Gear cycles? yes, why not... Review on Hero Cycles

I had purchased a Hero Ranger DTB, an eye catching metallic crimson red, it does have good looks. I have literally used it more than I should have. Its closest competitor is the Hercules Wow, but its a good 2000/- more than the DTB, it looks good though the latter's brakes are scary.

There is really nothing practical in storage purposes in cycles, a basket would have been helpful but its a complete no no in this one - it will spoil its looks.

The gear is really helpful, I love it when you are in the traffic and you start off with an equal speed as your counterpart sitting snuggly in his car.

Such type of cycles should definitely be not kept outside, this led to a lot of problems later which is why now I have switched to jogging and usage of public transport.

As I said its attractive, the milk vendors and delivery boys would definitely eye it. Those lovely fire tread type tyres were stolen within a month inspite of all those security guards. I regret sending it to the local cycle marts for regular maintenance as they made matters worse.

The cycle looks to be lightweight seeing the plastic mud guards and pedal protector, but its a bit on the heavier side.

The gears are manufactured by Shimano(which sounds so reliable due to its Jap name) but sadly its nowhere close to it. The left gears are useless, basically the 6 gears on the right are the main thing. 1 being the fastest and 6 making the pedal dead hard! 4 is the ideal one to pedal

but the moment you change to 3, the chain slips out of place and you have to spoil your hands and its a horrible though learning experience to fix the gear and then messing up everything around.

Paint quality is good, but some parts tend to rust soon like rims and handle bars. It got scratched easily. A good handwash retained its shine.

The best part was the suspension which made your cycle different from others. I made sure I went across bumps and potholes as it was so much fun when people looked and wondered how does he go over with so much ease?:) Mud guards are useless in the rainy season with all the water sticking to your back and staining your shirt behind.

Ride was smooth but seating positon was bad, the seat is a bit too narrow.

I am a diehard cyclist, during holidays I cycled from Versova in Andheri to Pali Hill which is a distance of about 12 kms if im not wrong and back. With my nokia 2630 vga camera, I loved clicking pics of the rocks in Carter road, the setting sun, the slums at Khar and Koliwada or the mangroves at Versova. It was scary whenever a BEST bus or SUV went past me. Sadly no music accompanied me due to absence of a memory card. I pod would obstruct leg movement while cycling, so it was out of the question. Cycling in Mumbai roads is equal to terror. It was nice when you picked up at an equal speed of cars at traffic signals.I would only come to know my actual speed which would be a 38kph or 40 on a free road whenever a Civic went by.:) I wish they had equipped a rear view mirror atleast for the price.

The actual strentgh of my cycle's gears were tested on Pali Hill, it went on smoothly while going up, its steep indeed. it functioned well for 2 weeks but it made that notorious'tak tak' noise which regularly happens indicating that the chain will slip any moment, and there it broke into 2 pieces! It was a bad experience though an adventurous one to walk bak home halfway!

After that only 3 gears are working properly, ie: the 2nd to 4th gears, the rest all are kaput. Its as good as a normal cycle now, though I have dicontinued cycling due to safety issues. The only saving grace is the suspension! Thank God!

It reminds me to have a look at my cycle again, however bad it is, ( the seat is stolen now) I can't part with it as it showed me the true Mumbai.cycling is a good form of exercise, I just wish they had provided adequate space for cyclists like in other cities say New Delhi for example. I wish to resume to riding in my premises like I did in my BSA Dinosaur days - a cycle for 3 year olds!.:):):)

Gear cycles are nice, but only for shorter distances though and they require proper care from experts, not your regular cycle mart, the only mistake that I did. Also its better to wear the suitable attire - I ignored all this and it caused over exertion causing me to lose weight  which was not needed.