Now that the bicycling mania is sweeping across the country, the health consious, bicycling lovers like me, environment and eco system lovers etc. are bringing back the cycling to life. I commute to office on my bicycle. I cover almost 10 kms a day. It keeps me fresh and healthy. I bought Hero Octane cycle 4 years back. Things I liked the most.
I liked
Light weight yet sturdy Aluminium alloy frame
Black powder coated rims
I have put my cycle for almost 2 years in a open parking lot exposed to the weather. Yet no signs of corrosion.
Ball bearings are of very good standards. Its 4 years since I bought the cycle yet no squeaks or creeks.
Shimano gears - 4 years and faced no issues and had never faced chain slip.
Suspensions - Completely maintenance free.
I didnt like
- The braking - The brakes are conventional cable & cantilever type. The brake shoes press against the rim. I dont know why hero chose to design rims with the sides having lines in concentric circles. So the lines are in parallel to the wheels circular movement. hence how much ever brake pressure is there the wheels stop slowly. I dont know if hero has rectified this in the recent models. But this has to be checked before buying any cycle.
In 4 years , I have changed the tyres that too at the end of 3 years 7 months. I think this is reasonable. The purchase price 4 years back was 5000 Rs. I think now it should be around 5850.
If you are interested you can check some Hercules or firefox models too which are more expensive than this model. Please double check before choosing to buy a cycle with disc brakes (due to lack of spares) or if you want to fit disc brakes to your existing cycle.
