[anoopap]

Dear Friends,

Im looking out for second hand bicycle, and have recieved offer for below 2:

1. Btwin Rock Rider 5.1 for 250 USD
2. Giant Rock 4500 for 220 USD

Both were sparsely used and are less than one year old.

Kindly help me out to choose better of these. Also what are the additional precautions I should do to check there condition other than looks.

Thanks.

[voodoochild]

Seems like Pune's catching up to Bangalore with the bicycling fervour! Been spotting regularly spotting a lot of cyclists on Pashan-NDA Road around 6-7am everyday. Any BHPians in the mix?

Cheers,
Rahul

[bblost]

I shifted my residence over the past week.

Distance to office is 17 kms.

I rode it in all the late morning glory. There was a lot of stiffness that melted away after the first couple of kms. That was replaced by some pain in the butt. That also faded away after a couple of kms.

I guess this distance allows my body to go thru different layers of discomfort. But the last mile was pure happiness.

[mm403]

Infact on NDA Pashan Rd every morning a number of people do cycle and the number is substantially higher on weekends. Have been planning to cycle for a.long time but yet to take the first step buying a bicycle :-)

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by anoopap

Dear Friends,

Im looking out for second hand bicycle, and have recieved offer for below 2:

1. Btwin Rock Rider 5.1 for 250 USD
2. Giant Rock 4500 for 220 USD

Both were sparsely used and are less than one year old.

Kindly help me out to choose better of these. Also what are the additional precautions I should do to check there condition other than looks.

Thanks.

a. What are their specs?
b. in the US, no? Then buy new - Bikesdirect.

Originally Posted by bblost

I shifted my residence over the past week.

Distance to office is 17 kms.
I guess this distance allows my body to go thru different layers of discomfort. But the last mile was pure happiness.

Congrats. The fat should melt away faster now

[kaushik_s]

Hey guys, a new joinee to the biking world. Last Friday picked up a Merida Matts 40V (plan was to buy a Crossway 15V or similar but Wheelsports didn't had stock and I didn't want to wait). Taking it slowly as of now, gradually trying to increase my stamina. 1st day around 2km, 2nd day 3.5km and 3rd day 7+km. I was initially worried whether I would be able to ride a bike with my weight but this thread helped me a lot in boosting my confidence. Also got great help from Bikeszone forum. All I can say that I'm just loving it and just can't wait to get back home to ride it again. Can't take it to office as of now as the distance is too much for me (24km one way). Wish my office was within 5kms.

BTW, I would like to tell my experience about buying the bike. Have been dilly-dallyin about buying one bike for last one year or so but never had the heart to get one as I was not sure if I'll continue riding. Now I've determined to get one a ride daily if possible. So contacted a friend who is an avid biker and he told me to try BumsOnTheSaddle or Wheelsports as these guys are very genuine being bikers themselves. And oh boy, what a nice experience I had in both the places. First I went to BOTS and the guy there listened so patiently to my stupid questions and answered everything even though he was sure that I probably won't be buying from them (the bikes available were over my budget). They've given me three bikes to test ride[Trek 7100, Bergamont Helix and Vitox] and I just loved the Bergamont Helix (hybrid) a lot, a very nice bike, smooth and very comfortable even to an overweight guy like me. Even the MTB was nice. But the price at 26k was well over my budget and the bike was not readily available at that moment. When I told him (I think his name is Rohan) that I'll have to check some other bike, probably a Merida hybrid (within my budget) and then decide, he have told me that it doesn't matter from where I buy the bike but what matters to him that I buy a bike and become a rider. That was really nice and I was stumped, really. If they had the bike readily available I probably would've buy it off there itself. I probably should'vve bought the MTB[Bergamont Vitox] (as I've anyway ended up buying an MTB) itself as that was also very nice bike to ride.

Anyway, next was Wheelsports and I was sure about buying the Crossway 15V which would've fit my budget perfectly and it's a hybrid which suits my purpose very well. But to my dismay they didn't had the bike available there. I was shown a Scott (forgot the model) and then the Merida. I took test ride on the Merida Matts 40V and I was almost crying with pain as the seat was pretty uncomfortable for me. I was about to reject the bike when they've changed the saddle to a KHS one which was slightly bigger and oh boy, what a difference it made. The bike was pretty smooth to ride, gear shifting was prompt and I loved it. Although I still feel that the Bergamont probably was more comfortable for me. All said and done, I've decided to wait no more and took the possession of bike (it was still over my initial budget at 22.6k but when will credit cards come to rescue and I was hell bent on getting a bike that day).

Now, its time for me to get a front and back lights as I would be riding a lot during night after office hours. Any suggestions would be really helpful. Also please let me know if I need to buy anymore accessories [already got Scott Helmet, 1.5ft btwin lock] which are very much essential. Can't spend too much as I've already went over my budget but would definitely get the stuffs which are of highest importance. Will post some pics of the bike later.
Regards,

[bblost]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Congrats. The fat should melt away faster now

The return lap took me just 45 minutes on account of more descents.

The road is so silent and the traffic so sparse, that I switched off my iPod.
Just the mild sounds from the bike and the birds for company.

My chain needs to be lubricated. Will do it tonight. So its ready for the second trip to office tomorrow.

I hope to bring down the 55 minutes to 50 over the next week and keep working at it.

Compared to my motorcyle, this is almost 30 mins longer. The return 45 minutes is still acceptable. But if I can bring it to a 35, it would be awesome.

phamilyman, what is the average speed for a Hybrid?
The earlier attached image should be able to give you an idea of the terrain.

[kaushik_s]

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

Now, its time for me to get a front and back lights as I would be riding a lot during night after office hours. Any suggestions would be really helpful. Also please let me know if I need to buy anymore accessories [already got Scott Helmet, 1.5ft btwin lock] which are very much essential. Can't spend too much as I've already went over my budget but would definitely get the stuffs ,

Hello, can anyone please respond? I would like to buy some stuff by this weekend. Front and rear light is very important for me as of now as I'm riding mostly in the night and it's difficult without a light. For rear I'll most probably go with Asklen TL60S (I can see this in BOTS and bikeaffair's website) but I'm not sure what front light should I go for.

[aburagohain]

Congrats Kaushik, this time we should really meet up and probably go for a morning ride together

For the rear lights, you could go for any blinking LED light instead of a constantly illuminated one, anything is good that increases visibility.

For the front, better to wait and get a higher powered lighting solution, the regular ones that we get here and there are pathetic in their power of illumination. I can show you one that was bought from dealextreme but it took almost 40 days to arrive from Hong Kong (P7 Water Resistant SSC-P7 3-Mode 900~1200-Lumen White LED Bike Light with Battery Pack Set - Free Shipping - DealExtreme).

For the moment, you can use any small torch if you want to ride at night, fixed with a rubber/elastic band the way you want on the handlebar. Believe me, the front lights that you get to buy for ~1k INR are probably of the same capacity as a small torchlight, so do not waste money there and go for a higher capacity lighting system.

[phamilyman]

kaushik the only truly mind blowing front light is the magicshine 808E. search up BZ. there are multiple cheaper options in the lights thread

[kaushik_s]

Thanks aburagohain da, sure, will meet up and go for a ride together. It'll be fun to have company for rides on weekends. Although I'm just starting and probably don't have the stamina for long rides (max I've done was 7+km last Sunday) but hope it'll get increased as I practice more. Yesterday night, rode around 4-4.5km around my apartment complex at night and boy those ups are tiring
@ aburagohain/phamilyman, about the lights, Yup, I have been planning to get some good lights from ebay or dealextreme but still I would need some stop-gap arrangement till they arrives. Have been going thru BZ threads and was planning to get Solarforce lights (around 27$ at ebay and another one at 16$ at DX) with 18650 batts and chargers. Magicshine although the best but is bit too costly at the moment as it's almost 80$.
I think I would follow aburagohain's advice and get a normal torchlight for the time being and place the order on ebay/DX and wait till they reach me. For the taillight I was following Doc's thread on BZ about TL60s and probably would go for it as it seems to be a very good option at 1k.
BTW, what about foot-pumps? Hand gloves? Any recommendation? Is it ok to ride with normal shorts or jeans(stretchable ones) which i'm doing now? I'm going thru BZ posts but there are so many threads and I'm kind of lost there.
Another question about saddles, I still feel that I need a slightly bigger saddle than the KHS saddle I'm using. Or should I just wait for a month and then see? Will I see any difference after a month's ride?
Really Sorry for asking so many noob questions..

[aburagohain]

A pump is good carry on accessory, get one of those Decathlon hand pumps, with or without the pressure indicator, I can help you with that if need be. Also important to carry a spare tube and puncture fix equipment all the time to keep rides pleasant

Hand gloves are nice to have, go for a pair with good thickness and smooth surface leather/nubuck/suede, suede wears off fast with regular usage, I am yet to try the nubuck one, which seems it will wear out faster but some articles do say that nubuck is tougher than suede due to the smoother finish.. need to try out.

Try one of the cushioned cycling shorts/bibs with your current saddle, maybe seat position and angle adjustments would help to make it more comfortable, it takes some time getting used to and then one day it would be hardly noticed.
I have found that shorts that end above knees work better, otherwise full length pants become kind of a hindrance to pedaling motion once perspiration sets in.

[deetee]

My first half century solo:
Did it between 4:30 and 7:30 this morning.
The stats:


Graphs shows it all, plenty of ascents and descents:


Actually this should have been my second of 50 km trip. Tried doing it yesterday but ended up crashing at a 15 speed breaker strip . But after riding again there today, payed my respects to it and took a snap of it as a souvenir:



So, had to take an U turn to home to ride back the 23 kms with bruised knees and arms. If not for that evil stretch of speed breakers which crashed me for the first time in many years, it would have been a very good ride with maximum speed touching 60kmph.


Aggregated statistics since I resumed cycling a fortnight ago:


All this on humble Act110 steel.

[muralisk]

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

Hello, can anyone please respond? I would like to buy some stuff by this weekend. Front and rear light is very important for me as of now as I'm riding mostly in the night and it's difficult without a light. For rear I'll most probably go with Asklen TL60S (I can see this in BOTS and bikeaffair's website) but I'm not sure what front light should I go for.

I have both Headlight (HL-EL220) and Taillight (Rapid 5 - TL-DL650) from CatEye. My model is quite old but it does the job. And the Rearlight is quite good - it has 5 different modes and it is very effective. This is attached to my helmet. Apart from that, I also have a blinker attached to my bike, which I picked from Decathlon.

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

BTW, what about foot-pumps? Hand gloves? Any recommendation? Is it ok to ride with normal shorts or jeans(stretchable ones) which i'm doing now? I'm going thru BZ posts but there are so many threads and I'm kind of lost there.

Another question about saddles, I still feel that I need a slightly bigger saddle than the KHS saddle I'm using. Or should I just wait for a month and then see? Will I see any difference after a month's ride?

The best you should visit for all your cycling accessories is Decathlon. They have pretty much every thing you need. Also, their cycling staff is quite knowledgeable and very helpful. Gert in touch with Eugine and he will help you with accessories.

Originally Posted by deetee

Tried doing it yesterday but ended up crashing at a 15 speed breaker strip. But after riding again there today, payed my respects to it and took a snap of it as a souvenir:

So, had to take an U turn to home to ride back the 23 kms with bruised knees and arms. If not for that evil stretch of speed breakers which crashed me for the first time in many years, it would have been a very good ride with maximum speed touching 60kmph.

Good to know that you're motivated to do long solo rides and sad to know that you had a fall. But am sure that you did learn how to ride over the rattles or in fact how to avoid them.

Have fun and ride safe.

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[deetee]

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

I think I would follow aburagohain's advice and get a normal torchlight for the time being and place the order on ebay/DX and wait till they reach me. For the taillight I was following Doc's thread on BZ about TL60s and probably would go for it as it seems to be a very good option at 1k.
BTW, what about foot-pumps? Hand gloves? Any recommendation? Is it ok to ride with normal shorts or jeans(stretchable ones) which i'm doing now? I'm going thru BZ posts but there are so many threads and I'm kind of lost there.

Hi Kaushik,

I normally ride between 4-7 am in the morning. So, the onward journey is in dark and I initially managed with an Eveready LED torch which took three AA cells. Just tapped it to vertical stem of handle using duct tape and it stayed. The LED was powerful but used to cast a narrow beam. The result is only a bright spot of about 1 ft width at about 5 mts ahead. Then I realized the need for a wider beam which spans across about 5-6 ft with uniform intensity.
So bought this Akslen HL-110:

It costed about INR 1450 and casts a wide and uniformly lit beam. It takes 2 AA batteries. The beam is of moderate intensity but is uniform across the width and serves the purpose well.
And tail light, I picked up some Raleigh branded stuff at INR 400 from Hypercity mall. It has 3 modes.