Team-BHP - The Bicycles thread

Dear Friends,
Bycycle is perhaps the first 2 wheels that set you in motion.They are an ode of joy for every child,teen,perhaps an adolescent..well not anymore.
My first love began with a BSA SLR,the most famous Bycycle in India in 80s with Sportsman like Kapil Dev and Vijay Amritraj promoting them.This was in 1981 when my grandmom presented a beautiful BSA SLR.I rode this bycycle till 1992,even to college in hyderabad.
Then when gradually I was caught on to motoring,I actually hid my BSA SLR only an year back when i took it out and restored to its beauty and today I showcase with my other fleet and with equal pride,though it doesnt come with a revving engine or disc brakes.But it has a dynamo driven headlight,which is unusual these days to be seen for an urban bycycle.
A BSA Foldman was next that I acquired in 2004 upon my return from UK.Having done cycling in Leeds and Melbourne extensivly,I thought a folding cycle would be convenient for me to carry it in the boot of my car and enjoy the ride at necklace road.
Today morning,a quick trip to the famous Jummerat Bazar in old city of Hyderabad,I laid my hands on a beautiful Hercules AXN Dx,which again belongs to the above breeds I own already.
Voila,enjoy the pics.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hillram (Post 1672351)

Those were some serious ads in 80s,depicting Indian Sporting achievements,which were remarkable.Lets not make a mockery of them.

Are you being serious or tongue-in-cheek? I couldn't figure out. Kapil was no doubt a great cricketer, but that doesn't make the BSA ad any less hilarious. As for Vijay Amritraj, he's very much a joke these days, so he doesn't even need a funny ad to raise a chuckle! :D

Revisiting this thread after more than 2 years now :

After losing my 3 month old Hercules WOW, I took the plunge once again. This time, it was childhood dream, BSA Mach-I. I still remember that, this was the "hottest" bicycle, when I was a kid, especially one with those racer type of handle and gears.

In its new avatar, Mach-I looks quite different and more inline with today's ranger/mountain bikes. It is light in weight and light on pocket too. Good combination, I would say. After my short experience with previous bicycle, I was very clear that I am NOT going for a bicycle with rear shock absorbers. They absorb lot of energy and unless you use the bike on really bad non-existent roads, you are fine without them.

It has been quite a pleasant experience so far (about 4 months now). I initially went for 6 gears and now upgraded it to 3x6 configuration.

I compared it with bicycles 3 times more expensive than it, and it comes out trumps due to light weight and thin tyres. Downside, of course, is the ride quality due to lack of shock absorbers.

So in nutshell, a BIG BIG thumbs up for BSA Mach-I.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vjoy3 (Post 1681148)

Will be getting a Mach 1 pretty soon.

Question- Am planning to carry it around on my Manza. Any recommendations where I can get rear rack?. Did google a bit for feedback and saw few suggestions that it will violate law if the bike covers tail lamp / number plate. Please suggest considering these points & its a sedan.

Vijay

You do get rack that are high held above the tail lamp. Probably put your query on bikeszone.com forum, there are pretty heavy cyclist out there.

+LT

Bought a new Trek 4300 the other day. Now I don't use a personal motorised vehicle at all. For short runs (<5 km) in off-peak traffic I use the bicycle, and for longer trips I take the bus/train. I'd love to commute to work but it's ~28km one way. :( At the moment I have to be content with my short rides and the occasional long ride on weekends. I'm attaching a photo. Sorry about the washed-out pic quality -- it was taken indoors with my mobile phone. The bottle cage, side stand and rear carrier are extras. They do add to the weight but I can still haul the bike up to my apartment without difficulty.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edsel Rulez! (Post 1716011)

Nice bike! I have a hybrid model from Trek as well. Assuming you're in India, a few questions - what is the plan for maintenance? Are there good cycle shops that will service Trek. Also, don't you miss having a mudguard? I bought and fitted an aftermarket one myself but it seems to hinder the rear wheel rotation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jillako (Post 1718685)

Nice bike! I have a hybrid model from Trek as well.

I originally planned to buy the 7100 or 7.1 since my usage seems to justify a hybrid, but neither of these was readily available at the time and I didn't want to wait. I put semi-slick tyres on the 4300 when I bought it and it seems to have been a sensible compromise. Rolling resistance is reduced, though of course it isn't as fast as a roadbike -- or even a hybrid.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jillako (Post 1718685)

Assuming you're in India, a few questions - what is the plan for maintenance? Are there good cycle shops that will service Trek.

I'm in Bombay, which has half a dozen shops that service Treks. All the Firefox Bike Stations do, since they're the dealers for Trek in India. Not all of them are equally good though, so you have to be careful where you take your bike. I haven't had any maintenance-related issues yet because I've owned the bike for only six weeks and no adjustments have been necessary so far. That apart, I'm a sedate rider -- I haven't yet got a chance to (ab)use the bike to its full capacity!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jillako (Post 1718685)

Also, don't you miss having a mudguard? I bought and fitted an aftermarket one myself but it seems to hinder the rear wheel rotation.

I didn't like any fenders I saw. The plastic ones are flimsy and the metal ones are too heavy. I did install a rear rack though (seen in pic) because it's helpful when I need to carry books etc -- I hate backpacks. In the rains I could perhaps put a flat rectangular piece of plastic or wood on the rack, and hopefully it would function as a mudguard and keep the muck off my back. I haven't got a chance to put this into practice, so I have no idea if it'll work! :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edsel Rulez! (Post 1724256)

agree: Read you loud on clear on that one. Faced with the same dilemma, I found one made of "chromoplastic" which is basically a polymer that looks like metal. You may find it useful SKS P35 Fender Set at REI.com

Thanks for the tip about Firefox Bikes. I see there are many in Bangalore and one is not far off from me, I'll have to pay them a visit and see if they can fix my fender up!

Btw, my bike is a Trek 7200 TrekBikes.com Bike Archive | 2009 7200