Team-BHP - The Bicycles thread

Wow, I did not know that TBHP had a cycling thread as well. Have been biking (read cycling) to work for 3+ years now. The distance is not much - about 12 kms both ways - but it sure beats crawling in a car anyday!

Ride on...

Hi everybody,

Am looking for a bike for myself. I will be starting riding after a good 8-10 years and the purpose is mostly to exercise a bit. The roads near my place are not perfect and the other issue is the lack of any proper dealers for cycles in my city so would want a reliable machine. My budget is around 20k. I'm 5'10 and weigh 90kgs. What cycle would you one suggest as per my needs.
I'v looked at firefox and suncross and also looked at the Indian brands like Hero Octane, Atlas ultimate, the BSA roadeo A500 etc but i'm highly confused now. Your suggestions will be highly appreciated.
My requirements are smart looks, riding comfort, durability and disc brakes.

Gentlemen, what would you suggest for someone who has a budget of not more than 5-8k, but needs a geared bike.
My office is hardly 3 kms one way and I intend to cycle thrice a week to office (need to use the RE bullet at least 2 days in a week, else it will need a restoration later!)

I am also open to buying a used cycle but do not know what to look for and which brands.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rugsrags (Post 3865148)

...Am looking for a bike for myself. I will be starting riding after a good 8-10 years and the purpose is mostly to exercise a bit. ................
My requirements are smart looks, riding comfort, durability and disc brakes.

Did a bit of research and everybody is of the opinion that a hybrid is the way to go. So i'v finally finalised a firefox road runner pro-D. Getting it shipped with a 19.5 inch frame.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant (Post 3865287)

Since you will be using the bike only to commute to office, thrice a week, any specific reason for a geared bike? Is the terrain hilly?

If its a flat terrain, for 3 kms you don't need a geared bike and in that case I can suggest a decathlon MyBike which retails at 8K.

Usually bicycles that are well maintained doesn't depreciate much, so not sure if you can find a used well maintained geared bike in your budget.

Edit - Yes 'phamilyman', thanks for correcting, so there you have a geared one in your budget :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lij (Post 3866301)

MyBike is 4499 in Decathlon stores and its the 7-speed mybike which is at 7-8k online AFAIK.

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman (Post 3866304)

MyBike is 4499 in Decathlon stores and its the 7-speed mybike which is at 7-8k online AFAIK.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lij (Post 3866301)

Since you will be using the bike only to commute to office, thrice a week, any specific reason for a geared bike? Is the terrain hilly?

If its a flat terrain, for 3 kms you don't need a geared bike and in that case I can suggest a decathlon MyBike which retails at 8K.

Edit - Yes 'phamilyman', thanks for correcting, so there you have a geared one in your budget :D

Thank you both for your inputs. There is a store at nearby mall dealing in BTwin bikes. Will check it out this week.

Re: why geared, well the terrain isn't exactly a flat road. Has a lot of ups and downs. Plus, it would be wiser to buy a geared one rather than buying the ungeared and missing the gears later.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant (Post 3865287)

I am also open to buying a used cycle but do not know what to look for and which brands.

I recently started cycling. My daily commute is 12 km (4 rides of 3 Km). I was just not comfortable using a two wheeler or four wheeler for a quite few days and then I felt need to buy a bicycle for me. I went straightaway to Decathelon and Bought My Bike 7s for around 10k fully loaded with accessories. And I am so happy with this bike. With each ride it brings smile on my face. With your budget I can strongly recommend you BTwin My Bike 7s as a beginner!:thumbs up

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant (Post 3866408)

The gears you will get for that kind of money will be pretty much useless. It's better to go for an un-geared one nw and upgrade later.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant (Post 3866408)

Quote:

Originally Posted by ntomer (Post 3867813)

The gears you will get for that kind of money will be pretty much useless. It's better to go for an un-geared one nw and upgrade later.

Vinit - I second ntomer, the low end geared bikes are terrible, and you're much better off with a normal single speed bike, they're definitely more efficient, and require less effort in comparision with the cheap geared bikes. Suggest you borrow a bike from a friend and ride over your usual route to help you decide. Even a BSA SLR will be a breeze to ride as compared to one of the cheap geared bikes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ntomer (Post 3867813)

The gears you will get for that kind of money will be pretty much useless.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lalvaz (Post 3867969)

Vinit - I second ntomer, the low end geared bikes are terrible,

Ntomer & Lalvaz, can you pls elaborate on this point - why are the less expensive geared bikes not good ? Is it the build / working / or is it the efficiency gained out of the gears on such bikes ?

Which other bikes to avoid ?

Any idea how's the Decathlon Trail 7 x 3 ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by condor (Post 3868037)

I dont think the 7S is that crappy as Indian geared cycles are wont to be. Decathlon ensures a minimum quality even if that minimum is sometimes too low by my personal standard. Of course, ideal would be to buy a 20-30k MRP bike. Why?

- Better gear groupset is often slightly lighter
- Shifts slightly better and definitely more reliable under load (read climbing)
- Possibly more durable
- Shifts are more silent, and smooth

Quote:

Originally Posted by condor (Post 3868037)

Shifting will be notchy. Drive-train won't be smooth.

Decathlon Trail? You mean Btwin RockRider series?