Road Bike

Date: 12 February 2016

After completing a year of cycling I wanted to ride a road bike, however the cost of the road bike kept me on the back foot since the starting price of brands like Trek, Giant, Merida were above Rs 50,000. Decathlon were the only ones offering Btwin road bikes at Rs 36,000 which was also out my budget. Was looking at a sub Rs 30,000 road bike. I was open to buying a second hand road bike if it came within budget. Had been surfing Bangalore Bikers Club and Bums on the Saddle website for about 3 months and did not come across any advertisements which fit the criteria. On 12 February 2016 I finally saw two ads for road bikes which fit the criteria. One was on Bangalore Bikers Club for a Btwin Sport 1, the model was not given but the price at Rs 6,000 was killer. I replied to the ad requesting for the contact number. The demand for this cycle increased and immediately there were other replies requesting to buy the cycle. I did not receive the contact details and thought that the cycle was already sold. The other ad was on Bums on the Saddle for a Btwin Triban 3 for Rs 25,000, it was 5 months old. I replied to this ad as well giving my contact details. It was around 5:00 PM when I received a call from Venkatesh, the owner of the road bike and was told that he is at BTM layout and I could visit his place to take a look at the cycle. I called Decathlon and enquired about the rate of the road bike and got to know that it is retailing at Rs 36,000. During the past 3 months when looking for road cycles I had read that the Btwin Triban 3 is a good entry level road cycle and had good reviews from the regular members of the group. I had made up my mind to buy the road bike provided it was in decent condition and was prepared to get new tires in case of any wear. When I reached Venkatesh's place, he was not there, however I was shown the cycle and was given a test ride. It was a smooth ride and since the gear shifters were new to me (this was the first time I was riding a road bike) I did not fiddle with the shifters too much. I liked the ride and made a general check for scratches and dents and was satisfied with the road bike. The road bike had a bottle guard, hand pump, saddle bag and cyclo computer on it. I confirmed to Venkatesh that I would buy the road bike and enquired whether he would be selling the accessories with it as well, to which he replied in the affirmative. I was told that he would be back around 8:00PM and that I could make the payment then and collect the road bike.

I waited around in BTM layout and as soon as I got confirmation that Venkatesh was home, I went back to his place. I was happy with the deal, however, when I met Venkatesh he added 4 inner tubes and two 23c tires and one 25c tire to the deal along with the Quecha mini back pack to the deal. I was very happy with the deal and made the payment and rode back home with the road bike and accessories.

Sl No	Particulars	Store	Amount	Required
1	Btwin Triban 3	Venkatesh	25,000	Yes
	Total		25,000
	Free Accessories on the Cycle
1	Bottle guard	Venkatesh	250	Yes
2	Cyclo Computer	Venkatesh	1,299	Optional
3	Hand Pump	Venkatesh	200	Yes
4	Saddle Pouch	Venkatesh	350	Yes
5	Cycle Stand	Venkatesh	600	Optional
6	Inner Tubes - 4	Venkatesh	700	Yes
7	Spare Tire - 25c	Venkatesh	799	Yes
8	Spare Tire - 23c	Venkatesh	1,598	Optional