[babayaga]

Originally Posted by babayaga

Hi All,



I had bought a hybrid cycle about a year back. Almost very little maintenance apart from dusting, riding it every week and basic checks and balances. I never bought a repair kit because I thought it was a waste of money and I could always rely on the roadside mechanic for help. I figured in India how difficult it would be to get something fixed. As luck would have it faced no issues till yesterday. I encountered a puncture and nearby shops were closed. Due to covid most of the small time mechanics had moved out. I was on a highway with no help. After trying cabs and taxis no help arrived. After an excruciating hour finally my brother came to pick me up. It made me realise the importance of having a basic repair kit.

Dear members please help and share your views.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

If you have tuned a carburettor engine, you'll appreciate skill. Depending on what a "full service" means, and depending on type of components used, taking apart a bike, cleaning and greasing it can take, depending on skill and expertise, 8 - 10 hrs work.

In Kerala, unskilled farm labour is typically ₹ 800 - 1000 per day, skilled co instruction workers should be paid 1200 - 1500. And both should be paid rentals for their shovels, trowels and hammers, etc.

Well DIY is always an option.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by babayaga

Dear members please help and share your views.

Full disclosure. I never service my cycles. Not in the sense of the typical gold, silver, diamond (insert precious expensive sounding substance here) type "service packages".

I take care of my bikes. I don't abuse them (though I am aggressive on surface and road barriers like humps etc. and definitely don't ride easy ... just like on my motorcycles).

I clean them regularly (I cannot ride a dirty bike, even a dusty one, forget a greasy or mud splattered / cakes one). I lube the drivetrain fairly regularly (though maybe not on oint enough as usually it's the first squeak that triggers the alarm).

I can adjust and align my brakes on my own. I can do very rudimentary gear setting now with the barrel adjusters (no screws and stuff). You tube videos.

I can play around with my saddle position height, tilt, fire n aft) and handlebar and barends per my needs. A decent measuring tape, Allen key set, and spirit level app is all you need.

I can fix my own punctures. Take off and put on tyres and tubes on my own. Take off and put back on wheels as well, though the solid axle with nuts rear wheel on my ACT I prefer a pro doing it just coz I've not yet tried aligning and centering it on my own ... I'm sure 200 km from home, if I needed to remove the wheel to replace tge tube, I could though ... as long as I carried the right spanners. Lol

I keep the air in my tyres topped up regularly. I check the spokes for tension while cleaning the wheels as force of habit. I can detect play in the hubs or crank or headset. But getting it looked at is for the pros. I know how a well set wheel with good ball bearings and grease and cones perfectly adjusted should rotate, and when they start slowing down I get the hubs services (100 bucks a hub). Similar for the headset free movement side to side (100 bucks for stripping and greasing and readjusting).

One thing I need to get is a pliers to remove chains with smart links, and a gauge to determine chain lengthening, so that I can get the chains replaced on time and not like the current situation on my ACT where the factory chain is still going strong at closing on 14,000 kms but as a result it's eaten through the factory chainrings in unison, and definitely the freewheel cogs too, so that now, all three will need to be replaced together. Not a biggie (5-6k along with a new Altis better cleaner shifting rear derailleur too to replace the factory Tourney that's developed side to side play in the hinges).

I hate even a barely perceptible click in my pedals and the first sign of that under load I get the pedals stripped by a pro and get the balls and grease changed. I for that reason prefer serviceable all metal pedals to the cheaper fiber ones. Which do not last under the mashing I put them through.

I keep an eye on the cables for fraying, lost end crimp caps, etc and when the shifting gets hard, I prefer getting the inner and outer sets changed as a whole. A good brand like Jagwire costs just 200-300 bucks for both shifters, and there is a seachange in the shifting pleasure post that.

Moral of the story - a bit hands on, the critical bits for the pros, and JIT maintenance is my methodology and philosophy of bike maintenance.

Some shop guys do not like such customers much. Their margins lie in the full service packages. But we'll, that's me. And I go to guys who have the passon fir the bikes and are preferably riders themselves. A shop guy I ride with, an ex national champion, who even today rides the wheels off many hotshot youngsters, tells me that in his day (my day too since we are from the same vintage), riders never heard about this "servicing" thing. And used to get stuff looked at regularly and on time, as soon as it was needed. Or do it themselves.

Hope that gives you some answers.

Cheers, Doc

[ebonho]

Just adding to my previous post based on my own personal experience. On your point about roadside mechanics (Abdul chacha Raju kaka types) or even the 40-50-60 year old traditional cycle shops that have been around since before we were born.

They are not accustomed to the mechanicals of the modern bikes. They do not have the specific modern training, even if they have the street smarts. And above all, and most important, for specialized work like removal of cranks, bottom brackets, etc. they do not have the correct tools.

So what they lack in correct tools and training, they make up with by a lot of brainstorming, desi ingenuity, and crude tools that are available but not made for the job. The hathoda being a local favourite.

Bottom line is that more often than not they destroy a part beyond repair, such that it will never work properly again, and then never take responsibility for the cock up, with the customary shrug of the shoulders and crappy excuses like modern material, hum 50 saal se is line mein hain, etc etc. You must know the drill.

So regardless of if your hybrid is a Indian made Hercules ACT (like mine) or a upper end Trek or Cannondale, if its anything more than a black roadster, please do not go to such people.

Cheers, Doc

[amvj]

Anyone imported Canyon Bike to India? I believe Canyon doesn't have a dealer model. So we have to either import or get it from their factory in Germany.

What are the costs involved if we want to import?

Let's say I am importing a USD $2000 road bike.
What will be the total cost when we receive the Bike including the Indian tax?

I tried to check Zauba but unable to get proper info. I am new to importing goods. So please help.

P.S I don't have any immediate plans to buy at the moment.

[itisravi]

Originally Posted by amvj

Let's say I am importing a USD $2000 road bike.
What will be the total cost when we receive the Bike including the Indian tax?

P.S I don't have any immediate plans to buy at the moment.

It will roughly cost you 50% more, which would only be slightly less than a well planned cycling vacation to Germany (return flight + AirBnB). Ride the bike around in Koblenz for a week and you have a used bicycle that you can carry with you on your return flight that just might get through the ariport clearance without duty.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by itisravi

It will roughly cost you 50% more, which would only be slightly less than a well planned cycling vacation to Germany (return flight + AirBnB). Ride the bike around in Koblenz for a week and you have a used bicycle that you can carry with you on your return flight that just might get through the ariport clearance without duty.

That's exactly what everyone does.

No one actually pays the ridiculous duty.

A friend is waiting for his student to get him his Canyon road bike in the same way. From Germany.

Cheers, Doc

[Axe77]

I know folks who have actually flown to Dubai to bring back their canyons that were delivered to friends in Dubai. Worth it even with the 20k flight tkt if you count the weekender in Dubai.

Carry a bike bag like evoc and bring it back assembled with only wheels removed. No Qs asked whatsoever.

[itisravi]

Originally Posted by ebonho

That's exactly what everyone does.

No one actually pays the ridiculous duty.

A friend is waiting for his student to get him his Canyon road bike in the same way. From Germany.

Cheers, Doc

True. If you are going there just to buy the bike, it is not worth it. Canyon, just like many other brands makes their frames in China (which in itself is not a bad thing). The value proposition of lower price due to direct selling makes sense only if someone already traveling can carry it for you or if you live in EU. If you go by any of the youtube videos from Hambini or Luescher Teknik, pretty much every brand (including Canyon) can have issues with their frames and in the end it boils down to this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2T7N-Gtfgo

Both these guys however have s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶r̶e̶v̶i̶e̶w̶s̶ of Look and Time frames, so if you are traveling just to buy a bike for its quality of engineering, maybe France is the place to go.
EDIT: Never mind, there is actually a video from Luescher Teknik about a problematic Look frame as well.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by itisravi

The value proposition of lower price due to direct selling makes sense only if someone already traveling can carry it for you or if you live in EU.

How much cheaper would they work out to compared to an equally specced Cannondale or Trek or Specialized in India? Say a 105 build with rim brakes. A rough indication in rupees?

Cheers, Doc

[itisravi]

Originally Posted by ebonho

How much cheaper would they work out to compared to an equally specced Cannondale or Trek or Specialized in India? Say a 105 build with rim brakes. A rough indication in rupees?

Cheers, Doc

For alloy frames, they seem to be the close to each other (~INR 1.1L for the alloy CAAD 105 vs ~90K for the Canyon Endurace 7 AL).

For CAAD 105 carbon frame I see ~INR 1.9L vs ~1.2L for the Canyon Endurace CF 7. So that is significant.
PS: I just looked up the CAAD prices on trackntrail so not sure if they give discounts on MRP.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by itisravi

For alloy frames, they seem to be the close to each other (~INR 1.1L for the alloy CAAD 105 vs ~90K for the Canyon Endurace 7 AL).

For CAAD 105 carbon frame I see ~INR 1.9L vs ~1.2L for the Canyon Endurace CF 7. So that is significant.
PS: I just looked up the CAAD prices on trackntrail so not sure if they give discounts on MRP.

Ya bro. Huge discounts, given regularly.

News is that post their break from TI we might see Cannondale coming to India on their own like Giant and Trek.

Not through a distributor channel like Merida.

Then again someone equally in the know says they might be brought to India by the Pune based Merida distributor.

It's unlikely I will go in for a carbon frame. I think Al is more robust for our conditions and my riding.

20-30k is really not worth the hassle and planning and coordinating in my opinion. I'd rather buy something here when I upgrade next.

Cheers, Doc

[Sebring]

I know what you mean. Even I was shocked on seeing service costs, for a cycle costing a few thousands

Originally Posted by ebonho

Full disclosure. I never service my cycles. Not in the sense of the typical gold, silver, diamond (insert precious expensive sounding substance here) type "service packages"

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Sebring

I know what you mean. Even I was shocked on seeing service costs, for a cycle costing a few thousands

There are two ways of looking at it.

All parts and functioning of a cycle do not deteriorate in sync. Some happen faster than the others.

Shop guys push you to go in for a service at regular intervals. The quicker the better.

This is obviously wasteful compared to the JIT / SOS approach.

On the other end of the spectrum, many guys land up waiting too long thanks to the huge service cost involved. And take the bike only when something has finally snapped and gone boom and a service cannot be put off any longer.

The thing about that is that there is a lot that has gradually degraded in that interval often to the point that it is no longer serviceable and you end up replacing parts. Worn out prematurely.

Of course regular servicing is dummy proof. It requires no hands on approach more than taking your cycle and leaving it at the workshop regularly.

And there are obviously a lot of riders who fall in that category which is why packages such as these exist in the first place.

Cheers, Doc

[Mi10]

Originally Posted by Axe77

I know folks who have actually flown to Dubai to bring back their canyons that were delivered to friends in Dubai. Worth it even with the 20k flight tkt if you count the weekender in Dubai.

Carry a bike bag like evoc and bring it back assembled with only wheels removed. No Qs asked whatsoever.

My friend got his super bike in similar fashion . How about a DuraAce DI2 speced Sworks Venge vias for 3.5L (6 months used)
He spent about 75k for his commute to Singapore , stay for 3-4 days and return .