Parts

The best bike parts at affordable prices

With so many offers to choose from it’s often difficult to know which bike parts to pick and buy! To make it easier for you, bikester.co.uk stocks a great selection of high quality bike equipment. From Shimano brakes to Mavic wheels and Crankbrothers pedals to Fizik saddles, our assortment has something for everyone.

When you’re looking for bike parts ask yourself the following questions:

• What’s my budget?
• What is the most important area on my bike at the moment?
• Are there any parts which aren’t working as they should or which should be swapped out for other reasons?
• Do I want to just replace old/worn parts on my bike or do I want to upgrade my bike?

Let’s look at some common bike parts that you may consider:

Bike frame

The most central part of your bike – the so-called ‘torso’ – is the frame. When selecting a frame, savvy buyers will pay attention to materials, geometry, size and of course, the look. Once you’ve found one at the right price you can move onto the next bike part.

Fork

The fork serves to hold the front wheel in place and allows you to steer. These come either fixed or with added suspension. Suspension forks are fairly standard in MTB disciplines. These forks have a defined spring travel, which makes it possible to cushion unevenness in the terrain. This not only provides greater comfort for the rider but also adds extra safety- as steering is improved by the varying pressure of the front wheel upon the ground.

However, suspension forks can, for example, unintentionally spring into the uphill drive in the ascent, which means that some of the energy provided by the rider is invested in the compression and not the forward propulsion of the bicycle. This and the higher weight of suspension forks are reasons why there are hardly any suspension forks in the road area. Road riders continue to rely on rigid forks.

Wheels

When selecting the wheels, make sure that the front and rear wheels aren’t exactly the same. In contrast to the front wheel, the rear wheel also incorporates parts of the drivetrain. In a derailleur gear system the cassette is connected to the rear wheel. When choosing the wheels you should also consider the type of brake you want to mount later. For a rim brake, a sufficiently large friction surface is required in the rim, whereas such a surface isn’t required when a disk brake is used.

Saddle

When selecting a saddle, consider your preferred seating position and the type of riding you will be doing. A touring saddle is generally wider, more thickly padded and frequently features suspension, in order to offer the rider higher comfort even on longer journeys. On the other hand, a racing saddle is primarily weight-optimised and narrow, so that the rider can easily alternate between many different riding positions. Between these two extremes, you’ll find a range of many more shapes and forms.

Seatpost

The seatpost connects the saddle to the frame. There are different forms of seatposts, including suspension and ‘dropper’ posts. Make sure you choose a seatpost which is a suitable length and, if possible, relatively light.

Stem & handlebars

The stem connects the fork to the handlebar and has a great influence on the sitting position when driving. A stem with a small angle to the horizontal creates a more stretched sitting position, while at higher angles, the sitting position becomes more upright. The leverage of the stem also affects steering performance. The shape and width of the handlebar also affect the steering behaviour.

And that’s just a few of the bike parts available! Don’t forget about pedals, tyres and inner tubes, hubs, bar ends, cassettes and chains, luggage racks, cranks, rear and front derailleurs and many many more!