Buying the Cycle

Date: 13 July 2014

Been a while since I realized that my daily routine was to spend long hours at work which resulted in there being no time for anything other than work. Was gaining a lot of weight and needed to get a lot of physical activity into my daily regime. The thought of cycling came up because I was doing a lot of city travelling by car and the driving was at an average speed of 20-30 Km/hr. I thought that I could do the same with a cycle and it would double up as an exercise as well. I made the decision to dedicate time on a daily basis to exercise and to cut down on work as well, since it was only resulting in my health deteriorating. I had a lot of well – wishers trying to dissuade me from buying the cycle stating that I would be at it only for a few months and after that the cycle would just lie around the house without being used. In spite of the negative comments there were a few positive words as well which encouraged me to take the dip into the world of cycling.

The difficult part started after the decision was made to start cycling, which is, buying a cycle. Thought that buying a cycle was a pretty simple thing, just go to the store and buy a cycle. Little did I know that the options in the cycle market are enormous. Whether to buy Indian or Imported, Road Bike or Mountain Bike or Hybrid Bike, Geared or Ungeared, Without Suspension, only front suspension or front and rear suspension, Disc brakes or lever brakes, Steel frame or aluminum frame, what size of bike, budget, manufacturer, etc. Every time I narrowed in on a cycle, there would always be another cycle if I was ready to shell out another couple of thousands. So what started with a budget of Rs 20,000 for a cycle with accessories was slowly inching towards Rs 30,000 for the cycle alone. And worse was that a process that started in March 2014 was already in July 2014 and I was nowhere close to narrowing down on the cycle that I wanted to buy. Finally, said that there was no point in waiting and looking at more models, had the reference of the store, Wheel Sports in Chamarajpet and I landed up at Wheel Sports on 13 July 2014 with the mind frame to ride back home on a cycle. I had decided that the budget would be Rs 30,000 including accessories, i.e., Rs 5,000 for accessories and Rs 25,000 for the cycle. Went to the store and stated that my budget was Rs 25,000 for the cycle. Fortunately for me, on that day the store had only the Merida Mats 10D for the budget, so I did not have to break my head over deciding which cycle I should buy. In the color options also, there was just one color, a White Merida Mats 10D. Job made simple. I was told that the MRP of the Cycle is Rs 27,000 however, after discount it would be Rs 23,000. I agreed to it and the process of assembling the cycle started. In about 30 minutes the cycle was ready and I was on my way back on my new Merida Mats 10D.

Cost of the Cycle and Accessories:

Sl No	Particulars	Store	Amount	Required
1	Merida Mats 10D	Wheel Sports	23,000	Yes
2	Chain Lubricant and cleaner	Pro Cycle	2,530	No
3	Tool Kit	Pro Cycle	1,360	Yes
4	Cyclo Computer	Decathlon	1,299	No
5	Handle Bar Bag	Decathlon	799	Yes
6	Front Light	Decathlon	749	Yes
7	Hand Pump	Decathlon	749	Yes
8	Back Light and Pouch	Decathlon	628	Yes
9	Cycle Stand	Wheel Sports	600	Optional
10	Btwin Lock	Decathlon	600	Yes
11	Mudguard	Decathlon	499	Optional
12	Inner Tube – 2	Decathlon	338	Yes
13	Bottle	Decathlon	299	Yes
14	Puncture Repair Kit	Pro Cycle	100	Yes
15	Helmet	Decathlon	1,399	Optional
	Total		34,949
	Free Accessories on the Cycle
1	Bottle guard	Wheel Sports		Yes
2	Bell	Wheel Sports		Optional
3	Trouser Clippers	Decathlon		Optional
4	Gloves	Decathlon		Optional