A popular style of bike that is coming back into vogue lately is the low rider bike. Unlike standard bikes, that people may use for exercise or transportation, they add comfort and style to the biking experience. For many, riding one is more than just a hobby, it is a lifestyle. Through their bikes, many enthusiasts find a way to express their own personality. There are those who think nothing of spending thousands of dollars on sound systems, individualized hydraulics, and beautiful murals to their low rider bikes. The thrill of building or customizing a low rider is almost as important as riding it and showing it off to admirers.
Many of these bikers join together to form clubs. There is a great advantage to joining such a club, since it gives the bikers a chance to feel that they belong to a community, and they can share all of their ideas and find resources for improving their low riders. For the younger set, it is a great way to meet new people while learning a great skill and getting exercise doing it. These clubs are also very active in organizing biking competitions. These competitions allow the participants to showcase their bikes and their skills, as well as meet people from all over the country.
If you remember the popular show from the sixties "The Munsters", you will remember that Eddie Munster rode one of the earliest low rider bikes ever seen. His was a Stingray style bike by Schwinn, but customized by George Barris to the unique low rider contours. This has remained, since the sixties, one of the most popular styles of them. When mountain bikes and BMX bikes came into popularity in the eighties, the sport of low rider bikes fell out of favor with the biking public, but they are coming back into style once again, both for young bikers who like the sportiness of them and for older bikers who like the stylishness of them.
If you decide to get in on this great sport, there is a wide range of choices open to you. Many people like to buy the components and build their own customized low rider bike. All of the resources, including instructions as will as parts, can be easily found on various sites on the Internet. If you are not handy, you can have a customized bike made for you, by giving the specifications you are interested in. Clubs often have their own websites that have a wealth of information on the topic. They will usually have a section showing all of the members' mountain bikes, so you can get great ideas for designs. Of course, mountain bike manufacturers websites will also have all of the information you may need. It is well worth boning up on this topic before you make the commitment to buy or build a low rider bike, so you have a full understanding of the sport, and can therefore enjoy it for a long time to come.
