Team-BHP - The Bicycles thread

Quote:

Originally Posted by akshay4587 (Post 3061744)

I actually mounted a bike trip computer on a Royal enfield 500:D
Since the sensor is meant for cycle spokes,i have somehow managed to fix it on the thick motorcycle spokes,so i was just wondering in case it falls off,if i could use a normal magnet.

:Shockked: Why are you using a bike computer on your Enfield 500? What happened to the original speedo? I assume you are using an advanced bike meter. By the way, if you have both working, do they match?

I am using one on my cycle. I think it is designed for road bikes. Are their special ones for each type of bike because I had to use a spacer to comply with the less than 5 mm gap requirement on my MTB. Practically, its even lesser than 5 mm. May be bcoz I am using a cheap one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by M5_fan (Post 3061483)

Anything that has contact with you fails, it could be the seat, the paddles, the front shock or the rims. In delhi most of the merida dealers have closed down because they ere fed up with the complaints. Now most of them are selling bianchis, treks, schwinns and even gt.

disc brakes may be better performers but they are definitely not better overall. Reasons :

1) More frequent maintenance required
2) costly
3) heavy
4) expensive sub parts
5) not required unless you are into downhill racing etc.

These are the reasons that even the most expensive road bikes like the pinarellos and the most expensive treks do NOT have disc brakes.

What rubbish.

All the parts you mentioned are items NOT made by Merida. Merida makes the frame and puts together the rest.

Disc brakes and road bikes? LOL.

That's a different reason altogether, and now road bikes are going to start having discs too.

Edit: It's pedals and not paddles by the way.

To clarify, road bikes historically have never had disc brakes because disc brakes require far stronger, and thus heavier wheels, as also the disc brake system is heavier than calipers. Road bikes also don't 'need' discs. They need to be as light as possible.

Now, road bikes and discs are going to come in for two reasons:

1. Cyclo cross bikes, which are ridden in mud and slush, so discs will help as the rims are usually slippery
2. Carbon wheels which have heating problems on the brake track will also benefit from disc brakes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCORPION (Post 3061756)

Original Speedo is still there,but it is pretty basic without a trip meter.
So i have a bike trip meter,that gives trip meter/avg speed/max speed and all.
And yes i have been able to calibrate it to show exact readings as per the speedo.And yes,i have 2 mm gap between sensor magnet and receiver.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobster (Post 3061718)

The bike looks fantastic Ketan, Safety while biking is of prime importance. Get a proper rear blinker(with LED) and front beam light and also try and get hold of reflective jacket, also make sure to ride on the extreme left of the road.try and get hold of Btwing biking trip meter(wired) it costs around 550/- and makes the ride more interesting as you know how much have u ridden.Finish line wet lube is pretty decent and you can get it off flipkart.

Thank you very much bobster,

I have a good blinker for the rear of the bike, spec'ed for 1 mile visibility (don't know if that's true, but looks pretty bright, need to set it up properly though. I don't have front light, still looking for it. Yes, I ride extreme left, at times have to come out to cross pedestrians and other obstacles and have to be careful during those times + as I said, when two vehicles are crossing on a narrow 2 lane road, you don't want to be there, some fast/big vehicles / cabbies don't care how much space you have left on your left.
I'm planning to pick a good cycle meter that can give me cadence as well, lets see if I get it from US during my next trip else, I will get the one from btwin.
Thanks again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobster (Post 3060070)

wow the bike looks really sporty in that red color and not to mention those smooth shifting Shimano Altus gears:D. However that saddle/seat looks really uncomfortable. i had the same problem with my bike. A thicker seat or a Gel cover is an absolute must because long rides are bound to pain in the posterior.i also believe these bike saddles are designed for 55 kg Europeans rather than for Indians with slightly generous proportions lol:

Its the other way. Having softer seat/gel cover is okay for a beginner except that one get addicted too. Not at all good for long rides. Once used to the hard/slim (this doesn't seem to have enough of either and hence should do good as is), the discomfort will go off. Only thing one needs to ensure is all their body weight gets onto the sit bones and they are in proper contact with the seat while others parts bear minimal weight.

If feeling numb on longer rides, try riding in other posters which I guess we do anyways unless we have an absolutely flat and smooth road for miles.

Vjoy

Quote:

Originally Posted by vjoy3 (Post 3062411)

Fully agree with this. Gel covers or soft saddles offer a shifting set of points of contact, and as you pedal, you tend to either bounce or slip and slide about as a result of which, your position with respect to your pedals and handlebars shifts and your balance gets disturbed. One needs to experiment with saddles till one finds the right saddle that matches one's sit bones. Since most of the weight has to be supported by the sit bones, the rest of the rear does not share any of the weight, which would happen with gel saddles. Soft saddles are worse for circulation in the area.

Ride hard saddles, get used to the discomfort, and you are set for hours of trouble free riding.

Quote:

Originally Posted by prabuddhadg (Post 3042225)

Going by the components, the Bianchi Ultegra is the best, with the Cannondale coming in second. That said, there is very little to separate the quality of these components. I have 105 on two road bikes, and apart from the weight difference (even that is negligible), there is no perceptible difference in shifting quality or braking quality between Tiagra, 105 and Ultegra.

Hi Prabuddh, many thanks for your help - both on the open forum & via PM :thumbs up
The bike shop I'd mentioned is now recommending the following "sweet" bikes (vis-a-vis the Impulso-Ultegra) !
1) New 2013 Pinarello FP-Uno + 105 shifters + Tiagra components
2) Pre-owned (15 days old) KHS Flite 900 + Ultegra components + Mavic Aksium Wheelset
3) New 2012 Trek Madone + Ultegra components
Based on your input I was considering the FP-Uno, but now I'm back to square one again !
Need your help in placing these bikes in order. In a situation like this, does more expensive mean better ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreamy (Post 3059053)

Pinarello, Surly, bikefriday, specialized, BMC are the ones which i can think of.

Hi Dreamy, where would you place Bianchi, Trek & Cannondale in this list ?

Mods : On a side note, should this thread be moved under the 2-wheeler/bike section ? Could bicycles be given their own sub-forum ? please:

Hi Srini, while the Pina is most probably an Aluminium / Carbon bike, the Madone is full carbon.

In fact, there is a carbon Pinarello FP Uno available (I think) and there is also an aluminium Trek Madone.

Therefore, I shall give my preference assuming the most commonly available frames. That will be Trek Madone, then Pinarello FP Uno and last, KHS Flite 900.

Quote:

Originally Posted by im_srini (Post 3062995)

at the likes of Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen.
more expensive doesn't mean better in bicycle world aswell, go by what is your intent purpose of usage.

Need some advice here ..
I have ordered RR 5.1 from Playgroundonline, and it was available only in Maroon color.
However when I check on Decathlon, other sites like sports365, playmore etc., they have listed the RR 5.1 in only Grey color.
My question is has Bwin released a maroon color for the RR 5.1 2013 model?
Or can it be a typo on the playgroundonline site?

Quote:

Originally Posted by hbaruas (Post 3076996)

My sister bought one a couple of weeks back from Decathlon. She says that there is only one color - the carbon grey. And it is the 2013 model she says.

Hi guys,

Today evening I was carrying out routine maintenance on one of my bikes (trek 3500) when i found that my rear tire was wobbling.

I checked the lug nut, it was alright.

Then i thought the rim was bent, but it is not the case, the rim is perfect.

Then i deflated the tire and took a look at the crimp of the sidewall, the part which goes inside the rim. It seems to have a slight abrasion on the crimp around 1/3 of the total length of the innermost circumference of the tire. It seems that it was caused because of rubbing with the rim.

I called up a couple of bike shop guys, and they say that the tire will need replacing otherwise it can blowout at any stage.

So now my questions -

1) do i need a tire replacement?
2) if yes, then what brands should i look at? I wont be going for bontrager and i am looking for a smoother tread pattern. My tire size is 26 X 2.0. Please do give some links if possible. How are the kendas and the continentals?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Bhpians,

New to Bicycles hence a question?

I am planning to pick a Bicycle for this summer in europe, and have plans to get it back to India once my assignment is completed.

the cost of the cycle is around 17k is it worth considering.

The techinical details are mentioned in the link.

http://www.sklep.romet.pl/kolekcja-r...b/art2276.html

Bhpians, I'm planning to buy a new bicycle for fitness & recreational purposes. Last time I bought a bicycle we only had a few choices but now bicycle scene is completely changed. Can you all please recommend a one fitting right in my budget and requirement.

Budget: Rs. 10,000 Max. I know its less but want to start with something VFM and at a later stage could upgrade to a better one. Last bicycle I purchased in 2006 costed me just Rs. 3000, Hero RazorBack.

Requirements:
1. MTB. So it can handle rough as well as good terrain.
2. No gears. Why, complicated, difficult to use as bicycle will also be used by my parents and kids in my society would break it, no matter what.
3. 26" tyres.
4. Aluminium or steel body. So that it wont catch rust and be light as well. Since Mumbai gets a lot of rain and my car parking tough being a covered one, gets all splashed up with water by rain and car wash guys.

I stay at Vashi, Navi Mumbai. Thanks in advance.