[ninjatalli]

So here's me shamlessly peddling my thread on my rides Looking forward to feedback from you guys!

Link


P.s. Jokes apart, we could do with more cycle threads than just this one. A decent bit of my free time is spent reading travelogues of foreigners who do cross-country trips, a few even across India. I would love to read similar threads of bhpians - I am sure there are a lot of us out here who do/have done several long distance trips with tales to tell

[mp417]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

So here's me shamlessly peddling my thread on my rides Looking forward to feedback from you guys!

Excellent thread. Your love for cycling is clearly visible.
I agree that we should have more threads related to cycling. May be having a separate section with different threads for What cycle, technical, rides etc. will be helpful

[mail4ajo]

I moved to a MTB after riding a Hybrid for 2 years. A bit of a step back (logical move should have been a roadie). I have less time to ride than before. So prefer a shorter and tougher workout than riding a Hybrid. My weekly fitness routine is 3 days of riding and 3 days of brisk walking.

Got a Scott Aspect 670. Has anyone tried extending the rise on the handlebar for a more upright seating position?

[Guite]

I have lower back pain (prolapse disc). Will cycling harm my back? What type of bicycle will be ideal for me?

[im_srini]

Originally Posted by ajaypjayaraj

Below is a good example of bikes with front only disk brake & both front & back disk brakes
I have a Rockrider 5.3 which comes with disk brakes front & back.
Whereas the Rockrider 5.2 comes with disk up front only.

Hello Ajay, thanks for this - did not know you get bikes with mixed-brakes...

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

I moved to a MTB after riding a Hybrid for 2 years.
I have less time to ride than before.
So prefer a shorter & tougher workout than riding a Hybrid.

Hi Ajo,
A "tougher workout" was also why I got myself an MTB ~2 years ago too.
Now, thinking of going the other way, i.e. MTB to Hybrid !
Best thing for tough workouts is inclines, unfortunately other than flyovers, we do not have much options to head for the hills in Chennai.

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

Has anyone tried extending the rise on the handlebar for a more upright seating position ?

You could move the saddle closer to the bars as a first step, or try to "flip" the stem.
More expensive options like Adjustable-Stems, Steerer-Extenders, or shorter stems exist.
However, I would hazard a guess that your bike-fit is off - basically, for your riding preference, the bike is a size larger ( mainly seat to bar length ).
If you ask me, if your position on the bike is good, primarily the seat height, do not change anything else on the bike.
If being bent over is causing you pain in the palms, you could try padded gloves ( expensive ones aren't always better ).
Initially I had severe pain in the palms with my MTB & had to experiment with a lot of padded gloves until I found a few that I was happy with.
Moreover, with more & more rides, the pain goes away - in my case at least.

Bike fit issues & pain in odd places, best place to look for advice is YouTube & Bike-Zone.
.

[rust_in_peace]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Thank you. Some of the info was really quite useful, appreciate you taking the effort to put up such a detailed post.

Btw one of the feedback point I got from a experienced biker is it might be more ideal to go for high end hybrid than a race bike to avoid the chances of back pain issues. Although I found it weird he gave this advice, even when he recently upgraded to a high end racing bike, would be interested to hear other views.

The feedback in one way correct and in one way wrong. IMHO If you are going to take cycling a bit serious, in near future you will end up buying a road bike.
I started cycling in 2011 with a Schwinn frontier comp. After a year I badly needed a upgrade when I did my first 100km ride with a group. I upgraded to a trek 4300 on 2012.
Then I fall into the world of the amazing BREVET - The ultimate endurance rides. I did my first 200km brevet with my MTB without any modification or tire change.
Even if I completed the ride successfully, i realized what a road bike can do on longer rides. It was very hard to make a decision as the road bikes are very expensive.
At last on 2013 I ended up in buying an entry level Trek 1.1 while keeping my MTB for shorter rides and on monsoon. Till now i have successfully completed three 200 BRM's and one 300BRM and dreaming of 400 and 600BRM.
Now I am thinking of an upgrade to a better road bike with better group set preferably TREK. When you are investing on a bike, stretch your budget as much as you can.
It will save a lot of money you are going to spent on upgrades in coming future. If you have any cycling friends ask them to help you. They will agree, because mostly bikers and runners are different breed.
They will be interested to show you the real amazing world of cycling & experience the healthy way of living which they are enjoying. I am sure they will arrange you a bike and take you on a group ride.
Spend as much as you can on your first bike. Because it will worth every penny you spent in coming days. These days there is a trend to spend money on smart phones, tablets, notebook cameras etc...
I am sure that if you spend the maximum money on a bike that will be the best investment you are going to make.

Once you buy a good bike, make sure that you ride on a group with well experienced riders. Riding on a group makes a lot of difference. They can share the experience, knowledge which will make you a very good rider in short time.
Once again i recommend you to join the group rides as much as you can. Every city now have bikers group. I am not going to compare between hybrid & road bikes.
As a conclusion, once you start to ride a lot. You can’t resist buying a road bike. A trek Madone 2.1 is on my list and may be a touring bike like Surly Long Haul trucker (Tourer) on a distant dream

[kumar2007]

Originally Posted by im_srini

Hello Ajay, thanks for this - did not know you get bikes with mixed-brakes...



Hi Ajo,
A "tougher workout" was also why I got myself an MTB ~2 years ago too.
Now, thinking of going the other way, i.e. MTB to Hybrid !
Best thing for tough workouts is inclines, unfortunately other than flyovers, we do not have much options to head for the hills in Chennai.


.

Weight of bike has nothing to do with 'toughness' of the workout. Train with a heavy bike, and race with a light bike is often repeated, but is actually crap.

[shifu]

Interesting thread!

Below is my ride. I recently upgraded from a Firefox to Trek 7.1.

I ride 6-7kms every morning (well, almost ). And I have a child seat for my cycle so that my son (2-1/2 yrs) can accompany me.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by shifu

Interesting thread!

Below is my ride. I recently upgraded from a Firefox to Trek 7.1.

I ride 6-7kms every morning (well, almost ). And I have a child seat for my cycle so that my son (2-1/2 yrs) can accompany me.

Awesome ride. With the child seat, it looks cool. Guess your son should be enjoying the rides very much. And I am sure you will be receiving those stares on the road

[ajaypjayaraj]

Originally Posted by shifu

And I have a child seat for my cycle so that my son (2-1/2 yrs) can accompany me.

Hey that's interesting! Where did you source that child seat from?

[shifu]

Originally Posted by graaja

Awesome ride. With the child seat, it looks cool. Guess your son should be enjoying the rides very much. And I am sure you will be receiving those stares on the road

Yes. He can't say cycle yet. He calls it 'kal'. Kal is his second favorite timepass (the first being car ride, after all he is my son ).

Originally Posted by ajaypjayaraj

Hey that's interesting! Where did you source that child seat from?

I got this from the US. I couldn't find anything similar in India. Decathalon has a child seat, but it fits at the back not in the front. For a kid of his age I thought a seat in the front is more safer.

http://www.decathlon.in/cycling/acce...d/p-234034.htm

[ruchirtnt]

Originally Posted by maverick1741

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 am also experiencing almost the similar scenario, the only options left are rapide 21S or road runner ProV, road runner has a front suspension and rapide does not. did you got a chance to look out for RR or simply bought the rapide. i must admit looks of rapide is better than RR.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by Guite

I have lower back pain (prolapse disc). Will cycling harm my back? What type of bicycle will be ideal for me?

I have three prolapsed discs (a couple in rather bad shape). After good back exercises, I've cycled happily on a roadie / hybrid for hours (century ride etc). Mind you I'm a centurion in weight.

If your back / core is decently strong, you can even get a roadie right away.

[mp417]

Originally Posted by ruchirtnt

I am also experiencing almost the similar scenario, the only options left are rapide 21S or road runner ProV, road runner has a front suspension and rapide does not. did you got a chance to look out for RR or simply bought the rapide. i must admit looks of rapide is better than RR.

I was in similar situation 2-3 weeks ago. Almost finalized FF Rapide but after hearing issues with spare parts availability gave it a miss. Went with Montra Blues 1.1. Believe me, Montra is at par compared to other premium brands. I am thoroughly enjoying my new ride I would suggest you to consider Montra.

[phamilyman]

SCAM ALERT: DO not deal with http://www.olx.in/userlistings/Hitechsportbikes

Thieves they are!
http://www.consumercomplaints.in/olx...ipment-c920731

EDIT:

Originally Posted by ruchirtnt

I am also experiencing almost the similar scenario, the only options left are rapide 21S or road runner ProV, road runner has a front suspension and rapide does not. did you got a chance to look out for RR or simply bought the rapide. i must admit looks of rapide is better than RR.

Firefox road runner is quite nice so is montra. cant go wrong with either. i've posted earlier about both