[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Between Bergamont Helix 1.5 and Marin Fairfax 1, what would be better for City roads?

The Marin option, any day!

Also the same site has this review (link) which talks very good about this bike. No idea how worthy is that review, but they do say this is a better option than the Jamis Coda Sport (generally considered a good all-rounder hybrid), then this should be pretty decent.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

I initially thought it was a case of trademark violation. But BMW does have a bike line up!!! The pedalling ones. Not the vroom vroom fossil guzzlers.


Ninjatalli. I ended up getting a Szel Kogin E. It is a local brand. They have the Grafit, and kogin, which are 3 x 7 gears. Tge Kogin E is 3 x 8. Grafit is steel frame Kogin is 6061. I purchased a luggage scale from amazon go weigh this up, but it arrived damaged. Have to replace it.

The cycle is for my son. The helix, is having a "handle position lower the seat" says he. We saw one in size L at the dealer's.

[amol4184]

Originally Posted by amvj

How about Triban RC100? It is available for online order I think. It is really light, but gears are not great. You will look pro with those drop bars.

I wish I bought a drop bar road bike instead of a hybrid.


Attachment 2120350

Triban RC100 with flat bar has been my choice #1 for months but its not available. The drop bar version is available, so I can probably fit a flat bar on it since everything else is same. Is there a exchange/buy/sell forum for bicycle parts?

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by amol4184

Triban RC100 with flat bar has been my choice #1 for months but its not available. The drop bar version is available, so I can probably fit a flat bar on it since everything else is same. Is there a exchange/buy/sell forum for bicycle parts?

Well its not as simple as it seems. You will also have to change the shifters and brake levers which is a costly affair.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

Well its not as simple as it seems. You will also have to change the shifters and brake levers which is a costly affair.

A 7 speed Shimano hybrid shifter costs under a thousand bucks. 800 odd. A flat bar maybe 700-800. Grips 500. Brake levers another 500. So about 2500. A little more in reverse. The challenge is in getting the parts currently. Easiest would be to find a flatbar RC 100 guy who wants to convert his bike to a roadie (very common). And do a swap.

Cheers, Doc

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

Well its not as simple as it seems. You will also have to change the shifters and brake levers which is a costly affair.

A 7 speed Shimano hybrid shifter costs under a thousand bucks. 800 odd. A flat bar maybe 700-800. Grips 500. Brake levers another 500. So about 2500. A little more in reverse. The challenge is in getting the parts currently. Easiest would be to find a flatbar RC 100 guy who wants to convert his bike to a roadie (very common). And do a swap. You'd need to swap the stems too. As far as I know, they are of different diameters.

Cheers, Doc

[amol4184]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Easiest would be to find a flatbar RC 100 guy who wants to convert his bike to a roadie (very common). And do a swap. You'd need to swap the stems too. As far as I know, they are of different diameters.

Cheers, Doc

I imagined the same and was wondering if there is any B/S/E forum outside of Facebook. Considering the bike seems quite popular swaps might be easy.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by amol4184

I imagined the same and was wondering if there is any B/S/E forum outside of Facebook. Considering the bike seems quite popular swaps might be easy.

I'm not on Facebook but all cities have bike clubs with WhatsApp groups. That's one source of riders locally, so pretty easy to meet up and work out the modalities.

On an all India level there is Cyclop. There are others too. No idea of the membership or activity levels.

The obvious question I have is, what's stopping you from riding the road bike?

Cheers, Doc

[amol4184]

Originally Posted by ebonho

The obvious question I have is, what's stopping you from riding the road bike?

The committed sitting position of road bike with curved handle didn't go well with me in a short test drive I took on a friend's bike (Triban RC 100 only) On the other hand a Hero Traveller even with heavy weight frame felt comfortable with its laid back flat handle situation. Any tips for being comfortable on road bike?

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by amol4184

The committed sitting position of road bike with curved handle didn't go well with me in a short test drive I took on a friend's bike (Triban RC 100 only) On the other hand a Hero Traveller even with heavy weight frame felt comfortable with its laid back flat handle situation. Any tips for being comfortable on road bike?

It all depends on if the road bike was set up for you and was your size in the first place. The easiest way to get comfortable on a road bike is set it up properly, then ride more (at least a thousand kilometers) and work on your core (which happens automatically in those thousand kilometers). A road bike handlebar is a lot more anatomic than a flat bar. And offers many more different grips which allows you to shift positions and relax muscles one after another on a longer ride. A flat bar in comparison only basically locks you into one of two grips. Even those are essentially the same. Maybe 3 if you add barends. Once you get used to a road bike it's very odd and difficult hopping back on to your flat bar hybrid. As it is I have my hybrid set up aggressive. Stretched and low. Also thanks to the fact that the frame is small for me. So when I'm on the top of the handlebar of my road bike it's not very different from my hybrid. Slightly lower and more stretched out, but nothing radical.

Cheers, Doc

[superguy282]

Hey everyone,

Today I had snapped a shifter cable and whist replacing it, the mechanic pointed out that I have a tear in the rear sidewall of the tyre, and hence it needs to be replaced. Which is why I thought I'd use this opportunity to make it better to ride around the city, a.k.a downsize it's width. The rim is a 29er and AFAIK, a 700c tyre should fit as long as it isn't too narrow. I wanted to know how narrow I could go without changing the tube. The current tyres are these. Also, how feasible of a DIY would it be to change the tyres? Any good options/places to get tyres online?(That aren't out of stock)

[cogWheel]

Originally Posted by ebonho

It all depends on if the road bike was set up for you and was your size in the first place. The easiest way to get comfortable on a road bike is set it up properly, then ride more (at least a thousand kilometers) and work on your core (which happens automatically in those thousand kilometers). ...
Cheers, Doc

I too have been on the fence between the RC Triban 100 flatbar and roadie. The thing is, it's not possible for me to get a test drive of the roadie. So I am unsure about the size to choose. I am 5' 10" in height. I am wondering if I should go for Size M or Size L.
Another thing I am confused about is the tyres on the flatbar versus the roadie. The specs on the decathlon website say that the flatbar has 25mm wide tyres while the roadie's tyres are 32mm wide. Shouldn't the hybrid flatbar have the wider tyres?
PS: Haven't ridden a roadie before. Returning to riding after several years.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by cogWheel

I too have been on the fence between the RC Triban 100 flatbar and roadie. The thing is, it's not possible for me to get a test drive of the roadie. So I am unsure about the size to choose. I am 5' 10" in height. I am wondering if I should go for Size M or Size L.
Another thing I am confused about is the tyres on the flatbar versus the roadie. The specs on the decathlon website say that the flatbar has 25mm wide tyres while the roadie's tyres are 32mm wide. Shouldn't the hybrid flatbar have the wider tyres?
PS: Haven't ridden a roadie before. Returning to riding after several years.

You need an M.



The dropbar is designed as a simple do it all gravel bike. The older iteration was shod with gravel tyres. Now they are road slicks.

The flatbar is designed as a flatbar road bike. Which is different to what most junta understands generically as just a wide envope term hybrid.

Either way, tyres are a consumable. Once you are done with the first set you can happily put on 25s or even 28s. Or see if the frame and calipers will accomodate a 35 as well.

Cheers, Doc

[Sebring]

Triban geometry is on the tighter side (the frame is smaller than usual). Though I'm a M as per them, when I tried out (at Decathlon), S was very comfortable. Helmets, and bikes - are always better to be tried once

Originally Posted by ebonho

You need an M

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Sebring

Triban geometry is on the tighter side (the frame is smaller than usual). Though I'm a M as per them, when I tried out (at Decathlon), S was very comfortable. Helmets, and bikes - are always better to be tried once

There's a very big difference between what "feels" comfortable on the showroom shop floor where you go round and round a few aisles in a loop to get a feel, versus riding the bike on tge road for hundreds of kilometers.

It's generally a good idea to go with manufacturer recommended size charts unless you are at or very close to the line between two sizes, in which case it's better in my opinion to go with the smaller size. There less bike, less weight, better maneuverability and control, you are more aero, and all of this results in a more racy ride. If you want more long distance biased riding and comfort over speed, go with the bigger size.

It's always easier to make a slightly smaller bike fit you better with tweaking or change of parts (stem, seatpost) than it is to make a frame that is a bit larger fit you well.

A close friend had a diametrically opposite experience to yours. Per his height he needed an XS. But since Decathlons in India do not order or stock XS, and S is the smallest available size, he bought the S. And it fitted him.like a glove.

He then moved to the Triban 120. Again he got the S. Again it fits him.like a glove.

Manufacturer to manufacturer frame sizes fit different. Also a road bike with a nearly horizontal top tube (classical old school geometry) like the CAAD will feel bigger lower and more stretched out than the same frame size in a road bike with a more slanting top tube like the TCR (or Triban).

So even though I'm a size 56 (180 cm, 33.5 inch inseam), in most bikes, and even per the Cannondale size chart (on the cusp between a 56 and 54), I'm more comfortable on my 54 than the 56 of a friend I once borrowed for a short ride.

But I agree with you about first trying out the bike as far as possible. Once you have narrowed down which size you need to be looking at.

Cheers, Doc