Looking for a bike for daily commute

[nara]

Hi,

I'm looking for a bike for commute(~20Km both ways) within the city. I am looking at both hybrid and MTBs with a budget in the range of ~35K. Can you guys suggest some models?

Thanks 

Nara

 

[Prashanth Chengi]

Would strongly recommend that you stay off MTBs, unless you wish to do trail riding. MTBs for most part are totally overkill for commute riding. Hybrids/fixies/single-speeds/road-bikes are all better than MTBs, for commutes. Also, unless you pay big bucks, shock absorbers you get with most typical low-price MTBs/Hybrids are of poor quality and are worse than simply having rigid forks, so I'd suggest that you go for a bike with a rigid fork.  My two paise.

/Prashanth

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[Chidambaran Subramanian]

Prashanth, you forget this guy is in Bangalore, where roads have a way of disappearing

[Prashanth Chengi]

Point taken, but a hybrid is still a better idea than an MTB, I think. Would be lighter and easier for commuting. And a good rigid fork might be harsher, but would be more reliable than a cheap bike with a poor shock absorber, that quickly becomes ornamental in nature. Good shock absorbers which can do the duty in Blr and survive it, don't come cheap :(

/Prashanth

[sandeep shet]

35K seems to be a good budget. And there are fairly decent bikes available i guess.

Regards,
Sandeep Shet
+91 9986122862

[Pradeep Naidu]

Try specialized hybrids. They are good and also good for reselling..
What's your height

[Aditya Raghunath]

I am about 5'8"

[Pradeep Naidu]

Copying Shreyas .. he has one second hand hybrid.. You may talk to him
+91 98807 07555

[Rahul S]

I have had a different experience with hybrids. I ride only on Bangalore roads - no off roading. Even so, I disposed of my Trek7.1 (hybrid) and went for an MTB (Polygon premier 3). I find the latter a lot more comfortable. The commutation time is actually less because I pedal harder since I feel more comfortable. The first ride on both these bikes felt great though. For me, comfort of ride and stability in traffic is more important than anything else - not efficiency of the bike.

-Rahul

[Aditya Raghunath]

I had a Carbondale quick 5 & I also felt that the ride is not comfortable due to lack of shock absorbers. That's the primary reason I am looking for a MTB

-Aditya

[Pradeep Naidu]

Shock absorbers for commutes is ridiculous..

[Ashok Kumar S]

Depends on the road, pradeep. I have a stretch with full traffic jam, where i can off road and cover a lot of distance. MTB does the best there. Of course not for your commute route. 😉. 

And I had a crash due to 25c on loose gravel when an uncle jumped across and I turned it sharply. MTB would have easily taken that stuff. 

Thanks and regards,

Ashok

Sent from my iPhone

[Sherl]

Incase if you're willing for one https://groups.google.com/forum/m/#!topic/bangalore-bikers/a3jsZFLnKcI

[Sanath Kumar S D]

+100 Pradeep

Thanks - Sanath

[Aditya Raghunath]

Hi,
Thanks all for sharing your thoughts on hybrid vs MTB, but my question on the choice of model is still unanswered

-Aditya

[Chidambaran Subramanian]

I commute with my road bike many times. It is faster. But on many occasions the sudden appearance of potholes (esp after a bout of rain) makes the MTB very handy. just the front shocks are not that pricey.

If the road is smooth and good, you can use a road bike. Else MTB with mud guards (Overflowing drains is another sign of Namma Bengaluru)

Though I do recognize that hybrids can also work out. 

Regards

Chiddu

[Rishi Rao]

I would suggest buying a bike that you would be comfortable being on and that could be any bike. It's be best if you go to a store and check the bikes for yourself. I used a Firefox full suspension bike that is a tad much for tarmac - used it on pathetic roads in Bombay for a couple of years - but apart from the weight of the bike, I am really comfortable with and on it. I recently rode a friend's road bike and whilst it was quick, I could feel even the tiniest bump on the road which is not the case with my bike.

[Prashanth Chengi]

Have you tried changing to wider and more supple tires, and running lower pressures on it? Wider tires with lower pressures would anyday be a more practical solution for a smoother commute ride, than shock absorbers. Even a 2mm difference in width can make a big difference, and with more, the difference can be like night and day.

/Prashanth

[Pradeep Naidu]

I somehow believe in good frame with good tires.. that's enough for any kind of roads in Bangalore.. no need of shocks...
I agree the advantages of mtb on footpath and bad roads.. but just without shocks.. why do we need them when you can use your own elbow joints and knee joints  as a shock observer..
It's just waste of money..i would rather invest on a good frame and tires..

[Sanath Kumar S D]

Every day, I commute by Specialized Sirrus Sport with fenders . . . . . It serves my purpose.

Thanks and Regards,

Sanath Kumar S D

--

Regards,

Sanath
+ 91 988 019 4896

[sandeep shet]

I commute everyday on roadbike. A little low air pressure on marathon plus 25c tyres is very comfortable.

Coming back to original question:

You can get GIANT hybrids or MTB's in ur budget, all entry level.

I think only for commute any of the well known brands should be good enough.

Giant, shwinn, trek, merida, Specialized(a lil costly ones these are), cannondale.. the list is is not exhaustive.

Invest in any of these and any bike from them you will not regret.

[Vinay Rao]

Just curious why no one mentions the B'Twin/Rockrider series from Decathlon. Is this brand 'under' the price radar? Has long term quality issues? A few years ago Decathlon bikes were the talk of many fora. 

Vinay Rao 

[Saurabh Mittal]

BTWIN RockRider 520 is a good model. In august(not very far), you can get a 27.5inch wheel dia RR520 models.I say, you need a MTB for commute because roads are bad and MTB have good stability. I understand that MTB are an overkill when it comes to speed, but they are a must if your road is muddy or broken.

Thanks,

saurabh

[berkeleydb]

Yeah, I find the pairing of bike type to usage type, quite annoying.  Like many western concepts, that break spectacularly when applied to other regions. :P

I very much consider MTBs a commute bike for road conditions like those in many parts of India.  There are MTBs with decent front shocks available starting ~Rs20K.  Look at ones from Montra.  But in some ways, the front-shocks are a bit of an overkill, if you are not doing off-roading.  I would say MTBs with front-shocks are more for peace of mind -- not having to worry about road conditions.

Once you get some riding experience under the belt, you will probably be ok with bikes with rigid forks, and slightly fat (say ~1.5"-1.75") tyres, and can get fairly comfortable ride on fairly bad roads, by tweaking the tyre pressure a bit.  Make sure the fork is able to accommodate upto ~1.75" tyres, with fenders.  So you can start with that, and just be a bit patient initially, while you build the experience.  Then in the longer term, the bike with rigid fork will probably prove to be a better investment.  Especially if you extend from just commutes, to doing long(er) rides.  There, you will start feeling disadvantages of an MTB.

The Cannodale Quick series is a good set of hybrids... not sure what the max tyre width they can take.  Did the Quick 5 have an Aluminium or Carbon fork?  The latter would be good at absorbing vibrations (similar to steel?).  Did you sell off the Quick 5?  This might be after the fact, but you probably should have been able to try some variations with that to get a fair riding experience even on bad roads.

With  a budget of ~Rs35K, you will have various MTB options -- Montra (again), Cannondale Trail series (I think), Scott, Trek.  You can try the models in that price range and see which one you like.  Not sure if someone can really suggest a model to you.  But with the various suggestions re: rigid forks, might want to re-consider a hybrid bike.  Cannondale, Scott, Schwinn, Giant, Specialised, Bianchi etc. have good hybrids.

Also, in the ~Rs35K range, you will have quite a few options with disc brakes... but that too is probably an overkill.  Might want to stick to rim brakes and save some money, or spend it on other specs of the bike.  And all that said, was the ~Rs35 budget purely a financial decision, or based on something else?

Best of luck for procuring a bike that suits your needs.

-{db}.

[Sathyaraj Raju]

You can try Scott Subcross 50 hybrid bike.. That comes with a disc brake which is also under the 35k price range. I have been using it for a while mainly for commute and it serves by purpose very well

Thanks
Sathya

[nara]

Hi All,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I was able to get hold of Focus Arriba 3.0 from Shreyas referred by Pradeep(thanks). 

-Aditya

[unknown none]

I am in need of a beater/junker bicycle AS CHEAP AS POSSIBLE (flat and popped and worn out tires, stripped and rusty gears, worn out and rusty chain, worn out and ripped seat, bent and rusty wheels. broken and bent spokes, frame bent and rusted through etc) as long as the broken pedals move the bike I will buy even with punctured/flat and worn out tires and even if it is junk but I need wheels FOR CHEAP I don’t care about looks or condition or rust. or even good tires. as long as it gets me from point a to point b I will buy it mountain bike preferred. size is 16 inch wheels