List of bicycle types

This list gives an overview of different types of bicycles, along different categorizations. See also Category:Cycle types.

By function

Utility bicycles parked outside an academic building at Stanford University

• Utility bicycles are designed for commuting, shopping and running errands. They employ middle or heavy weight frames and tires, internal hub gearing, and a variety of helpful accessories. The riding position is usually upright.
• Mountain bicycles are designed for off-road cycling, and include other sub-types of off-road bicycles such as Cross Country (i.e."XC"), Downhill , and Freeride bicycles. All mountain bicycles feature sturdy, highly durable frames and wheels, wide-gauge treaded tires, and cross-wise handlebars to help the rider resist sudden jolts. Some mountain bicycles feature various types of suspension systems (e.g. coiled spring, air or gas shock), and hydraulic or mechanical disc brakes. Mountain bicycle gearing is very wide-ranging, from very low ratios to high ratios, typically with 21 to 30 gears.

An aluminum racing bicycle made by Raleigh and built using Shimano components. It uses a semi-aerodynamic wheelset with low spoke count.

• Racing bicycles are designed for speed, and include road, time trial, and track bicycles. They have lightweight frames and components with minimal accessories, dropped handlebars to allow for an aerodynamic riding position, narrow high-pressure tires for minimal rolling resistance and multiple gears. Racing bicycles have a relatively narrow gear range, and typically varies from medium to very high ratios, distributed across 18, 20, 27 or 30 gears. The more closely spaced gear ratios allow racers to choose a gear which will enable them to ride at their optimum pedaling cadence for maximum efficiency.
  • Time trial bicycles are similar to road bicycles but are differentiated by a more aggressive frame geometry that throws the rider into a more compact (i.e "aero") riding position. They also feature aerodynamic frames, wheels, and handlebars.
  • Track bicycles, intended for indoor or outdoor cycle tracks or velodromes, are exceptionally simple compared with road bikes. They have a single gear ratio, a fixed drivetrain (i.e. no freewheel), no brakes, and are minimally adorned with other components that would otherwise be typical for a racing bicycle.
• Messenger bikes are typically used for urgent deliveries of letters and small packages between businesses in big cities with heavily congested traffic. While any bike can be used, messenger bikes often resemble track bicycles (especially in the USA).

A modern touring bicycle, with accessories and baggage

• Touring bicycles are designed for bicycle touring and long journeys. They are durable and comfortable, capable of transporting baggage, and may feature any type of gearing system.
• Randonneur or Audax bicycles are designed for randonnées or brevet rides, and fall in between racing bicycles and those intended for touring.
• Recumbent bicycles, which are sometimes referred to as Bents in the USA, are designed to maximise comfort and minimise wind resistance. Whereas most of the other types of bicycle in this section are designed around a ‘diamond frame’ geometry, where the pedals and chainset are located at the bottom of the bicycle and handlebars are at the front, recumbent bicycles (recumbents) generally use a “boom” and rear triangle combination with the pedals and chainset located at the front of the boom and the handlebars are located either “over seat” or “underseat” in the centre.

By number of riders

• A tandem or twin has two riders.
• A triplet has three riders; a quadruplet has four.
• The largest multi-bike had 40 riders.[1]

In most of these types the riders ride one behind the other. Exceptions are "The Companion", or "sociable," a side-by-side two-person bike (that converted to a single-rider) built by the Punnett Cycle Mfg. Co. in Rochester, N. Y. in the 1890s. Another bicycle, the "Conference Bike", rented to tourists in Berlin carries seven people seated in a circle.

By general construction

• A penny-farthing or ordinary has one high wheel directly driven by the pedals and one small wheel.
• On an upright bicycle the rider sits astride the saddle. This is the most common type.
• On a recumbent bicycle the rider reclines or lies supine.
• A Pedersen bicycle has a bridge truss frame.
• A folding bicycle can be quickly folded for easy carrying, for example on public transport.
• A Moulton Bicycle has a traditional seating position, and utilises small diameter, high pressure tires and front and rear suspension.
• An exercise bicycle remains stationary; it is used for exercise rather than propulsion.

By gearing

Shimano XT rear derailleur on a mountain bike

• Internal hub gearing is most common in European utility bicycles, usually ranging from three-speed bicycles to five and seven speed options. But hub gears with eight and fourteen speeds are available as well.
• Shaft-driven bicycles use a driveshaft rather than a chain to power the rear wheel. These are often used as commuter bikes because they eliminate inconveniences associated with chains and pant-legs, but they are less efficient than chain-driven bicycles. Shaft- driven bicycles usually employ internal hub gearing.
• Derailleur gears, featured on most racing and touring bicycles, offering from 5 to 30 speeds
• Single-speed bicycles and Fixed-gear bicycles have only one gear, and include all BMX bikes, children's bikes, crowded city messenger bikes, and many others. The fixed gear has no freewheel mechanism, so whenever the bike is in motion the pedals continue to spin. An advantage of this is the pedals can also be used to slow down.
• Retro-Direct bicycles have two sprockets on the rear wheel. By backpedaling, the secondary, usually lower, gear is engaged.

By sport

Flatland rider on a BMX bike

• Road racing bicycles
• Time trial bicycles are road bicycles with a aerodynamic features that are not permitted when the racers ride as a group, such as triathlon (foward pointing) bars and a disk rear wheel.
• Track bicycles are ultra-simple, lightweight fixed-gear bikes with no brakes, designed for track cycling on purpose-built cycle tracks, often in velodromes.
• Cyclo-cross bicycles are lightweight enough to be carried over obstacles, and robust enough to be cycled through mud.
• XC mountain bike
• Down-hill racers are a specialized type of mountain bike with a very strong frame, altered geometry, and long travel suspension. They are designed for use only on downhill courses.
• BMX (bicycle motocross) bicycles have small wheels and are used for BMX racing, as well as freestyle with tricks such as wheelies. Freestyle BMXers often ride dirt jumps and skatepark ramps, however there is street where a rider rides on obstacles found in many places that aren't supposed to be ridden on, such as stairs and rails.
• Triathlon bicycles have seat posts that are closer to vertical than the seat posts on road racing bicycles. This concentrates the effort of cycling in the quadriceps muscles, sparing the other large muscles of the leg for the running segment of the race. Triathlon bicycles also have specialized handlebars known as triathlon bars or aero bars.
• Bike trials riding is a form of off-road cycling derived from motorcycle trials where one slowly negotiates man-made and natural obstacles.

By means of propulsion

• A pedal cycle is driven by pedals.
• A hand-cranked bicycle is driven by a hand crank.
• A rowing bicycle is driven by a rowing action using both arms and legs.
• A motorized bicycle provides motor assistance.
• A moped propels the rider with a motor, but includes bicycle pedals for human propulsion.
• a "Flywheel" uses stored kinetic energy.

Other types

• Hybrid bicycles are a compromise between the mountain and racing style bicycles which replaced European-style utility bikes in North America in the early 1990s. They have a light frame, medium gauge wheels, and derailleur gearing, and feature straight or curved-back, touring handlebars for more upright riding.
• Cruiser bicycles are designed for comfort, with curved back handlebars, padded seats, and balloon tires. Cruisers typically have minimal gearing and are often available for rental at beaches and parks which feature flat terrain.
• Freight bicycles are designed for transporting large or heavy loads.
• Cycle rickshaws (also called pedicabs or trishaws) are used to transport passengers for hire.
• Velomobiles or bicycle cars provide enclosed pedal-powered transportation.
• Clown bicycles are designed for comedic effect or stunt riding. Some types of clown bicycles are:
  • bucking bike (with one or more eccentric wheels)
  • tall bike (often called an upside down bike, constructed so that the pedals, seat and handlebars are all higher than normal) -- other types of tall bikes are made by welding two or more bicycle frames on top of each other, and running additional chains from the pedals to the rear wheel.
  • Come-apart bike, (essentially a unicycle, plus a set of handlebars attached to forks and a wheel).

Clown bikes are also built that are directly geared, with no freewheeling, so that they may be pedaled backwards. Some are built very small but are otherwise normal.

• Art bikes: Some bikes are built so that the frame appears to be made of junk or found objects: Bongo the Clown built several ridable parade bikes which were as much kinetic sculptures as transport.
• A unicycle is not a bicycle, as it has only one wheel, but it is related.