Need information about aluminium frame road/racer cycle

[OldManBiker]

Hello Folks,
I am looking to buy an alloy/aluminium frame road cycle [racer],
with gears for a reasonable budget - anything under 8K is reasonable.
Currently I drive a BSA Mach-1 and have figured that I am pushing a
lot of weight for no reason :-) I researched and found that there was
a "hero thunder racer" but got to know [from the horse's mouth - hero
cycles sales folks] that they have stopped producing it :-(. The only
others I know are well outside my budget - firefox, trek etc. One of
the local cyclewallahs told me about suncross, but a google search
proved futile. Does suncross [is that a vendor or a product?] have the
option I am looking for?

I have looked at the bumsonthesaddle site, but cannot afford the
bikes - also I don't do as much biking to make a trip to B'lore just
for that :-)

Would greatly appreciate your invaluable advice!

- oldManBiker

[Rushi Bhatt]

> Currently I drive a BSA Mach-1 and have figured that I am pushing a
> lot of weight for no reason :-)

You do have a good reason: You're saving money :)

Where are you located? If you know your size, you can have the bike shipped.

Aluminum doesn't necessarily make it light, steel doesn't necessarily
make it heavy. For a great number of reasons, good light road bikes
will be well beyond your budget. You might be better served by getting
a good light MTB (between Rs 10 and 14 k you have good choice in Trek
and Merida. Still reasonable IMHO.) and put skinny tires. Rohan and
Venkat are both on this forum, they'll be able to tell you the exact
weights etc. Also, if you get a good bike you'll automatically start
biking more.

[prasmoh...@gmail.com]

try RR cycle mart in ulsoor.. they might seem to have one in
stock...the Thunder Racer

[Rohan Kini]

+1 .. I like the idea of sticking to a lightweight MTB rather than a heavy road bike. :)
The light road bike are just too freaking expensive.

Hey OldMan, is there a reason why you are looking specifically for road bikes ?

--
~ ROhan
@http://rohan-kini.livejournal.com
$ http://bumsonthesaddle.com/

[Mayank Rungta]

I considered a coupla bikes under 14K and found that Merida sub 10 was the lightest. It is no longer available and the newer version K8 is pretty heavy with better shox. U cud consider that. If you stretch your budget you have many more options from both Trek and Merida. Other brands I haven't seen any much talk on this group! :)

-- 
Have a nice day,
Mynk

http://ngopost.org/story.php?title=Organ_Donation_Make_your_death_trigger_several_new_lives-1

[OldManBiker]

On Jul 4, 2:37 pm, "Rushi Bhatt" <rushib...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Currently I drive a BSA Mach-1 and have figured that I am pushing a
> > lot of weight for no reason :-)
>
> You do have a good reason: You're saving money :)
>
> Where are you located? If you know your size, you can have the bike shipped.

Pune..

>
> Aluminum doesn't necessarily make it light, steel doesn't necessarily
> make it heavy. For a great number of reasons, good light road bikes
> will be well beyond your budget. You might be better served by getting
> a good light MTB (between Rs 10 and 14 k you have good choice in Trek
> and Merida. Still reasonable IMHO.) and put skinny tires. Rohan and
> Venkat are both on this forum, they'll be able to tell you the exact
> weights etc. Also, if you get a good bike you'll automatically start
> biking more.

Good to know that - means I need to do more research. Didn't know I
could put skinny tires
on MTBs. I was hoping that a good road bike would be affordable but it
doesn't look
like that.

oldMan

[OldManBiker]

Thanks for all the information. The only reason to look for road bikes
was that I found MTBs had smaller frames - I am looking for
something like a 26" frame - and my naive assumption was that MTBs
come in smaller frames, and thicker tyres.

Talking about non-roads/hybrids - what do folks think about LA
Sovereign Navigator? I test drove it in a local shop here in Pune
and it seemed a magnitude better, compared to my poor man's Mach 1. Is
there anything else I can compare with the
Navigator?

thanks
- oldManBiker

[Subbu]

Hi,
You have couple of bikes in your range.
Firefox cyclone which I have is pretty decent. Its costs you 8K. You
can have Aluminum bikes from 6K+. With less gears.
So you can have look at my bike, I stay in Jayanagar. I enjoy my
biking as much as others do, so stretch little than what you can
afford for and get a good bike it will never let you down.

-Subbu

[Sudhir P]

I have a Merida Crossway, which is a hybrid. It has a 21.5" frame. And i'm really enjoying the bike.

But wat do u want a 26" frame for? how tall are u?

regards,
Sud

--
================================
Sudhir.P
Blog : http://roastedneutrons.blogspot.com
Photoblog : http://roastedphotons.blogspot.com
Comic strip: http://ktpdq.blogspot.com

I do not suffer from insanity......
I enjoy it!
================================

[Mayank Rungta]

I think 26" is for the tyres? Pardon my ignorance... :)

[Rohan Kini]

nope you are absolutely right !

The reason why most folks get confused is that since all Indian bikes come in a single frame size (around 18" as compared to a Trek). They sometimes advertise the 26" as a 'frame size' whereas its actually the Tire diameter.

[Rish]

Just purchased a Hercules Ryder ACT 105 (21SPD) - it's a 21 Al-Alloy
frame with 26 tire n a 21 speed gear. I have only been riding it for
a week - so it's probably too early to say but I upgraded to it from
an entry-level no-gear steel-frame Hero MTB. At 7500 INR it does come
right under your budget and meets all your listed needs I believe.
Personally I am generally statisfied with the bike. The frame is
pretty good, thou the gears (even thou its apprantly a Shinmaru) could
be better - but then you get what you pay for and I can't complain.

I travel on average 10 to 20 Km a day and the light frame, front
shocks n gears does really make a difference. Overall, I find that
it's a decent bike and feel happy with the choice. I made the choice
after trawling the web for a week n reading through a variety of
forums on the various merits n demirits of different MTBs.
Link to bike spec:
https://www.ticyclesindia.com/ProductFeatures.asp?pid=118

One thing thou, if you do go for it - make sure that you get them to
open a new box and assemble it in front of you. It helps to chat up
the mechanic n keep an eye on him so that he does a good job. They
give you a set of allen keys and a multi size spanner?(not sure what u
call that!) and a 60 day warrenty coupon.

Hope that helps!

-Rish

On Jul 5, 8:09 pm, "Rohan Kini" <rohan.k...@gmail.com> wrote:
> nope you are absolutely right !
>
> The reason why most folks get confused is that since all Indian bikes come
> in a single frame size (around 18" as compared to a Trek). They sometimes
> advertise the 26" as a 'frame size' whereas its actually the Tire diameter.
>
>
>
> On Sat, Jul 5, 2008 at 5:50 PM, Mayank Rungta <mr.m...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >  I think 26" is for the tyres? Pardon my ignorance... :)
>
> > Sudhir P wrote:
>
> > I have a Merida Crossway, which is a hybrid. It has a 21.5" frame. And i'm
> > really enjoying the bike.
>
> > But wat do u want a 26" frame for? how tall are u?
>
> > regards,
> > Sud
>

> >http://ngopost.org/story.php?title=Organ_Donation_Make_your_death_tri...

[Ashok]

Hi Rish,

Please let me know from which shop did you but it from?. I am in
Bangalore and called up Raja cycle mart, but they don't have Ryder ACT
105. Appreciate your reply.

Thanks
-Ashok

On Jul 7, 5:27 pm, Rish <krish...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Just purchased a Hercules Ryder ACT105(21SPD) - it's a 21 Al-Alloy

> > $http://bumsonthesaddle.com/- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[OldManBiker]

Dudes,
Thanks for the invaluable help. I went to two shops in Pune - one in
Koregaon park [http://www.riderownedbikes.com/] and the other on M.G.
Road [Surana cycles]. Both told
me that they could order the Merida Crossway [http://www2.merida-
bikes.com/en_INT/Bikes.Detail.95]. Rider Owned told me that it would
cost something in the range of 15K
which I grudgingly accepted. Surana told me that he'll call me back.
Do folks here know about this bike? I drove for about 30-35 kms this
morning in gorgeous weather and
on my old BSA-Mach 1. Sure would be fun doing something more in the
same kind of weather on a lighter bike. Also how much do mag wheels
[the ones without spokes - like
the motorcyles have today] matter for cycles? I have seen that wheels
lose their shape [called in local lingo as an "out"] on bumpy roads
that are a norm in this area. I was
told that mag wheels are available in really expensive bikes. Is that
correct? Also do I really needs front and back shock absorbers if I am
mostly driving on the road [and
not off it]?

Appreciate your help

- oldManBiker

> > > $http://bumsonthesaddle.com/-Hide quoted text -

[Sudhir P]

Hey,

I have a Merida Crossway-10. Costed me 15k as well. (But i got a free TREK cyclometer and a sidestand with that).
Its been one month since i've got it. In the 700 km i've done so far, it's been pretty good.

And a hybrid is the best, for most city surround-trails and on bumpy roads too. For roads i dont think u'll ever miss rear shocks. And, at its weight and components, its definitely value for money. U can still get a good road bike if u have a budget of 35k

regards,
Sud