I got a Merida TFS 100 V

On account of Mahashivratri last Monday, our office was closed, as a result had a long weekend; effectively had 3 days off (Sat/Sun/Mon). We as a family, were thinking of heading out somewhere, but then the overpowering desire of buying a bicycle gripped me. My dear wife Sawani supported me to the hilt and my son Arjun, was way too excited…We decided we would go bicycle hunting on Saturday and do the trials/shortlist of bicycles and then if I liked a bike and was available for immediate delivery I would head out again on Sunday and go buy it.. I had done quite a bit of research on the internet (Bikeszone in particular) regarding the availability of the bikes and zeroed in on the following:-

1. Merida Matts TFS 100 V
2. Merida Matts Sub 40V/MD
3. Trek 4300
4. Trek 3700
5. LA Sovereign Navigator
6. Hercules Ryder ACT 105

Although I had a fair amount of cycles short-listed, trial runs of all were possible since had to visit only 3 shops:-

Wheelsports near Kanakpura Road, for the Merida Bikes
BOTS in Jayanagar for the Trek Bikes
RR Cycle Mart in Ulsoor for the LA and the Hercules Ryder

Sat 21st:-
Decided we would leave in the morning and head out to BOTS first, since had setup an appointment of 11;00 am with Rohan, the co-owner of BOTS. So all the 3 of us left by around 10:30 am and using the Bangalore Map (I had never been to the South End circle) reached the Sumeru building where BOTS is located. I was told that BOTS is on the 3rd floor, and indeed it is, but it’s on a terrace. Rohan and Nikhil have setup their shop on the terrace of a building; and I must say although not the typical shop that you would expect (considering that the bikes are Trek class) it is a pretty functional shop. As you climb up the stairs; on the left is a small office where some bikes and accessories are placed alongwith a board stating the costs of the bikes and the accessories. There were loads of bikers on the terrace; each trying to either fix/upgrade their bikes with certain components. Finally was able to get through to Rohan (who was pretty busy). Rohan introduced me to Nikhil (co-owner) and then Nikhil helped me and another guy explaining the finer details of the Trek 3700 and the Trek 4300 bikes. The pros and cons of each and I must say it was pretty helpful. Then we decided to have a test ride of the bikes and so the bikes were all pulled up on their back wheels and transported down the stairs onto the road. I took the test ride of both the 3700 and the 4300D and here were my findings:-

Technology wise 4300D is more advanced than the 3700 (No, I am not going to lay out all the details…a quick search will get you these)
The 3700 seemed to be more lighter and agile (18’’ frame) than the 4300D
The 3700 seemed more smoother than the 4300D (Nikhil explained that might be a feeling; particularly due to the difference in tires; and that the normal 4300 came with the same set of tires as the 3700)
Unfortunately they didn’t have any 4300 to test..I enquired about the availability of both the bikes and Nikhil mentioned that bikes would be available in a week’s time. He also mentioned that the colours available currently were the Flame Gold on the 3700 and the Orange on the 4300. That put me off a bit, and he mentioned that for the Black & Grey 4300 I would have to wait for atleast 2/3 months. Anyways it was time well spent and I must say both Nikhil and Rohan are doing a pretty good job at it (considering that hold full-time jobs elsewhere and this being only a '”hobby”)

Off we headed to Wheelsports. I had called Venkatesh (Venky) and he mentioned that he is pretty tied up so he won’t be available in the shop today but there would be Navin available who would help us with the bikes…We reached Wheelsports by 1:30 pm. Wheelsports near Kanakapura road on the 100 ft ring road; is again a shop that is still being setup. Venky is transferring his shop from Chamrajpet to here and is still a work-in-progress. In any case; all the Merida’s were beautifully and neatly arranged in the shop…I could see the Sub 5, Sub 10, Sub 20, Sub 40(D/MD/V) and the TFS 100 V, i.e. all the MTB’s stacked on the left in the showroom and the road racers at the right. Boy were they a sight. The bike that caught my attention was a strikingly beautiful white/black Merida. I asked Navin which was that; and he mentioned it was the TFS 100 V. Wow; the one on my short-list. I took a test ride of the TFS and I came back amazed. Navin mentioned that this was the 2008 model and that they had only 3 bikes remaining (of which 1 was already booked) 2009 model was still to arrive and it would cost much more than the 2008 model. I did my comparisons with the Sub 40V (which was cheaper than the TFS) unfortunately couldn’t try out the Sub 40 V since there was no air and it wasn’t completely setup as yet. So we asked some more questions and then headed out.

We then took the ring road and reached Marathahalli and I mentioned to Sawani (although it was 2:30 and we hadn’t lunch..sawani being sweet and the ever thoughtful had packed some Methi Paratha’s which we snacked on) that we should head over to the RR Cycle Mart in Ulsoor and finish all the test rides that day itself. So we headed to RR Cycles and saw the LA Navigator and the Hercules ACT 105. Both the cycles were pretty good..I liked the LA more than the ACT. Unfortunately RR cycles doesn’t allow test rides (frankly there’s no place where you could considering the major digging work being carried out in Ulsoor for the Metro). We asked for some accessories; and the owner of the shop mentioned that he stocks every accessory under the sun (available in India) in his store. The store btw: although looks small from outside is pretty big once you get inside…it’s like a long alley inside (typical of the olden golden houses) and stocked a great amount of cycles. Anyways, we purchased a bell and a bicycle helmet for Arjun…He was so excited…My Arjun is too sweet…and off we headed back home.

All in all it was an extremely fun day..

Sun 22nd:-

My head was buzzing with all the thinking it had to do; I had now brought the list down to 3 bikes..

Merida TFS 100 V
Trek 4300
Merida Sub 40 V

Considering that the 4300 was available only in orange (I couldn’t imagine myself in an orange bike…i’m too old for that) i took it off my list…So essentially had only the Merida TFS and the Sub 40 V in my list…and considering that I had still not driven the Sub 40 I decided to head over to Wheelsports and finalize then & there itself. Btw: on the phone Venky had mentioned that both  the bikes are available for delivery on the same day. I was damn excited…In the earlier part of the day we decided to go over our routine household shopping and went over to Indiranagar to do some shopping. We did some purchases at the Reliance Footprint showroom in Indiranagar (it has a massive 40/50% discount on really good branded shoes (Reebok/Nike/Adidas et.al.) and then headed back home…Along the way we stopped over for some quick bites at the Outpost near Marathahalli bridge (it’s a nice little self-service/take-away kinda joint) Had some excellent dosa’s and topped off with Mango milkshakes and choco-chip ice creams. Boy does Arjun love ice-cream.

At about 2pm I decided to head out to Wheelsports…called up Venky and he mentioned he is in the store..so I took the Volvo bus in front of my house (Brookefields)…got off at the Banerghatta junction and then took an auto to Wheelsports. I was at Wheelsports in about 40 mins. Venky had gone for lunch so chatted up with Navin for some more time. Once Venky was back (man is that guy impressive…a national biking champion of the yesteryears and now a man who owns his own racing team…impressive eh) he showed and explained to me the nuances of both the bikes and said that it was finally my decisions. Both the bikes were good…I asked him if I could test-drive the Sub 40 V; and he happily agreed. So now I had ridden both the bikes and the ball was in my court…go for a 2008 model TFS 100 or the 2009 model Sub 40 V. Went by my heart and the feel on the bike and selected the TFS 100 V.  At the shop met two young men (Nilesh and Srini) who were great folks (part of the Bikeszone forum)..chatted up with them; Srini and Venky helped me adjust the saddle height and bam I was on the way to Brookefields..on my new Merida TFS 100 V. The distance might be around 30 kms…but the drive was a pure pleasure and boy was it fun…It was amazing…On the outer-ring road, met Suresh (a friend from office who stays right opposite Intel office) and he was also impressed with the bike. It is so light and smooth…why can’t Indian manufactures build such bikes…well not a bad idea…in my view…considering that folks are ready to shell quite a bit of money on imported ones). Reached home by 7 pm and it felt awesome..took the bike upstairs in my home (there’s no way I’m parking it the parking lot) and Arjun and Sawani were both happy with the bike…Here are some snaps…

 

That’s my son Arjun with the bike…Cherished possessions of mine ;)

Cheers,
YVR