[Sachin Bhatt]

Am looking to buy one more foldable cycle for myself (my wife learnt cycling on the PPOF and is now used to it). Was considering the Montague Paratrooper series. Two questions:
1- Has anyone here used one? And if yes, your feedback would be really helpful.
2- There is a top of line variant called the HIGHLINE MTB which is priced at 78k vs another called just MTB (cammy green) which costs 60k. Can someone advice if that premium is justified and if it is indeed worth going for the top of line or is the 60k one ok. I’m not a pro at bicycling and hence excuse my ignorance. Thanks in advance.

[amol4184]

Didn't see security for bikes being talked or may be I missed it.
Was in outskirts today on a long-ish ride (for me) and the Chaiwallah in a village asked me to bring the bike (which I had carefully laid on its side) inside his makeshift shade because outside it will get flicked in a blink per him.
At night also, my friends said put it inside the home and not just in the compound.
I see folks have MUCH more expensive bikes, what do you do to secure it when outside, carry a chain lock? Surely you guys take breaks...right?

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by amol4184

Didn't see security for bikes being talked or may be I missed it.
Was in outskirts today on a long-ish ride (for me) and the Chaiwallah in a village asked me to bring the bike (which I had carefully laid on its side) inside his makeshift shade because outside it will get flicked in a blink per him.
At night also, my friends said put it inside the home and not just in the compound.
I see folks have MUCH more expensive bikes, what do you do to secure it when outside, carry a chain lock? Surely you guys take breaks...right?

Depends on the situation and location. Generally on the highways/rural areas, I avoid the larger restaurants option for the roadside stalls / outlets. Even if I opt for the former on longer rides, I make sure I have full visibility to the the cycle at all times. I seriously doubt / believe that cycle will get flicked on the highways, but within the city, yes, that is a risk. Don’t carry any locks.

And if you see a security guard, tip him a few bucks. Might not make a huge difference but he’ll probably keep an eye on your cycle for sure.

As for home, I usually keep it inside my house.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by amol4184

Didn't see security for bikes being talked or may be I missed it.
Was in outskirts today on a long-ish ride (for me) and the Chaiwallah in a village asked me to bring the bike (which I had carefully laid on its side) inside his makeshift shade because outside it will get flicked in a blink per him.
At night also, my friends said put it inside the home and not just in the compound.
I see folks have MUCH more expensive bikes, what do you do to secure it when outside, carry a chain lock? Surely you guys take breaks...right?

The more bike is expensive the more you get worried. Initially even I was apprehensive of parking the bike at secluded places but my numbered wire lock has come in handy. In the picture below you can see the red coiled wire lock just above the blue bottle. It is very light, does not make noise while going on rough roads, length I guess around 3-4 feet, so can be easily winded around a tree trunk or a pole. At home bike is parked in a locked room, so no worries.

[papr23]

I carry a lock always. I do not worry much about shaving every gram off the bike anyway.
I usually lock the bike against a pole or something fixed and try to be seated in the line of sight at restaurants. If not possible, I tip the watchman before going in.
A LOT of people have lost their bikes parked in their compound. So it is best to park it in the house if possible. In the past I used to park it close to the watchman's room- chained to a pillar.
If I am going to stay at a hotel, I tell the reception before hand that the bikes will be parked in the room only. An Airbnb owner once cancelled my reservation due to this but I can't risk loosing my bike!


Parked inside the hotel room

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by amol4184

Didn't see security for bikes being talked or may be I missed it.
Was in outskirts today on a long-ish ride (for me) and the Chaiwallah in a village asked me to bring the bike (which I had carefully laid on its side) inside his makeshift shade because outside it will get flicked in a blink per him.
At night also, my friends said put it inside the home and not just in the compound.
I see folks have MUCH more expensive bikes, what do you do to secure it when outside, carry a chain lock? Surely you guys take breaks...right?

I used to carry that cable lock of Decathlon coiled around my stem. All my brevets.

Till I realised any small key can pop it open. Including pointy scissors or a nail file. So why bother.

The seat post can be taken away along with the saddle. So can the front wheel. Even with the bike locked. Essentially you are still jacked. Stranded.

Always keep it in line of sight or in a closed room with locked door with you. No other way to be absolutely safe.

[papr23]

Originally Posted by ebonho

I used to carry that cable lock of Decathlon coiled around my stem. All my brevets.

Till I realised any small key can pop it open. Including pointy scissors or a nail file. So why bother.

The seat post can be taken away along with the saddle. So can the front wheel. Even with the bike locked. Essentially you are still jacked. Stranded.

Always keep it in line of sight or in a closed room with locked door with you. No other way to be absolutely safe.

Wow, really!? I will try to open my cable lock without a key when I am back home.
The quick release mechanism haven't caught up with the masses yet so we are safe there for saddles and wheels.
I once lost my bike comp when parked in an IT park in Whitefield, Bangalore. The thief didn't know that a simple twist can remove it so he broke it!

There is something called a Kryptonite bike lock which is considered safe out of all locks in the market.

[amol4184]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

but within the city, yes, that is a risk. Don’t carry any locks.

And if you see a security guard, tip him a few bucks. Might not make a huge difference but he’ll probably keep an eye on your cycle for sure.

As for home, I usually keep it inside my house.

I'm mostly doing within city rides.. I think I'll use chain for now. Have already started keeping the bike inside home almost all the time now. There have been cases where small?/light items just vanished in our colony.

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

In the picture below you can see the red coiled wire lock just above the blue bottle. It is very light, does not make noise while going on rough roads, length I guess around 3-4 feet, so can be easily winded around a tree trunk or a pole.

Exactly something I have in my mind. Didn't see many people using it so I was curious. Thanks!

Originally Posted by papr23

I carry a lock always. I do not worry much about shaving every gram off the bike anyway.
I usually lock the bike against a pole or something fixed and try to be seated in the line of sight at restaurants. If not possible, I tip the watchman before going in.

Attachment 2187201
Parked inside the hotel room

Me too. Honestly I'm too much of a beginner to worry about few added grams.

I have read your INCREDIBLE Rajasthan travelogue and have wondered how did you manage to keep that Bianchi safe.
If anything touristy places have taught me to be always on guard for your valuables!

Originally Posted by ebonho

I used to carry that cable lock of Decathlon coiled around my stem. All my brevets.

Till I realised any small key can pop it open. Including pointy scissors or a nail file. So why bother.

The seat post can be taken away along with the saddle. So can the front wheel. Even with the bike locked. Essentially you are still jacked. Stranded.

Always keep it in line of sight or in a closed room with locked door with you. No other way to be absolutely safe.

Damn. I was getting hopeful.

Originally Posted by papr23

There is something called a Kryptonite bike lock which is considered safe out of all locks in the market.

If it's a chain lock made of some compound that can't be cut by angle grinder or regular bolt cutters, I would imagine the thing to be extremely heavy. Back in USA where motorcycle theft was common, I used Kryptonite chain which was a good 5 kg or more. Just one look at it and you would know this is serious business! Expensive but worth it. Their U locks are also popular but don't think they can withstand abuse like that of those chains.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by ebonho

I transfer my bikes in the back of my Storme quite often, usually just laying them diagonally to one side. I put a folded newspaper wherever a hard bit is resting on a seat etc. And I tie the bike down front and rear with 2 inch wide long strips cut out of a old MTB cycle tube, permanently kept in the back tailgate pocket of the Storme for exactly that purpose. The bike will not budge an inch regardless of how aggressively I drive or suddenly I brake (the bobbing head doggie on my dashboard flies into the windscreen like clockwork every time though, head bobbing very disapprovingly ...).

Originally Posted by papr23

Could you please post a pic of this setup?

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Second the request for sharing an image and any additional pointers - we plan to take our cycles in our SCross in the coming months and were thinking of doing this exactly.

Originally Posted by ebonho

In the front the rubber strap goes around (behind) the downtube and the metal hinge of the folded and flipped forward center seat, at the back the strap goes through the wheel around the rim and on the left the grab handle of the Storme, and on the right the frame of the right side folded up jump seat.

Cheers, Doc

Some photos of my ACT and CAAD actually tied down.













Cheers, Doc

[akshaymahajan]

Originally Posted by akshaymahajan

Update: Saturday morning I saw that the Whitefield store had stock of the ROCKRIDER ST 30 in Large size. Went down there but sadly they were not assembled and could not test ride them. They also did not have the RC 100 Drop bar available.

Test rode the following inside the store and TBH it did not help
1. ROCKRIDER ST 30 Medium size : small for me, did not have the stock saddle but the colour is still gorgeous.
2. Rockrider ST-50 Large: Being the first time riding a geared cycle, spent most of my time figuring those out. Seems like that if I seriously look at ST-30, this should also be revisited since its a model higher up.
3. Rockrider ST520, Large: Maybe it wasn't setup for me correctly, but did not enjoy this

Basically, made no progress so far. Will need to go for a longer test ride some other day.



Shows as available on the website - at least in one of the Bangalore stores. https://www.decathlon.in/p/8389398/m...8389398&type=p

Next update - I haven't been able to get longish test rides but got to try out the ST100 in red at the Brigade Road and liked it. Seems like this can be a better upgrade from my riverside 50 and will keep me happier longer than the ST30 would. What do the experts say?

Haven't been able to get hold of the RC 100 Drop bar yet to try it at all.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by papr23

There is something called a Kryptonite bike lock which is considered safe out of all locks in the market.

Trust me, if anyone goes down this route, it's a never ending worry-train. Instead rely on basic aspects that have been shared above - keep a steady line of sight when outside. Take any outside assistance you can get (guard, other riders, etc.).

Hear it from me who has lost a Cannondale (in downtown Chicago) in spite of locking it to a pole and being away from the bike for a very short while. After that experience, along with my next bike purchase, I also invested in the same lock you are hearing about.

Kryptonite Fahgettaboudit bike lock

It's a massive 2 kilo U-lock that is more clunky and huge than what the image or the stats suggest. Please do buy one - I'd love to hear someone else go through that experience

My friend in Chicago had a similar U-lock (but of a cheaper brand) that he used to lock his bike to a stand outside his apartment. Thieves took away his tires, seat and anything they could get off his frame.


P.s. That lock was used probably once or twice at most since I purchased it back in 2015. I gave it away when I came back from the US.

[emmenhr]

Any inputs if the cycles available at Decathlon are good? I was planning to take up cycling to reduce weight. Running seems to be getting harder on the knees.

[roy_libran]

Time to remember -

this video

- from a motorcycling channel.

I keep both my cycles in my living room, and never out of my sight when on the road.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by amol4184

What do you do to secure it when outside, carry a chain lock? Surely you guys take breaks...right?

I have one lock which I use to just secure the bikes that are parked outside our front door (picture below). Its relatively safe here but after someone flicked one of the lights from the bike, thought it is better not to take chances. I take the lock with me on long solo rides – pop it in a drawstring bag, and with around 675 gms weight, its easily manageable. And most of the time, I never get the lock out; at my usual cafes I can park the bike in sight while getting the coffee.

Will need to get one more of this for my girl's bike (when the school reopens in two weeks), but what used to be S$18 is now S$48 on Amazon!



On my previous bike, I used to roll it on the bike as a regular fixture (like how AutoIndian shared but noticed that it was impacting the paint job on the Scott.

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

In the picture below…

Is that the stock handlebar or you upgraded? It looks almost the length of a mountain bike handlebar

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Kryptonite Fahgettaboudit bike lock

I saw this in the store a couple of months back and it felt super heavy in hand

[papr23]

Originally Posted by amol4184

Me too. Honestly I'm too much of a beginner to worry about few added grams.

I have read your INCREDIBLE Rajasthan travelogue and have wondered how did you manage to keep that Bianchi safe.
If anything touristy places have taught me to be always on guard for your valuables!

Thanks, amol4184! I took a chance at Mehrangarh fort and parked it alongside motorbikes. I did not have any problem at most of the places.

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Hear it from me who has lost a Cannondale (in downtown Chicago) in spite of locking it to a pole and being away from the bike for a very short while. After that experience, along with my next bike purchase, I also invested in the same lock you are hearing about.

Kryptonite Fahgettaboudit bike lock

It's a massive 2 kilo U-lock that is more clunky and huge than what the image or the stats suggest. Please do buy one - I'd love to hear someone else go through that experience

My friend in Chicago had a similar U-lock (but of a cheaper brand) that he used to lock his bike to a stand outside his apartment. Thieves took away his tires, seat and anything they could get off his frame.


P.s. That lock was used probably once or twice at most since I purchased it back in 2015. I gave it away when I came back from the US.

Ouch! This discussion must have brought out lot of unhappy memories for you Ninja. I once parked my bike alongside motorbikes in a shopping mall only to find it missing when I returned. My heart just sank like coming down a giant wheel at a fair. I enquired all the security guards and they all replied "I don't know" with an "I don't care" face. I was running around and found it parked along with staffs bicycles in one corner. I left the place without creating a scene as I was happy to find my bike.

A 2kg lock is a lot to lug around even for someone like me who rides slightly faster than walking. It could be useful for someone who do not have a place to park the bike inside the house.