Re: The Bicycles thread Quote:
Originally Posted by Sebring The Specialized is robust in the sense it doesn't require any maintenance. That makes it VFM. I own the Sirrus, and it goes on and on. In Bangalore Bums On Saddle service it and there is a 'Company outlet' too. Giant has a service station, so does Scott - but no idea about Cochin. Salt in the air over there should make the cycles age faster too (which we don't face in Bangalore). |
Hey, thanks a lot for replying. There are no dedicated service stations for Scott, Specialized or Giant in Cochin, but as sanjbmw2001 said later, there are certain shops like Kavita Cycles or Trackandtrail that might do the servicing for me. You're right about the salt situation here in Cochin- it does make cycles age faster. Cycling in Bangalore should be pretty awesome- the air in the mornings is special in certain areas. Quote:
Originally Posted by sanjbmw2001 Your first sentence says you are getting into cycling slowly, my suggestion would be to get something economical, like the first 2 option mentioned. Then as you progress in cycling (provided you continue to cycle) then you may look at an upgrade.
Spend 10-15K to get used to cycling then you'll understand what you are after in a cycle. This will help you fine tune your requirements and get the right cycle. |
Thanks a lot for replying. You're right- I'm just getting started. I used to cycle a lot when I was a kid, but I've been out of the game for years. Miss it badly. I was thinking on the lines of what you had suggested- start off small and progress up to better ones. Quote:
Originally Posted by sanjbmw2001 On the maintenance front, you do not need a authorized service center, any competent business shop can service the bike be it Indian or imported. Hope this helps. |
This was really helpful. The shops that I checked out weren't entertaining bikes that were bought from elsewhere while some are alright servicing the brands they themselves sell. I'll try to look more into this. Quote:
Originally Posted by ninjatalli You have a ton of choice and you seem to have done a lot of analysis with clear (and yet conflicting) views on the options so I won't make it tougher.
Here's my views (strictly IMO) that I have shared with several of my friends and converted them from thinking-on-the-fence status to doing brevets within a few months
- Most important rule. Test ride the bike. Then decide.
- Investments in cycling is like a vicious cycle; the more you invest, the more you feel indebted to cycle; and it goes on like that
- Hybrids for starters, always. Even more in cases like these when the majority of riding is going to be on roads. MTBs and road bikes are specialist bikes for advanced phases, it's only in India that we seem to prefer MTBs for city riding for novices.
- Good brands give you good bikes; and if you don't have a cash crunch/limit (which I'm guessing you don't) so I'd ignore the Indian options for now. There are few excellent ones - Hercules ACT 110, the Montra hybrid (to an extent) and maybe the Btwin hybrids, but any day I'd say the Specialized, Cannondales, Treks and similar over the Hercules & Firefox lots. Also the foreign brands resell well, in case it doesn't work out.
- Used bikes if and only you have someone who can validate the condition of the components of the bike in person; else go for new bikes.
In the end, enjoy the experience. It's like buying a car - you don't really regret the experience, do you? |
The conflicting part is because of two things- the condition of roads here and my weight I'm actually more interested in hybrids than MTB-s. I guess the recommendations for MTB-s here in India might be due to the pathetic nature of roads here. Considered the Firefox Target purely because it is the cheapest and it is owned by my neighbor. The only reason why I'm balking at buying the good foreign bikes is because I'm not completely sure whether I'll like to go the specialised route of MTB-s or road bikes or whether I'll stick to hybrids.
So far, my choices seem to be the in the order of the used Montra Blues, the used Firefox Target, Specialized Sirrus and Trek 7.2 FX. The problem with being in a place like Cochin is that test rides for the nice foreign hybrids aren't widely available. Still, I'll be searching for some shop that would be accommodating me. Had checked out Decathlon at Kalamassery for the Btwin lineup- the salesman there didn't seem to be too enthusiastic or helpful. Had a short ride of the RR520, but that didn't tell me anything apart from the fact that I wasn't a big fan of the shifter which seemed to be on the smaller side (I had no issues with that of the Target or the Blues).
I can understand why the foreign brands would be better than the domestics- the increased price would be justified in better frames, geometry, lesser weight and better materials, fit and finish. Could you elaborate as to why the Montra hybrid is good to an extent? The Hercules ACT110 seems to be recommended by quite a few here, including someone like doc who seems to like it a lot.
Last edited by evilmessiah : 17th December 2018 at 13:41.
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