Into the wind

In a world where we are all glued to a screen, on our chairs, beds or at our desks, working out and staying fit is one of the hottest trends right now. And another cause that every ‘woke’ human is raising her/his voice for — is going green. You know what combines both and makes you look like the most woke person in the crowd? Cycling. 

And if you want to stand out even further, you don’t have to look beyond brands such as Scott, Giant and Trek. They bring you bikes for as high as Rs.1.1 million, ensuring that your morning ride to work is done in style or that your weekend adventures are luxurious. 

If you’ve been cycling for a few years and want to push up the pedal a little, go for Scott Plasma Premium. For the movie nerds, if the Fast and the Furious series was about street cycle racing, you would see Dom cycling the streets of Tokyo or Atlanta on a Plasma Premium.

Priced at around Rs.800,000, this road bike has an HMX carbon fibre — a blend used by the company to give the bike high rigidity and strength. It also has an aerodynamic advantage with parametric airfoil design, ensuring an efficient ride. Now a high-speed bicycle also needs a good brake system in place. For this, Scott has every cyclist’s dream tech — Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 electronic groupset — a lightweight, intelligent shifting system that ensures cleaner gear changes and powerful braking. These features alone would have any cyclist swooning, but it offers one more thing — a fully integrated storage for energy and nutrition. And, all this weighs only 8.65 kilogram.

“Solo cyclists are not given any consideration. Only when you’re in a group with your entire gear and helmet, you get respected on the roads as a cyclist. Most start off in big groups, and go for weekend rides in the morning. Eventually, many of them move to speed-focused cycling with events such as triathlon, duathlon, half-Ironman or full-Ironman,” says Siddharth P Vora, who runs Kohinoor Cycle Store, a Mumbai-based dealer of Scott cycles.

Another option for a power-packed bike is Trek’s 2020 Madone SL 6 Disc. At Rs.360,000, the bike is available in chic neon green-black or a fierce red-black colour combination. It is made of Trek’s patented carbon fibre, called OCLV Carbon. The fibre is extremely lightweight (the bike weighs a mere 8.63 kilogram) and assures strength and stiffness. The racing bike has a KVF (Kammtail Virtual Foil) Tube Shape, which ranks among the world’s most aerodynamic frames.

If you wish to attach your Go Pro to shoot your expedition to the mountains, or cycle under the night sky with a flashlight; or even check up on an important email on the go from that client you’re hoping to strike a deal with, Trek understands. Madone SL 6 Disc comes with Blendr — the ultimate integration system for clean and easy installation of lights, phone and other accessories.

If you think that all this multi-tasking during your long rides is going to tire you, Trek would be delighted to prove you wrong. Its Madone series has an IsoSpeed decoupler that allows the seat tube to rotate independently from the main bicycle frame, adjusting it as per your needs. This diminishes the fatiguing impacts of the road, allowing you to cycle comfortably for long.

“I’m a night person, so I usually leave my house after 10 pm for cycling. There are not a lot of cycling tracks in the city [Mumbai], so I cycle on the roads. Bandstand and Carter Road are great for cycling,” says Shahid Shaikh, owner of Imperial Cycle Centre in Kurla, Mumbai, one of the few Trek bike dealers in India.

“We have a test riding track in our store, to let people experience and find out for themselves why these premium bicycles are priced so,” he says.

Coming to one of the most expensive bicycles available in India — the glorious Giant Propel Advanced SL 0.  By paying Rs.1.1 million, you can own the model that is used by champion biker Marcel Kittel. And, you won’t be sorry.

The bike has a full composite and lightweight seatpost, along with Aerosystem Shaping technology, in which every tube shape and junction is sculpted for minimal drag. Additionally, it also has internal cable routing for a sleek, uncluttered appearance, and an integrated chainstay system.

A good businessman understands the importance of numbers and performance. To keep a track of your bike and performance data, the Giant Propel Advanced SL 0 comes with a wireless data transmitter that sends wheel-speed and cadence information directly to any ANT+ (adaptive network technology) compatible computer. With an additional gadget, Ride Sense 2.0, this information can be instantly shared with you on your Android or iOS devices.  

With this little guide to start with, get the right bicycle for yourself, ready your cycling gear, and hit the road!