Giving a new lease of life to my Hercules thriller - Jhandewalan So the cycling bug hit me after all these years. The last time I had pedalled seriously was during graduation days. After that I have rarely, if ever, been on a bicycle. Though in 2010 I did get a little excited after a friend gifted me his 'geared' Hercules Thriller, but the lazy bum in me hardly ever took it for a spin - max being an easy 8-10 km ride on weekends!
In Delhi I had the opportunity to visit the Jhandewalan Cycle Market to purchase a bicycle - not for me though. There I got talking with one of the shopkeepers and one thing led to another. He revealed that there was a talented 'mechanic' who restored regular geared bikes - even old ones! That led to the germination of an idea. I went and met him - Irfan was his name. I asked him if he could 'upgrade' my Hercules Thriller which has gears only in the rear to one that that had gears in both front sprocket and rear and he said why not?! He then very enthusiastically went on to explain what all he could do with the bicycle (though I honestly didn't get half the jargon that he belted out) but I was convinced that the humble old Hercules could be given a turnaround.
The afternoon saw me lugging the Hercules contorted in an unimaginable position in the back of the Zen to Irfan. He saw the bike and passed a verdict that the bike was in fine fettle and some spirited TLC would put it at par with the Firefoxes and Giants. I took this with a (large) pinch of salt and thought that he was just bandying about big names in order to impress me.
After a day I went to collect the bike. Here's a summary of the things he did - Put in new 3-sprocket crankset along with a new derailleur in front
- Service rear cassette and derailleur
- Put in new ball bearings in both the wheels
- Replace defective spokes
- Changed the thumb push type gear lever to the grip type gear lever for controlling both the front and rear derailleurs
- Removed the 'horns' (seeng/ सींग - that's what he called them)
- Changed the rear tyre to a less knobbly one (on my insistence)
- Added a front light as well as a back light
- Added a Bottle carrier/ cage and a bottle
- Replaced the stock seat with an 'imported' one
- Replaced the ball bearings in headset and head tube with better ones
- Repaired the brakes , replace brake pads/ shoes all around
- Replaced the screw type seatpost clamp with a flip type one
- Replaced all cables (four of them)
- Replaced both brake levers
I got chatting with him and he revealed that he often used to go on expeditions with फिरंगी people on these organised bicycle expeditions to Uttarakhand/ Spiti/ Ladakh as the head mechanic and he has worked on bikes that cost upward of Rs 5L !
The total damage for the repair/ transformation was 24xx while the labour was Rs 400. I paid him Rs 3K. The bike runs smooth like butter now, though the grip type gear levers are a little hard at the moment. I expect it to get comfortable with time.
Here are the pictures Hercules Thriller - Representational image - courtesy Google New front 'imported' derailleur and cassette Rear cassette and derailleur 'serviced' Stock seat replaced with an 'imported' one, screw type seatpost clamp replaced with a flip type one Water Bottle Holder / Clamp with bottle Grip type gear lever - left Grip type gear lever - right Irfan - Mechanic par excellence, Jhandewalan, New Delhi - +919873181063
All in all, it's been a pleasant experience. The bike runs smoothly and the experience has left me cycling more than what I used to, which, considering the fee, is great ! .
Irfan claims that he can turn non-geared bicycles into geared ones and make them comparable to some of the big names in the business (Well he did a good job with mine - so far!). He said he routinely works with the imported bikes which the various shops in the Jhandewalan Cycle Market send to him to fit derailleurs and cassettes and look at the niggles that crop up once in a while. He has sorted my bicycle and it really runs smoothly. People in Delhi who are looking for adding gears to their bikes can look at him for advice and repair I guess.
Here are his contact details Irfan - Jhandewalan Bicycle Market, New Delhi - +919873181063 Pros - Knowledgeable and conscientious
- Quality of work
- Price
Cons - You have to lug your bicycle to him
Cheers !
Last edited by khan_sultan : 20th March 2019 at 08:43.
Reason: Line spacing
|