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.
