Which Cycle to buy

I have been having this innate desire to upgrade to a new cycle. Not that I have any specific complaints of My Hercules Ultima 6 speed…but considering my improved liking to cycling, I would like to now start covering more distances ..beyond the 30 kms and into the 50kms range per outing, so I think a better bike would help.

So while researching on the internet; came across this wonderful site called bikeszone (http://www.bikeszone.com/forum/) which is essentially a forum of all bikers (cyclists) from around India. Although I have not registered as yet, I have been reading the posts on this site..Came to know about WD-40 and it’s use from this site.

18th Feb : While cycling to office, I passed a cyclist (with full cycling gear) on the Marathahalli bridge…I glanced to see which bike he was riding, it was a Hercules Ryder..seemed pretty jazzy…like the hi-tech imported bikes…so visited the Hercules website to check out the models…The Ryder category bikes look pretty good…went back to bikeszone to find user-experiences with the Hercules bike…and while on one of the discussions here came across a post from Pranav Negandhi about the LA Navigator. The bike looks pretty neat…and I was particularly impressed with Pranav’s style of providing comments…so decided to check out his site at www.pranavnegandhi.com | www.notadesigner.com and I must say it’s been pretty impressive. His photos are really nice and he writes amazingly well…great chap and he seems to be in Pune, my hometowm ;)

At this point based on personal preferences and the opinions of folks on BZ, here are some bikes that have caught my attention:-

Bike	Cost	Details	Site	Comments
Hercules Ryder ACT 105	7-8K	Alloy Frame, 21 spd Shimano Gears Front Shox V Brakes Alloy Rims	https://www.ticyclesindia.com/productfeatures.asp?pid=118	RR Cycle Mart in Ulsoor
Hero Thunder MTB	7-8K	Aluminium Frame 21/18/15 speeds V Cantilever brakes Aluminium  Rims	http://www.herocycles.com/thundermtb1.htm
LA Sovereign Navigator	10K	Alloy 6061 frame,Shimano TX 30,Shimano Shifter RS31 Front and Rear V-Brake with Rear Carrier Alloy Rim,Stainless Spokes Including Front Dynamo Lighting Set	http://www.la-sovereign.com/popup.php?qry=83&color=1	RR Cycle Mart in Ulsoor
Merida Matt TFS 100	25K			http://wheelsports.in/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=30
Merida Matt Sub 40(V,D,MD)	V = 22K D = 32.5K MD=25K
Merida Sub 20V	20.5K
Merida Sub 10V	16.8K
Merida Sub 5V	16K
Trek 1.5
Trek 3700	17K
Trek 4000
Trek 4300	23K
Trek 6000	(40K+)
Tarmac 2007
Decathalon Rockrider 5.3	24K
Firefox Target	12K
Merida Crossway	15K			Check at wheelsports

Will be checking out the bikes this weekend…possibly will further shorten the list or who knows…may already come to a conclusion..

Cheers,
YVR