Cleaning and Lubing the Drivetrain

“Greatest is the samurai who lets his sword rust in its scabbard”. But, we can’t really equate this quote with cycling, can we?

Its was already over a month since I had started my commute. It didn’t take me long to come to terms with the reality that the maintenance clock ran a lot faster for those who used their bikes on a daily basis. I had planned a close encounter with my drivetrain two months from now but I was starting to hear all those metallic cries for unctuousness, already.

Rear cassette- before cleaning

Jockey wheels- note the dirt accumulation

The chain hardly has any lubrication left on them. The inner surface is shining due the the abrasions caused by friction

The front cogset. Can you see the damage caused due to chain derailings.

All dusty and dirty

Note the dirt buildup on the front hub

One month of heavy use and my chain, cogset, cassette and deraileures were covered in dust (not to mention the rest of my bike but that is out of topic, period). All that remained of any previous lubrication was this blackish brown powder that still hesitantly kept clinging on to the jockey wheels.  Creaky sounds while riding, more pressure on the pedals and increased resistance added up with a couple of faulty gear shifts made me prepone the first “Clean & Lube the Drivetrain” day to this day (night, in fact) of March the 13^th 2012.

I’ve been going through some tutorials on the internet plus some threads in BZ and cyclists.in which, of course, made the job quite easy as a game being played in cheat mode. Still, I scored a bunch of fails and fouls. I shall discuss them as I give you a walkthrough of this gala event.

It started off with some disappointments as I couldn’t procure all the desired stuffs for my mission. My hometown (like most of the ‘hometowns’ in India) is yet to fully acknowledge the bikers in all their entirety. Also, I did not want to shell out a lot of ‘kyaash’ as this was a learning drill. Now that was one of the first wrong decisions that I made w.r.t to this C&L day. So, two hours of sniffing around the markets and shops equipped me with the following:

Items that I used to clean & lube my drivetrain.

1.       ARB AP3 white grease (used for bearings)- 200gm pack- 45.00 Rs.

2.       WD-40: a solution to remove rust, grease and dirt, to prevent squeaks and protect metal- 63.8gm spray can- 95.00 Rs.

3.       Cloth gloves- 20.00 Rs.

Cloth gloves- they can come real handy

4.       Vim drop dishwash active gel with lemon- My citrus degreaser- stole from the kitchen.

My citrus degreaser- ;-)

5.       Screwdriver set

6.       An old hair-dyeing brush- couldn’t find a better option then.

7.       Old toothbrush-1 nos

8.       Cotton waste and rags- plenty

9.       Tray- to keep the soap water

10.   Old news papers- to keep the floor clean.

 I wanted to get that ‘White Lightening’ initially but as always couldn’t find it at any local stores. But I think this WD-40 works pretty much the same way. I should have been a bit more careful while choosing the grease. This ARB, I learned, is not the best for bike chains. Vim liquid as the citrus degreaser did a fine job. I took special care to not to let it into the hub. I also fancied of getting that 'parktool' chain cleaner. It looked like a laser gun used in Star Trek.

I gathered all the items required and stared meditatively at them for about 5 mins. No, not a spiritual exercise but I was genuinely confused where to start from. I just put the bike on the kickstand and started off. However, the idea of placing the bike upside down didn’t cross my mind.

Step 1: Making the chain visible- Yeah, it was all covered in grit and dirt and what not. I took an old piece of ‘Tantex Banyan’ and wiped off most of the dirt from the chain and cogs.

First round chain cleaning using cotton rag

Step 2: Screwing the drivetrain- This is a simple and easy technique that I saw in one of those YT videos. All you need is a screwdriver. Place it alongside the rotating surface (say the bearing ends of jockey wheels etc.) and just turn the pedals. You cal see those grit getting chiseled off the wheels, just like that. I liked this process so much that my screwdriver tip is half a millimeter shorter now.

Chiseling off the dirt using the screwdriver 

Step 3: Brush your teeth..and chains- I took a few drops from the vim liquid (the advertisement says 1 drop can clean up to 15,000 plates. They should try chains next time), diluted with tap water in a tray, dipped the toothbrush in it and scrubbed off the remaining dirt from the chains and stuffs. After brushing I wiped the parts with dry cotton and let it dry up.

Cleaning the drivetrain using the degreaser solution

Step 4: The WD-40 incident- Now, this is another fun part. All you have to do is to shake up the can a bit and swooooooshhhhh!. Spray it all along the cassettes and chain and you can see this fine black dirt particles dripping down. The drivetrain gets shinier and cleaner. It dries up quite fast and has got an oily feel to it. So I instantly rubbed it off from the rims to avoid future brake-fails. My brother gave a comment that this WD-40 will become thick and viscose, grease like on drying up. Nothing of that sort happened. By this the cleaning part came to an end and we took a break for dinner.

WD-40

Step 5: Grease balling- I used this old dyeing brush to apply the grease. This is definitely not the best way to apply the grease to the chain. Then I started wondering whether you actually require grease itself for lubrication. Using machine oil etc could also have done a better job I guess.

Applying the grease

Only while starting to grease the chain up that I noticed that as soon as the grease touched the chain, it was turning black. This was only because there were a lot of dirt still present in the chain and had not got washed off completely. I think if you need a 100 percent cleanup of the chain, you might very well have to remove it and clean it separately by dipping it in soap solution and all. I saw some threads showing this coke tin and chain technique. Anyways, I had not tool to remove the chain or no intention to do it in the first place. Hence, paying the price for it was inevitable. I couldn’t get my chain completely cleaned and this made the greasing part less perfect.

Result: Rather than a complete success, the mission was more or less a ‘hard-work gets paid-off’ scenario. I was able to get a load of dirt off the drivetrain. It runs more smoothly for the time being and the gear shifts seem to be ok too. But it also seems that I did over-grease the system as I found some grease particles spilled on the chain stay. Still, it was a great learning experience which has made me furthermore emotionally attached to my bike. Oh, come on guys, things like this do happen.

Bike commuting-Busting Misconceptions

“My work got more sedentary and hectic. I got too lazy to workout or couldn't find a suitable time slot even if I wanted to. I started getting that ‘lifebuoy’ around my waist and all. It was my emotional state that bothered me more. I was getting more and more depressive; loosing focus and temper most of the times. Work began to get compromised. Moreover, relationships began to get compromised! Deep from my heart, I always wanted to break away. Become a free bird.

I want to get my old self back. I want that good old outdoor-ish, fun-loving, adventurous, nature-loving, healthy and happy person back. But I just don’t know how. “

Is this your story that I am telling? Well, this is not just yours. It was mine too.

Life is only a process. It’s our perspective that defines it. When you get the perspective right, life suddenly becomes happy and meaningful.

I am neither a fitness freak nor a professional sporting person. Not only is my workplace far from home, the roads are not that perfect too. I am not a very rich person and I am not as crazy as you think. I mentioned all these personal stuffs here because all the taboos and misconceptions regarding Bike Commuting have to be shed in the very beginning.

Though I was using bikes regularly during my school days, the whole idea of biking took a backseat as I grew older. For the past 10 years, I had not even looked keenly at a bike. Cars and motorbikes ruled my roads. I wanted to reach my destinations fast, whether needed or not. I was so much into cars and motorbikes that I was reluctant to walk even a mile. All these times it never occurred to me that biking is going to revolutionize my life. It was then that one of my colleagues got a bike. He began to ride every day to work. I was not impressed. We began to have heated arguments and very long debates on biking. So I thought of Googling it up and this was my keyword: “Cycling demerits”.  

Based on my research, I had listed out the “Disadvantages of bike commuting”. But today, as I know that there are not really disadvantages but misconceptions, I decided to rename and define my list as follows:

The Misconceptions I had about Bike Commuting

1.       Not suitable for long distance travel- I live 16kms away from my work place, which I believed was too far away.

2.       Will get all sweaty after a bike ride- I am going to my workplace. How will I be able to work with all that sweat and stink?

3.       Takes a lot of time to reach the destination-Even if I decide to bike I would never reach there in time since I am living so far away.

4.       Safety issues- You will agree with me if I say that the road is where crazy people hang out. Most of the times it is not an exaggeration. A mild hit on the handle can knock you over.

5.       Repairs and Maintenance- What if I get a flat tire on the way? What if a crucial part gets damaged?

6.       Weather will be a problem- I live in a place that gets heavy rains for 3-6 months around a year at least. I won’t be able to bike on those months. Sometimes the summers are too hot too.

7.       Health complications- A lot of people get back aches, knee joint problems, neurological injuries and so on due to biking. I just don’t want to be one among them. Using bikes on a long term basis will certainly give you trouble.

8.       Expensive- It would cost a fortune to get a decent bike. That doesn’t end there. I will have to shell out humongous amount of money for accessories as well.

As I was going through the demerits I could see that majority of the demerits were actually not because of biking but due to improper biking or due ignorance and negligence. So I went on with my search and all the forums and websites out there helped me out to come to a buying decision.

The first thing I did was to understand my need and purpose of biking. As commuting with small trips on weekends was my priority, I opted for a hybrid bike. Then I went through some models and brands and checked with my local bike store for the availability, price and performance of these bikes. I also consulted my other biking acquaintances. I fixed a budget and then shortlisted the bikes of my liking within that price range. The next part was the toughest. I analyzed and compared each component of these shortlisted bikes (See it here). By this time I had become a big fan of biking and I wanted to know everything technical and practical regarding it. So this exercise not only helped me choose a bike but also made me a bit more wiser regarding biking as a whole.

So..This is how I busted my misconceptions:

1.       Distance: Today, I ride 16kms each to and fro daily to work and back home. Trust me, I have been doing this from day one. Initially I had planned small sessions as training runs. The day I bought the bike I decided to ride 5 or 6 kms and transport the bike in a pick-up van the remaining distance. But I got so indulged in the process that I didn’t care about the distance. I biked all the way to my home (18kms). I broke a lot of sweat but there was no muscle pain or fatigue or cramps or anything. I had mild tenderness on my butts for a couple of days and after that there was no problem at all.

2.       Sweating and clothing dilemma: Sweating is good. It is not just the water that you drank that is coming out. It is also a good excretory mechanism of the body by which a lot of metabolic wastes are flushed out. But that won’t sound like a good excuse to your colleagues or employer, right? So, this is what I do. I carry a small backpack in which I tuck in my well-pressed office clothes and accessories. I wear a t-shirt and shorts while biking. On reaching the workplace, I cool myself off, would take a shower if necessary and then change into my formals. It takes me only about 10-15 minutes for the entire procedure.

3.       Time Consumption/ Delay: Biking is time consuming. But if you look at it in a holistic angle, there are some very good investments going into that time consumed. Primarily, I don’t have to spend an extra hour for workouts. Besides, for me, bike commuting is not very time draining altogether. Earlier, I had to take a bus to the main transit which would take about 5 minutes, then comes 2-10 minutes of waiting for the bus to my workplace. Another 20 minutes in the bus, plus or minus 10 minutes in traffic and finally there is a 5 minute rush to my workplace. Adding it all up, I would take 50 minutes to an hour to reach from home to workplace. I cover 16 kms in 45 minutes by bike and the time is slowly decreasing as I am getting more and more experienced in biking. Another thing that I do is that I take special care to put in 10-15 minutes extra into my commuting time slot. In other words, even though I reach my destination in 45 minutes, I start usually about 60 to 80 minutes early to the commencement of my work time. By doing this, I don’t have to rush to work, can take a rest of 5 minutes half way or whenever I need it and get time to freshen up and change clothes. I even spend some time with people on the way or would stop for a couple of snaps.

4.       Safety: Safety is one of the major concerns that keep a lot of individuals away from cycling. Yes, there is a risk involved when you are biking; just like anything else in life. If that is your excuse for not biking, then you might have to reconsider your decision. Alertness, caution, some preparations, obeying traffic rules, cooperation and positive attitude can make biking a safe and pleasurable experience.

I have listed out the safety concerns I came across as a bike commuter, here.

5.       Repair & Maintenance: A bike is usually subjected to a lot of wear and tear. I travel long distances, so I thought it would be wise to carry a portable tool bag with a puncture repair kit in it. They are not usually very heavy and can be kept in the saddlebag or backpack. Another thing I noticed is that the bike is an amazingly simple machine. It didn’t take long for me to decipher its mechanics. I don’t have any technical or engineering know-how but a lot of sites like parktool.com and youtube helped me to learn some of the basic repairing techniques. I opted for a bike with quick-release skewers for either wheel so that a flat tire can be fixed without much time delay. I also carry a glove and some cloth pieces to prevent and to clean off the dirt and grease that I gather in the process of bike repairing.

Maintaining the bike is another crucial element. A huge lot of trouble, time and money can be saved if the bike is maintained and checked thoroughly for any abnormalities and it has to be done at regular intervals also. I give special attention to my tires (the pressure in it and its overall condition), brakes (the status of the brake shoes and the amount of break that is delivered) and the drivetrain (the chain and derailleurs in particular). I believe that if the bike is very well maintained and if I am careful on the road, there should be hardly any reason why I should get stuck half way on my commute.

6.       Weather: For me, rain is not a problem. It’s just a challenge. A decent rain jacket and waterproof shoes will certainly clear that obstacle. Likewise when it’s too hot, I wear very light clothes, keeps myself hydrated and make sure that my skin and eyes are well protected. Mostly, bike commuters travel by morning and evening. So an extreme of heat or sun is generally not an occurrence.

7.       Health concerns: Health complications of bike riding usually arise due to improper fit and bike abuse. I tried to get the fit right as soon as I bought a new hybrid bike. I selected the right frame size for my height. Then I adjusted the saddle height. I didn’t set the height such that the knees are fully extended when the pedal reaches its lowest. Instead I kept a flexion angle of about 25 degrees. I also double checked that I am not bending too forward and my shoulders and elbows are not stretched out or stressed. Even after fixing it on day one, I had to make some slight adjustments with the saddle height. Getting the fit right is a gradual process, I guess.

After every ride, I do a small meditative self scan to see whether the entire me is alright. I look for any signs of repetitive stress injury or fatigue. I ensure that I am properly nourished and hydrated. I wear padded gloves to protect the wrists and palms.

Along with getting the fit right and maintaining the bike regularly, I am also planning to do some seasonal Ayurvedic treatments so that my body is also kept attuned with my activities.

8.       Expense: There are bikes that are mind bogglingly expensive. But they serve a different purpose. Purpose..That should be the key consideration. Rather than a cheap model under my initial budget, I went for a decent model which I felt was very VFM. A good bike may appear expensive superficially but in the long run you save a lot of money and effort from better performance, lesser maintenance and longer durability. Also you can get relieved from frequent upgrades. Additionally, I didn’t spend a lot on accessories. I just bought some dire necessities in the beginning and slowly identified my exact requirements. This way I could get the precise commodity that I wanted and could also abstain myself from wasting money on unnecessary equipments.

As a conclusive coda, I don’t have to conclude just by saying that biking will take me where I want to go. Much beyond that, it is absolute fun! I don’t have to find additional time for my routine workouts and surprisingly, my work efficiency has also increased. I can feel that I have become more alert and attentive in all my activities. So, it is one less car or motorbike on the road and hence I am reducing my carbon footprint too. A small tribute to my mother nature as well.
The only thing I regret now is for the delay that I made to embrace biking.

'Save your ride, save your soul'. Safety tips for bike commuters.

I am sharing with you some of the safety measures that I cross-check every time I use my bike. Do put in your ideas and opinions into it.

-          The biggest saviors for a biker are not any gadgets or accessories. They are common sense and presence of mind. Do have them at all times.

-          Helmet is a must. It not only protects your head from impacts but also helps other motorists to note you. I feel that a helmet gives you a professional aura and other motorists and pedestrians are more likely to cooperate with you.

Bike Helmet- Its not just a matter of security.

©www.funnycutepics.com

-          Make yourself visible. Wear bright colored clothing or reflector jackets. Make sure that your bike is also having a lot of reflectors on it. Especially on the rear and front, on the pedals and along the rims. While choosing the color of the bike I prefer brighter or vibrant colors over dark colors or shades that camouflage with the road and surroundings.

Bike lights- Make yourself as visible as possible

©getoutdoors.com

 It would be wise to carry headlamps/headlights and tail lamps in case if you get late after work and it gets

dark out there. Don’t even think of biking without bright headlamps at night time.

Bike headlamps-Its always a good idea

                                                                ©www.123rf.com

      Equipping your ride with a bell/horn will make biking in busy roads much easier. Motorists often overlook a biker while giving way to another overtaking vehicle in the same lane or when a vehicle coming from the opposite direction breaks the lane to overtake the vehicle in front of it. Another trouble is slower vehicles and pedestrians moving in the same direction as yours. A nice, loud bell can call the attention of all the above mentioned.

Use a bell or horn- It might save more than one life

©mag.bevakoof.com

-          Fix a rear-view mirror on the bike or on your helmet. Assuming that the person behind you has seen you or will do things to avoid a collision is one of the gravest risks one can take while on the road. A mirror also makes the ride more hassle free as you don’t have to cut your focus on the road to look back when necessary.

Bike rear view mirrors- Better than a head turner

©http://baltimorebicyclist.blogspot.in

-          Never make abrupt turns or any other unpredictable movements while on the road. Even though making eye contact with other motorists may not always be possible, giving hand signals will avoid a lot of confusion. When I am on the road, I become part of it and try my level best to obey the rules. I stay confident and gives space and visibility to other motorists. I keep in mind that having a vehicle without an engine doesn’t give me any privilege and I am not prioritized in most of the cases.

-          I become very alert when I am passing close by a parked vehicle. I check if the passenger(s) is about to open the door. There can be another person or vehicle about to get into the road via the front side of a parked vehicle, which is usually out of sight. I take special care that either of us sees either of us with enough time to react.

Getting doored

                                           ©www.examiner.com

-          I have a different philosophy on using headphones. I find it best not to use them and it makes me more indulged in the surroundings and biking itself. I am able to hear my bike when I am not using my headphones. I can sense the tire pressure, chain clattering or any other creeks that might indicate an upcoming trouble. Not using headphones make quick interactions with passers by possible and alerts by other motorists are also more audible. However, I sometimes feel like utilizing the 40 minutes that I take to bike for some extra benefits. I listen to audio books and sloka chants while biking. These are not too noisy usually and most of the times I am able to hear the horns or bells or other motorists. I also put these audio in a low enjoyable volume so that it is not interfering with my surrounding sounds. If at any circumstance I feel like listening to the surroundings, I just pop out one of my earphones.

Babe on bike
Caught in Amsterdam by the Prudent Cyclist on flickr

-          Manage your clothes. The last thing that you would want is to get a chain tattoo on your 3000Rs khaki trousers or even worse, get the trousers and yourselves torn. Biking to work may not always give you the liberty to wear shorts or 3/4ths. So, what I do is that I use a paper clip to hold a couple of pleats made on the right pant leg or I would just tuck that pant leg into the sock. Also try and hop onto the bike or tilt the bike to sit on it. Trying to stretch the leg around with tight fitting trousers can put you in a very embarrassing situation.

Bikers using tight pants..beware of this and even more

Regular check-up of the ride and gears should be made a habit. Status of brake-shoes, condition of the cables, slackness of joints and bolts, lubrication etc can become decisive factors on overall biking experience.

Bike check-up. Make it a habit

©http://jeffreymcwhorter.blogspot.in

-          Keep a first aid kit handy. After all it is biking and it is an active sport. Its quite ok to fall; provided the condition is manageable. There are first-aid kits available but you can always make a bag of your own with some antiseptics, band-aids, antispasmodic sprays, analgesics, crapes etc.

Keep a first aid kit handy.

 ©http://www.bannedinhollywood.com/10-photos-of-bicycle-fail-1-photo-of-bicycle-win/

It won't take long to make these safety tips a habit. In fact, after a while, you won't even feel that you are voluntarily doing these check-ups and preparations. It just happens by itself. All these together will definitely make one of your best activities the safest too. In this regard safe biking is beaten only by safe sex.

So, Happy 'riding'. Either ways.

The story so far! (as told to my Bikes Zone Friends)

Pappu Can Bike Saala!

by cXing » February 7th, 2012, 1:47 pm

Hola BZ!
They call me cXing..Huh? OK, at least I myself do.
I sincerely have no idea how to extend my gratitude to Bikeszone. Please assume that I have “Ctrl+C & Ctrl+V’d” here all the praise and wishes given to BZ throughout the posts. Simply because they all have done it a zillion times and they have done it very well.
It’s mostly because of all these topics and posts in BZ that I ended up getting myself a bike costing 20 thou INR which is quite the double of my budget. However, today I am a very happy person and I would like to share my story to the biking community.
So, let me arrange the events chronologically and make the 5-month long story short to 5-minutes.
1. September 2011: My colleague buys a Hercules Rodeo Torrent IC for around 10,000 bucks.
2. September 2011 to 18th December 2011: I kept condemning my colleague for shelling out sooo much for a ‘cycle’. We frequently had heated arguments and debates on bike topics for months.
3. 18th December 2011: Googled-up “cycling” for the first time in my life. Then I stumble upon http://www.bikeszone.com . Soon I realized that I was involuntarily searching for an ideal bike that would suit my needs.
4. 18th December 2011 to 21st January 2012: More than a month of intensive net scavenging. Bike forums, blogs, manufacturer sites, public opinion, local bike store visits and what not!! Have you, at BZ, encountered any server overload or breakdown lately? Well, between us, it could be just me. I was so voraciously into BZ! Gosh!!! So many useful and informative stuffs!! You should deem BZ as a University soon enough!
5. 21st January 2012: Biking catches hold of my nerves so tight that I end up creating a blog!!! Do check it out folks- http://www.cyclistscrossing.blogspot.in

[I got to tell you guys that I am as new to blogging as I am to biking. My friends are already praising me with verses like..”Saala!! this bloody cXing does not even have a tricycle and yet he has started a bike blog!! Crazy &#@#$% !!!
So pardon me if it is too naive or if I have made too many mistakes. I could see that a lot of dudes here have awesome blogs, all very informative, entertaining and inspiring. So I think it is fine to seek help of you all in bike-blogging as comfortably as seeking help regarding biking itself.]

6. 4th February 2012: The choice is made, all plans are set and off I go bike shopping! But fate had something else in store for me. All ATMs and online money transfers were down due to some network jam. So all I could buy was a cyclocomputer (Sigma BC 506), Number lock (Firefox) and a pair of gloves (Firefox). I returned home totally wrecked and spent an entire sleepless night cursing ATMs and online money transfers.
7. 6th February 2012: I headed straight to my LBS, first thing in the morning, assisted the store manager in opening the store, bought the bike..GT Transeo 4.0, made some fittings, rode back to work, switched on the PC, opened BZ and got registered as a new member and here I am!!
That’s it!! Reborn and up-to-date!!
Future is always uncertain. We still can’t even get our weather forecast correct. I don’t know where all these endeavor will take me or what will become of me as a biker. But one thing is certainly certain. Getting into biking is a turning point in my life and I am sure that the road ahead is gonna be awesome. As for now, I am a very very happy person and that’s all I care about!!
Let no butts ache ever! Peace!!
P.S: Will definitely write a review of the bike and accessories..yeah that goes without saying. Right now I am too busy riding my bike around…

Derailleur Gears Vs Hub Gears

Its very premature to publish such authoritative topics like these. But this information helped me to get rid of this very big confusion that I was having regarding what gear system to choose. Here, I have tabulated whatever information I have collected regarding them.

Particulars	Derailleur Gears	Hub Gears
Maintenance	High on effort t and cost(because of open system)	Less on effort and cost(closed system protects it from dust, water and physical trauma)
Chain	More flexible, less durable	Wider stronger and enables effective force transmission
Chain Path	Higher and more flexions due to two pulley wheels giving additive friction	Smaller chain path with no pulleys.
Grease tattoos on trousers(A big concern for work-commuters)	Frequent since the drivetrain is exposed	As the drivetrain is enclosed this issue is almost unheard of.
Sturdiness	Fragile	Sturdy
Ease of use	Complex due to two shifters and issues of ratio overlap and cross-chaining.	Only one shifter present making it very user friendly and hassle free, a benefit for beginners and in high-traffic.
Shifting while pedaling	Not possible in most models	Possible (important for city rides and trails)
Coaster brakes	Usually absent	Present. Effective in rain and snow. Very less maintenance. Complex and costly repairs. Inefficient heat dissipation. Not suitable for long descents. Longer response time and chances of skidding.
Shifting force required	High	Low
Gear Ratio	High overall gear ratios	High ratio present only in top models like Rohloff Speedhub
Weight	Very light	Heavy
Cost	Cheaper	Very expensive
System mechanics	Simple and can be easily repaired	Complex system; complex repairs
Efficiency	98%	92%
Rear wheel removal(think of a flat while touring)	Piece of cake	Difficult
Best suitable for	Go Fast riders (Performance, speed, sports)	Leisure Riders (Commuting, recreational rides)

Inception

Pulling the head back from the monitor, wiping off the drool on the table, swiveling on this creaky old office chair and gazing outside those dingy curtains shot a new thought into me. Why do you dream from the midway? Why cant a dream have a normal start, like in the real world? (Yeah, I agree. It was Mr. Dicaprio who asked that question first time in the history of mankind, somewhere in the movie "Inception"). Well, I was climbing a happily steep mountain road in my Cannondale Quick with all my gears and stuffs. Don't ask me the location yet. But it was gorgeous. Should be some bikers' paradise somewhere in...ah crap! That's the good or bad thing about a dream, right? It either ends before you want it to or it never ends even if you desperately want it to.

Back to reality. I am not a cyclist. At least I am not one right now. I am just chasing another dream.

For the past couple of weeks, I've been looking up some cycles (bike in India mostly means "Bajaj Pulsar" kind of affair). For a cyclist in real life, you need a cycle to start with. No, I don't have a Cannondale. See, I told you I was dreaming earlier and if I remember correctly, I started dreaming while watching this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRFNKhNhhJQ

If I could starve myself for a month and abstain from all that is called a 'social life' for about the same period of time, I might be able to procure some 25, 000 Rupees. Being a dynamic (meaning too uncertain in my own decisions), and fitness conscious person, commuting to work is prioritized. But I have to satisfy my adventurous split personality too. World wide web says that I need a Hybrid 'bike'. I feel the same too.

So the hunt has officially begun...Its gonna be a month full of  www.bikezone.com and www.parktool.com and www.jimlangley.net scavenging. Not to mention all the cowdungs google is gonna throw up on my screen. Well, I have to admit that 99% of times it is a life saver. Of course I am going to check out links that are posted in the comments as well. But I can't really expect any comments on a noob blog, can I?

So this is what the first post boils down to:
I am an amateur, absolute newcomer to the cycling world, interested in daily commuting and occasional off-road trips and I am looking for a nice entry-level hybrid bike, that will not burn a hole in my pocket which is holding a stash of 25,000 Indian Rupees.



Hail Comte de Sivrac!!