Advice needed to buya a Hybrid bike

[Sanath Kumar P S]

Hi 

I want to buy a hybrid bike which is less than 30K. I visited the BOTS store and was suggested the Bergamont helix 4.3 which costs 38K. I did some research online and found that Cannondale quick 5 is also very good. Please advice. I am a novice to Cycling and this will be my 1st cycle since the simple cycle i had when i was a kid. Also please suggest any other bike which you feel comes in this budget. Also please provide some pointers i need to look for to buy a hybrid bike.

Thanks

-Sanath

[Sanath Kumar S D]

Speak to BOTS once again . . . they can guide you well.

Regards,

Sanath Kumar S D

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Regards,

Sanath
+ 91 988 019 4896

[santosh kumar]

I was planning to buy a hybrid as well, but finally ended up buying an MTB after discussing my usage with the person at the store... So far, no complaints... 

Schwinn Frontier Elite - 2012 paid 25k for bike and few add-ons in May 2013...

Regards
Santosh
iPledge Foundation
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[suman paul]

Now we have got two Sanath. 

Sanath Kumar S D ( SKSD )

&

Sanath Kumar P S ( SKPS )

Need to be careful while reading & writing 😄

SKPS, you have got valid suggestion from SKSD and IMO, Bergamont offers a smooth ride but you can still try few more options. 

thank you & regards

suman  

+91      9886300685

[Pradeep naidu]

Haha..good one Suman,..so sksd is getting skps to b o t s..

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From: suman paul
Sent: ‎17-‎01-‎2014 09:30 PM
To: Sanath Kumar S D
Cc: Sanath Kumar P S; Bangalore Bikers Club
Subject: Re: [BBC] Advice needed to buya a Hybrid bike

[Krishnan S]

Hi Sanath,

        The Canondale Quick 5 is also a very nice bike. There are quite a few bikes below the 30k range which are very good.

 

Do check choosemybicycle.com ; visit multiple stores like BOTS, Cadence 90 , RR International ,Wheels Sports etc etc and come to an informed decision.

 

Regards

Krishnan

 

 

I have the Schwinn Sporterra Sport and am very happy with it.

[santosh kumar]

Hi SKPS :P,

My usage is primarily commute to office. But there is at least 200 metres of my route that looks so much like an off-road trail. 200 is a variable number here at the mercy of various I-will-dig-the-road-and-not-coordinate-its-fixing agencies. 

The main reason for me to change my plan was and still is the road leading into the "short cut tunnel" between OMR and ITPL main road, plus a small distance near my house which is "kachha".

Also, when I bought my bicycle I was under the impression, that there were no remedies for flats. (I was not aware of the liners and the like)

Regards
Santosh

[sanath kumar]

Hi Santosh,

I also intend to use for city rides. Mainly in Bangalore. I also intend to go on these bike rides arranged by different organisations like Icycle and others. I dont think these involve much of offroadin. I was intending to buy a hybrid bike with a rigid fork. preferably a steel or carbon fiber fork (not sure i can buy one for my budget). As i heard the hybrid with suspension do not give you the speed and thrill of a bike ride. Not sure what i am missing out on not getting a MTB. 

thanks

-Sanath

--
Regards,
Sanath

[santosh kumar]

Ah... Suspension was one requirement for me I forgot to mention. I didn't want a rigid fork! 

Regards
Santosh
iPledge Foundation
www.theipledgefoundation.org

[Rahul Dubey]

My 2 cents... 

I started off 2 years back with a similar requirement viz. riding to office once/twice a week and weekend trail/leisure rides. Given this, I picked up an MTB (Bergamont Vitox 6.2). However, soon the "bicycle commute" bug bit me and I started riding to office 5 days a week :-) Not that an MTB is not suited for daily rides on the road but then, hybrids are better off doing what they are designed to do. Since I love the way an MTB handles (much more lithe than a hybrid) I did not want to change my bike and hence, took a middle path - got semi-slicks and it is working perfectly for me :-)

BTW, Bergmonts are superb bikes - very tough and with good components. I have not incurred any major expense over 2 years of my usage, which is a daily commute of ~12 km and occasional weekend trails.

regards

Rahul

[sanath kumar]

Hi Rahul,

Thanks for the info. What i have read is that the suspension on a MTB reduces the power transfer and therefore is much harder to ride. What if i go for a hybrid with a steel or carbon fork. Isnt that a better middle path?

I have ridden both and definitely feel the difference in both the types. But i am still a novice and do not know in terms of long term riding experience what makes a difference. 

Thanks

-Sanath

--
Regards,
Sanath

[Sanath Kumar S D]

+100  Rahul Dueby . . .

Thanks and Regards,

Sanath Kumar S D

On Tue, Jan 21, 2014 at 12:35 PM, Rahul Dubey <rahul....@gmail.com> wrote:

[Rahul Dubey]

I would disagree on the suspension part - on the contrary it makes the ride better (I am assuming we are talking about front suspension here). Also, you can tune the "hardness" in most forks these days according to the terrain.

In terms of choosing b/w a hybrid and an MTB, it completely depends on your intended usage. If  your primary usage is commute then I would suggest that you go for a good hybrid - Bergamont Helix and Sweep are awesome bikes.

Cheers

Rahul

[Sanath Kumar P S]

Hi Krishnan,
Where do you think i can test ride the
1. Cannondale 5
2. Cannondale 4
3. Trek 7.1

In BOTS they do have any of these for testride. I would like to testride these before i buy.
RRcycle?

Thanks
-Sanath

[sanath kumar]

Correction. In BOTS they "not" have any of these for test ride.

--
Regards,
Sanath

[Lukan Gan]

1. Cannondale 5 - RR Marathalli

2. Cannondale 4 -

3. Trek 7.1 - FireFox Bike Station, Shivajinagar

[Krishnan S]

I  don't know where you can get a Canondale 4 for a test ride. You could try Cadence 90 , though I'm not sure.

 

If you want to ride a Schwinn Sporterra Sport , mine is available :)  

 

 

[Mayank Rungta]

Do consider not buying a Hybrid! :) If you are inclined on riding on a good road just go for a road bike. If you are looking at city riding check the MTBs in the same budget you will get better stuff. If you are particular about a hybrid at least take one with a rigid fork. If you can't handle the shox then just get a mountain bike with tires that perform as well as a hybrid. Best of all worlds. Something I learnt from my riding a hybrid for over 2 years! :D

If you still decide to go for a hybrid take a touring friendly bike again thinking long term...

On Thu, Jan 23, 2014 at 3:02 PM, Krishnan S <krishn...@gmail.com> wrote:

I  don't know where you can get a Canondale 4 for a test ride. You could try Cadence 90 , though I'm not sure.

 

If you want to ride a Schwinn Sporterra Sport , mine is available :)  

 

 

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[Sanath Kumar P S]

Hey Mayank,
What are the MTB's i should to try in this range? I have my short list for Hybrids. Wanted a similar Shortlist for MTB's. Don't think will look at roadbikes.
Thanks
-Sanath

[Mayank Rungta]

Hi Sanath,

Following are some options

1. Bergamont entry level MTB
2. Trek 3700, 3900, etc
3. Merida Sub 10, 20, 40 not sure about availability. Should be in the market in a month. I would wait for it! :-)
4. Scott has couple of options also

Do visit some good stores and check these options. BOTS, WheelSports, ProCycle, cycling boutique, etc are good places.

Hope this helps

[Lukan Gan]

You can also check out
> Bianchi Duel
> Mongoose Tyax Sports
> Giant Revel 3
> Schwinn Frontier Elite

[Lukan Gan]

Hi SKPS,

Guess this might help :

Hi,

I have schwinn Frontier Eliter for sale

1 year old, 2012 model.
Good condition.
Current price : 27000
Bought for : 23000
Asking : 18000

Free Accessories worth Rs.1800:
BTwin Lock, Both Mud flap, 1 head light, 1 rear light, 2 bottle holders

Mobile : 9986255670

Contact me if interested.

Thanks,
Hari

[berkeleydb]

The reasoning that if your riding is going to be for commutes mainly, you should consider a hybrid, is a 'Western' thing. :). Given the unpredictability of road conditions in India, I strongly feel that unless you have some reason to particularly worry about riding effort/position, you should (as a beginner) just go for an MTB. (Or you feel strongly about speed/perf. In which case you simply go for a road bike.)

Or, you spend some time trying various bikes, and select an MTB or a hybrid after getting a good idea about frame fit/riding position. Otherwise, again, just go for an MTB.

With an MTB, you don't have to worry about road conditions; especially, the 'ever changing' road conditions. If down the line, you start doing longer rides, you can always put 1.75" (or 1.5") tires to improve the riding efficiency. Similarly, if your MTB has the setting, you can lockout the front shocks. I think people have done 400-600km brevets that way on MTBs.

You can also check the Montra MTBs... They recently introduced the 2-series... 3 bikes in the Rs22-29K range. Plus there are few sub-Rs20K too.

If you are still keen on a hybrid, see which ones come with a steel fork; that should help make riding on bad roads a bit more comfortable. And I suppose you could consider putting slightlynthicker tires too on a hybrid, to make the ride more comfortable; as long as the fork has the space for thicker tIres. Focus Arriba is a hybrid with a fork that has space for thick tires; but not sure if it's a steel fork.

You can see the Montra and Focus bikes at RR Madivala.

-{db}.

[Lukan Gan]

Hey berkeleydb ,

Any idea on the price of Focus Arriba hybrid?