Intended Use Of Your Bicycle; High-Performance Road - Flash FLASHV1 User Manual

Appendix A

Intended use of your bicycle

WARNING: Understand your bike and its intended use.
Choosing the wrong bicycle for your purpose can be hazard
ous. Using your bike the wrong way is dangerous.
No one type of bicycle is suited for all purposes. Your retailer
can help you pick the "right tool for the job" and help you
understand its limitations. There are many types of bicycles
and many variations within each type. There are many types
of mountain, road, racing, hybrid, touring, cyclocross and
tandem bicycles. There are also bicycles that mix features.
For example, there are road/racing bikes with triple cranks.
These bikes have the low gearing of a touring bike, the
quick handling of a racing bike, but are not well suited for
carrying heavy loads on a tour. For that purpose you want a
touring bike. Within each of type of bicycle, one can optimize
for certain purposes. Visit your bicycle shop and find some
one with expertise in the area that interests you. Do your
own homework. Seemingly small changes such as the
choice of tires can improve or diminish the performance of a
bicycle for a certain purpose. On the following pages, we
generally outline the intended uses of various types of bikes.
Industry usage conditions are generalized and evolving.
Consult yourdealer about how you intend to use your bike.

High-Performance Road

CONDITION 1
Bikes designed for riding on a paved surface where the tires
do not lose ground contact.
INTENDED To be ridden on paved roads only.
NOT INTENDED For off-road, cyclocross, or touring with
racks or panniers.
TRADE OFF Material use is optimized to deliver both
light weight and specific performance. You must understand
that (1) these types of bikes are intended to give an aggres
sive racer or competitive cyclist a performance advantage
over a relatively short product life, (2) a less aggressive
rider will enjoy longer frame life, (3) you are choosing light
weight (shorter frame life) over more frame weight and a
longer frame life, (4) you are choosing light weight over more
dent resistant or rugged frames that weigh more. All frames
that are very light need frequent inspection. These frames
are likely to be damaged or broken in a crash. They are not
designed to take abuse or be a rugged workhorse. See also
Appendix B.
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