2012 "Best Buy" Bikes Online

2012 is here 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 2011 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...

• Overall Design and Engineering
• The Quality of the Bike and Components
• Multiple Review Analysis
• Customer Service and Brand Reputation
• Current Sales and Discounts

You can still find some good deals on 2010 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. 

Recommended 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.

Recommended 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.

Recommended Road / Racing Bike 

See the Cannondale Synapse for our recommended, Best Buy Road / Racing bike for sale online.

The Cannondale Synapse is a high quality, responsive performance road bike that features Cannondale's S.A.V.E. (Synapse Active Vibration Elimination) design to smooth out the jarring impact of rough roads for a smooth and comfortable ride.

The 2012 Cannondale Synapse Bikes have 6 price/component levels of the Carbon Frame models and 3 price/component levels of the Aluminum Frame models making it easier to find the price and quality level to meet your needs.

Recommended 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.

Recommended 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.

Best Inexpensive Bikes for Sale Online

Although we do not currently have reviews on many of the inexpensive (big box) bikes available online, below are some links to good online sources and some of the better low cost bike brands.

Amazon Bike Deals - for great prices on 2011 and 2012 adult and kids bikes from Schwinn, Mongoose, Huffy as well other popular and inexpensive bikes.

Bikes and Kids Bikes at Wal-Mart for FREE site to store shipping and great prices (of course) on Schwinn, Huffy, Mongoose and more.

Best Kids Bikes for Sale Online

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.

Recommended Brands and Resources - "Best Buy" Bikes for Sale Online

REI Cycling Sale and Clearance - for great deals on 2011 and 2012 Cannondale, Scott, Novara, Raleigh, Ellsworth, GT and more. FREE shipping with REI store pickup or REI membership.

Performance Bike Outlet - for an excellent selection of Fuji, GT, Scattante, Schwinn, Mongoose, Diamondback and more on sale while quantities last.

JensonUSA has an excellent selection of bikes for sale online (Scott, Jamis, Surly, Bianchi, Rocky Mountain, Intense, Yeti, SE Bikes) at huge discounts.

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 2011 bikes, these models are just one year old and, for the most part, are not that different than the newer 2012 models yet can be purchased online at incredible discounts.