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Fintail ji :)

I have this massive culture shock when people call a 10,000 buck bicycle a "cheap" cycle.

Were people not cycling before these insanely expensive cycles came around?

My Raleigh roadster in school cost 700 bucks. My first year in the nationals (subjuniors, team time trial) I used that modified with gears and drop bars. Never broke. In practice or competition.

My Hercules cost me 3500 bucks in 2003. Have done some pretty rough stuff with it. And the only damage to her has been a moron motorcyclist who t-boned me and bend my front wheel.

I was wondering if I can get drop bars put on to it and make it into a road bike? The twist shift gears could still be placed on the top flat part of the bars and operated right? Just thinking. I miss my drop bar days. Its a lt more anatomical than these silly MTB straight bars with those two bull horn extensions.

Do let me know if you're ok with meeting up and helping me out with my rejuvenate project. Would appreciate the expert inputs and help for sure. And you might learn something about cycling on a budget from earlier simpler times in the bargain as well. :)

My maternal grandfather used a Raleigh in the 'Fifties. And a Bullet.And a Jawa. And a Willys CJ3B. And a FIAT 1100.

The Raleigh was an import. Made-In-England. It saw many places; Gloucestershire; the UK. Denver; Colorado- In the United States. Bombay; India. Poona. Madras. Jammu. Delhi. Nagpur. Sold in Nagpur, 1984. For a neat profit.

It costed...well....:D

Over to 1985. My father, then 16; is panting. Furiously. This was the first time he'd bought a new cycle for himself.

And promptly; he went off, cycling. Long distance. He attempted to scale the Ajinkyatara Fort; in Satara.

This cycle was an Avon. The cost- Well; Exactly 725 INR; my father tells me.

Three decades on....Another 16 year old is attempting to climb another fort. Sinhagad. In Poona. He pedals furiously. Pants.

Aww; This slope is too much to climb; particularly in the heat of May.

He looks at his gleaming Italian roadbike. The 2014 Bianchi Via Nirone. This one costs as much as a motorbike.

Yeah right. A good 65k. (Incl gear upgrades and all)

Yeah. Cycles are expensive. I agree. :)

Ok I see where you're coming from now.

Your father being exactly a year older than me.

Wow!

Cant help it as cycle imports are expensive. You need quality, you need to pay. The Indian manufacturers are not doing much than wailing to the govt to restrict imports and slap heavy duties. They themselves have import arms to manage those segments and sell at exorbitant prices.

We are not seeing anything from Indian companies. Do not see an effort to manufacture components locally. I know Starkenn with Giant planned something. No idea what happened.

So guys how about helping with ideas for my Hercules please?

Please give me brand/model options and indicative costs. Will start visiting my old cyle shops and check out from today evening.

Seat?

Tyres?

Rims? Alloys? Or stay stock?

Cables?

Pedals? Resin or Alloys (look cool - grip?)

Drop bars possible on an MTB?

If so, which stem+bars?

I did hear a whisper that....

Giant-Starkenn will soon start bicycle manufacturing in India. The first factory will be established in Pune. In 2016/17 :D

Giant-Starkenn are very influential in Pune cycling circles.

Which are these 'old' cycle shops you refer to? :D

Gulab, Singh, the one on the corner of Phadke Haud. Those ones. Lucky (the guy I bought my Hercules from) found greener pastures in road construction contracting. Our sons were in school together. Probably a couple of years junior to you?

Spoke to all the Suncross dealers, so may add those to the list (the ones close by to Camp).

First I need to get the cycle washed and air filled in tyres (invariable punctures repaired). Then use it to go around.

First things first;

Get the Hercules running. Use it. And then decide if :

You want to quit cycling.

You want to overhaul it.

You want a better one. In this case; try and lend a roadie from Surinder. Give him reference of the 'kid with the Bianchi roadbike'

P.S : Which school was your son in? I've always been a Loyolite. :D

I still remember our old schoolbus; a 1979 Tata 1210; bearing registration MWQ 8903. Still remember the distinctive "Jalwa" trumpet horns; and the faded red colour the bus always seemed to be in- reminding one of the days gone by.

And that five cylinder Mercedes diesel was a lovely engine!

Still remember the bit painted on the side of the bus- It read-

Loyola High School. Pashan; Poona-8. Ah- good old days! Miss 'em.

Good advice.

P.S. Its Loyolean. I was one too. Jamshedpur.

Son was in Bishop's.

About the drop bars and gear placement? Any decent place who can tune my gears?

:OT
Well well well. The internet is indeed a small place. Vincentian here!

Even Surinder's (The cycle guy) son studied there I believe. Bishops. Is now abroad.

Yeah- There's a couple of guys from Bishops in FIITJEE Pune. Love helping 'em out with Calculus!

P.S: It is "Loyolite". That's how we say it. The Loyola College students (Jamshedpur) might have a different terminology.

That said; back to the topic; the drop bars can be fitted. There used to be this old cycle guy in Pashan road- who had bolted on 'em drop handlebars- onto what looked like an Atlas Goldline frame. This was in 2006/07 though.

Refer to this post : (I was shocked to know that even @Ninjatalli went there!) http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...ml#post3682962

And umm....There was this guy near Goodluck Cafe; on FC Road. Near the turn into Bhandarkar road. The shop is very old.

The work- Top class.

Tell you what; this Sunday; relieve the old days; and have a stroll in Phadke Haud.

I bet there'll be lots of older; and talented mechanics there.

Drop bar won't be an issue at all. The gearing bit is tricky. Speak with an experienced Mech about that. Or just go to Surinder. Karve Road.

I repeat- Take a stroll in Phadke Haud. Relieve the old days. And get the cycle running. New tubes - rims whatever. Upgrade the rims. And even the saddles; if you will.

And then- think about doing a significant modification such as a drop bar. What I'll tell; repair your cycle. Get it running. Get the hang of it. Adjust yourself to cycling again. A month or so later; test ride a roadie. Lend one; if need be. If you really like it- Buy it! :)

Get a feel of cycling on your older bike. If you like it- Take a call; whether to modify the older cycle or upgrade.


Well...well....:D

We'll have a football match one day. Remember those old days when the football frenzy between the convent's used to be almost feverish. The atmosphere used to be highly charged.

When the Vincentians used to come over to Loyola's; to compete with us; we used to ensure that they would be demoralized. The matches could even be nasty- Brawls did take place.

And 'em taunts.....after your school lost a game....Oh goodness!

We were taunted; and we used to taunt others as well. There used to be this guy from Vincent's and Bishops (as well); whom we used to taunt a lot; if they lost a match.

But all that's too OT. Anyway....

Thanks for the details Fintail.

Btw, it was Loyola High School in Jamshedpur. And Loyola College Madras in Chennai.

My nephew is currently a Puneri "Loyolite" :)

Very nice reading:

http://bicycles.stackexchange.com/qu...to-a-road-bike

The basics:

1) Get the thinnest smoothest highest PSI tyres that will go on to your 26" MTB rims

OR

Change to 700C rims (Hero Hawk, BSA Mach?) if your MTB frame can take them - then put on road slicks (but more punctures)

OR

If your frame cannot accommodate the 700C rims (many do not), then go for alternate 26" thin rims (BSA SLR types?)

2) Gearing - change the biggest chain-ring to a bigger one for road speed (I think I'll pass on this one if too complicated - 18 speed is plenty for non-competitive riding - an gearing is not something you just play with - plus it would need a bigger chain as well)

3) If flat handle - use aero extenders ( I have those) for a makeshift bull horn. Some suggest lacing them inside the grips. Even cutting the bar ends and shortening the handle.

OR

Go for drop bars (this is a big mod - brake levers will need to be replaced. I wonder if my twist shift gears can slide on to these to the top flat part)

OR

Cut off a drop bar and invert it to make a home made bull horn (this might also need different brake levers at the ends instead of in the middle on the flat part)

4) Problems I do not need tackling
Rigid forks - check
Disc brakes to rim brakes - check
Mudguards - check

Yeah- The latter option is more precise. :)

700C rims do not come with 'em BSA Mach bikes. My Bianchi runs on 700C rims; and I suppose; the Firefox Mistral (@ 33k INR) also comes shod with 700C rims.

Indeed; in such a situation; when the 700C rim won't fit in a frame, one has to opt for 26 inch; thinner rims.

The BSA SLR Types. (An example of 26" thin rims; on a BSA Photon : https://www.bsahercules.com/bsa/bicy...a-photon-ex-26)

EDIT:

The 'twist' gears are unlikely to fit perfectly; and properly onto the top flat part of the drop bars.

And even if they do; Shifting gears will be a very dangerous affair indeed. Shifts will be a lot slower; and in a drop bar cycle; you want to bend, and ride in a 'sporty' position; right?

Okay. Do so. But; when you have to shift; you will have to come out of that sporty position ; become more erect; shift; and then; move back to the lower position.

Risky. Imagine; while; you shift from the sporty position; to the more 'erect' position; for the sake of changing gears; you hit a bump on the road?

You will have no control over the brakes. And.....Whammmm! You've fallen. Ouch.

Nope. Clearly the twist shift will not fit onto a drop bar. And even if it does; changing gears will be a huge risk to safety.

That's why- roadbikes have an innovative shifting arrangement. As the brake levers are perpendicular; mounted on the drop bar; pointing towards the ground downwards-

One pulls the brake levers behind to brake. As usual. And umm....move them to and fro in opposite directions to shift between gears.

This is much safer. So- I would say; there is no way a twist shifter is going to work on drop handlebars.

Depends. Similar to the angle when someone spends a bomb on a Enfield or a Hayabusa when you have pretty decent and extremely reliable TVS and Hero motorbikes for some ~40k.

Anyway, its' an investment and the increase of prices as you move up the chain that actually makes sense when you get active in this sport. A very rudimentary comparison is buying a top brand cricket bat vs using the wooden bat shaped stick that maids "used" during washing clothes :D


Trivia Q - is that your age?


My recommendation would be to throw away that and buy yourself a Btwin MyBike (~4.5k) or a Btwin Rockrider 5.0 (~8.5k) - both are good starting bikes that are extremely VFM. Head over to Gulab Sales (I'm assuming that is the one on MG road you are talking about) and ask him for slick tires (~2k) and voila - you have the perfect bike to evaluate if you really want to attempt this sport. Ignore all and every other accessory for now to save money.

And remember - these bikes sell easily in the resale market - if kept well, the max you'll lose is around ~1-1.5k. That probably would be lesser than what you plan to do to "overhaul" your current Hercules.

Edit: Let me give a more context - I was in a similar situation end of 2012. Saw a colleague plonk 22k on a Cannondale hybrid - was like is he nuts??!! And ignoring his advice, bought his other brand new (about a month old) Hercules MTB which was replaced by the hybrid. Tried riding, and then the bike gathered dust for a year. Again in Dec 2013, with extremely unfit health levels, picked up the bike again, overhauled it, ignored (above) advice from many bhpians and started riding - short rides. The bike used to literally make me work for <5kms. Finally got the urge to plonk ~10k on a Rockrider, and experienced the difference on why it's worth putting the money on these bikes.

What @Fintail has suggested is a workable scenario (and cheaper). But not the ideal situation if you really want to pick up this hobby.