Confused about what bicycle to pick up ? Here are some guidelines.
Road
All bikes are road bikes, in that one can ride them on the road. Usually, however, a “road bike” refers to a “road racing bike”. Their main characteristics are multiple gears, light weight, hunched aerodynamic posture. These are not fragile bicycles, contrary to popular belief.
If you plan on riding long, fast, on paved or semi-paved or dirt roads this is the type for you. These bikes are not that comfortable on gravel, loose soil or sand, or in mud. Be prepared to spend around 30,000 Rupees or more for a respectable road racer.
Mountain
If you plan on riding on unpaved roads, through fields, mud, over rock you need a Mountain bike (Mountain Terrain Bike or MTB). Good mountain bikes start from around 12,000-15,000 Rupees. Their main characteristics are fatter tires (that absorb shocks), they generally have shock absorbers on the front fork, and some varieties come with “full suspension” that have springs that “float” the frame, thus maintaining wheel contact with ground even on extremely bumpy terrain and going very fast (e.g., downhill). Maintaining ground contact improves bicycle control, braking, etc. You pay the price for this better ground contact in terms of increased bicycle weight.
A good mountain bike has stiff suspension, not a soft one. Suspension should give way only when you hit something hard and should not bob around as you pedal. Many Indian made full-suspension bicycles tend to miss this point and lead to wastage of pedaling energy while adding meaningless weight. Such bikes should be avoided.
Commute
Day-to-day commute bikes are meant to be ridden in traffic. Generally, they have slightly fatter tires (around 32mm wide or more) on larger wheels (“700C” or 622mm diameter or 29inch diameter) that allow for a smoother ride. Posture on these bikes is generally upright to allow for better awareness of traffic around, and sometimes have front shock absorbers to smoothen the ride. Many come with multiple gears, racks (carriers), fenders (or mud-guards).
Imported versions of these bikes have not gained popularity yet, but very widely used Indian made single-speed commute bikes are Hero Jet, BSA SLR, or such. A new addition on Indian roads is LA Soverign’s Navigator which is setup as a commute bike complete with a light and gears. Need for gears can be debated for commute bikes. Maybe in a very hilly city gears may come handy, but one needs to decide whether this added complexity is really required on a case-by-case basis.
The Indian Market
Your choice depends on your budget.
Here are the options on increasing order of budget.
1. Single speed bikes would do good for local commuting but not efficient if you want to cycle for the purpose of ‘cycling’ (3K – 5K)
2. Hercules Ryders ACT series start from 7.5K. The latest release is ACT 110 that is more for the purpose of commuting.
https://www.ticyclesindia.com/ryders/rydermain.html
3. Hercules Mach is the basic model of a road bike that should cost around 6K?. (But this does not come near any of the other international brands)
4. LA Sovereign is a Taiwan based product that has a series of MTBs starting from 8K. (“Navigator” is a good commute bike.)
http://www.la-sovereign.com/
5. Firefox has some MTBs and road bikes at a relatively lower cost with compromise to best standards. Check this out at
http://www.firefoxbikes.com/
6. Merida is a another good series with a wide range of bicycles
http://www.meridaindia.com/
7. Cannondale starts from 18K and goes upto 2 Lakhs.
8. Bianchi has a couple of Hybrid bikes that are worth for commuting and riding.
http://www.trackandtrail.in/
9. Trek is one of the most trusted brands here with a wide range of bicycles.
http://bumsonthesaddle.com/
Before you chose, make sure that you ride!! Go to the all the places and have a look, ride and feel. Then you can adjust your budget on what you like. Get on the road soon.