Cycling guides / Bike types
Pick the type by where you actually ride, not where you intend to. Road for tarmac, gravel for mixed surfaces, hybrid for towns, mountain for trails, electric for hills and longer commutes. Fit and condition matter more than brand within any type.
The single most expensive mistake in cycling is buying the right bike of the wrong type. A race bike bought for canal paths gets ridden twice. The guides on this page take each category in turn and explain what it is genuinely good at, what it is bad at, what the type-specific faults are on the used market, and roughly what you should expect to pay in the UK. Once you know the type, our buying guides cover how to inspect and price an individual bike.
Gravel, cyclocross and adventure road bikes all have drop bars but are built for different things. A gravel bike takes wide tyres and mounts for bags, built for long mixed-surface rides. A cyclocross bike is a race tool with tighter clearance and sharper geometry. An adventure or endurance road bike is a comfortable road bike with modest extra tyre room. For most riders a gravel bike is the most versatile used buy.
7 min
For a woman buying a used e-bike, fit and battery health matter far more than a 'women's' label. A genuine women-specific fit means shorter reach, narrower bars and a saddle suited to wider sit bones; a step-through frame helps many riders mount and dismount, not only shorter ones. Battery health dominates resale value, so always ask the charge count and tested range, and treat a tired battery as a major price cut. Liv, Specialized, Trek and Gazelle all do real small-rider geometry.
9 min
A women-specific mountain bike helps most when a standard small still leaves you over-reached or fighting the suspension. What actually matters is reach, bar width, and suspension tuned for lighter riders so the fork and shock move through their travel; a well-set-up standard small can fit just as well as a women's model. Judge the fit and the tune, not the label, then check the frame, pivots and drivetrain and price against real UK used data.
9 min
The biggest decision in buying a bike as a woman is fit, not gender. Most modern frames are unisex; the differences that matter are saddle width (women average wider sit bones), bar width, crank length and stem length for shorter riders. Liv (Giant), Trek, Specialized, Canyon and Ribble all do genuinely small geometry for under-5'5" riders. Ignore pink colourways; focus on what fits.
17 min
Cyclocross bikes look like road bikes but corner like crit bikes. Short, twitchy, and built for an hour of hard racing. Frame clearance is 33mm UCI legal, 35-40mm in practice. A used CX bike makes a fast winter trainer or a cheap gravel commuter, but the geometry punishes long days.
14 min
Freestyle BMX (street, park, dirt) starts at 20-inch wheels and adds gyro and pegs. Race BMX uses 20 or 24 inch with no pegs and a cassette hub. Sizing is by top tube length not frame size. Check chromoly frames for cracks at the head tube and bottom bracket; aluminium fatigues earlier.
13 min
Kids grow out of bikes faster than they wear them out, so used is the right answer. Frog, Islabikes and Squish are the UK brands worth seeking out. Light frames, shorter cranks, kid-sized levers. Sizing is by inseam, not age. A well-bought used kids bike sells on for almost what you paid.
12 min
A used hardtail from a major brand in 2019 or later runs £500-£1,200; full-suspension £1,500-£4,000. Fork condition is the most expensive thing to get wrong. A knackered air shock costs £400-£600 to service or replace. 29-inch wheels handle British terrain better than 27.5 for most riders.
16 min
Battery health is everything on a used e-bike. A tired battery costs £400-£800 to replace and can write off the bike. Check the charge cycle count if the system reports it (Bosch and Shimano both do). UK e-bikes are limited to 250W and 15.5mph assist; anything modified is illegal on the road. Budget £1,200-£3,000 used.
15 min
A used Shimano 105 carbon road bike from 2018-2022 is the sweet spot in the UK used market: £900-£1,500 for a clean example, full electronic groupset territory adds £500-£1,000. Endurance geometry suits most riders better than race geometry. Inspect carbon for crash damage around the head tube and chainstays.
15 min
Used hybrids in the UK run £150-£400 for a clean Giant Escape, Trek FX or Specialized Sirrus. Avoid supermarket brands (Apollo, Indi, BTwin sub-£200 new). The wheels and bottom bracket fail within a year. A three-year-old hybrid from any of the big three brands beats a new £300 bike.
14 min
A used gravel bike from a major brand in 2020 or later runs £700-£1,800 in the UK. Tyre clearance is the single most important spec. Anything under 40mm limits where you can ride. Shimano GRX is the dominant groupset, well supported. All-road geometry handles closer to a road bike; adventure geometry handles closer to a hardtail.
12 min
A used tandem in the UK runs £400-£800 for a touring model and £1,500-£3,000 for a road tandem from a dedicated builder. The captain (front rider) needs the more aggressive position; the stoker (rear) needs comfort. Independent gearing is rare and not necessary. Specialist dealers stock more than the big chains.
15 min
Longtail cargo bikes (Tern GSD, Yuba Spicy Curry) carry up to two children behind the rider and ride like a normal bike. Bakfiets (Babboe, Urban Arrow) carry up to four children in a front box and corner like a small van. Electric assist is non-negotiable for either style. Budget £3,000-£6,000 used.
14 min
Brompton holds value better than any folding bike on the UK market. Expect £600-£900 for a clean used three-speed, £1,200+ for an electric. Dahon and Tern sit £200-£500 lower for a comparable bike. Check the main hinge clamp closes flush, the rear hinge has no play, and the gears index cleanly.
15 min
Answer one question honestly: what surface will you ride on most weeks? Mostly tarmac and you want speed, buy a road bike. Mostly tarmac but you want comfort and to carry things, buy a hybrid. A mix of tarmac, towpaths and bridleways, buy a gravel bike. Proper off-road trails, buy a mountain bike. Hills, distance or arriving without sweating, consider electric.
No. A gravel bike gives up a little tarmac speed for tyre clearance, lower gearing, more relaxed handling and mounting points for luggage. If your riding is entirely on good road surfaces a road bike is faster and more fun. If any part of it is not, the gravel bike is the more useful bike for most UK riders.
The battery is the risk, not the motor. Batteries degrade with age and charge cycles regardless of mileage, and a replacement can be a third of the bike price. Ask for the battery health reading, the purchase date and the charge count before you view, and treat a seller who cannot produce them as a seller with something to hide.
See the full guide index or browse who writes our guides.
Follow us on our social channels to keep up with the latest listings, cycling guides and company news.
If you'd like to be added to our mailing list, or have any media-related enquiries, please contact our press team:
Contact our press team