or are you looking at all brands equally? Will you need a side car? What about a trailer? All of these questions need to be answered. The main way of narrowing down some of these options is to decide where you'll be riding your bike. Will it be your main form of transportation, a weekend hobby, or a bike you'll ride long-distance? Next, decide if you want to buy a new bike or a used one.
Once you have an idea of what kind of bike you want, it's time to go shopping. First of all, just like when buying a car, don't buy the first bike you see! You need to shop around a little bit to try to get the best deal. Once you've narrowed down your choices, try to find a biker to take with you to look at the bike. This way, you have an experienced eye that might catch little flaws in the bike that you might not otherwise see.
