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hi. thanks for the interest. yes i am a recreational cyclist.
have been riding for the past 1 year. usually early morning rides ranging from 30-40 km on weekdays (2 or 3 times) and if possible a longish ride on the week ends(prob 70 - 100 km).
200 is easily managable with appropriate company. get a few riding partners and ur all set to go.
yes, 200 should be completed within 13.5 hrs.

cheers

Hey guys, I've been riding this bike for a while.
Now that winter in the North East US is going away & the weather's warming up I'm getting her out of storage.

Just something that crossed my mind. Anyone performed a disc brake conversion on their bikes?

There's a bunch of packages out there - just wondering if anyone has reviews on any available conversion kits.

Just needs new hubs. And the frame should have caliper mounts pre-existing on it. You don't want to weld on a caliper mount on an alloy bicycle frame.

Then he can pick it directly from the decathlon store, that will also save the pain of DIY, also may get some discount..

Oh yes! The mounts - I have to check for those.
I think they're present but need to confirm - haven't ridden in a while due to winter & a bad back (doc advised against riding).

Was just looking for something quick that I could probably DIY, or have the local bike store install for me. As it's an inexpensive hybrid, doesn't make sense going overboard.

Thanks!

A few points:

This is just general stuff:

1) Read in some of the earlier pages about the Btwin MyBike - which is sold by sites selling imported bikes and the absence of shops selling imported bikes in some cities but the Btwin My Bike is made in India by Hero. It may be a good bike for the price point but just wanted to point out that it is made out here itself nothing more or less.

2) Biking helps loose weight - I think better than walking mainly since one has to do it for a shorter period for the same benefit. Am down by about 18Kgs in 18 weeks. 10 more to go.

3) Have a Rockrider 5.3. It is a good sturdy bike.

4) Biking though presumably better than walking for the knees it too can give knee pain if one bikes in higher gear combinations like 3F+5/6/7R rather than peddling more in lower ones like 2F+5R or 3F+4R in 27 speed bikes i.e. Though tempting to pedal harder rather than faster this does take its toll on the knees. Also peddling with a greater cadence (faster) seems to be better for upper body weight loss.

5) Biking on the city roads in most metros for distance of 10 kms plus one way to office is too messy (clothes) and unsafe (other traffic).

6) Changing tyres on a MTB almost makes it more or less into a Hybrid. Say from knobby 26"X2.0 to Smoother 26"X1.5/1.75 or even 2.0. Making for a faster ride.

7) Decathlon Shops seem to have received a lot of fresh stock of Bikes this month.

These are just some point that I wished to make upfront. There is more for later.

A question for the experts and experienced at this:
1) For MTB's what are the pros and cons of 26" vs 28"/29" tyres. Do the bigger tyre sizes make for a better bike overall in terms of the experience. So would an upgrade from say a 28" cycle of a specific component level to a 28/29" model of the same component level (maybe even the same brand) be worth it?

2) Scott/ BTwin vs Trek: Trek is roughly 35-40% higher priced for the same component levels (Gears specifications etc.) The components are anyways third party and quite similar in all bikes. So does the Frame justify the price differential in real use terms? or is just about Brand image/value? Eg: 27-32K Btwin/Scott vs 40-45K Trek models (no specific models being through about? Just aiming to understand this better. Am NOT planning to make a change in the near future.

18 Kgs in 18 weeks! Don't you think it is quite fast? Generally it is recommended that you lose 1 kg per fortnight. Do you weigh on a higher side?
AFAIK, the earlier MTBs were 29ers. But as the name suggests, for the Mountain Terrain Bikes, primary use is on the trails / rocky patches. The strength of the spokes is lesser in 29er compared to 26 because of increase in distance of wheel rim from the hub. Riding on rough patches require stronger wheel sets. So I think because of this reason the whole industry adopted 26 inch as the standard for MTBs. For road and hybrids, since they are primarily used on good tarmac, 29 is still the standard.

Regarding your second question, I think it has all got to do with the branding. The same spec, Scott, Schwinn, Fuji is 30% cheaper compared to Trek and people have favorable feedback about all these brands. Those who prefer value for money go for Schwinn/Fuji.

Yep am on the heavier side.

Today 29" MTB seems to be making a come back, still will await a response from someone who has lived with both.

So I have been using the new tires for over a week, and today did a 60km run early morning. Summary of the feedback - the tires feel great & definitely worth the change. So far my plans of shifting to a hybrid has been postponed clap:

On the downside I had one puncture already, but I think that's just bad luck; the thorn would probably have gone through my MTB tires too.


Brand: Maxxis Detonator 26X1.5 (Link)
Price: ~1000 per tire
Store: Gulab Sales, MG Road
Feedback: Good grip, seems quite durable for our Indian roads. Haven't really explored much on offroads, but this isn't the tire for that. The tire has a max of 80 psi - I maintain around 60-70 psi. Average increase in speed is around 4-5 kmph (on MTB tires, I used to get around 17+, I consistently get 21+ on this tire). Have done both short and long rides (>50 kms), haven't had any issues yet.


OT Question : Has anyone tried using an adjustable stem for the RR 5.0? Not that I can't manage with the current setup, but an increased stem? Getting mixed reviews from BZ and other sites; haven't found anyone who has made the change.


Wow! Good show! :)
On a comparative note, I have lost only about 5-10 kgs over the last 5+ months. But I guess a lot of other factors also go into this (eating habits, metabolism rate, etc).

Congratulations on the first 50k+ buddy. That is awesome. Mark my words, you are on track for a road bike clap:

I was in the same situation about a year and a half back. Was getting bored with the 18km average speed and the 20km average distance rides, and changed over to slicks. The average speed increased to near 23km and my regular rides became 30km - 40km with occasional 60km+ rides. Now, I want to step up my regular rides to 40km - 50km with occasional 100km rides and bump up the average speed to 27kmph. I am already on the lookout for a roadbike :)

Another year, and you will be in the same position as I am now! Happy riding!

Thanks. That seem to be my current line of thought. I plan to shift to a road bike by end of this year, if I am able to continue my cycling habits - (non-) consistency is my major pain point if I look historically :D Do share your homework on the roadbike(s) once finalised.


P.s. Are you on Strava/Endomondo? Would love to follow/keep track of bhpian fellow riders - this request is to others too. :)

Sure. I will share my comparison on roadbikes once I have it ready. And yes, I use Strava. I have shared my user name through PM. Looking forward to seeing you regularly in Strava.

Pune friends - can you please guide the decathlon store where i can get the btwin rockrider 5.0. I have visited the Lifecycle store opposite Pandit Auto on Tilak road, however they now do not stock Btwin brand

alfafan: I was in the same situation, did not find a shop stocking RR bikes. I bought RR5.1 from snapdeal at a yummy price of 11,200!! The bike was delivered in a huge box with no problems and has been going great for the last few months.

Decathlon SUPER store is on nagar road near wagholi, do visit the place, it is a game changer in many aspects including price, I bought btwin my bike for 3999 - 200 = 3799/-

The footfall is high, so there is a possibility that you may not get the particular model that you are looking for, but ask them to get it for you, and they will do that