Rides for the Relaxed Rider
It's full steam ahead into the holidays and we've already started the prep work to make sure we're ready for the end of the month. Cookie, candy, and chocolate reps to prep our stomachs for the onslaught of sweets ahead, wrapping practice to perfect those tricky corners and make our scotch tape work look less "scotchy" and more "tapey", and, of course, gathering all those gifts so we can avoid the end-of-the-month pandemonium!
Last week we covered 3 different tiers of bike gifts for the rider in your life, this week we'll take a look at rider positions and which bikes best match the kind of riding you (or your recipient) want to do! Let's sit back and spin into our first entry of the series!
Relaxed / Upright
An upright riding position is the least aggressive option available on a standard bicycle. Easy and comfy for riders who aren't as flexible as they used to be, an upright bike can provide the perfect opportunity to get back into biking without having to go full Tour-de-France.
A bike built for relaxed, upright riding will have handlebars higher than the saddle, a short stem and/or swept-back bars, and a crank that's pushed forward to facilitate leg extension from the lower saddle. The riders back will be at, or just shy of, 90-degrees relative to their legs and that also means they'll have their head up offering better visibility of the road, trail, scenery, etc...and making them easier to see for other road-users, as well.
So which ride's right for the upright riders among us? If it's fairly flat in your neck of the woods and the forecast calls for slow rolls and sandy spins, our Cruiser and Step-Through Cruiser Series will be the perfect bike date!
Sporting swept-back bars, a forward-shifted crank, and a low-slung saddle so you can sit up straight and spin in comfort, coupled with a coaster brake so you can bring it all back to a stop without setting down your marg'.
And what about if it's a little hillier where you call home? If your route's got some ups and downs, or you'll be hauling the groceries, lunch, laptop, etc... you're going to want some gears. For a relaxed ride with a more flexible drivetrain, check out our Classic and Step-Through Classic Series, sporting 3 or 8 speed set-ups! The same upright ride position, with a little more versatility in terms of gearing, hauling, and accessories.
And last, but not least, for the most relaxing ride you can imagine - we've got the Volta! Sit up, smile, and tap the pedals to effortlessly experience 25mph of wind smashing your smiling face!
The result of our first ever Kickstarter project, Voltas are now rolling off the assembly line and riders all over the world are about to start spinning with a little e-help! We engineered the Volta to have a relaxed, upright, position - so you can comfortably ride to work without sweating all over your suit. 40 miles of electric range, 3 modes from "give me everything you've got" to "I just want to ride it like a normal bike", and all the fixin's to make it a perfect urban utility vehicle: automatic lights, integrated racks, and regenerative braking!
So there they are, the best bikes for a relaxed riding position! Tomorrow we'll roll through the best options for someone looking to get a little more aggressive in the saddle.
Until then, ride happy. And we'll see you out there!
