[alfafan]

Dear Ferrari 1976 and Anupam - Thanks a lot for your replies to my query.

Anupam -I will surely visit the decathlon super store, just that i have to muster the courage to drive all the way from dhayari to wagholi

Ferrai 1976 - A question, does the bike shipped by snapdeal come fully assembled or is some work required post we recieve the shipment. How has been your overall experience with this bike.

[ninjatalli]

Is anyone in Pune looking for slick tires? Recently got an update that Decathalon store is stocking btwin 26x1.2 slick tires. Apparently in short stock, but available.

[ninjatalli]

Noob question : Do GPS tracking (cycling/running) apps differ a lot in their tracking (& analysis) algorithm?

I track my rides using Endomondo app, then later export the ride and upload on Strava (WP doesn't have Strava app, hence the workaraound). Just noticed on the recent ride I did, there's a gap of nearly 30 minutes in both applications

Endomondo: 41.6 km / 2H:38M / 15.7 kmph (avg)
Strava: 41.8 km / 2H:09M / 19.3 kmph (avg)

I'd still understand if I ran both the apps in parallel and they reported different times, but here the base tracking is being done by one app only. So how is this difference possible?

Originally Posted by alfafan

Ferrai 1976 - A question, does the bike shipped by snapdeal come fully assembled or is some work required post we recieve the shipment. How has been your overall experience with this bike.

@Alfafan, the bike is mostly assembled; basically you need to assemble the handle and the pedals on the bike. Very basic setup. A bhpian has put this up on this thread a few pages back with images, check it out. Also there are detailed videos on youtube that show the same.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Noob question : Do GPS tracking (cycling/running) apps differ a lot in their tracking (& analysis) algorithm?

I track my rides using Endomondo app, then later export the ride and upload on Strava (WP doesn't have Strava app, hence the workaraound). Just noticed on the recent ride I did, there's a gap of nearly 30 minutes in both applications

Endomondo: 41.6 km / 2H:38M / 15.7 kmph (avg)
Strava: 41.8 km / 2H:09M / 19.3 kmph (avg)

I'd still understand if I ran both the apps in parallel and they reported different times, but here the base tracking is being done by one app only. So how is this difference possible?

I have not used Endomondo, but Strava has two times for a ride - Elapsed time and Moving time. Elapsed time is the total time from the instance you started recording the ride and the time you ended the recording. Moving time is the time when you are actually moving. The average speed for the ride is actually calculated using the total distance and the moving time. So, if you took a couple of breaks during your ride, Strava will still report the average speed when you were actually riding.

Based on the data you have provided, the total distance tracked by strava and enodmondo is quite close. Endomondo reports 2hrs 38mnts whereas strava reports 2hrs 9mnts. This time difference is the reason for the difference in average speed. My guess is that you may have taken one or two breaks equal to 29 minutes.

[ninjatalli]

Ok - another Q

Has anyone carried his bicycle on a flight (domestic) recently? What is the process? (Fingers crossed) Can I just ride it in to the check-in luggage?

Originally Posted by graaja

I have not used Endomondo, but Strava has two times for a ride - Elapsed time and Moving time.

Based on the data you have provided, the total distance tracked by strava and enodmondo is quite close. Endomondo reports 2hrs 38mnts whereas strava reports 2hrs 9mnts. This time difference is the reason for the difference in average speed. My guess is that you may have taken one or two breaks equal to 29 minutes.

Thanks.

Actually Endomondo reports the moving time only but reports the stationary time if the app is on (i.e. not paused). But I guess that is the difference between both applications, as Strava has cancelled out the stationary period(s) even when the application is not paused. Quite a good feature IMO - gives you a more accurate picture if you had longer halts - in my case I had stopped for ~25 mins while my friend had to change his tube due to a puncture.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Ok - another Q

Has anyone carried his bicycle on a flight (domestic) recently? What is the process? (Fingers crossed) Can I just ride it in to the check-in luggage?

So let me answer my own question

Jet Airways policy states

JetKonnect allows non-motorized touring or racing bicycles to be carried as luggage on Boeing flights. The bicycle must be packed in a bike box or protective packaging .The handle and bars must be turned sideways and the pedals detached. Bicycles are charged as extra if the 2 piece concept is applicable. In the weight concept ,we do not have any separate charge for bicycles and will charge excess baggage above the free baggage allowance.

Spicejet states

Sports/Skiing equipment, Golf bags, Large Musical instruments, Bicycle, Surf Boards, LCD and LED TVs of size more than 39 inches and other such large and/or out of gauge items will be termed as Special Baggage. Special baggage when registered as Checked Baggage will be subject to a handling fee as detailed in the below grid: 1000 - for domestic

Indigo states

Any Special Baggage like Sports/Skiing equipment, golf bags, bicycle, surf boards, LCD and LED TVs of size more than 39 inches, and other such large and/or odd-sized items submitted as Checked Baggage will be subject to an additional fee of INR 1000 (or equivalent in foreign currency) per piece of equipment, per Sector, (inclusive of service tax and cess, if applicable). The weight of such baggage will be considered part of the permissible baggage allowance and standard excess baggage charges, if applicable, will be levied.

I'm assuming the other 'low-cost' airlines would have similar cost structure. Need to find out if Spicejet/Indigo require the cycle to be boxed or basic screwing up the handle with the frame would do.

[ACM]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

OT Question : Has anyone tried using an adjustable stem for the RR 5.0? Not that I can't manage with the current setup, but an increased stem? Getting mixed reviews from BZ and other sites; haven't found anyone who has made the change.

Wow! Good show!
On a comparative note, I have lost only about 5-10 kgs over the last 5+ months. But I guess a lot of other factors also go into this (eating habits, metabolism rate, etc).

I use a rock rider 5.3 have installed the adjustable OS stem OS being oversize for oversize handle bars. You will require the NON OS stem. If the handle bar is too low or two far for you this helps get a better position. If one puts too much pressure on the handle bar (extreme) the adjustment can get loose. I have had to tighten a couple of times but the position of the handlebar is much better for me now.

On the St loss topic. I also was on a strict diet and the wt loss has now post 18 kgs drop slowed down by 50% was well above 3 digits when I started and still am so that's another factor.

Am also looking for smoother tyres for my cycle to increase speed and distance but still want good grip in wet and slightly gravelled surfaces.

[ACM]

Got my RR5.3 new shoes. Replaced the Kenda Big Blocks 26x2.1 with Continental cruise contact 26x2.2
55-559 Grey colour with silver reflecting strip on the side walls.

They are very comfortable, strong, silent, heavy, smooth, wide, very good looking. Nylon tyres with Kevlar for Safety and Blowout resistance.

Balloon tyres under City/AT tyres on continental site. These are not the folding light weight types though.

But the speed does not seem to have gone up by too much if at all possibly due to wt. Vs. previous Kenda Tyres and also being of similar width. No knobby vibrations on the hand though. Also have filled lesser pressure as yet compared to earlier to things may improve post that. Rs. 800 each.

Will share more feedback after using them a bit more.

[maverick1741]

Friday. 25th April 2014. The day it all started!

So there I was, sitting in my car, stuck in a bad traffic snarl at the U turn at Mahipalpur, smoking a cigarette, listening to the RJs blabbering on the FM; and generally getting bored to death. And like always my mind was wandering and as it so happened that day I was berating myself for being fat, lazy and generally unhealthy; and not doing a damn about it!
And then it happened!

But back to that later. A brief intro first – I’m 34, 5.7 feet tall and weigh in at 81 kgs with 32 inch a waist line. I weighed 56 kgs till I was 24. Then I went to do my MBA and got used to the good life, gaining weight like there’s no tomorrow. Luckily my weight has remained within a range of 78-85, but I do not feel as healthy as I did before. Workouts have become a fad for me… they come and go from time to time. Even though I feel good when I work out lately it’s been hard for me to keep at it for long. I was an avid runner in school but lately running doesn’t excite me anymore – I find it too hard on the knees and lower back. And I can’t work out in a gym even if my life depended on it. Plus after getting home I want to spend time with my son and it’s hard doing any kind of workout while in the park with him. So overall I rarely worked out and feel really crappy about it. Buy despite all that I crave excitement. I’ve ridden to Ladakh, Bhutan and Sikkim on a RE TBTS, I love trekking and camping, and my idea of a perfect holiday is to drive to the hills without any particular destination in mind.

So anyway, here I was that fateful day… the lights changed and my car (Honda City S
AT 2012 – gives you an idea of how lazy I really am!) crawled ahead. And promptly came to halt in the jam on the other side. And then it happened! This guy on his fancy bike, dressed real funny with a backpack on the carrier simply rides past me! And he’s not really hampered by the traffic; I mean I’m sure he was, but he wasn’t stuck like I was.
I was amused. Funnily dressed guy, biking in the head, dust, smoke and traffic of Delhi on an April mid morning – what’s not to laugh at?! So that was that and I promptly went back to being bored. Luckily the traffic opened up and off I went… on the way I passed the same cycle guy who was parked on the side of the road and was fiddling with the chain. Curiosity got the better of me and I parked and went to chat him up. I really wanted to know what will make someone ride in the head, dust, smoke and traffic of Delhi on an April mid morning?

Alex was from The United Kingdom who is in Delhi on a 3 year assignment with one of the consulting firms. He lives in Vasant Vihar & works in Cyber Greens Gurgaon. He bikes to and fro work almost every day – a distance of almost 16kms one way. He does it because it helps him work out during the time he spends commuting to office, so that’s time well spent! Since we were both in a hurry we said our good byes and parted ways.

Luckily it was a slow day at work and I had a lot of time on my hands. So I started surfing the web and eventually ended up looking at articles about commuting to work on a bicycle. And what stuck me was that it’s the perfect way to utilize those hours spent driving. While that was an interesting idea, my concern was that my commute is 25 kms one way and would I be able to manage that distance, twice a day? And then I went to these fantastic threads on Team BHP (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...icycles-thread....), www.Bikeszone.com (http://www.bikeszone.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3268) and a couple of others to figure out if the commute is possible and how? Apart from getting to answers to these, what also stuck me is how supportive the bicycling frat in India is. So, I decided to buy a bike.

In hindsight, this was the easy bit. Being a noob to cycling, I had no clue what to buy. I wanted to limit myself to 10K for the bike & 5K for the accessories since I always end up overspending and wanted to keep a buffer; so went googling basis that. From all the reviews I came across the Btwin Rockrider 5.0 emerged as a clear recommendation from the majority. And so by Sunday morning (27th April) my quest changed to where to buy the cycle from. Decathlon does not have a store in Delhi so had to call up multiple dealers of which 3 said they had it. Was not inspired by the first 2 dealers who would not allow a test ride and their attitude was that I was buying their cheapest bike and it didn’t matter to them whether I bought it or not. Pretty disappointing!

On Monday, I called up The Bike Shop in Yusuf Sarai. Spoke to Gaurav who sounded very knowledgeable and took time to run me through how to buy a bike (over the phone). In fact when I told him I was looking to buy a RR 5.0 his first question was regarding the purpose of my buying a bike. Anyways I landed there at 4 pm where I met Vivek who was equally good. The moment I told him my eventual goal was to commute 40 kms a day he immediately recommended the Firefox Rapide 21S. Now I had read no reviews whatsoever of the Rapide 21S and had only read average reviews of Firefox so was very vary of buying this. So I tried out the RR 5.0 & 5.1, Schwinn, Montra, etc. and in the end very reluctantly got onto the FFR21S. And I fell in love with it. So that’s what I bought – the Grey and Blue colour one. Add ons – RHS RVM, Carrier, Bottle Holder, Front & Back lights. I was done in two hours and the shopping experience was incredible with Vivek taking a genuine interest in my requirements and helping with recommendations. Would highly recommend the Bike Shop to anyone who’s looking to buy a cycle in Delhi.
Day 1 - 14.45 Kms in 58 minutes. Rode in Dwarka on good roads with multiple intersections. And all I felt is a mild stiffness of the legs and a very sore backside.
Day 2 - 18.76 Kms in 1 Hour 8 minutes. Again in Dwarka. Day 3 - 11.4 kms in 41 minutes (Dwarka). Gave myself a rest today.

The bike's performing well - it is super smooth to ride, the gear shifts are smooth and easy and it's super light. However every time I go over a bump or a pothole I miss bigger tyres. But can live with that since most of the roads are good.

Am looking forward to mornings now and hopefully should attempt a ride to office and back sometime next week.

A big Thank you to all of you for the sheer wealth of information you’ve put up that motivated me & made the buying easier. Grateful!

Till later. Cheers!

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by maverick1741

Friday. 25th April 2014. The day it all started!


Day 1 - 14.45 Kms in 58 minutes. Rode in Dwarka on good roads with multiple intersections. And all I felt is a mild stiffness of the legs and a very sore backside.
Day 2 - 18.76 Kms in 1 Hour 8 minutes. Again in Dwarka. Day 3 - 11.4 kms in 41 minutes (Dwarka). Gave myself a rest today.

Amazing storyline - something we all (I can) can relate to! Just a suggestion - if you haven't already, get onto one of the gps tracking apps on your mobile - top of the pick would be Strava and connect to other cyclists/friends. Helps a lot in egging you back on the cycle if you have a break in the habit - and social gratification bit is always welcome

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by maverick1741

The bike's performing well - it is super smooth to ride, the gear shifts are smooth and easy and it's super light. However every time I go over a bump or a pothole I miss bigger tyres. But can live with that since most of the roads are good.

Congratulations on taking to the biking!

Regarding your comment, start raising up yourself from the seat whenever you encounter breakers or potholes.

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by maverick1741

Day 1 - 14.45 Kms in 58 minutes. Rode in Dwarka on good roads with multiple intersections. And all I felt is a mild stiffness of the legs and a very sore backside.
Day 2 - 18.76 Kms in 1 Hour 8 minutes. Again in Dwarka. Day 3 - 11.4 kms in 41 minutes (Dwarka). Gave myself a rest today.

The bike's performing well - it is super smooth to ride, the gear shifts are smooth and easy and it's super light. However every time I go over a bump or a pothole I miss bigger tyres. But can live with that since most of the roads are good.

Am looking forward to mornings now and hopefully should attempt a ride to office and back sometime next week.

Congrats on your new acquisition and welcome to the T BHP bikers club. Do try and keep up the effort - I started off really well back in Jan when I bought my bike, dropped a bit in Feb, picked up quite well in March but did not cycle at all in April. However, managed to cycle twice this week (30 km and 25 km) despite the hot and humid weather - and hope I do more in May before the Bombay monsoons shut my cycling down.


Hope you find some company for cycling - that can be a good motivator. The challenge with commuting by bike as I see it is our traffic, and especially the lack of concern and decency that most Indian drivers (especially buses) show. Hence I cycle only early in the morning or on Sundays when traffic is relatively light. So while I could cycle into work early in the morning, coming back even at 8 PM or so would be very risky. Hope you have a better route that enables you to commute safely. One more piece of unsolicited advice - do get and use a helmet. With cycling, it's a matter of when and not if you will ever fall, and a helmet can make all the difference.

[ninjatalli]

Any feedback on GT Tachyon 3.0 (Hybrid)?
The bike has very few reviews online; but from what I understand it is considered to be equivalent to an entry level road bike. I'm currently looking at upgrading to such a setup only.

Basically I'm getting a deal for a Aug 2013 bike; I'm would like to have feedback from you guys if anyone has any inputs wrt this bike. Not sure about actual MRP, but online the price quoted is 32k for a new bike.

Specs are as below

Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL
Colors: Black, White
Frame: GT Tachyon compact geometry Speed Metal™ aluminum frame with Butted and hydroformed (TT,DT), Internal cable routing, forged drop-outs, all braze ons, replaceable derailleur hanger
Fork: GT Speed Blend™ Carbon fork with Carbon steeler, V-brake bosses, rack and fender eyelets
Chain: KMC HG-40
Crank: FSA Tempo triple 52/42/30
Bottom Bracket: Cartridge sealed
Front Derailleur: Shimano R443
Rear Derailleur: Shimano R2300
Shifters: Shimano ST-R221 Rapid Fire Flat Bar road shifters
Cog Set: Shimano HG-51 8spd 11-28
Rims: Alex GT19 Doublewall alloy rims with machined sidewalls 28h front/32h rear
Tires: Kenda Kwest 700x28c
Hubs: Formula sealed bearing 28H
Rear Hub: Formula sealed bearing 32H
Spokes: 14G Stainless
Nipples: Anodized alloy
Brake: Tektro RX-1
Brake Levers: Shimano ST-R221
Handlebar: GT Type R flat riser bar, 31.8x640mm
Stem: GT Type R 3D forged 6061
Grips: GT Dual Density design
Headset: Integrated sealed bearing
Saddle: GT Type R Bio-Morphic
Seat Post: GT Alloy two bolt
Seat Clamp: Alloy Collar with bolt

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Any feedback on GT Tachyon 3.0 (Hybrid)?
The bike has very few reviews online; but from what I understand it is considered to be equivalent to an entry level road bike. I'm currently looking at upgrading to such a setup only.

Basically I'm getting a deal for a Aug 2013 bike; I'm would like to have feedback from you guys if anyone has any inputs wrt this bike. Not sure about actual MRP, but online the price quoted is 32k for a new bike.

Specs are as below

Go for it. Its basically an entry level roadbike without the drop bars.

You should get it cheaper. Think of road bike price minus drop bars minus shifters etc. 32k is the level that makes you want to spend a bit more and get a proper roadie. So I would think

[alfafan]

Friends - as you have been aware i have posted numerous queries related to right bicycle in range up to 10k over the past month or so.

Just like everyone who was born in 80s , rode a bicycle all way until i finished my college. Post getting a job, bicycling faded away in the daily fast life and routines. That is until i saw the fantastic travelouge from adc sir, which made me fall back with cycling all over againb. I have been a 10K regular runner so my thought was that i should be able to manage cycling again

Thanks to helpful suggestions from the team-bhp forum, i zeroed in on the btwin rockrider 5.0 which was the only mtb which could fit into my budget. Finally last week i saw a good deal on snapdeal of 8500Rs and ordered online.

Well got my hand on the cycle this weekend, had a small problem with assembling the bike which i got rectified by local cycle shop.

Over the weekend did around 30 - 40 Kms of cycling including khadakwasla and i feel i have reclaimed my life, everything seems to go in slow motion and you feel each slope and short climbs. Simply amazing.

A big thanks to everyone on this forum for making me realize this dream. If anyone has helpful tips on which gears to select for uphill and downhill sections that would be really helpful.