Cycling easiest way to stay healthy. Review on Cycling

Cycling is one of the easiest, less tiering and relaxed way of burning out some calories and staying fit. I realized it recently and started cycling morning for around 60 minutes and the health benefits were tremendous.

==Decrease in overall cholestrol level

Increase in good cholestrol level(HDL)

Decrease in sugar level

Weight control

Overall staying active all day

==There are some good articles where people have shared their experiences

https://nyghtsky.blogspot.com/2009_04_01_archive.html

Have attached 2 charts which throw some insight on benefits of cycling.

Cycles are of three types mainly

1. Roadbike - Cycle are very light weight and designed for high speed. Comes with drop handle bars(bent handle), Slim 700* 23c tires to 26c tires. This type of cycle is designed for speed, effor less pedalling over long distances and are meant to be ridden on good roads. If road bike is bought with proper frame size suiting one's body frame and if it is set up properly, then the seat level would be around 2 inches above the handle bar. The person has to bend a little to ride the bike. There are myths that this can cause back pain etc. The truth is its not the case. If properly setup nothing will happen.

Although road bikes are manufactured by Hero, TI Cycles etc. in India which retail in the 5000 Range, they are not that good. They come with very bad components and poor frame geometry. In one of the models the frame size is too large that only 6 feet plus people can use it.

Best entry level road bike in my opinion

1. Fomas road king / deluxe - Retails around 7000Rs to 9000 Rs for deluxe model

   
   




2. BTwin Sport1 from Decathlon - Retails around 24000 Rs. but now there is a huge discount on this one.

   
   




3. LA Urbano V2 which retails around the same price as above

   
   




4. Firefox Roadpro 2200 - Comes with shimano sora group set, but there were some complaints about this bike, not sure though

   
   




5. Giant, Bianchi, Canondale, Trek etc. are very good brands and start from 25000 Rs. for very basic ones and go upto 2 Lakh plus for carbon fiber bikes.

   
   




6. MTB(Mountain bike) - Designed for upright riding position and for riding in bad roads etc. Can come with suspension, big MTB tires for grip which such out energy due to rolling friction and are generally the heaviest type of cycle.

   
   

I would suggest that one can go for this bike only if he/she is interested in Offroading stuff or mostly has to ride on real bad roads. Basic models which retail in the 5000 Rs. to 10000 Rs. which come with suspensions in front and back, disc brakes etc. are more of ornamental rather than real use. Would be better to buy ones without rear suspensions and conventional V brakes. The rear suspension just adds up to the weight. If one needs to buy MTB s with purposeful suspensions and planning to go for offroading stuff please look for good ones like the ones from Decathlon Rockrider series, Trek, Canondale, Merida etc. which will cost 20000 Rs. and upwards.

1. Hybrid - Designed for commuting, casual ridings. Its lighter than MTB and comes with road bike type 700c tires with width in the range of 35c which are wider than road bike tires but narrower than MTB tires. Hybrids come in two geometries

a. Hybrid with MTB geometry - This is for more relaxed riding at upright position

b. Hybrid with roadbike geometry - Faster riding.

Good Hybrids available in India

1. Fomas City King or City King deluxe - https://fomascycle.com/products_details.php?pro_

   
   




2. Hercules ACT110S or Plus or ACT110 - Ranging from 7000 Rs. for Steel to 10000 Rs. for Plus model.

   
   




3. Schwinn Sporterra series - Starting from around 13000 Rs.

   
   




4. BTwin Forme1 from Decathlon - Retails around 15000 Rs.

   
   

And then Hybrids from Canondale, Bianchi are available above 20000 Rs.

Whatever is the bike the bike fit(bike setup) plays an important role. There are many bike fit guides availbale on the net like this one.

https://sierratradingpost.com/lp2/bike-fit-guide.html

Pls go thro them and identify what frame size is best for you before going to the cycle shop for buying. Pls dont compromise on the frame size. Frame size is based on one's height and one's leg inseam length. Kindly measure these parameters before deciding on buying a cycle.

All the best