Break!

Mysore bikers is off for short ride, Will be back soon.

The Big Q ?

There are lots of interesting rides happening around, Which one to choose?

1. Bangalore Bicycle Championships Race ?
2. Bangalore to Bheemeshwari Ride ?
3. Bangalore Go Green Campaign Ride ?
4. Bangalore Critical Mass Ride ?

Will be doing one of these rides, Wanna join?

Art of bike

I am a big fan of art and painting, Couldn't resist to share this excellent master piece of biker portrait.

Ride report to sarjapur

It was a fast ride, We MTB'ians were all set to compete with fellow road bikers! :) which was quite not possible!

It was a brand new day. The weather turned out to be much cozy for what I had anticipated first thing this morning, Cloudy, Cool breeze, It was the perfect day for the long ride. We were 5 riders all together. we gathered at Diamond District, Domlur flyover at 6:00 AM. After couple of handshakes we kick started our ride. We decided to make it big ride and slightly added extra route in our plan.
More or less we made our speed to match with road bikers in uphill, however in downhill we couldn't even see them from far. Never mind I was surprised at myself, I had improved my riding ability. Daily short ride had paid off.

Route we covered..



All in all it was a amazing fast ride around 62 Km in 3 Hrs including breakfast and coffee breaks, Looking forward to do the same route again!

P.S Most recommend route for beginners.

Ride to Sarjapur

It happened to do Sarjapur ride this morning. Due to lack of rider for Nandi Hills we decided to join couple guys who were doing Sarjapur today. It was fast ride with fellow road bikers! We covered 61+ Kms in 3 Hrs. Ride report on its way... Keep a eye on our blog.

Disc Brakes!

The disc brake or disk brake is a device for slowing or stopping the rotation of a wheel.
There are different type of disc brakes available for bikes

• 1. Mechanical Disc Brakes
• 2. Hydraulic Disc Brakes
• 3. Pneumatic Disc Brakes(currently not there for bikes)
• 4. Electromagnetic Disc Brakes(currently not there for bikes)

Disc are attached to wheel and rotates in synch with wheel. Just like V brakes to stop the wheel the braking pad is forces disc towards supporting pad at the other end. Which creates friction & causes the attached wheel to slow down or to the resting position.

Why Disc Breaks for Bike?
'V' brakes works well in dry conditions, However in wet conditions their braking ability becomes less reliable & the muddy condition makes it worse. Muddy condition makes breaking pad to wear and tear. Disc brakes performs regardless of the conditions, its is much more stable and reliable.

Pros:
1. Excellent breaking power. Will stop right at the place you wish.
2. Can enjoy late breaking in traffic.
3. Gives same breaking power in rain or wet conditions.
4. Less wear & unlike V-breaks(Need cleaning near break pad area).
5. Totally reliable while doing downhills.
6. Easy to perform stunts, Like back wheelie.

Cons:
1. Add little extra weight to bike, It can be treated as negligible if you have aluminum framed bike. Which it self makes bike more lighter than ordinary bikes.
2. Have to take care of disc plate whenever we remove the wheel, slight bend in disc can cause irreparable damage.

Have a happy Riding

Ride to Nandi Betta this Saturday

ನಂದಿ ಬೆಟ್ಟ

When : 11th July 2009
Starting Point: Columbia Asia, Near Hebbal Fly Over.
Time: 06:00 Am

Nandi Hills: Its a hill fortress of southern India, Located in the Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka state. Approximately around 60 km from the city of Bangalore.


We are heading towards Nandi Betta with our bikes this Saturday morning to increase our fitness level and to relax away from Bangalore's routine life. Chilling out for sometime at Tipu’s Drop and spend some time watching the dark clouds gather all around. See you there!

Did you know?

Uphill riding tips and tricks shared by Vishy - Bangalore Bikers Club Member:

1. Avoid carrying backpack, It makes a lot of difference.
2. When you are doing an uphill, keep pedaling as far as possible. No matter how slow you're riding. Once you start towing, you'll lose your rhythm and never feel like getting back on saddle.
3. If the uphill is too long, and when you are forced to get off the bike, then make sure you spend very little time off the bike and get back on road, as quickly as possible.
4. When you are doing an uphill, always stay on to your left hand side, especially when you are heading towards to a curve.
5. Staying to your extreme left makes the uphill slightly manageable and helps you keep going.
6. Before doing uphill make sure you have properly fueled up your body.
7. Have some energy drinks and energy bars in your pocket (Just in case if you feel exhausted in between).

Take care,
Have a Fun Ride.

Tips for trouble free rides

Here are few tips before we do ride.
1. Air pressure check ~45- 50 Psi.
2. Breaks check, Take a small ride and adjust the breaks accordingly.
3. Chain check, Make sure chain threads are lubricated.
4. Gear shifters are smooth and they're not skipping. If the gear are skipping they need some adjustment or replacement.
5. Check for quick release of the saddle and wheels are tightly fit towards frame.

Now the basic check for bike is done. Have a safe and fun ride.

Merida 40 MD Review

Hi Folks! First of all i want to thank BBC(Bangalore Bikers Club) Members for posting such a wonderful and useful information in the forum for all the cycling enthusiasts.The BBC forum has proved to be extremely useful for me to decide on my new bike.
Initially i had decided to buy Firefox Target, after visiting the Firefox Bike station at CMH road and Chickpet, i felt that Firefox dealers need training on their soft skills & how to interact with their customers. As a customer we will be thinking twice when we are investing such a big amount on the bicycle!
After goggling a lot i found that trek 3700 as is a better entry level bike, Some how i was convinced myself to go for Trek 4300(Orange) especially looking at the paint job and the Matt finish of the bike. i must say its a eye candy :) My bad luck it was out of stock!! Before all this I had done some home work and shortlisted some of the best in class bikes. Trek 3700(RED), Trek (4300), Merida 40 V and Merida 40 MD were the choice I made. Finally one day it happened to visit Venky's shop and purchased MY MERIDA MATTS SUB 40 MD from Wheel Sports, Merida Junction Bangalore.
I had finaliszed to buy Trek 4300, due to some personal choice on color i had to drop it :( Never the less my roomy is going to buy trek 4300 Orange or Silver in short. We can exchange daily :)
Merida bike looks good as you can see from the photographs. All the components in the bike are made up of good quality materials and feel like they are worth for the money(Paisa Vasool). Looks Trendy and decent. I used to own a Hercules TOP GEAR and Hercules MTB before this and the bike was as heavy, But this bike is light weight and easier to handle.
Front forks RST Gila have lockup feature. Suspension is the best in this bike, You can feel the difference in one ride
Front and rear Shimano Mechanical disk brakes have a excellent braking power and they look damn cool.
One can enjoy the late breaking power with Merida 40 MD, zig-zag fly down hill without the fear of breaking failure!


The bike has saddle(Which is very hard though, need to get used to it), Front and rear wheel quick release like any other high end bikes have.
Shimano shifters. Excellent, Smoother and easy to use.


More reviews yet to come... :) Hope this blog is useful to choose your new bike.

Cyclotoon Part-2

We don't just follow the trials, We create them.

Cyclotoon!

Comment if you liked it :)

Ride to Manchanabele Dam

My friend Vishy would like to share his first ride experience to Manchanabele Dam.
Here it is :)
If every thing went right, then I should been have posted 'Ride to Ramakuppam' story, but a sad news brought me here. Friday evening., myself, Adi, Rakesh & Kamesh, four of us had confirmed to head towards Ramakuppam, near Andra border, and decided to meet at Philips building near Ulsoor lake and pickup Kamesh from K R Puram. After a short meet on Friday night, I returned home, had a little food and slept. At 2215 hrs, my uncle from Mysore called my mom and gave a shocking / sad news., my granny expired (by 2200 hrs), who was in coma for the past three weeks. We all decided to rush to Mysore the same night.
I messaged the other three guys about my granny. Midnight 0200 hrs we were in Mysore. I could not stay in Mysore longer. Next day had a mini-lunch by 1400 hrs and left to Bengalooru by 1500 hrs, reached my home by 1830 hrs. Dint had mood to have dinner also, saw Star Cricket and slept by 2130 hrs. Sunday morning also dint had anything new to offer, so I decided to get out the house and get refreshed. So, at 1000 hrs, left from home, planned to head towards Channapatna and return. On the Mysore highway, saw this board - 'Manchanbelle Dam - 13 km ==>'., so took a deviation and started pedaling through the village. Then realized, apart from previous day's lunch and a cup of coffee, nothing was there in my stomach, so halted near a local shop, bought three big bananas, ate one and resumed my pedaling. The roads were really good, both sides mini farm-lands, tamarind, Nilgiris coconut trees, some mini jungles spread, and some huts / houses sprinkled here 'n there. Even though there was not a single line of cloud above me, it was not at all hot., in fact the whole day pedaling was good and sun did not bother me much. Reached Manchanabele Dam, ate remaining two bananas, took couple of snaps, spoke with local people. One 'Aunty' told me to be careful in water, and I told 'am not getting into water, will stay for another ten min and will leave'. The place was so refreshing that i almost forgot the pain and sadness which i was going through.
Stayed for another fifteen Min's and started towards Bangalore. First reached Big Banyan Tree, had two, very sweet and yummy tender coconut's., then proceeded towards Mysore highway, pedaled along the road, a pit stop near Kengeri lake, had another tender coconut. Next stop in Hoskerehalli jn., had two water-melon slices (nice it was) and finally reached home 1540 hrs, a bit exhausted. Rest of my family came home from Mysore by 1930 hrs and by then I was back into my normal. Had dinner and slept by 2030 hrs.

My first ride to big banyan tree.

Time: May 2009, 04:30 Am
Location: Bangalore C.V. Ramman Nagar.
Mission: Wake up buzz.

"Om GanGanpathe hai namo namha... Sri siddi vinayaka namo namha... Asta vinayaka namo namha.. Ganpathi bappa mouriya! Om GanGamgathe hai..." My mobile has become devotional. It is not my usual alarm tone which I set for whenever I must wake up for god sake.
Ain't early raiser, Still am up today early. Today is day of my first long ride to 'Big Banyan Tree'. Am thrilled and excited to bits, I started exactly at 05:00 AM from my place to starting point. Staring point was decided prior in BBC group mail chain, We have decided to start our ride from Big Bazaar at Satellite Bus Terminal Mysore Road. Vishy was waiting already at staring point. We waited for 10 more min for other fellow biker who was suppose to join us.
We started from the starting point at 06:10 AM, We were 10 min behind the scheduled time.(Did I sound too much like project manager?)
Well, Me and Vishy started peddling towards Kengeri satellite town. Its was icy cool morning weather, I liked the weather very much and the early morning ride too. I had no idea how it feels to have a ride early morning. We had a plan that we'll reach world famous in Kengeri Idly junction at 07:00 AM to have early breakfast. However we were not lucky enough. The hotel was closed. Later on we decided to have breakfast at another hotel beside. We had a quick breakfast and we both exchanged our bike and started peddling towards Big Banyan Tree. Near Raj Rajeswari Medical college at Bangalore-Mysore Highway, we took the right turn. The stretch from Bangalore-Mysore highway to Big Banyan Tree is amazing. Trees besides the road keeps the surroundings cool. Which never made me feel tried. I felt within no time we reached Big Banyan Tree from the Highway. On the way we saw few bikers were returning back. I guess they must have finished there ride soon. This was my first ride so I buyed more time to reach.

Alas! We reached the place, It was very refreshing that we decided to stay spend some time at Big Banyan Tree. While we were taking rest Badri a joined us. We had a little chit-chat for some time. Mean while sun was raising at the fast so have to head back to Bangalore. I got to go to Office too. Returning back was night mare to me! Ooooh... Its a continuous uphill back to Bangalore. I had to take more break than others, We had tender coconut water in between. After reaching back to Nayandahalli Halli at Mysore road we decided to take right turn towards Banashankari to have SLV's Spl Butter Masala Dosa, Yammi...! Banshankari's up hill nearly killed me. I tried all the gear combination to keep peddling the uphill. Uff! at the spirit of having SLV's Spl stuff some how we made it and had mouth watering Masala Dosa and dispersed back our place.

It was a jolly ride with yammi breakfast's.

Once a biker is always a biker

Hey, you must be wondering how come these guys got Merida Bike in Mysore? let me explain!

It’s a story starts back in Mysore. Well, when I was search of better reliable bike in Mysore for good reasons. I happened to visit the biking stores in Mysore, They have pretty decent bikes like Hero, Hercules, Avon, BSA cycles. After my school days am buying a bike again, so thought of buying a high end bike. During my school days, I owned Hercules Top Gear Bike, which was called “High end bike” during those days.

During the visit the shop walla recognized me, because he was the student of my dad in Mysore.

So looking at my bad shape of late I’ve put on a lot of weight he asks "Do you need fitness cycle? or tread mill sir? We have very good indoor cycles which can be used by any of your family members, blah.. blah.. blah..”

After taking enough of his crap, I had to speak aloud to stop his yapping "AM LOOKING FOR MTB" He got surprised and gave a strange look at me, I was wondering, whether he has any intention of selling bikes

Finally, he starts telling about the Hero bike which he had, with front and rear disc brakes and full alloy frame e.t.c.. But before i could touch it, He stops me!!

What a moron!(I thought! Not aloud though). He now started giving me the true picture of it. “I had been the student of your dad and don't want to cheat! so let me be true” and he starts.

The bike have very poor quality tubes which does not hold the air pressure for a day.

The disc brakes are heavier and the wires used are of very poor quality.

He finally suggested me to buy Firefox from Bangalore. Quite a lot for buying a bike J. Thanks to this guy, I had to drop the idea of buying bike in Mysore because, currently there are no dealers of Firefox or Trek or Merida.

Inspiration Day(25 Dec 2008):
It happened to see bunch of cyclist in Mysore DevrajUrs Road. With florescent, flashy bikes.
bikers wearing helmets, looked like all were pro bikers!
Hmmm.. These pepole cannot be from Mysore for sure, since normal public hestiates to wear helmets on there motor bike how any one could be wearing on bike(bicycle)?
I couldn't resist the temptation looking at the bunch of bikers and catch hold of one guys, who looked like lost in between, Before i could ask something he asked me "Which is the way to youth hostel?" I guided him the way and asked whereabouts? After that i got an idea that there is one club called BBC(Bangalore Bikers Club).
I did no delay, i rushed to nearest cyber centre and googled around and finally found the BBC.
and TFN.

BBC Gyan:
I had almost decided to buy Firefox Target, Which is a entry level bike and kind of OK to my budget. Being a slient spectaor in BBC forum i collected huge idea to decide which is better bike?
Because better components make the bike better and can have hassle free ride later on i took no chance.
Later on i changed my mind for the kind of support we get from the Firefox station guys.
BBC has the shown some real biker enthusiast who not only sell bikes but they were passionate about it and had huge biking experience. Which make a huge difference while choosing the better bike in market.

Finally it happened to short list few of the bike which i was looking for & considering the budget which i can maximum stretch too. After getting some gyan from BBC members i have short listed few better bikes.

• Trek 4300
• Merida 40V
• Merida 40 MD

My Gyan:
Before you buy a bike get some gyan from the experts! It helps.

My New Bike!

Ah! Finally the day has come, Now am the owner of Merida 40 MD Bike! Here