I wanted to get a nice road bike for a very long time. Over the last six months, I did a lot of research on different bikes available in the Indian market. Went through product brochures of BSA, Hero, Hercules, Avon, Firefox, Lumala, LA Sovereign, TREK, Merida, Raleigh etc etc.
All the Indian brands are mostly priced below 10K. But the build quality is not good. There is always some stiffness with the bike and the gear shift mechanism is not very smooth. I have tried the BSA ones very often. Even the latest one called ACT 105 isn't that great. There is something that makes the imported ones feel better during the ride.
Lumala is SriLankan. They are good, but very heavy. And there is no guarantee for good service. And also difficult to get spares. LA Sovereign is a joint venture with a Thai firm. They have good alloy bikes, but not that great for the price that you pay.
Then I checked Merida through a dealer in Bangalore. Great bike, but the logistics of getting the bike to Chennai and then servicing it here. Its not easy.
Raleigh - amazing bikes from the UK. These are produced right now in Asia. The Hypercity in Bombay has stocks but they dont ship to other states. If you have anyone in Bombay who is willing to ship it for you, then the Explorer and the MTRAX models are absolutely great bikes.
Firefox Target and Firefox Reloaded were also in my budget. I was almost buying the Reloaded, when the guy suggested the TREK. I had a look at the bike and it suited my requirements better than the Firefox. The Firefox has tyres that are better suited for the flat roads. So, for off-roading, you'll need to have another set of tyres. The TREK comes with the tyres used for mountain biking, but the best part is that the TREK on a flat road with such tyres is as good as the Firefox. Also, the Shimano gear system that is used on both these bikes is different. That enhances some quality of the product as well.
Anyway, now I am all thrilled about my new road bike. I am just waiting to hit Kodai in December for that wonderful cycling tour.
And if you need any help on buying road bikes, do feel free to reach out to me. I'll be glad to help.
12 comments:
congrats mama!!!
you are tempting me!!! ( how much did it cost ?!! )
kk
haha... buy it for the Kodi trip. coming to think of it, the TREK cost me a bomb. paid 16K!!!
wow mama! its awesome...congrats! r u planning to cycle to the beach in the wknd now?
@nithya - i am cycling, but not till the beach. will do that after the tournament.
Good stuff Mama,
Are you doing the tour of Nilgiris?
Cheers,
Arunesh.
Mama,
One more question.. how is the servicing options in Chennai for firefox and trek bikes?
And is this a road bike? Looks more like all terrain.
Cheers,
Arunesh.
@Arunesh - I am not doing Nilgiris, but doing Kodai with a bunch of friends. Chennai has one Firefox dealer who is quite good in terms of servicing. Mine is an all-terrain bike which performs really well on the road as well. The build of the bike makes it very comfortable for a flat road.
Hi mama ! :)
Im dyin to buy 3700, can you tell me the dealers name in chennai, and the address perhaps.
Thanks
Saravana Rajendra
there is a dealer in Alsa Towers on PH road towards Aminjikarai, just behind the Taylors Road Bus Stop.
one more person at Saidapet - Balaji Cycles, dont know exactly where. this guy sells Merida, which is also good.
Hi Narayan,
its very intresting and amazing to hear about these many brands of bikes.
thats really g8 and i m very new in this research and hope it wuld be helpful for me to take ur advice i just want to commute to my office and willing to take gud bike limited req like geared once and gud looks :). i made a initial reseach and found few gud bikes like merida and firefox which suites to my req can you pls suggest me on this.
Great Post!
I can see the hardwork done by the blog owner.
Keep Posting such great things again.
Looking forward for your next post.
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i too have gone on the kodaikanal hills on the rented hercules cycles(which they rent near the lake) for a couple of kms uphill and downhill..it was amazing..since then i have always been planning to buy a bicycle..my budget though is low.. 8k..i was looking for the option of btwin rockrider 5.0(used)..right now i will be requiring a cycle to commute to short distances..and occasional treks within 100 kms..also can u suggest me the frame size i am 5 10".
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