The Bicycles thread

[WindRide]

Could someone suggest me good quality single-speed bicycles? Dont like/need gears.
By "good", i mean, the bicycle shoudln't fall apart within 6 months of moderate usage.
Budget around 10k.

[chethan.ram]

Originally Posted by WindRide

Could someone suggest me good quality single-speed bicycles? Dont like/need gears.
By "good", i mean, the bicycle shoudln't fall apart within 6 months of moderate usage.
Budget around 10k.

Any particular reason for choosing single speed. You should consider a geared one. Single speed is too much of strain on the legs.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by alter.e.go

Would you consider cycling to work at around 5.30 pm and back at around 4.00 am - a dangerous activity. The ride is about 11 kms one way. This would be with a helmet.

Let me know your views.

Considering i often ride out at 0430 in gurgaon sohna road, absolutely not.

BUT, if you ride with a laptop bag, all bets are off.

/wrap it in a garbage bag and put on a pannier like a sack and there will be no issues - a friend does so in BOM!

[WindRide]

Originally Posted by chethan.ram

Any particular reason for choosing single speed.

Easier to maintain and more than sufficient for the routes i plan to use this bicycle for. Gentle slopes , nothing too steep.

Also more exercise for legs within lesser distances

[deetee]

Originally Posted by WindRide

Easier to maintain and more than sufficient for the routes i plan to use this bicycle for. Gentle slopes , nothing too steep.

Also more exercise for legs within lesser distances

I am not kidding, but why not buy a RR 5.0 and use it in the highest gear when you want to 'exercise withing lesser distances'. You may soon grow out of your friendly roads and want to ride long and venture into slopes that are steep. Save the remaining gears for those soon to be ridden roads.

[WindRide]

^ Made sense, so went out and bought a schwinn sporterra for 17k. Hope the cycling bug out-lives the equipment.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Some needy soul flicked the seat off my Rockrider 5 a few days ago. While I ranted and raved about it, I guess nothing will come out of it.
So moving on, where and how can I procure the seat from?

Right. So I have managed to find a seat and instal it. Now I am using a cable lock as recommended by @Spitfire below.

Originally Posted by Spitfire

I have routed the cable lock through the seat hooks so no one can flick it. Need to come up with an idea for the removable front and rear wheel.

My question is about choosing the correct gear on inclines. Is this something that is acheived by trial and error?
I have had a couple of surgeries on my right knee (6-7 years ago) so as soon as its a bit strenuous, I switch lower. Is this the correct way or should I be starting lower and then switching higher?
Sorry for asking a very basic question but I dont really know much about cycling gears. If there is any article/ link for noobs, I appreciate you providing the same.

[bblost]

@selfdrive: Get a cadence meter. Ride between 80 - 100 rpm.

Suggesting this because you have had a couple of surgeries and this would help keep the knees in the safe zone.

I am sorry I cannot help you with brands and stuff.

[WindRide]

Iam a noob (so beware) and the dealer's suggestion to me was : stick to 2-4 or 2-5 on plains and change to 2-3 or 2-2 on gentle inclines. Works for me.

[Tushargohil]

I recently bought schwinn searcher 2010 hybrid, so far happy with it.

[bblost]

Originally Posted by Tushargohil

I recently bought schwinn searcher 2010 hybrid, so far happy with it.

Good. And how about some pics and a little detail on the price, your usage etc.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

If there is any article/ link for noobs, I appreciate you providing the same.

This might help, particularly the "Fundamentals of gear selection" section and those after it: Complete Guide to Bicycle Gears and Shifting for Beginner Cyclists

Cheers,
Vikram

[adc]

So I become "active" again! Great inspiring posts on this thread gave a push.


Got the 2012 Trek 4300D last Wednesday and cycling starts again after a 25-year break - now that i am almost 40 now. Absolutely bought for use in the mountains and trails.




This Sunday was the 3rd outing with the cycle, Sunday log: 57 km in 3 hrs, with a 20 mt [10+10 mt] break in total. From house, near Narendrapur, to Rajarhat City Centre II and back. Swimming, regularly done in the summer months, helped the smooth start on the kms.

Interval sprints, higher gears, flyover ramps, and on return a strong headwind mimicked somewhat of a hill riding practice on an otherwise flat terrain.

Asmita [wife] takes a rather stoic picture as the ride ends on an overcast yet splendid Sunday morning.



Training now follows a routine of 25 kms per day [easy and pace alternating] early morning with a Sunday journey of 50km+ and Monday being off. Swimming follows a routine of 20 laps per 45 minutes in a local community pool, 4-5 days a week.

[vivekiny2k]

I bought a bike about a month back, hyper full suspension from walmart . 3X7 gears. I have never used geared bikes before. Quick Q, how do we lubricate these bikes? regular machine oil/grease/anything else?

Curious because I took it to beach and it has some sand here and there that I need to clean and lubricate. I heard a little cheen cheen sound from the front wheel (even before the beach trip).

[tifosikrishna]

Guys - climbed Kodai in my reliable Q5. It was a 2000m climb in hot and rainy condition. Took me close to 4 1/2 hours to complete.

Garmin data - uphill

Untitled by skrishnakumar1 at Garmin Connect - Details

downhill - downhill was easy, but one needs to be very careful in not allowing the bike to gather speed...

Untitled by skrishnakumar1 at Garmin Connect - Details