[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

I'm a noob when it comes to models and types, so by proper hybrid I'm presuming the Triban 100 is one, seems to be available at Decathlon which is about 250 km's from where I stay, the asking price is 20k.

If this is the cheapest cycle suiting the needs then I'm fine with arranging the difference.

Also thanks for the speedy reply.

Regards,
A.P.

Disclaimer : I am no expert with respect to bicycles, I am just getting into the groove and learning things myself!

Well if you need a Hybrid bike, Mach City has a model with 21 speed gears for about 12k. What a 20k hybrid bicycle gets you actually is an alloy frame (less weight) but most other basic things like the Shimano Tourney gear set are all pretty standard fare for almost all the hybrids in this range.

Experts, correct me if I am wrong- One can change the entire gear-set to better quality ones later, once the limiting factor is the bicycle and no longer the rider
Correct me if I am wrong.

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

I'm a noob when it comes to models and types, so by proper hybrid I'm presuming the Triban 100 is one, seems to be available at Decathlon which is about 250 km's from where I stay, the asking price is 20k.

If this is the cheapest cycle suiting the needs then I'm fine with arranging the difference.

Also thanks for the speedy reply.

Regards,
A.P.

The Triban 100 is actually a flatbar road bike. There's no suspension and the tyres are 32mm wide. I bought because it's lightweight at 11kg with an alloy frame. Hybrid's usually have a suspension and slightly wider tyres giving you a comfortable ride , but the weight will be a little higher. You'll get hybrids from Montra at around the 20K price range. Check out between the Decathlon and Montra ranges before making a purchase. You can also buy a used one from some of the popular sites like http://deals.cyclop.in .

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

Experts, correct me if I am wrong- One can change the entire gear-set to better quality ones later, once the limiting factor is the bicycle and no longer the rider
Correct me if I am wrong.

I'm no expert , but buying a new bicycle with a better groupset usually is more economical than upgrading only the groupset and keeping the frame. The bicycle manufacturers have tie-ups with Shimano/SRAM etc and they get stuff at cheaper rates than retailers like you and me.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

Well if you need a Hybrid bike, Mach City has a model with 21 speed gears for about 12k. What a 20k hybrid bicycle gets you actually is an alloy frame (less weight) but most other basic things like the Shimano Tourney gear set are all pretty standard fare for almost all the hybrids in this range.

Might be my noobiness like what pushes someone to opt for USD's because they're the fad, but I'm kinda considering the rust-free route as rust has always been an issue for me, which leads me to believe that going Alloy or Aluminium would be the better choice.

Though I'm still confused what differentiates Alloy from Aluminium, I used to believe both meant the same thing.

I'm still confused about the gearing part, being on the heavier side and a couch potato all my life I can see how that would benefit me in theory, but I've had a Hercules 21 Speed in the past and never really managed to get things working well for me, the front derailleur was a PITA to calibrate, not to mention that I always get things confused when choosing the right gear combination for the job.

Plus if its not that obvious my cadence sucks.

Originally Posted by sdp1975

The Triban 100 is actually a flatbar road bike. There's no suspension and the tyres are 32mm wide. I bought because it's lightweight at 11kg with an alloy frame. Hybrid's usually have a suspension and slightly wider tyres giving you a comfortable ride , but the weight will be a little higher. You'll get hybrids from Montra at around the 20K price range. Check out between the Decathlon and Montra ranges before making a purchase. You can also buy a used one from some of the popular sites like http://deals.cyclop.in .

I'm not a fan of suspensions, they're hard to get serviced in this part of the country and might be the models that I've gone for in the past but I feel that spare availability was always an issue for me. So I feel going hard on both ends would serve be better, plus keeps the price down.

Amazon has a few options from Montra, seems nice, but I'm confused on going for a particular model, I'm 5'11 and weighs around a 100 kgs, what should I be looking for? I would be riding in broken roads most of the time. So what size, type should I be looking for?

Sorry for going a bit overboard with the questions, I've had my fair share of cycles but never really found 'the one' so thinking of getting all my doubts sorted out to get things right one last time before throwing in the towel.

Regards,
A.P.

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Sorry for going a bit overboard with the questions, I've had my fair share of cycles but never really found 'the one' so thinking of getting all my doubts sorted out to get things right one last time before throwing in the towel.

The Montra trance Pro, Timba disc, Downtown would be in your budget. These all have aluminium frames with rigid forks and 35mm tyres. The Downtown is a VFM buy at 16K.

The Triban 100 is also a good buy - it's got no front derailleur so that keeps things simple. It's got 7 gears at the back that I find adequate for commute and the shifting is really smooth. The ride can be a bit harsh on broken roads with 32 mm tyres, but it is manageable. Decathlon's service is quite decent too.

Your size should be L, but be sure to check out at the store. I would never buy a bike online and then land into size problems. I've seen folks selling newly purchased bikes for 20-30% less just because they bought the wrong size, so make sure you get the right size.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

The Montra trance Pro , Timba disc , Downtown would be in your budget. These all have aluminium frames with rigid forks and 35mm tyres . The Downtown is a VFM buy at 16K.

Now went to the shop and got to see the Montra Mad Rock;



And Montra Helicon;



The Helicon is slightly pricier than the Mad Rock 29incher.

For about 20k there was also a similar Cannondale available, they didn't have firefox and when asked they said they don't stock Chinese cycles, which got me confused.

So from a brand perspective should I go for Montra, Firefox or Cannondale?

[Aditya]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

So from a brand perspective should I go for Montra, Firefox or Cannondale?

Cannondale. Period.

Only if you are on a really tight budget should you think of the other brands you have mentioned. With the Cannondale available for 20K, this is a no-brainer.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

So from a brand perspective should I go for Montra, Firefox or Cannondale?

No questions about it, the other two don't even hold a candle against the Cannondale. But what Cannondale model are you getting for 20k?

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

For about 20k there was also a similar Cannondale available, they didn't have firefox and when asked they said they don't stock Chinese cycles, which got me confused.

So from a brand perspective should I go for Montra, Firefox or Cannondale?

Cannondale is the better brand , but if you're getting a Cannondale at 20K, it's likely a clearance sale for a low end model that's several years old. Not a 2018/19 model. Check out the model year and specs before you buy it.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Cannondale. Period.

Only if you are on a really tight budget should you think of the other brands you have mentioned. With the Cannondale available for 20K, this is a no-brainer.

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

No questions about it, the other two don't even hold a candle against the Cannondale. But what Cannondale model are you getting for 20k?

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Cannondale is the better brand , but if you're getting a Cannondale at 20K , it's likely a clearance sale for a low end model that's several years old . Not a 2018/19 model. Check out the model year and specs before you buy it.

My apologies guys, messed up the name, it was a Schwinn not a cannondale.



Paid 15k for it, rode her up a hard steep for barely few kms and the effort has messed up my eyesight, hence apologies for the typos if any.

[ashwinprakas]

So after the initial excitement I calmed down a bit and rode her for 10kms today morning, she comes with a 34T super low cassette at the rear which though helps with aggressive inclines still needs a bit of getting used to.

Plus I have to improve my overall pace as I've been away from cycles for a while now.

As for maintenance I lube the chain and front forks with 4T oil and keep TP at 50Psi on both ends.

Is there anything else I need to keep an eye out for?

Also do share pro tips on gearing as I'm a complete novice with this system, even though I've had a few stints with similar setups in the past.

Thanks,
A.P.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Also do share pro tips on gearing as I'm a complete novice with this system, even though I've had a few stints with similar setups in the past.

Select the gearing according to your cadence (number of revolutions per minute of your pedal). Ideally, you should be riding at a cadence of 80 to 90 RPM. When you are not able to maintain the cadence and your cadence drops shift down. When you are riding on a flat road or downhill where your cadence is too much, shift up.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by graaja

Select the gearing according to your cadence (number of revolutions per minute of your pedal). Ideally, you should be riding at a cadence of 80 to 90 RPM. When you are not able to maintain the cadence and your cadence drops shift down. When you are riding on a flat road or downhill where your cadence is too much, shift up.

Not sure if it's my luck but while downshifting the crank gears the chain slipped and got bent, returned the cycle to the shop for an overnight inspection.

Is it normal for the chain to skip when downshifting the crank gears at a faster pace?

Also while upshifting should be keep the lever pressed until the gear changes at the crank? Asking as sometimes it doesn't shift on mine when asked the guy said that you'd have to push and hold the lever until it shifts for the front.

Also they said I should never cross cross gear it,I.e. never use the biggest on one end and smallest on the other end and vice versa, this got me confused as wouldn't that mean I wont be able to use the tallest and shortest gearing ratio at all?

My experience with motorcycles has been clockwork so far and is it wrong for me to expect the same from a cycle.

This is literally my saddest experience on any set of wheels, all my enthusiasm down the drain.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Not sure if it's my luck but while downshifting the crank gears the chain slipped and got bent, returned the cycle to the shop for an overnight inspection.

Is it normal for the chain to skip when downshifting the crank gears at a faster pace?

Also while upshifting should be keep the lever pressed until the gear changes at the crank? Asking as sometimes it doesn't shift on mine when asked the guy said that you'd have to push and hold the lever until it shifts for the front.

Also they said I should never cross cross gear it,I.e. never use the biggest on one end and smallest on the other end and vice versa, this got me confused as wouldn't that mean I wont be able to use the tallest and shortest gearing ratio at all?i

Your gear cable just needs a bit of tension adjustment. And if the chain fell off the biggest or smallest chainrings, then your hi-low stop screws need to be adjusted perfectly as well. Nothing major.

Yes, for the front chainrings, when climbing the chain from a smaller to a larger chainring, especially the biggest one, you have to press through the lever and turn the crank till the chain wraps itself properly on to the ring. Its not click click like dropping the chain from the bigger ring on to the smaller ones. Perfectly normal, especially for the more basic groupsets (like the Tourney your Schwinn probably has).

Finally, I believe there is no problem cross-chaining a bit. It is inevitable and perfectly ok for short distances. As you rightly said, if you do not, or cannot (if the gears are not adjusted right and do not engage at the extremes) then you are losing out on those ratios (though really, you can get the near same ratio on the other chainring as well).

The highest and lowest ratios are not cross chaining. They are perfectly straight chain. i.e. innermost line or outermost line. Its when you try climbing on the biggest ring, or picking up speed on the smallest, that you cross-chain.

Look at the teeth on the sprockets and chainrings carefully. They are sculpted with curved ridges and are not flat. These intricate and precision cut computer generated profiles are to aid chain transfer and prevent cross-chain issues.

Cheers, Doc

[graaja]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Is it normal for the chain to skip when downshifting the crank gears at a faster pace?

There are two screws that set the lowest and highest limits for the deraileur. If these screws are correctly set, the chain would never slip off the cassette into the frame. However, many mechanics do not do this correctly which results in such bad experiences. Once you get the bike from the mechanic, the first thing to do is to manually rotate the pedals and shift the gears to both extremes and make sure the chain does not slip.

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Also they said I should never cross cross gear it,I.e. never use the biggest on one end and smallest on the other end and vice versa, this got me confused as wouldn't that mean I wont be able to use the tallest and shortest gearing ratio at all?

Actually, the biggest on the front and smallest on the rear and vice versa is not cross gearing. What they may have intended to tell you is not to use the biggest gear on the front and the biggest gear on the rear, and vice versa. So, you are not missing the smallest and largest gear ratios at all.

Having said that, not using cross gears is just a best practice and is not a "must not do" thing. For people who ride 10,000+ kilometers a year, following this best practice can improve chain and cassette life by some %. But otherwise, it is perfectly fine to use any gear combination. As Doc said, the cassettes are designed for this.

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

This is literally my saddest experience on any set of wheels, all my enthusiasm down the drain.

Do not let the mistake of a mechanic to ruin your interest in cycling. Use this as a learning experience and continue with cycling. You will never regret making cycling as one of your regular activities

[bhp_maniac]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

This is literally my saddest experience on any set of wheels, all my enthusiasm down the drain.

Don't worry friend, I was in the same boat as yours when my Rockrider 540 gears were all acting up on the very first day of cycling and my novice status was adding up to it. All I did was, spent a couple of hours watching YouTube videos on tuning the derailleurs and cable tension and its working like clockwork for the past one year. I am sure patience and a Saturday morning is all that you need to get your enthusiasm back up