Many of the 2013 bikes are now available online and there are some excellent sales and deals going on right now on high quality 2012 bikes in addition to a large selection of name brand legacy model bikes available from online retailers.
Each rider is unique and we all have different needs and requirements within each cycling category (road, mountain, comfort, etc.). Although your specific needs may vary, we believe that the Best Buy Bikes listed here will provide a good guide and may help you with your decisions.
The following bike reviews and recommendations are based on a number of factors. Each factor is very important when considering what qualifies as a "Best Buy." This includes...
You can still find some good deals on prior year bikes at the (offline) bike stores and bike shops right now but they will usually not have the large selections that you can find online.
Best Buy Hybrid Bike
See Cannondale Quick Review for the Best Hybrid Bike currently available and for sale online.
The Cannondale Quick line are light weight, high quality and comfortable hybrid (mountain/road cross) bikes.
The Quick 4 is a very reasonably priced mountain, road bike cross that is comfortable, light and fast enough for road rides and strong enough to handle moderate trail rides.
Best Buy Comfort Road Style Bike
See the Schwinn Voyager Comfort Bike Review for the most affordable Comfort Bike (in the Road/Bike Path style category) currently available and on sale online.
This bike is not even in the same category as the "big box" Schwinn models that you see for sale at Amazon or Wal-Mart, etc. The Schwinn Voyageur has an excellent design and a quality frame, components and parts.
The heavily padded seat, the chain guards, the very comfortable frame design, front suspension, rear seat shock absorber and even the sleek look ~ many of the cables are routed through the frame ~ and of course the low online price make this bike a best buy again this year.
Best Buy Total Comfort Bike
See Electra Townie Comfort Bike Review for the Best TOTAL Comfort Bike currently available and on sale online.
The Electra Townie fits the Electra Bicycle Companies' goal to design "insanely comfortable bikes" perfectly.
Find out about Electra's Flat Foot Technology and the traditional multi gear derilleur models as well as the lower maintence and cleaner looking internal gear models.
Best Buy Road / Racing Bike
See the 2012 GT Series 3.0 for our recommended, Best Buy Road / Racing bike for sale online.
The GT Series bikes are high quality, responsive performance road bike that features aluminum frames, carbon forks, higher end shimano derailers and breaks, 700x23c tires and a cool look.
The GT Series bikes have multiple price/component levels. The prices go down as the level number goes up so the GT Series 1 is the most expensive and the GT Series 5 is the least expensive.
Best Buy Full Suspension Mountain Bike
See the Jamis Dakar XC Bike Review for our recommended best buy full suspension mountain bike for sale online.
The full suspension Jamis Dakar has been around for years and rates very high with mountain bikers.
You can get great prices on a few of the older models now online.
Best Buy Hardtail Mountain Bike
See the GT Avalanche for our recommended, top overall, hardtail mountain bike for sale online.
The GT Avalanche series bikes are some of the best hardtail bikes available for under $1,000 (although full retail on the Expert is a little over $1k).
With multiple price/component levels including the Avalanche Expert and Avalanche 1.0 at the top end followed by the more reasonable priced Avalanche 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0, you will be able a high quality GT Avalanche Hardtail that best meets your needs.
Although we do not currently have reviews on many of the inexpensive (big box) bikes available online, we do have a good list of resources at our Online Bike Stores page.
See the Amazon and Wal-Mart sections on the link above for a good listing of affordable bikes including adult and kids bikes from Schwinn, Mongoose, Huffy as well other popular and inexpensive bikes
See Our Kids Bicycles and Accessories resource for a good selection of the Best Kids Bikes, Kids Bike Accessories, Bike Trailers, Bike Child Seats, Trikes and Ride-ons for sale online.
Although you can not buy all brands online, you can buy many of the most popular and best quality bike brands online. Some bike brands can be sold online but must be delivered to a retailer to be picked up and others can be shipped directly to your door.
Our recommended resources, for online bike sales, offer both direct and store delivery options and for the bike brands that must be delivered to a retail store, we suggest merchants that have bike stores in most (US) locations.
Regarding the 2012 bikes, these models are just one year old and, for the most part, are not that different than the newer 2013 models yet can be purchased online at incredible discounts.
Bike Reviews
Road Bikes
Mountain Bikes
Hardtails
Electric Bikes
Bike Reviews
Hybrid Bikes
Electric Bikes
Comfort Bikes