[FriendlyOwl]

One of the few positive outcomes of the Covid-19 pandemic is the increase in the popularity of cycling. As a result of the work from home phenomenon, I have also been infected with the cycling bug and got my 15-year-old cycle repaired and started riding it again.

Sadly the cycling bug was quickly followed by the dreaded upgrade bug. So in my free time, I start to look for a cycle which will be an acceptable upgrade over my current one.

This activity which seemed like a benign exercise in the beginning quickly turned into one of those dreaded mathematical equations which made/make you re-evaluate your life decisions. What makes this process so painful is the never-ending options one has to choose from, threadbare differentiation between models (even Porsche 911 generations are easier to tell apart) and the premium which some cycles command purely based on their brand name.

At the end of this ordeal I realised the two cardinal truths about the bicycle industry:

1. Nearly all bicycle manufacturers only specialise in frame design. Frames mainly determine the weight of the bicycle and its longevity. Nearly all manufacturers are evenly matched w.r.t performance offered by their frames, but the price they command for the similar frames is dependent on their brand value. Moreover, whatever innovation they have done is mainly limited to top-end bicycles (euphemism for bicycles generally costing > Rs 1,50,000)
2. Components used in these cycles have an equally important say in the performance of the bicycle. Unlike bicycle OEM’s there are very few components manufactures who specialise in their respective trade

So the hack for choosing the right bicycle for most people (i.e. who don’t participate in competitive cycling or whose life doesn’t depend on how fast they can ride their cycles) is to shortlist the components which best suit your need and then find the cheapest bicycle having those components.

The point to note is these components are more important in India than in developed countries, because of their limited availability in the after-sales market and lack of experienced technicians. Therefore, many in India are likely going to find upgrading their cycles to be a very difficult task or rely on their friends/family returning from America or their foreign trips to source the same.
So let’s finally get down to business and have a look at the so-called list of critical components. I haven’t included tyres and chains because they seem to be readily available and can be upgraded easily.

1. Hubs
2. Rims
3. Crank-set
4. Brakes, an important point to note is whether the frame can accept disc brake calliper for later upgrades, in case you are buying a cycle with rim brakes
5. Shifters
6. Derailleurs
7. Fork, both Suspension and non-suspension variant
8. Bottom Bracket
9. Rear Sprocket

So if you want to make a purchase wherein you want to get best the possible bicycle for the least amount of money either find an expert who can help you out or if you are brave enough to do this exercise yourself be prepared to suffer.

For all those brave souls who belong to the latter group, I have created a cheat sheet, detailing which components one should expect in different bicycle price ranges which should help in alleviating some of this pain, slightly.

I have prepared a list of main components and their hierarchy in terms of performance. The list only includes drivetrain/gears group set – Shimano and SRAM, brakes and suspension – Suntour.

In case you aren’t keen on getting overloaded with info, you can directly jump to the two separate tables near the end, which details what all components one can find in bicycles belonging to different price brackets. The first list is for MTB’s/Hybrid Cycles and the second is for Road cycles.

Kindly note all these classifications are based on my understanding, there can be some error on my side in interpreting the performance level of different components have to offer.

1. Hierarchy of drivetrain/gear group-set within the Shimano family, starting from best to worst:

For mountain bikes -



For road bikes -



2. Hierarchy drivetrain/gear group-set within the Sram family, starting from best to worst:

For mountain bikes -



For road bikes -



Link to read about them more if you have still more the enthusiasm and ability to endure even more pain:

Mountain Bike: https://www.choosemybicycle.com/en/w...nent-hierarchy

Both Shimano and SRAM:
https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buy...0of%20X01%20DH.

Overall Gyan: https://www.rutlandcycling.com/conte...groupsets.aspx

Shimano and SRAM road Groupset comparison:

https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buy...-need-to-know/

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/group-...s-guide-142789

3. Shimano and Tektro are really good in terms of disc brakes, always note the order of stopping power is Hydraulic Disc Brakes > Mechanical Disc Brakes > Rim Brakes

4. Some of these suspensions have a feature generally called Hydraulic Lockout, which simply converts the suspension into a rigid fork by locks the suspension and prevents their compression. This feature will help you increase your riding efficiency in cities with smooth roads, where otherwise the front suspension will consume some of the energy by diving.

Hierarchy of Suntour Front Suspension Forks from best to worst is given below:



This is a very simplified table, read this article to understand in-depth and suffer more:
https://medium.com/@matthewbrealey/s...e-1f35dce6079c

https://blog.bumsonthesaddle.com/201...sion-lockouts/

Summary of components found in MTB’s/Hybrid Cycles is detailed below:



Summary of components found in Road Cycles is detailed below:



So in the end let me summarise what this article is not meant to be:

1. A guide to which bicycle to buy in which price range
2. Which brand of bicycle is superior
3. Make you an expert in bicycles

Whereas, I want this article to serve the following purposes:

1. A general overview of what determines the performance of a bicycle
2. What bicycle component you will generally get in the different price range below ₹ 40,000
3. An overall better understanding of the bicycle market so you can try to make an informed purchase

In case I ended up confusing you more, then I assure you are on the right track, put in a bit more effort and you shall achieve enlightenment.

Cheers everyone and hope everyone is and remains safe.

PS: choosemybicycle.com is an amazing website to check-out various bicycles by different manufacturers and they have a very intuitive product description and comparison tools. I wish I was being paid to endorse them but sadly this is a free word of mouth publicity for them.

Any feedback on the article will be appreciated.

[petrolHead_1609]

Kudos to you!

This is a good 50+ hours of read shortened just to 15 mins and brings in a nice level of understanding to the reader.
I especially loved the organized charts which puts in a nice perspective of what to expect in given price range.

[saket77]

Nice information in crisp presentation. Though I haven’t ridden much myself in the past gone years but during the lockdown, I was willing to re-indulge in bicycling. Going by my experience, I would say that it’s better to opt for a non-geared cycle (if I can call it) with a good fixed ratio. Bicycle gears are problem prone and after the initial honeymoon period, one would be wasting too much time and money adjusting and repairing the gear shifts. Also, I find geared cycles taking up more energy than some normal cycles in normal cycling conditions.

And as pointed correctly, front shock absorbers do waste some of your peddling effort. I can do without them too but their presence will not be deal breaker. What I would certainly look for in my next cycle (if I get one) will be disc brakes. Looks smart, less maintenance and strong braking. Though prices of cycles have hit the roof these days.

Disclaimer: views of a layman.

[Jeroen]

Wow, that is some first post! Thanks very much, very well put together.

I would like to share two additional thoughts around buying a bicycle over and beyond what you have provided.

These are purely my personal thoughts and I would apply them to many purchases. Its about looks/visual and making sure you get something that will allow you to really enjoy and expand on this hobby.interest

Looks / Visuals:
A bicycle needs to appeal to me, it needs to look good! I put it on its stand and I walk around it. If I don’t like the looks, I am not even going to sit on it and try it. So the colour for instance is really important to me, but I also get great satisfaction on the level of workmanship, e.g. how the welds are finished on so on.

Of course, the visual appeal does not say anything about the quality of the bicycle, its performance or whatever. Still, it is important for me for my overal enjoyment. To put a slightly different twist to this principle; I am a keen photographer and I use Olympus kit, because even the most modern ones still look like a proper camera whereas a modern Canon is sort of bloated rugby ball. I simply won’t enjoy my photography with one of these hideous looking cameras.

Continous Enjoyment
The other things is to be a bit weary of entry models. Of course, price is an important consideration. But entry models tend to come with limitations and certainly limitations on your enjoyment. Those of you who have ridden an entry bicycle versus a bit more upscaled version know how much smoother the latter might ride, switch gears, feel like.

Even as a novice, you would notice the difference and enjoy it. Or conversely, at worse an entry bicycle might put you off from cycling because they don’t shift accurately, they rattle, they are not stable, they rust before you brought it home etc.



My dad's approach was always this: If you want to get into something, take it seriously. So when I told him I would really like to get into model trains, he went out and did not just get a typical model train starter set. He bought a starterset, a bunch of additional track, points, a few more engines, carriages etc. An engine with two carriage going around on a little oval brings limited joy long term. Of course, it comes at a price. But getting only the entry-level model and finding out you don’t like it, is also expensive!

You don’t need to aim for the top models, but at least try out a few mid market models verses entry ones. Yes, they will cost more, but even for the novice, they are likely to make your cycle adventures much more enjoyable.

Keep cycling!

Jeroen

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by saket77

Nice information in crisp presentation. Though I haven’t ridden much myself in the past gone years but during the lockdown, I was willing to re-indulge in bicycling. Going by my experience, I would say that it’s better to opt for a non-geared cycle (if I can call it) with a good fixed ratio. Bicycle gears are problem prone and after the initial honeymoon period, one would be wasting too much time and money adjusting and repairing the gear shifts. Also, I find geared cycles taking up more energy than some normal cycles in normal cycling conditions.

And as pointed correctly, front shock absorbers do waste some of your peddling effort. I can do without them too but their presence will not be deal breaker. What I would certainly look for in my next cycle (if I get one) will be disc brakes. Looks smart, less maintenance and strong braking. Though prices of cycles have hit the roof these days.

Disclaimer: views of a layman.

I would humbly disagree on the presence of gears bit. If you want to just burn calories, yes an ungeared cycle can help you burn more calories than a geared one. But a geared cycle enhances your reach, makes it easy to modulate the amount of effort you want to put and in some cases makes the cycle faster as well. All these things can make cycling more enjoyable and thereby chances of one using it more, increases.

On the maintenance of gears bit:
Even basic entry level Shimano group sets are pretty robust these days. Yes, they would need adjustment at every service and maybe new wires every other service, in my opinion its still worth the cost. Higher end Shimano group sets are even more durable and does not require as frequent adjustments. I am speaking from experience here. Although I have limited experience but these are my initial observations. I had an MTB with Shimano tourney for a month or so and now I have cyclo cross bike with Shimano 105. I have ridden around 700KMs in 2 months on the 105 and no adjustment needed so far.

All great pointers so far:

Some pointers that I learned very recently as I bought a new cycle:

Size of Cycle: Please pay a lot of attention to the size of the cycle. If possible try before buying. Correct size can mean you will be less uncomfortable on the cycle and less chances of pain or injury too.

Type of Cycle: For most of us MTB is the only cycle we know because we have all been familiar with that shape of cycles since childhood. However, today there are many forms of cycles and getting a suitable cycle for your use case can further make cycling more enjoyable. Simple rule, if you are not going to ride off road (broken roads is not exactly off road), you can look for gravel bikes or road bikes as they are far more efficient on road and can help you clock more miles with lesser effort.

In my opinion, as with all things on wheels, a bit of speed does add to the fun and on road, a hybrid, road bike or a gravel bike will be faster for the same amount of effort put.

One another key area is climbing. If you have some climbs around you, a road cycle or gravel cycle will be much more efficient in climbing and thereby allowing you to go more places.

Expensive cycles are all about putting power down with least amount of wastage in form of friction and air drag. Even small things added up can have perceivable improvements. Plus you feel these improvements more, because you are the engine in case of cycles. And it can all get very expensive very soon. I visited a high end cycle shop and realized you can end up spending more money on a cycle drive train than a super sport motorcycle. Trust me, I calculated.

The questions is, do you need it?
The answer will be personal to everybody. I will only say this, whatever makes you use your investment more. Whatever make you cycle more, get it and explore and enjoy.

For me, getting a good cycle made me realize how efficient these modern cycles can be and it is fun to explore its abilities and limits. And this exploration wants me to cycle more, for now at least.

Happy Shopping!!

CHEERS!!

Rachit

[Sanjunair5]

Excellent post!! You summarized everything that took me years to understand neatly in one simple post!

I think you missed Shimano Tiagra groupset. Tiagra slots in below 105. It is a 10 speed groupset compared to 11 of 105.

Another important aspect of picking a cycle is the frame geometry. This is a very good source on how to decide on the frame geometry that suits you - https://www.cyclingweekly.com/group-...plained-407599. I will try to summarize this in a later post.

[roy_libran]

Originally Posted by saket77

Going by my experience, I would say that it’s better to opt for a non-geared cycle (if I can call it) with a good fixed ratio. Bicycle gears are problem prone and after the initial honeymoon period, one would be wasting too much time and money adjusting and repairing the gear shifts. Also, I find geared cycles taking up more energy than some normal cycles in normal cycling conditions.

I'll have to disagree with your point of view on Gears. On my 3+ year old Triban 500, I am still running the original Sora Groupset and even the chain is still original. It requires a tune twice a year, and regular lubrication and cleaning.
Moreover, what Gears REALLY help a cyclist with, especially someone riding longer distances faster, is to protect the legs while continuing to ride at a brisk pace. Trying to do that on a non-geared cycle means your muscles give way, way faster. Whether or not that is a desirable exercise goal, I leave it to an individual, but it is seldom a desirable training goal.

The reason I have seen many people harboring negative views on Gears is because of their trysts with entry-level or unbranded gear systems on budget bikes. Yes, those gears are clunky, high maintenance, have poor materials and go bad quickly. A lot of Indian manufacturers are to blame for pushing these cheap systems on to unsuspecting customers in the previous years, although nowadays they too seem to have improved their offerings but their frames still tend to be very heavy with iffy geometry (generalised statement).

[superguy282]

A very detailed write-up. Would surely help those in need .

Originally Posted by saket77

Bicycle gears are problem prone and after the initial honeymoon period, one would be wasting too much time and money adjusting and repairing the gear shifts.
And as pointed correctly, front shock absorbers do waste some of your peddling effort. I can do without them too but their presence will not be deal breaker.

Bicycle gears have gone far from what they used to be, even a ~7k cycle with a 6 speed gear system requires very little maintaince. My own bicycle's Shimano Tourney 24 Speed System hasn't had a cable replacement since my 2 years of having bought it. Regular lubing and once a year gear setting and I'm good to go. Gear setting itself has also become very, very simple. In fact I do it at home and haven't visited the shop for it yet. Here's a very simple guide to do it in 5 steps. I was done adjusting in a mere 10 minutes with buttery smooth shifts.

As for the front shocks wasting energy, a front shock with a lockout function would help whenever you don't need the shock. This too is found in many relatively cheaper cycles.

[saket77]

Good that gear systems have become better. My experience is only limited to Shimano 18 and 21 gear systems on my last cycles that I road some 15-18 years ago. If shimano was that problematic (on both bikes) then on that experience, I wouldn’t personally indulge.

Or may be indulge only when you’ve a hefty budget.

Regards.

[pranavtengshe]

What many people dont notice is bike fit. The most important is frame size, followed by saddle height and then by handlebar reach.
As a rodie I have experienced that even 5 cm of adjustment make a big difference in posture, comfort and bike control.
Another misconception is road bike break easily and we need mtb for semi bad roads. You dont need hydraulic suspension on paved roads even semi bad roads.
Bike specs are depending on you budget go for the top most. For most non-pros tiagra fulfills our limits. 105 is awesome. Other than frame compare the components like wheels and saddles. Non-pros are ok with aluminium frame with carbon forks. You dont need disc brakes, rim brakes work fine.
Even you are in sport keep some budget for cycling specific shorts. If commited for long rides go for bibs and cycling specific shoes and clipless setups.
When I bought my road bike 8 yrs back I remember researching for months. 8yrs of ownership have been awesome. Up keep has been minimum and I do most of the upkeep myself.
Shimano systems are robust and even the lowest specs are robust. Higher you go, you get lighter and smoother operations.

[rheman]

That's a pretty exhaustive summing up of things.
As an endurance cyclist, and one owning all three types, Road, MTB and Hybrid, Id say geared bikes are better any day. Especially over inclines, as they're really hard on the knees.
And yes, getting the correct size and the preferably getting it fitted according to your body structure is so important. Improves your riding, speed, posture and prevents back and knee problems.
As I read once,
MTB : SUV
Hybrid : Hatchback
RoadBike : Luxury Sedan

[Ragavsr]

How are the geared cycles from hero and Hercules in the 8-10 k range ? Planning to get them or a basic mon geared cycle for 4-5k.

Want to use a cycle for nearby errands to eateries and supermarkets . Basically all nearby unwanted use of scooters motorcycles especially with petrol selling above 90 rupees and my need to reduce weight.

[ebonho]

Buy the best frame that you can afford.

Wheels are at No. 2 spot, because that's what you roll on and they make the single biggest impact on your ride when you upgrade.

No. 3 spot is the group set. And everything that goes into it. Shifters, crank, gearing, brakes, the works.

That's how you approach a bike purchase.

Everything else is consumable and relatively cheap to replace and personalize to fit your needs once you've worn out what the bike came with.

Cheers, Doc

[nitro_pandit]

Veer well written, indeed. I live in Sydney and wish I had this handy as I stepped in LBS (local bike store) as they call it. Would have saved me heaps of hours. I ended up getting a Trek DualSport 3 - city hybrid bike.

Loves the ‘out of syllabus’ column. So true.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Very informative thread. Here are some links from wikipedia for absolutely newbies.

1. Various parts.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bicycle_parts

2. Cycle types.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bicycle_types

3. Frame.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_frame

4. Groupset
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupset

5. The major component manufacturers.

A. Shimano. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimano

B. SRAM. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SRAM_Corporation

C. Campagnolo. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campagnolo

D. Tektro. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_brake

There are a zillion other component makers too. Do look up various parts mentioned in the wiki pages too.

And some videos on Frame size measurement and fit
- dont miss them.

https://youtu.be/xUJFAEI6rFY

https://youtu.be/B7mPbF0U270

https://youtu.be/PsgKK22Y7i0

Learning

https://youtu.be/GyLlw1CgXf8

(Yup, it works!!!)