Cycling - Falling in love all over again!

It has been a few months since my last post. And with good reason too; I've been busy with my newest interest - cycling!

Having chosen a great time to fall sick (the long Christmas weekend! [facepalm]), I decided I'd use my time to put down some thoughts. 

I'd been a runner on and off, to keep fit - hitting the nearby parks or the treadmill to clock in a couple of kilometers. But thanks to my bony feet, I'd develop pain in my heels if I ran too hard. I know, there are special shoes and soles designed for that; but right around then my dear friend of many years, Mr. Vishnu declared that he'd bought a bicycle. I thought, hey this might be a great idea to cross train along with running. The circular motion of pedaling takes away the impact and is easier on your feet. I started researching bikes and was initially shocked at how much imported bikes cost these days! A good entry level bike can set you back by 15-20 grand which is what I'd paid for my first motorcycle back when I was in college! When I heard this from Vishnu the first time, I thought he was mad to shell out so much for a bike. After much research and coaxing from Vishnu to up my budget (which I seriously dont regret now), sometime in June 2011, I got my Trek 7100. As you use one of these modern bikes and understand what goes into the their design and construction, you begin to appreciate what makes them cost so much. It would not be too much of a stretch to say that a modern bicycle is no less technical than a F1 car!

This was my first bike (leaving out the Hero Ranger and Hercules Top Gear that I had ridden in school days) and a Hybrid at that. Not to be confused with hybrid cars, there is no electricity involved here!  :P

So to talk more about the Trek 7100, 2011 Model 

This one is a Hybrid. Which means, it is built to roll smoothly on tarmac but at the same time can handle bumpy road and potholes and can also be used to ride on light off-road trails. It comes with suspension on the front fork and a spring loaded seatpost which make for a very smooth ride. The posture is very upright and the raised handle bars make for a laid back riding posture. I got mine from the FireFox Bike Station in Jayanagar 4th Block for about 21 grand without accessories. I was amazed by the comfort and the ease of riding. I had initially never intended to ride this thing it traffic. This was supposed to be my exercise bike. But I had built up stamina  by running and within a week I was able to do 15kms at a stretch. This is the one-way commute distance to my office. I decided to ride it to work! This was THE game-changing moment for me and I've never looked back. Today I cycle more days to the office than I take the car and clock upto 100kms a week on my bike. Thanks to a very supportive boss, Meher (who herself is a marathon runner) we now are a more bike friendly workplace with shower facilities. And to top it all, my commute time by bike is actually shorter than by car! In the months that I have been using this bike, I've put mudguards on it to ride it in the rain, had a bike rack and pannier bags installed to carry loads and even done a 60km ride with Vishnu down Kanakpura Road. An excellent source for all you want to know about commuting by cycle is this one. 

Vishnu owns a Trek 4300 which is a Mountain Bike (a.k.a MTB). On the Kanakapura ride we did a couple of off-road trails climbing hills and riding through villages where we realized the limitations of each bike. My 7100 was very comfortable on long rides but really struggled for grip on bad terrain. Vishnu's moutainbike hugged the rocks and felt very stable on off-roads but the saddle comfort on longer rides left a lot to be desired.

This also got me thinking about getting my next bike - the Giant Revel 1 D, 2011 model. 

This one is a proper MTB, and I bought it after much research, from RR Cycles in Ulsoor. The guy at the store was pretty helpful and gave me a good discount - I ended up paying a shade under 20 grand for this while the MRP was 23-24. The 2012 model has an MRP of almost 30 grand and IMHO has somewhat inferior components. So, looking back, I'm happy with my purchase. This bike came with mechanical disc brakes and big-a$$ Kenda MTB tires! The Alivio rear derailleur shifts gears like a dream and I have since used this bike to do a couple of off-road rides and climbed the Nandi Hills with Vishnu.

Over the months of riding I increased my appetite for longer rides and once joked that I'd ride to Mandya or Mysore before the year 2011 was through (100-150kms from where I live in Bangalore). I slowly began understanding the dynamics of bikes and the reason people use different types of bikes. On a visit to the BOTS store in Jayanagar, I got to test ride a Trek 1.1. This was my first experience of riding a roadbike and it left me wanting more. Roadbikes are essentially built for riding fast on good road surfaces. They are light and have skinny tires and have an aerodynamic riding posture with drop down handle bars. Because they are meant to be light they are designed with parts that are both strong and light. This is what makes Road Bikes more expensive than all other kinds of bikes. Like Keith Bontrager (who designs for bike components) once said "strong, cheap, light - pick two!". This summarizes that it is difficult if not impossible to design a bike component (or any other type of machinery) that is light, strong AND not expensive.

So, long story short, last week I made a new addition to my set of bikes - a KHS Flite 300 roadbike. 

At 26 grand for a bike with an MRP of 32 grand, this was the best deal I could get on a roadbike at this budget. More pics here. I got if from Venky at Wheelsports in Chamrajpet and am grateful to him for throwing in a free Cateye Velo 8 Cyclocomputer. Weighing in less than 10kgs, this is the lightest bike I have. The low weight is in part because of the carbon fiber fork on the front wheel and seatpost and the overall weight reduction on all other components such as frame, handles and wheels. I took just a day to get used to the posture of riding on drop down handle bars and started loving the effortlessness of going anywhere on this bike. In the first 5 days I clocked 100kms. I am now preparing for a ride to Mysore the coming week on the Flite 300 and realizing the dream of doing that in 2011. I shall write a ride report of my first century ride when I am back to Bangalore in 2012. Until then, be good, have fun and wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! :)