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Good to see this thread, I didn't know that many of our car enthusiasts are bi-cycling enthusiasts too.
I have been using bi-cycles for a long time, and used to ride to school from age 12 itself. Initially I had a basic BSA SLR which I had later replaced for a BSA Mach-1 I was in 8th then a year later I added a gear set with 2 ratios on the drive derailleur(crank) and 5 ratios on the 5 ratios on the rear driven derailleur. For a few years I had stopped cycling, but later when ultra light weight aluminium bikes were introduced I purchased a Cannondale Quick 5 with 3 ratios on the drive derailleur and 8 on the driven.
I used the bike till November last year, when I stopped bikes and two-wheelers all together due to a dislocated shoulder.
I later sold it to a friends daughter who wanted the bike, but did not have the Rs 35,000. for a new one.

My shoulder is almost ok again and I might buy a cycle again but this time a well sprung and not a rigid one.

Rahul

Thanks guys. But one of our co-cycler has offered his cycle while he's out of town - I have taken up that offer.

On a different note, @djpeesh's review on the Rockrider 5.0 has me hooked completely - I'm almost on a final stage to book the same cycle :) Just going through forums/websites to see if there is any other worthy option in <10k range.

Finally purchased carrier for 5.1 from Decathlon white field and fixed myself.

Tomorrow I am taking the bicycle to Decathlon for servicing.They promised me to increase the handle height by replacing the adjustable steam.But during my last visit I could not find the steam for 5.1.

Took part in the half cyclothon as part of the Tour De India at BIC F1 track Greater Noida today. Biking three laps on the F1 circuit was absolutely great. Would recommend this to all bikers at NCR in next year's edition.

I have finally bitten the bullet and purchased my latest machine on wheels - not a car this time, but a Trek 7.1FX Hybrid bicycle.

Like most people on this forum, I had last ridden a bicycle regularly when I was a teenager. My reintroduction to bicycles started about 6 months ago when my son, who was about to turn 6, asked for a new bicycle as his birthday gift. Since he had been riding his BSA Champ for almost 4 years, and been riding without trainer wheels for well over a year then, we decided that his request was a reasonable one. Most of the kids in our building have Firefox bicycles, and I thought we should get the same for our son. On checking online, I got a major sticker shock when I realized that Firefox bikes aimed at 7-9 year olds range in price from Rs. 6000 to Rs. 9000. Since my old Speed-King had cost only Rs. 525 (and even the super-premium BSA SLRs used to cost only Rs. 575) back in 1983, this seemed exorbitant (Rs. 525 in 1983 was just Rs. 3,500 in inflation adjusted terms). But faced with a persistent kid, we (like most parents) gave in and went across to the nearest Firefox Bike Station to purchase the bike. While picking up his bike, I spied a bunch of funky looking mountain bikes branded Trek that were displayed there. My casual query revealed that these cost upwards of Rs. 30,000. At that point in time, I dismissed that as crazy pricing and stepped out. But seeing my son enjoy riding his bike so much brought back memories of the good old days when I used to ride my bike for hours together, and rekindled my interest in bicycling.

The next step towards my bike purchase started when a group of colleagues decided that we should exercise together, and that cycling might be a good form of group exercise. We identified a bike rental shop that opens at 6 am, picked up bikes and spent a few weekends riding up and down Marine Drive. The bikes were far better than the rental bikes of yore – well maintained, premium domestic models such as Hero Octanes and Atlas MTBs. But we were weak, and the bikes were slow. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to be able to ride between 15 and 20 kms in about 1.5 hours (with numerous halts along the way of course), and the thought of buying a bike cropped up. On one of these trips, the fitness freak in our office decided to drop by and join us. He lived in the suburbs, and had pedalled all the way (over 25 kms) to join us near NCPA. Needless to say, he looked as fresh as a daisy. We spent some time admiring his racing bike (or road bike, as I now know it is called), which had a Carbon Fibre frame, clipless pedals etc., and were shocked to find out that it cost more than a Nano. This provoked my interest in modern bikes, and I spent some time going through this thread, as well as other biking forums such as Bikeszone, Cyclists.In, and BikeForums. I learned the difference between mountain bikes, road bikes and hybrids, realized that one of the reasons the Hero Octanes were so slow was due to the front and rear suspension, and started seriously evaluating a bike purchase.

Based on encouragement from my super fit friend, and threads on the various forums, I quickly decided that a rigid fork hybrid bike would be the best for my needs. I was a little concerned about Bombay roads (especially around where I live), but realized that my rented mountain bikes were not doing much to give me a soft ride either. After some more research (and considering how much I wanted to spend), I shortlisted three models: the Trek 7.1 FX, the Cannondale Quick 5 and the Schwinn Sporterra 4. The Sporterra seemed to offer the best value for money deal (it was a lower end brand, but had similar components to the Trek at a lower price), the Cannondale was clearly one notch higher, and the Trek offered a better brand, good components, and perhaps the best support network. I also learnt the importance of having a bicycle with an appropriate frame size, and realized that a 20” frame would be best for me.

I wanted to test ride the different models before picking a bike up. I started with the Trek, at the same store where I bought my son’s Firefox. He did not have a “test drive” bike, and had to assemble a boxed pack for me. The bike was great to ride, with the rear shifters being super smooth, but the front shifters relatively rough (esp when moving from 3 to 2). I then started looking for the Schwinn and the Cannondale. I checked with various Track and Trail outlets, and found to my surprise that no fresh stocks of the Cannondale had arrived for more than 6 months. A couple of dealers had the bike available in Medium frame size, while everybody else did not have it, and indicated that it was unlikely to be available except against advance orders and with undefined delivery times. Similarly, dealers did not have the 2013 Schwinn available – they had an older 2012 Schwinn in the medium frame size, and were unwilling to offer a test ride. Another dealer had a Scott Sub 40 available in my size. I tried it out, and except for the 3x8 gearbox, did not find anything special relative to the Trek to justify the Rs. 7000 extra price that it commanded. So after having planned to test and compare different bikes before picking something up, I was left with Hobson’s choice, and decided to satisfice instead of optimizing and went in for the Trek.

I shopped a bit for the best deal, but either because of my poor negotiation skills or the lack of supplies, was not able to get any discount on the MRP other than some bundled accessories (stand, bell, lock, bottle cage). I also picked up a helmet and a rear blinky light. After another half an hour, my bike was set up and ready.

I decided to ride home from the store, which is a distance of about 7 kms. The difference between this bike and the mountain bikes I had been riding became immediately obvious. Even though I still did not know how to use the shifters effectively (and did most of the ride in 2-5), the speed advantage of this bike was clear. I averaged almost 18 kph (traffic and all), against the 12-13 kph I averaged on the mountain bikes. The other thing that became obvious was the poor quality of roads, especially the so called paver blocks, which are so badly laid that the bike really bounced over them as if they were rubble.

Since then, I have done several more rides, gradually picking up the distance covered in one go to about 25 kms today (including the Pedder Road climb from both directions). My speed is still slow – the fastest I am able to sustain is about 28-29 kph, and my average speeds are still in the low 20s (though that is partly due to climbs, but also due to road conditions and traffic), but is much higher than what I could do on the rented bikes. The other thing I have realized is that motorists and especially BEST drivers do not give a damn for the lives of cyclists, and that all my rides would therefore need to end by 7:30 AM. I have gotten more used to using the shifters, to the brakes that are swapped around compared to traditional Indian bikes (with the front brakes on the left hand, and the rear brakes on the right), but still find the front derailleur operation a bit rough. Perhaps, that is something I need to get checked from the dealer.

But overall, my experience with both my new bike, and biking as an activity has been great so far. Have not taken any decent pictures of the bike yet (except for one in poor light in our building’s parking lot, which is posted below), but shall post more if and when I take some.

@Hayek:

That was my first bike and it's an excellent one. The only drawback AFAIK was its aluminium fork which can be quite stiff on your upper body if you're speeding down a bad road.

If it makes you feel any safer with other motorists, try wearing reflective clothes/shoes. And if you plan to ride on highways, a more powerful rear-light can be effective.

Keep riding and crunch more miles on this simple machine!

Just a passing note as experience - I have a Decathlon Rock Rider 5.1 MTB with me. And for some time I was searching for the carrier to fit on my SX4. I finally bought Thule Freeway 968 and it's great. With only one flip side - my cycle and carrier combination. The RR5.1 barely sits on the carrier. I mean the carrier tightly gets in the cycle frame. The frame internal triangle - longest tube dimensions are almost same as width of the carrier! So something that should take 2 minutes to fit and go, takes me 10 as I tilt the cycle and then fix on it.

Lesson learned - carrier and cycle are great but they don't gel well as good team! So ensure that before you buy a rack, try it with your very own cycle and not a demo one ;)

Can you post the pic and share the cost. I have a bnb rack and it had some problems due to lip type spoiler on the boot of manza . Also the way it anchors the panels of boot is not confidence inspiring and hence I am reluctant to use it often. Please post pics of the rack mounted with the bike and without it if you can. Would be very useful.

Hey Madhu, I got it from BOTS - BumsOnTheSaddle, Bangalore. Paid 9900.00. A little costlier than online - snapdeal. But being closer to wherei live and flexibility in getting it assembled and demo'ed, I opted in for in-person buying than online.

I will post the pictures over weekend - with and without bike of course.

Yes, all the racks of this type would be an issue if you have rear spoilers. I haven't done any long rides yet so no handling experience to share. But as I read in user manuals, the carrier is good for up to 120 Kmph speeds and must be less than 10 kmph on humps.

I updated my ownership blog with Thule Freeway 968 Carrier as car accessory. Please read about it here. I have highlighted the image with what is wrong with thule 968 and RR 5.1 combination. The carrier is good as well as the bike. But as I said, they just don't work well with each other!

The pictures and narrations and the honest feedback about the carrier is appreciated. War very useful. Also the carrier is definitely more sturdy than my bnb. Also the problem of the frame not fitting the carrier might also be the same for my fuji bike.

Mumbai based cycling enthusiasts, do register if anyone is interested in a cyclathon.

Date : 2nd Feb
Time : 6 a.m.
Details : Link
Registration : Link
Charges : Free :)


P.s. I have registered. Would be fun to meet fellow bhpian cycling enthusiasts!

Great! All the best :thumbs up

And any Tbhpians in Bangalore are going for Vodafone cycling marathon? I have registered with my office group for 40Km passion ride :D Would love to tag along any Tbhpians going there!

Wish I could do this - would have done it if the start was at the Bandra end, but this would be too much for me. If enthused, may join for the first half, and then head back home from Bandra.



Sent from my iPad using Team-BHP

Actually I figured out - its me silly who did not think about different way of fitting the bike. Over last weekend I have loaded it right using one end of frame and another outside frame just before front forks. Drove for 20 Kms and did not face any issues. Pictures posted on my ownership thread.