[amitksvs]

I am planning to get into Cycling for health and fitness reasons; How good or bad is “Hercules Ryders ACT110 ” to begin with? I would be cycling on city roads only (Mumbai), please suggest.

[speedsatya]

Planning to exchange my 2012 Cannondale Trail 5 for a Bianchi hybrid . Any idea on how much can I expect for my bike?

[shipnil]

Guys, I have gone through many pages of this thread. The thread started with what bike you had as a kid/teen and now it has become guide for what one should buy now. The initial pages recommended Indian brands when someone was thinking of buying a new bike but last few pages only recommend imported ones.

My question is, do the Indian brands make such inferior bikes that one should not consider them at all if you are in the market for bikes?

I am thinking of taking up the biking once again but wanted to start with used bike or cheaper ones. But most of the comments recommend against such an approach.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by bblost

I bought this for Rs 99 from decathalon Hyderabad.
http://www.decathlon.in/PUMPS-MNP-100-HAND-PUMP

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

...a pump to fill air in the front suspension.

So my shock pump is here, brought in all the way from Amsterdam. Cost all of 30 Euro. Makes a world of difference to the ride - the original pressure was around 40 psi, which led to the shocks bottoming out unless one limited the travel. Now, at 130 psi, the fork travel makes for an enjoyable ride.

[Aditya]

Originally Posted by amitksvs

I am planning to get into Cycling for health and fitness reasons; How good or bad is “Hercules Ryders ACT110 ” to begin with? I would be cycling on city roads only (Mumbai), please suggest.

The ACT110 has mixed reviews. There are happy owners as well as unhappy ones. If you can, save for a few months more and get an import from a reputed manufacturer. You won't regret it. There are quite a few hybrids available in the 20 - 35K range.

[shyamk]

My two cents -

If local commute is the main aim of the buyer, 3k will get you the very brilliant and efficient bsa mach, with the flat bars.

If the buyer is inclined to buy a cycle with racing type handle bars, look no further than the hero hawk.

Of course, all this applies only if the buyer is around 5.5-5.7ft in height.

Any taller, and unfortunately enough, there are not many options around.

However, one could still spend some money on a hero hawk with the racing type bars, and then take it to the nearest cycle shop to fit flat handle bars on it.

For whatever it is worth, I know of a quite many guys who have done the brevet (200km, 300km, 400km & 600km) on these cycles.

I myself have done countless 100km rides on these cycles, and I did the tour of nilgiris on a modified bsa mach (the cost of gears + cycle came to 8k).

If the buyer has around 10k, the ACT is indeed a good cycle to buy.

Spending 20-30k straight out of the bat for a cycle is something I would never ever suggest. The buyer needs to understand his motivation levels and his ability to continue cycling (in terms of time available).

It is better to spend 3-10k on a cycle and make it a cloth stand, rather than 20-30k on it and make it one ! ;-)

Shyam

[kumar2007]

^^I would go against this advice.

I think starting with a better bike will help you retain your enthusiasm. If you lose interest, you don't lose much when you sell.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by kumar2007

^^I would go against this advice.

I think starting with a better bike will help you retain your enthusiasm. If you lose interest, you don't lose much when you sell.

+1000
You must always buy the bike you can almost not afford.

You cannot get an enjoyment of the kind of pleasure you get in riding say a duke 390 by buying a splendor or worse bajaj m80.

Of course the rider be willing you can do anything, folks in us have done iron butt rides with a 50cc moped as well. But the joy the smile that comes to one's face from an awesome specced and well made bike is its own reward and cannot be gotten through other short cuts.

Go test ride both the 3k mach and the 60k tiagra road bike and see what gets the smile on your face. Buy that only, or an intermediate compromise.

[Sebring]

I very much concur with your thoughts. Sometimes, the ride itself motivates you to do just that,... 'ride'.

Originally Posted by phamilyman

+1000
You must always buy the bike you can almost not afford.

You cannot get an enjoyment of the kind of pleasure you get in riding say a duke 390 by buying a splendor or worse bajaj m80.

Of course the rider be willing you can do anything, folks in us have done iron butt rides with a 50cc moped as well. But the joy the smile that comes to one's face from an awesome specced and well made bike is its own reward and cannot be gotten through other short cuts.

Go test ride both the 3k mach and the 60k tiagra road bike and see what gets the smile on your face. Buy that only, or an intermediate compromise.

[abhjain]

Originally Posted by kumar2007

^^I would go against this advice. I think starting with a better bike will help you retain your enthusiasm. If you lose interest, you don't lose much when you sell.

Strongly agree, I have not been able to ride the alternate make shift bike for more than once a week since my own bike broke down.

[sumithb]

Originally Posted by kumar2007

^^I would go against this advice.

I think starting with a better bike will help you retain your enthusiasm. If you lose interest, you don't lose much when you sell.

Strongly agree. I for one think you always buy the best equipment you can afford (not just cycles but other things in life as well) and the correct size (cycle included). And frankly, you also need to learn (and unlearn) a few things about cycling. It's all about working the gears to maintain your natural cadence. If your knee, thigh, ankle hurts you are riding it wrong!

[procrj]

interesting video.They seem to have taken the concept of air bags and extended it to bicycles.question is will this really work??

http://vimeo.com/43038579

On a separate note, I have a 2011 Schwinn Frontier comp, which I haven't used in more than a year. Plan to get back on the saddle and hence need to get it serviced. Apart from BOTS, is there any other place (preferably around Whitefield) where I can get my bike serviced?

[nareshov]

Originally Posted by procrj

...
On a separate note, I have a 2011 Schwinn Frontier comp, which I haven't used in more than a year. Plan to get back on the saddle and hence need to get it serviced. Apart from BOTS, is there any other place (preferably around Whitefield) where I can get my bike serviced?

Try procycle at Indiranagar. It's close to Toit.

[shipnil]

Pune bikers, I intend to start cycling back after a gap of about 20 years. While browsing, I came across Surendar Cycle Store which offers bikes on rent to try out if you like biking or not. They have rents starting from Rs. 1500 to about 4000 per month depending on bike. I have to visit this store in person, but I'd like to know if there are any other similar stores that offer bicycles on rent?

[Juggy]

Originally Posted by nareshov

Try procycle at Indiranagar. It's close to Toit.

ProCycle is closer to BDA COMPLEX than Toit (on 100 feet road). They also have a branch in Jakkasandra, which may be closer for OP. Check contacts on procycle.in. And why not Decathlon?