Hi everyone,
I'm from India and planning a long-distance bicycle tour, hopefully a world tour in the future. My budget is around ₹20,000–₹30,000, and I've narrowed it down to these four bikes:
Firefox Rapide 21S
Triban RC100 Flat Bar
Riverside 500
Montra Trance Pro
My priorities are:
Reliability over thousands of kilometers
Easy availability of spare parts
Comfort for riding 70–100 km per day
Ability to carry panniers and touring gear
Good performance on both paved roads and occasional rough roads
I know none of these are dedicated touring bikes, but given my budget, which one would you choose and why?
If you've owned or toured on any of these bikes, I'd really appreciate hearing about your experience. Also, if there's another bike under ₹30,000 that's significantly better for touring, please let me know.
Thanks in advance!
by OneEarth-OneRide
6 Comments
If in india? 100% a scolarian kettlexpress 2×10 loopbar! of those in the screen shot the triban
Check how you would mount a rear carrier and whether there is enough space between pannier bags and your heels when riding the bike. None of those bikes look like there is going to be much space. Aluminium frames are also not great for longer tours that partly go over dirt roads. Steel frames are stronger, more comfortable and much easier to fix/weld if they break. Riding a cheap aluminium frame fully loaded over rough roads is asking for trouble. I would go for the Firefox with the steel frame.
From what I’ve heard decathlon bikes are generally pretty shit. How is the 2nd hand market locally? If you know how to assess the condition of the bike you’re buying you’ll get a lot more bang for your buck buying 2nd hand.
Also: don’t overthink the bike. I did 5500km on some pos no name Bulgarian mountain bike and it was fine. I’d recommend getting something that isn’t super heavy though, because mine was like 15kg unloaded and I felt it on every hill
From a quick glance I would go with the Firefox, because:
– it has a triple chain ring up front which means more gear range, essential for touring.
– it has a rigid fork which means less moving parts which will need to be maintained.
– it has rim brakes which, at these low price points, will be easier to operate and maintain than mechanical disc brakes.
As a rule of thumb for bike touring, you want to look for bikes which have low gearing (easier to pedal up hill), eyelets for racks/bags, and mechanically simple so they’re easy to maintain in the field.
Hero Jet
Riverside. You don’t need that many gears. Add better seats, solid carrier, side bags, mud guards, handlebar riser if you like a more upright position.
70-100km/day is doable in the plains.. but not in this heat. Ride in early mornings and evenings.
But India is not safe/pleasant for bike touring. If you can, target nearby countries like Thailand Malaysia and SE Asia, as the drivers are more considerate towards cyclists in those countries. Good luck