[mazda4life]

Originally Posted by kumar2007

Airlines that charge will charge 150 dollars/euros for a flight to India, and 50 dollar/euro for a internal flight [usually]. Schwinn MTB might not be worth bringing. Don't know what the value of the bike is though.

you might be right, its a good bike and if the charge is more than 100 usd it doesnt make sense. My son loves it too much and is attached to it, sometimes with kids, heart rules over mind

[kumar2007]

^^Having said that, prices of even low end bikes in India have gone thru the roof, thanks to our brilliant finance minister who in all his wisdom raised duty from 10% to 30% plus. Moron. So, anyway, you need to check local pricing before deciding.

[mazda4life]

Originally Posted by kumar2007

^^Having said that, prices of even low end bikes in India have gone thru the roof, thanks to our brilliant finance minister who in all his wisdom raised duty from 10% to 30% plus. Moron. So, anyway, you need to check local pricing before deciding.

its a frontier bike, 7 speed and lists ard 400 usd for its customization

[mayankjha1806]

Yesterday we bought bicycle for my daughter from Decathlon (a bTwin), and she is loving every moment with it. The build quality looks top notch.

With this buy i am thinking to buy one for myself to go have together cycling time with her and for other uses like early morning riding to the badminton court and if possible someday ride to work. Looked at brands like Hercules, bTwin, Firefox. What brands or features would be recommended, Shocks (Front and Back), Disc Brakes, Gears ?

Budget is not fixed, depending on what i am getting would be ready to push.

[unk9ja]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Yesterday we bought bicycle for my daughter from Decathlon (a bTwin), and she is loving every moment with it. The build quality looks top notch.

With this buy i am thinking to buy one for myself to go have together cycling time with her and for other uses like early morning riding to the badminton court and if possible someday ride to work. Looked at brands like Hercules, bTwin, Firefox. What brands or features would be recommended, Shocks (Front and Back), Disc Brakes, Gears ?

Budget is not fixed, depending on what i am getting would be ready to push.

If you are in a 10K budget, get an ACT110, nothing to beat. If you can stretch, then there are more variables than you can imagine. Schwinn, b'Twin and the list goes on. With 20K, you can look at Trek, Cannondale, GT. Go a bit further up, Bergamont, Trek are within your reach. Speak to Rohan at BOTS, Bums on the saddle in Jayanagar, he would be the ideal person to help you out. Cheers

[trammway]

Originally Posted by kumar2007

Airlines that charge will charge 150 dollars/euros for a flight to India, and 50 dollar/euro for a internal flight [usually]. Schwinn MTB might not be worth bringing. Don't know what the value of the bike is though.

I just enquired with Kuwait airlines, they are quoting $150 for the bike luggage if I exceed my 2 piece luggage. Otherwise bike box will be considered as one of the 2 piece and extra weight charges applied upto 70pounds. That leaves me 32kg total weight and $50 budget.


I wanted to understand how much was Indian customs duty for a pre-owned bike.

Will they wave the duty off as I'm coming for temporary trip and may take it back after a month vacation in India. (anyway I will cary a return ticket with me)

[zoombiee]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Yesterday we bought bicycle for my daughter from Decathlon (a bTwin), and she is loving every moment with it. The build quality looks top notch.

With this buy i am thinking to buy one for myself to go have together cycling time with her and for other uses like early morning riding to the badminton court and if possible someday ride to work. Looked at brands like Hercules, bTwin, Firefox. What brands or features would be recommended, Shocks (Front and Back), Disc Brakes, Gears ?

Budget is not fixed, depending on what i am getting would be ready to push.

You need a simple bike based on your requirements. Get a Hercules ACT 110 or LA Sovereign Navigator. If you see that you are getting passionate about cycling, jump the gun and buy a more purpose oriented cycle.

Buying a simpler bike will also help you gets hands on on cycle maintainence (without being too scared).

[yaser_cyclist]

When I was a kid, I used to wait for the saturdays/sundays when we could hire bikes on an hourly basis and dad used to take me along, him riding his sparkling Raliegh.

Back in 1988 I got my first bike - I inherited it from my uncle who wasn't using it any more. It was a Raliegh, similar to the BSA SLR. Used it for like 5yrs until it got stolen. Then a used BSA SLR came into my life and it stayed for another 4yrs. Towards the end of my graduation started working parttime and finally got myself my first NEW bike a BSA Trailblazer. 7yrs later this got stolen and then I got a used Ranger MAX. Two years later this got stolen but luckily I spotted it a week later at a shop on my daily route. I purchased it again and it is still with me for the last 5+yrs. All these were my daily rides - school/college/office/groceries/roaming etc.

A bicycle is an integral part of my daily life and just can't live without one.

Apart from these, I have a old Raliegh race bike which I used for competitions and I still ride it at times.

Me currently in Saudi Arabia for the last 2+yrs and a bicycle is my primary ride here. Just a normal bike which I ride minimum 10+kms everyday.

While I love the way the high end models fly, I would still prefer/suggest a normal/simple bike. Reasons being, Invest in a high end bike if you wish to compete and take full advantage of its worth. The regular bikes are easier on maintenance, in the sense, you can get it fixed either yourself or with any local mechanic and the spares won't pinch the wallet, unlike the imported ones which needs expert hands to fix. Plus one can use the simpler ones for daily commutes and not just reserve cycling for a weekend ride. I can go for my regular grocery shopping by locking it to a lampost and not worry as much as I would hadn't it been say a Trek

Once a friend who has a Firefox, it had a fall and needed a couple of allen bolts. The shop was like 10kms from his place, he had to take it in his car only to learn that the particular bolt wasn't available. He took the bike back home and it took over a month and a lot of phone calls before the bolts were available and until then the bike was unrideable. Similar problem on a local bike could be fixed in a matter or minutes at the nearest bike shop.

All said, I dream/plan of getting myself a Cannondale CAAD10 in the near future. Maybe in the near future with spares won't be a problem any more and I am sure as the competition rises, the prices should also come down a little.

[mail4ajo]

Anyone using Montra? I am looking at a Hybrid version. Falls in budget for me.

[gopikb]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Yesterday we bought bicycle for my daughter from Decathlon (a bTwin), and she is loving every moment with it. The build quality looks top notch.

.

mayank, can you help to let me know the size and cost of the btwin cycle that you bought for your daughter? I am planning to buy a 24" POPLY from BTWIN for my daughter. I dont have a decathlon card. It is retailing at other stores at Rs.10000. Not sure if there is a huge difference in price between decathlon on the other stores. Hence wanted to get an idea from you

[kiren]

I am planning to get a Btwinn from Decathalon. As the cycle is sent in an dismanteled state, How difficult it is to assemble the cycle ourselves?.

Kiran

[Aditya]

kiren, I have a b'Twin RR5.0 myself. If you are good with tools, it's very easy to assemble. All you have to do is fit the front wheel (which has a quick release), the seat (again has a quick release), the pedals, for which you require spanners, the handlebar which required an Allen Key. Didn't take me more than 30 mins or so for the entire process.

[kiren]

Originally Posted by Aditya

kiren, I have a b'Twin RR5.0 myself. If you are good with tools, it's very easy to assemble. All you have to do is fit the front wheel (which has a quick release), the seat (again has a quick release), the pedals, for which you require spanners, the handlebar which required an Allen Key. Didn't take me more than 30 mins or so for the entire process.

Thanks Aditya. I am good with tools but a bit lazy hence was unsure.

Kiran

[mail4ajo]

I acquired a Schwinn Sporterra sport and am riding between 15-30kms almost daily. I ride with the Tamil Nadu Cyling Club.

[lancersfx]

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

I acquired a Schwinn Sporterra sport and am riding between 15-30kms almost daily. I ride with the Tamil Nadu Cyling Club.

Congrats on the purchase. Wishing you happy miles of fun n adventure.