>>2000395>>2000395>hard gearingbig gear in the front, small gear in the back. Basically your legs do 1 rotation for say... 3 meters of travel. Easy gearing would be your legs do 1 rotation for .5meters of travel. The harder gear requires more muscle to push, and the easier gear doesn't.
A road bike has bigger wheels and thinner tires at higher pressure. Basically the road bike is more efficient, particularly over say 30-40kph.
Shitty bikes weigh more. That is the easiest way to differentiate a better used bike vs a worse one. Do account for things like kickstands or pannier racks. Really shitty bikes have steel rims, and steel components. This was common in the 1970's. Modern shitty bikes just have stuff that doesn't last.
If you are looking in person at a bike shop you won't get scammed. If looking at used bikes in a sketchy neighborhood just do your research on parts.
Frames don't brake generally unless you crash into something solid. My hub flange broke since I weigh over 100kg, didn't absorb the impact with my legs so it all went into the bike+wheel, and the hub was a high quality low flange one, but it was made in the 70's or 80's so was probably well used by then. Currently that bike has a high flange high quality suzue hub, and I don't do stupid shit like bang off curbs hard.
The bulk of bike weight comes from cheap frames, and components. For road bikes a cheap one could weigh 35-25lbs. a normal one would weigh 25-20lbs, and modern racy road bikes weigh 20-15lbs
A mountain bike has more durable components, and those weigh more. However nice racy mtb's weigh around 20lbs. While shitty BSO(bike shaped objects) weigh around 45lbs.
26in was a common wheel size back in the 90's-2000's. Generally on mtb's and the size is smaller then road bikes so it is inherently stronger. A nice rigid mtb from that era weighed around 25-20lbs.
