re: How to select a bicycle according to your needs and budget?

IMHO since you might be getting into cycling after a long time, start with a used, decent bicycle.

Understand your preferences.
Comfort, off-road use, ready to sweat a bit more with every pedal - get a mountain bike.

Speed, very long distance, ready to feel every single undulation - road bike.

A mix of above two - hybrid bike.

You can look for 'Cyclops' on Facebook. Or, WWW.BikesZone.com.

For majority of people preferences change once they start riding.

Last but not the least - get a correct fit.

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re: How to select a bicycle according to your needs and budget?

Hello folks,

I was looking at a hybrid bicycle for myself because the kind of usage my P220 gets these days is not ideal for it.

I have a 7 or 14 km daily commute involving tarmac only riding (depending upon which office I end up going) so considering that, I have considered the following bikes.

BTwin Riverside 3 (~20k including basic accessories at Decathalon Nasik)
Firefox Roadrunner Pro ? (17.8k+ accessories)
Hercules ACT 110 (Yet to get to touch this one)

Among the 3, I took a liking towards the BTwin but want to check out other options before I take the plunge so any help / suggestions will be welcome.

About me: I am ~6ft tall and weigh about 83 kilos.

Primary motivation: I have always wanted to own and ride a nice bicycle. For such short commute distances, it won't take me many more minutes to cover the distance on a bicycle as compared to my Pulsar.

Secondary Motivation: I want to lose a bit of my belly fat but don't have the resolve to hit the gym

Anyways, feels really good to finally be back to XBHP.
[MENTION=38603]The Monk[/MENTION] over to you.

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re: How to select a bicycle according to your needs and budget?

You get back to xBhp with zero bhp

What is your budget?

Don't buy the ACT110. The other two are evens, with the Btwin being slightly better. Other options you would have in the price range would be the Cannondale Quick 5, Scott Sportster X70, KHS Vitamin B. All within 25k.

Prefer buying bikes from these companies, with the most VFM brands currently in India are the KHS and Merida bikes. Decathalon gives awesome discounts once in a while, so those are also a good option.

Ride the bikes before buying, buy a bike according to your height. Dealers try to palm off what they have in stock.

Cycling will help a lot in cutting down the extra flab around the belly!!

Re: How to select a bicycle according to your needs and budget?

Thanks [MENTION=38603]The Monk[/MENTION] for the immediate response.

I will take a look at what I can find here locally and take a call. But whatever reviews I could find, the Riverside seems to be winning.

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Re: How to select a bicycle according to your needs and budget?

Aren't you pretty darn close to Pune. Go there. You will probably have a much better choice than in Nasik. Not saying that Nasik is a small town but still

Re: How to select a bicycle according to your needs and budget?

Well technically, I am closer to Mumbai than to Pune so I can get any thing from there too but I would like to have local support for whatever I buy. And besides, I am pretty sure I will get each and every cycle mentioned on this page right here in Nasik.

In the meanwhile, I went over to Decathalon yesterday and picked up a B'twin MyBike 7S (₹6999 + accessories) for my 7 year old Nephew


Which I intend to borrow every once in a while so I get some much needed practice before I spend the bigger money on anything.



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Re: How to select a bicycle according to your needs and budget?

Nothing like it if you get it in your city. Just thought that Nasik won't be selling anything other than Hero Jets

Don't ride that MyBike. It is too small for you and probably incapable of handling your weight Leave it for the little kid! Also if you ride that bike you will give up cycling even before you start.

Re: How to select a bicycle according to your needs and budget?


I need your valuable advice on selecting a right bike for me .
My requirements mtb or hybrid , good gear set , lightweight , budget 25000 max. 29er mtb preferred if in my budget.
I have shortlisted few bikes such as track and trail montra blue,montra rock 1.1 because of budget.

Pls help me in selecting right bike whatever brand prefferd but should be vfm and long lasting.
Regards
Avhad sitaram

Re: How to select a bicycle according to your needs and budget?

Hey Avhad

Apologies for the late reply, have been away.

What is your intended usage?
29ers are heavier than your average 26" bike. 25k is not enough of a budget for new good 29er. These bikes are also not easily available in the secondhand market.

On the other hand you can get some good quality used MTBs with that budget.

Avoid the montras and track and trails, no point investing in those when you can get better bikes for the money.

Have you considered getting a road bike?

BTW what is your height?

Re: How to select a bicycle according to your needs and budget?



Hello [MENTION=38752]monk[/MENTION]
My need is just commuting and wish is occasionaly touring . not real offroad trails but contryside gravel roads.

I have not considered road bike yet coz they are way expensive to me . i had ridden hero hawk three month for ride position i am comfortable .

My height is 174cm and weight 70 kgs

I can consider any brand of good quality whether used or new.

Plz suggest what to do.

Re: How to select a bicycle according to your needs and budget?

I hope you are regularly checking out Cyclop on Facebook, the best place for used bikes in India.

You actually don't need an MTB basis your requirements.

A steel framed touring bike would be ideal for you, but like you said, those bikes are expensive.

My suggestion is look for a good used MTB which has eyelets for a rack, preferably front and rear, if not then just rear. Depending on the terrain you can use hybrid tyres or MTB tyres.

Do not worry about the wheel size being 26". It won't pose a problem.

Re: How to select a bicycle according to your needs and budget?

Very informative, wonderfully written!

Cleared a lot of doubts I had in my mind.
Thanks!

Re: How to select a bicycle according to your needs and budget?

Thanx [MENTION=38752]monk[/MENTION] for your real quick and nice reply..

I have been using hercules tuner vx 18 speed for daily commute of 20kms. It uses basic shimano sis derailer and revo shifters but the gear ranges are not suitable for even slight high speed on highways, for low speed its fine.

I want a descent gear range in my bike , ef shifters. If i consider used 29er then i can put upto 700c x 28 slicks for good commuting and broader one for touring lil bit offroad.

What is your views regarding my issues.?
It is worth to buy used trek or cannondale over montra rock series.?
If considering road bike(used) my budget is sufficiant.?
Plz advice me on the best bet within my budget.

Re: How to select a bicycle according to your needs and budget?

Don't worry any bike you will buy will be a big deal better than the Hercules you are currently riding

Even in a 26 MTB you can put slicks for commuting and touring, while you can use the stock tyres for trails.

A used Trek, Cannondale or a bunch of other brands are far better than the montra rock series. Check out Raleigh, KHS, Merida as well, these are VFM brands compared to the other big players.

You may get a used road bike in 25k, but that bike won't be very conducive for touring. You could also get a Hybrid, but you won't be able to ride trails with that. Though a hybrid can be used for touring, provided it has eyelets for a rack. Also, you won't need to buy separate tyres and tubes.

Re: How to select a bicycle according to your needs and budget?


Thanx [MENTION=38752]monk[/MENTION] for pouring valuable input .
Which models are really fullfill my requirements ?
Suggest me few good vfm models.