Info on UT cycles(Premium from Hero Cycles)

[Navjyot Ramteke]

Hi All,

              I am planning to buy a bicycle. Purpose is some exercise/fitness etc. I may go to office once in a while(very less). Mostly 4-5 km in weekdays(2-3 days in a week) and 10-15 km in weekend (best case scenario). Budget is 10-20K.

After discussion with other friend, felt that hybrid will suit my needs.

I liked btwin and ut cycle.

http://www.amazon.in/UT-200008-Speed-Adult-26-inches/dp/B00XYC90C0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457310674&sr=8-1&keywords=ut+h2

http://www.decathlon.in/cycling/cycles/city-bikes/original-5-cmw/p-M8180229

 

please let me know your view on ut cycle. didn't find much info anywhere. Got info from office friends that btwin cycles are good.

Also please suggest other cycle if you feel so.

 

NOTE: I have kept my budget flexible. But I don’t want to spend too much as I am not planning to use it extensively like roadies.

 

Regard’s

Navjyot.

[Vinay Rao]

I bought a UT Lite 2.1 early in 2014, so I guess I'm qualified to answer. 

Short Answer: The Frame Geometry is superb but the drivetrain components suck. 

Long Answer below: 

By 500km and a few rainy rides, I had to replace the bottom bracket (pedal-crank axis bearing) to Shimano. I could have waited of course for a warranty replacement, but Rakesh from RR said Hero "Won't even know what a BB means". The front suspension stopped working in the first few weeks. RR kept putting off support because that problem "needed time", and before the year, the suspension had entirely seized, so much so that it wasn't possible to free up even using a hydraulic press :). The Kenda tyres that came with it were soft and rolled well, but picked up punctures every 200km. After 18 months of agony, I moved to specialized armadillo, and have had just one nasty nail coming through since. Similar litany of woes with the drivetrain. In 18 months, the rear axle (?) over which the thrust ball bearings roll, broke. It was rusted to high heaven, and it broke!. About the same time shifting became unresponsive. The stock chain and sprockets had worn in <4000km (my estimate). Even after changing chains and freewheel, I still have shifting issues but I'm not sure I'd attribute that problem to UT alone. The seat fastener becomes loose every a few months, and I need to dismount, re-adjust and tighten. Not a major issue, but still a niggle. I've often asked RR what UT is doing about the quality of their cycles, and he said that other riders haven't come back with as many issues. So maybe it's just me, and my cycle, in particular.

As for the good things, I find the geometry really nice. This is the same frame - not a design copy, actually the same frame - as what is sold at the higher priced Raleigh in UK. I reckon Hero just buys these off the same plant in China as everyone else. In the early days, I had reversed the stem to get a more aggressive stance on the flat bar, and it was still very comfortable. 

As for B'Twin, I have two in the family. The only grouse I have with them is their ride geometry. Their city bikes are much too 'comfort' stance with your spine straight up. Their other bikes come with 90/110mm handlebar stems. Maybe their first experience with an Indian was someone with arms as long as a Gorilla, or they had excess stock of the longer stems and they decided to dump them all in India. The long stem really makes you stretch your arms to reach the handlebar. 

For your current purpose, pretty much any cycle would do. But as you start to ride more, and if you're OK with having to make slightly frequent visits to the local bicycle service/ store, the UT is probably more adaptable of the two.

Hope this helps. 

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Cheers
Vinay

[ashutosh tripathi]

My friend has bought a Hero UT H2 hybrid.
Its pretty good. he has completed more than 700KMs, uses daily for office use, and no problem at all.
I like this bike, especially you're getting good config for 17.5k
you can definitely consider this one.
not sure about the other UT models.

[Narayan R]

Note, I have not used any one of the above bikes.

Ride and handling of a bicycle can be experienced/perceived immediately. Whereas reliability comes in after usage. (minimum 2000 km)

Good brands make reliable cycles i.e all the component would survive very very long usage. My trek 3700 lasted 30,000 kms before I lost it last week.( I changed the chain and rear cassette once. People may argue once in 3k, but mine lasted).

Lastly, I would recommend you to look for used bicycles (good brand). That way you can make a jump if you plan to stick on.

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Decathlon bike : Seems like European have larger torso and longer hands. Decathlon might have based their designs on European anthropometric data (not sure). 

There low end bicycles is manufactured by hero I think. Here, they use something known as '70-'80's straight tube sizing concept, more like pure diamond shape frame". 

* When you look at 80's road/commute frames the top tube would be almost parallel to ground

* different sizes can be achieved by longer top tube and seat tube (there was limit to this, set by the head tube)

* And intermediate size can be achieved by longer or smaller stem

Things changed a lot in 90's --- and story can go on.

I am not sure of any bicycle design houses in India. 

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