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BSA Champ --> BSA SLR --> Hercules MTB.....

Being from a lower middle class family in a remote indian village, even a bicycle was a real luxury during my childhood. When I was eight years, my dad purchased our first vehicle - A cute Black Coloured Raleigh Bicycle. I was too proud while travelling on that as pillion clutching my hands on to the metal springs of the leather seat. I still rememember how hard was it for my dad to handle it while riding over our non bitumened villlage roads with steep gradients. Now I am just wondering how he took me in his cycle to the small town 15 km away for quiz competitions .

When I was doing plus two, Probably because of my strong desire to own a scooter or bike ,he booked a scooter -Lambretta cento. But later he realized that, he cannot not afford it and cancelled it. I still remember his sad face after posting that registered letter to Scooters Kerala Ltd.

When I got admission at IIT, Madras, my dad suggested to take the bicycle to Madras since bicycle is a must inside the campus. I used it for 6 years and later donated it to a joiner student while leaving the campus. I am sure still somebody is using it inside the campus.

Then comes the hard days, struggling settle down / finding a good job. In 2001 after my marriage we purchased our first car – Maruti 800. We used it for 3 years and sold it while relocating to Delhi in 2005. In Delhi, I purchased a 5 Speed Marusti 800 . I used it for 5 years and exchanged it for i10 Asta in last December.

Krish,

Reminds me very much of my Dads struggle in life. I think these people deserve enormous respect.

Hi,
I wanted to buy a new cycle for my wife which I too could use at times (a unisex version). The main intended use is for exercise and for keeping my kids company when they are riding their cycles in the evenings. I found 2 unisex cycles at Hypercity of Raleigh make of which one had only front side shock absorbers (Rs 6500) and the other had both front and back shock absorbers (Rs 7200). Now I wanted the following gyaan so that I can finalize my purchase –
1) Is Raleigh a good brand, any firsthand experience? Should I choose Firefox or some other brand instead, and if so what bikes would suit the requirement in similar budget?
2) Assuming Raleigh is fine, which one of the above 2 options should I choose?
a. The single shock one it seems has regular 3*6 gears, while the dual shock one has 3*6 Shimano gears (not sure of the spelling, but the ones with the gears in the grip).
b. Also is there a higher weight limit on the dual shock models, and also is there more wear and tear/maintenance on the dual shock models?

Any other comments or feedback on the same subject would also be appreciated.

1. From whatever I've seen/heard, Raleighs are at least more consistent in build quality than Firefox.
2. Avoid dual shocks - they waste rider energy. Front shocks are all you need for everyday + occasional trail riding.

Regular gears: what brands ? If its SRAMs you're fine.

I taken up cycling last August, when I bought my BTwin RockRider 5.2. It's a entry level MTB. After the initial weekend rides, I started taking the bike to work. It's an awesome feeling to ride to work and get back. Gives a great deal of workout and I feel quite fresh when done with my rides.

Last Sunday, I picked up my second bike. It's a pure entry level road bike. It's again a BTwin Sport 1. For the last three days, I am commuting to work and it's an awesome feeling to ride a road bike.

At the moment, am trying very hard to ride to work at least for three days a week.

Following are the links to the bikes. Just realised that the dual shock one does not have Shimano gears but different type shifter (the Hypercity guys gave out wrong info) --

Single shock one --http://www.raleigh.co.za/bikes.php?rangeid=33&bikeid=243&year=2009#range

Dual one -- RALEIGH SOUTH AFRICA - BIKES

Finally booked the single shock one yesterday evening -- RALEIGH SOUTH AFRICA - BIKES

It should be delivered by evening today.

My new bike - BTwin Sport 1

Hello all,
Just stumbled upon this thread. I've been riding a barebones Hero Hawk "Nu-Age" for about seven years now, riding within Bangalore city, doing a max of about 40-50km at a stretch. Of late, the bike's been rattling around with slight rim bends, misaligned sprockets (had to use only 3rd and 4th gear before i stripped the gears and reinstalled to some semblance of normalcy), regularly rotting brake shoes, random nuts & bolts falling off, etc. Am thus hoping to upgrade to something sturdier (maybe not in the immediate future, but i will at some point).
I'm not too well-versed with the models available right now, but have gathered some info from this thread and a few websites. Have also seen a few expensive (bells and whistles notwithstanding) bicycles onroad.

Could someone post a head-to-head review of a few bikes like the Hercules ACT110, bTwin Rockrider, and others featured on this thread? I'm guessing these lie in the 10-15k price range, which would be reasonable in my case. Something discussing the maintenance issues, performance and durability comparisons would be ideal.

Thanks in advance!

Cheers
Rahul

My bicycle journey started at very young age. I tried my first tricycle at the age of 2 or 3, then 4 my dad modified "safari" bicycle ( hey its not the one with dicor! the badge on its mudguard says it is safari!!), I used that safari till my fourth standard, then from 5th to 7th, i was cycling to school which was 4 km from my home with german Falke bicycle,
I scored little good marks in 7th std so my dad gifted me a MTB it was with me till 10th,(my high school was 12 km from my home so i was cycling 24kms daily!) and my bicycle journey stopped after 10th.
My dad had a bicycle shop in mid 70s and 80s, he had many varieties of bicycles, Falke and safari were my favorites.
sad to say I dont have Falke with me,(Falke died in local byari shop:Frustrati) but i still have that safari.

Rahul, I have a RockRider 5.2 for the last one year. Till date, I did not face any issues on the bike. Not much of rides on it, just managed to clock 1400+ kms in the last year. So far, I did not have any issues with the bike, except for the regular maintenance.

For a comprehensive reviews of different bikes, please check this website - BikesZone - Cycling • Index page.

All your questions will be answered.

I used to cycle to school, after I reached college completely forgot about it, and it rusted away. I always wanted to have a bike since past couple of years when I started working, But never got to own one... But today while commuting to office I spent 30 mins to reach my destination, When my office is only 4KMS away from where I stay.

I thought this is it.. I need to get a bike now or never. After researching a bit on the forums and visiting a couple of websites. I came to a conclusion that the BSA ROADEO A100 would be an ideal bike for me. So I went to the BSA GO showroom at Mangalore, which is located close by to my office, And had a look. The A100 looked awesome and felt comfortable and Purchased the bike immediately and was asked to take delivery within a hours time. So here is a pic before the delivery. She is going to be my transport to office (Hopefully) henceforth.

And here is a link for your reference.

Muralisk: Thanks for that link. Been going through it for a few days, and realised that the ACT110 Plus is a good VFM solution. One question though: Any way i can get some solid MTB (or atleast slightly wider than stock) tyres on those rims? i have a sort of affection for my old Hero Ranger which was given off without my knowledge :Frustrati so some wider tyres slapped on to the 110 Plus would be soooper!!! Will ride down to the Madivala RR fellow today and enquire.

Cheers
Rahul

In US for few months, so got a cheap Chinese bike that I can give away after few months. Great as a city runabout and for few laps around parks.