D issue 2 vol 6 feb 18 procycle

India’s only lifestyle bicycle magazine

Volume 6 Issue 2

KARENG / 2016 / 68421

FEBRUARY 2018

Rs. 100/-

d

lusive M e Exc

ar tner aP di

Reviewed: Marin Gestalt 2 Coffee with Kiran Kumar Raju CYCLOP the community hub Profiled: Blossom Fernandez

Official a n

Inside

Cycling Federation of India

InThisIssue

CFINews Results 2018 National Track Championships

IndustryNews MVS Carnival Coimbatore Cyclotsav Mehsana

ProCycling Coffee with KKR Tour de Tulli

PlanetSaddle Profiled: Blossom Fernandez Apace keeping pace CYCLOP, the community hub SURATI cyclists Profiled: Vijay Vasve Marin Gestalt 2 Himalayan Bikes

TriathlonCorner Istanbul or Lake Placid

04 06 07 08 10

14 18

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 24

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Editor’sNote The CRANK with ProCycle Team Managing Editor and Publisher Vikram K Limsay Invitee editor Onkar Singh, Secretary General CFI and ACC Edit Desk Dr. Meera Velankar Karthik Gottumukkala Trackside Editor - Triathlon - Deepak Raj Issue contributors Hero MTB Himalaya Creative and Design N. Chandru Contact editdeskcrank@procycle.in subscribecrank@procycle.in advertisecrank@procycle.in

Dear Readers Lot of action and hence lot of news, the way we like it from many corners of the country. The balmy weather has put many a wheels on the road.

We are encouraged by riders from different walks of life taking to cycling and it becoming a way of life not just for them but also them in turn inspiring others to join the community. In this issue meet Blossom, Vijay and a whole bunch from Bangalore to Pune to Surat who are an inspiration.

Talking of inspiration, we are happy to introduce KKR who is burning the competitive

Expert Test Team Karthik Gottumukkala

riding track both as a roadie and a shredder. It was fun having coffee with him.

All Rights Reserved By ProCycle and Sports India Pvt. Ltd.

community that has become the absolute go to for anything to do with cycling.

Corporate Office and Showroom 226, 1st Main Road, Service Road, Domlur 2nd Stage, Indira Nagar, Bangalore – 560071 Tel: 080 41161902, +91 95380 66695 Website www.procycle.in Follow us on Facebook: @CrankwithProCycle https://www.facebook.com/CrankwithProCycle/ Photo Credits Krishna Photography, Hero MTB Himalaya Front Cover Vipin Arumugham Back Cover Gaurav Nautiyal Printed By Print 2 Last Solutions

CRANK inadvertently forgot to thank Vinay Sagwan for his contribution to CRANKactive in the last issue.

The online community is growing too and we bring to you a unique Facebook

And as always there is much more. Keep reading and riding Ciao Vikram K Limsay Managing Editor and Publisher

CFINews

RESULTS National Track Cycling Championships 2018

O

n the conclusion of the 70th Sr. 47th Jr. & 33rd Sub Jr. National Track Cycling Championships the Maharashtra team won the title of the championships, while SSCB won the Elite Men Category beating RSPB. The best cyclists – Women declared Ms. Deborah of Andaman & Nicobar, while in Men category Mr. Ranjit Singh of SSCB was declared the best cyclist. The result of the championships are as below

RESULTS NTCC S. No. Category

4

Points

G

1 Over All Winner Maharashtra

72

6 7 7

Runner Kerala

58

3 8 7

2 Men Elite Winner SSCB

46

6 1 3

Runner RSPB

27

1 5 1

3 Women Elite Winner Kerala

33

2 4 3

Runner RSPB

30

3 2 3

4 Junior

Winner Maharashtra

45

4 4 4

Runner Karnataka

27

3 1 3

5 Sub- Junior Winner Manipur

43

5 3 1

Runner

A & N

18

1

Best Men

Ranjit Singh

SSCB - 1

2.5

3 Gold

Best Women

Deborah

A&N

15

3 Gold

CRANK with ProCycle FEBRUARY 15TH, 2018

State

S

2

B

1

IndustryNews

MVS Cycling Carnival Coimbatore The MVS Cycling Carnival is back in its 5th iteration of Coimbatore’s premier Cycling event. The event comprises of three individual events that all fall under the umbrella of the carnival. The three events are; the MVS Coimbatore Criterium on the Chettipalayam Motor Speedway, the MVS Enduro at the Firebird Institute, and the Briar MTB Challenge. The event is happening on the 10th and the 11th of February, and Registrations are open, register at: http://mvscyclingcarnival. com/#register .

Watch this space for a post event round up, and we hope to see you all out there!

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Cyclotsav Mehsana 2018

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ycling is indeed reaching far corners of our county and we are happy to report from everywhere.

Gujarat seems to be really buzzing with cycling action.

We routinely follow and report events from Surat, Ahmedabad and Rajkot and now Mehsana The Indian Cycle Club, a unit of Shraddha Charitable Trust is an organization working towards making society aware about Health and Fitness. They have completed a decade of cycling and during these 10 years and have organized many events and BRMs and have even conducted a cycling tour from Manali to Khardungla.

The Indian Cycle Club, had organized a Cycle rally earlier in 2013 which was a grand success with more than 2000 participants!

Now that is a number us in the community should be proud of.

Not only was a successful show but it was also successful in achieving its objectives of health and environmental awareness. The

campaigning itself for the event resulted in many taking up cycling as a form of exercise and commute.

Continuing that legacy, The Club recently organized Cyclotsav 2018 which was another grand success. The objective of the event was to generate greater awareness about the health and environmental benefits of cycling .The racetrack of Cyclotsav 2018 was from Mehsana to Gozaria.

The vision and motto behind this event was to promote the idea of ‘ONE CASTE: ONE NATION’ and a unique experiment was conducted where the participants did not mention their surnames anywhere “Because of the event if we see that people of Mehsana to go to work on cycle at least once preferably 1st of each month we would think we have succeeded”, said the organizers

Syncros Multi-Tool Lighter 8 The Syncros Lighter 8 will definitely spark your interest. Crafted from high graded materials, it provides you 8 of the most common bits to fix any mechanical issues on your bike into a ratchet tool to access small angles and screw your needs in no time.

It consist of Steel body, steel bits , composite dock with alloy casing which just weigh 123gm approx.

The Lighter 8 is very compact with dimension of 105x43x15mm. A Miniratchet tool with screwdriver function , sealed and protected by silicone sleeve.

Tool Description : 8 tools in all with Hex 3/4/5/8 ; Torx T10/T25/T30 ; Screwdriver PH2 The lighter 8 is priced at Rs 2,900 /-

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ProCycling

Coffee with KKR The Man behind the Medals Karthik G

I

n the week following the Nandi Epic, I met up with Kiran Kumar Raju for a cup of coffee. For those of you who do not know who KKR is, he is a multiple time Cross Country national champion and also an amazing Road Racer, as was evident in his ride to the victory of the Nandi Epic. Apart from being a great mountain bike and road rider, Kiran is also a great ambassador for the sport in the country, doing what he can to promote the sport and help young riders in any way he can, and apart from all of that, he is just a great guy to be around, a constant force of positivity and motivation ecause the Nandi Epic had just commenced, there was no way B we would start off a conversation without talking about the race. I was there to cover the race for CRANK so believe me when I say he rode like a man possessed. Once we began to talk about Nandi, I learnt that Kiran had a lot of history with that mountain, and that it played a big part in him becoming what he is today. The first time he raced it was in 2011, when he was but beginning his journey in this beautiful sport of ours. It was in 2011 that he realized he had a knack for climbing, he would get to the base of the mountain with the pack, but would quickly begin to pass riders on the way up, managing a 5th place finish, in his first year riding, and on a borrowed bike no less! KKR began his serious competitive career by joining the erstwhile SKCT (Specialized KYNKYNY Cycling Team) in 2012. KKR was on boarded as a development rider, in just his second year riding! He started cycling like most, commuting to and from work, and for that first season racing, his commute was his only training. fter a rather disappointing season in 2014 (by his standards), he A took that momentous step in any athlete’s journey, he quit his job

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and decided to start racing full time, with one major goal, to win the national championships in 2015. He began training under Naveen John, the current national road and time trail champion, and quitting his job gave him that extra bit of motivation and that push required to give that performance, and it showed. He won the National Championships in Cross Country (XC) in 2015, and defended his title in 2016. e attributes a lot of his success at event to his friends and family, H he says it is extremely important to surround yourself with the right people, not necessarily yes-men, but people who push you, motivate you to be the best version of yourself, people who believe in you in those times when you find it hard to believe in yourself.

He credits Deepak Majipatil as someone who believed in him, and pushed him, right from the start he most glamorous part of being a sponsored rider is almost T definitely the bikes and kit. KKR is no different, his Trek Top Fuel 9.9 is hands-down one of the most beautiful bike I have ever seen. Admittedly black and red is one of my favorite colourschemes, and the Kashima-coated Fox suspension doesn’t really help my jealousy! When asked about Trek, his sponsors, a smile spread across his face, he says he couldn’t hope for better, more supportive sponsors. When asked about his bike, he says quite simply, what rider doesn’t want to ride the best bike out there?

Ever since he started out on his journey in the sport, he dreamt of riding the absolute best bike on the market, and now, he says, he is. He told me how amazing Trek is as a brand to work with, they genuinely push and encourage him to perform and they nurture his talent, and he says, make him want to win!

is goal for the upcoming 2018 season is to do consistently well H in the Asian Circuit. The past few seasons, and in particular, his training trip to Europe was humbling for him. He understood where he stood internationally, and instead of letting it bring him down, he is all the more motivated. He spoke about how, since the sport, particularly mountain biking is still in its nascent stages in the country, with infrastructure and support lacking, it will take a lot for an Indian rider to do well internationally. But if there is one thing I have understood from knowing KKR, it’s this, once he decides he is going to do something, he will do everything he can to achieve his goal. And honestly, if you’ve ever met the guy, you would know this, I couldn’t think of a nicer guy to be the face of Indian mountain biking.

like him, who have laid it all out there, who have showed the rest of us that if you work your butt off, it is all possible. So the next time you find yourself at a race or an event with Kiran, make sure to go say hi, take it from me, he is a wonderful person, and seeing him succeed makes the entire cycling community extremely happy.

CRANK wishes KKR the best, and we hope we will be covering his victories on bigger platforms in the years to come. Kiran, the entire team here at CRANK is rooting for you, so go out there, keep doing what you do, and we are sure you will make us proud!

he life of a pro rider seems glamorous to most of us, but he tells T me that it is not without its own set of hardships. The sport in the county has not yet reached the stage where a pro cyclist can make a living off of the sport. yes, equipment is taken care of, but that is only a small slice of the larger pie. You would need money to travel, to stay, for food, and figuring out all of that has not been easy. As of now, he depends on race winnings, and especially here, where there is no guarantee that an event would even happen the next year; it becomes hard when planning out the race season. He says that one of the most important skills for a rider to have, is the ability to market one’s self. He also believes giving back to the sport is just as vital as performing. The perfect example for that is Naveen John, the reigning road and time trail national champion, he gives back to the sport in so many ways, looking for and training new talent. ne thing is certain, it is riders like Kiran who are paving the way for O the next generation of riders and racers in the country. It is people

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Tour de Tuli Biking through the African Wilderness!

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ow in its 14th year, the Nedbank Tour de Tuli remains one of the most unique mountain bike events in the world, providing participants with the opportunity of riding ancient elephant migration paths and un-manicured single track in some of the most stunning and exclusive wilderness areas in the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area (GMTCA).

Registrations are officially open for the race to be held between 2nd to the 7th of August 2018. The Tour will offer bikers access to unrivalled routes combined with superlative hospitality and stylish camping – all to raise funds for non-profit, Children in the Wilderness.

It is an amazing place to start new friendships or rekindle old ones, see incredible wildlife, meet authentic local communities and enjoy high levels of service from food to camping in style. Hurry as the tour is limted to only 350 participants,. register on the Tour de Wilderness website www.tourdewilderness. com.

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CRANK with ProCycle FEBRUARY 15TH, 2018

MORE PASSION. MORE BIKE.

MOUNTAIN BIKES 2018 MADE IN TAIWAN

BIG.NINE 40D / BIG.SEVEN 40D Frame:

6061 High Quality Alloy – Tripple Butted Frame

Fork: 100MM Suspension with HLO Group Set: Shimano M2000, Shimano ALTUS Shifters:

Shimano EF505, 9x3 Speed

Tires:

MERIDA K1080 29 / 27.5 x 2.2”, wire bead, 30tpi Shimano Hydraulic Disc Brakes

Brake:

BIG.NINE 20D / BIG.SEVEN 20D Frame:

6061 High Quality Alloy – Tripple Butted Frame

Fork: 100MM Suspension with HLO Group Set: ShimanoTY700, Shimano ACERA-X Shifters:

Shimano EF505, 8x3 Speed

Tires:

MERIDA K1080 29 / 27.5 x 2.2”, wire bead, 30tpi Shimano Hydraulic Disc Brakes

Brake:

Call: +91 8860636415 / 9555756750, E-mail: admin@exadsports.com, For retails Partner:- Click WHERE TO BUY at www.exadsports.com

CRANK with ProCycle FEBRUARY 15TH, 2018

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PlanetSaddle

Profile:

Blossom Fernandez

A blossoming affair with Cycling!

W

e love hearing from our readers, we love hearing their stories, their journeys with cycling. For some Cycling is a sport, where racing is the focus, for others cycling is a lifestyle that people choose to adopt. Whatever your journey, whatever the destination, if there is a bike involved we are sure it was an amazing journey. Here is Blossom Fernandez telling us her cycling story, now we could talk to her and write her story, but we figured you guys would rather hear it from the horse’s mouth!

“I’m a Cabin Supervisor with Jet Airways flying for a little over 13 years. Due to an extremely erratic work schedule which is physically and mentally demanding and involves irregular sleeping and eating patterns it is extremely important to stay fit and create a work-life balance. My job requires me to be on my feet for close to 12hrs on a good day and cycling helps to build my stamina and keep me active and alert at work.

A couple of challenges I have faced while training is that on solo rides it is a little scary sharing the road with speeding truckers and other traffic. The lack of dedicated bike lanes and general apathy towards cyclists leads to one spending more days training indoors.

The poor condition of the roads and constant roadwork is also a big impediment for us cyclists.

I’m what you would call a newbie cyclist having started only in May 2017. After completing a couple of 10k running events and a swimathon, I decided to participate in my first triathlon. I own a Specialized Dolce road bike and my relationship with her has been

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CRANK with ProCycle FEBRUARY 15TH, 2018

a life changing experience. I’d never ridden a geared cycle before and so this was very new to me. I was such a rookie that I even had to learn how to drink water while on the bike without stopping.

What started off as early morning training rides with friends has now developed into a confidence of taking the bike out on solo training rides as I cover the miles and gear up for my 1st 70.3 Half Ironman Dubai in Feb. I have been fortunate to receive advice from some of Bangalore’s best cyclists and everyone has been so encouraging and motivating. A few weeks back I completed my 1st 100k ride and it was a very emotional moment for me. It was by no means easy because I usually ride 60-70k but cycling has shown me time and time again that with consistent training you can only get better. I train a lot indoors but I am happiest when I’m outdoors. When I took my 1st QOM and saw that tiny gold crown on my Strava ride I knew that I had the potential to be a stronger cyclist and so the focus is on getting stronger and faster. I am not competitive but what girl doesn’t like to own a few crowns. I get a huge buzz out of overcoming steep climbs and I have my sights set on Nandi Hills very soon.

I love riding down the Airport road and cycling towards Kolar. Chilly, early morning rides are the best and no ride is complete without the customary selfie. I do wish the roads were more safe for us cyclists and vehicles would respect us and give us our share of the road. I’d also like to encourage more women in India to take up cycling as a sport instead of only hitting the gym especially because it is a low impact sport and one that develops strength and stamina!”

We love hearing from or readers. If you have one or know someone who inspires you, let us know at editdeskcrank@procycle.in Cheers and #getoutandride

Apace Keeping pace with International apparel

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his is the story of how 2 Indian athletes dreamt of making high quality, technical clothing affordable for Indian cyclists. We have told you guys how much we love seeing Indian companies coming up and catering to the needs of the Indian rider, here is another such story, the story of Apace, a company based out of Pune. The word Apace signifies swiftness, agility and motion, which is what Apace attempts to embody through their products and their philosophy. Aditya Kelkar and Mihir Divekar, the co-founders, have backgrounds in engineering and software with a keen interest in sports. When Aditya moved back to India from the US, he noticed that a cyclist in India had to compromise by either wearing expensive imported cycling apparel which was not really designed for the Indian male/female silhouette, or had to be content wearing clothes not meant for cycling. Similar was the case with running apparel and in 2012 there was virtually

no Indian brand available for triathlon specific apparel. apace was born in 2012, when the co-founders Aditya and Mihir refused to give up the belief that a good quality product cannot be offered at a good value. Apace products are designed and manufactured in Pune, India, are crafted using a range of advanced technical fabrics and have finely detailed functional features. Any product is appealing to a user only when it solves a user issue, enhances the activity experience or outright blows the customer away. With fabric in bright colors custom-made for apace, high quality sublimation printing and an in-house design team that draws design inspiration from simple everyday items to art movements, our designs definitely stand out. Our production and QA teams work hard for high quality, and minimum defects.

Check them out at www.keepapace.com

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events, and even for brands to connect with their customers. The group has, over the years grown past anyone’s wildest expectations, with its current membership at over 31,000.

Malvika started CYCLOP when she wanted to sell a pair of cycling shorts, but couldn’t really find a platform she thought would reach out to people who would be interested in buying those shorts, she had quite a large network of riders across the country, so she made a group of all of them, she realized that these cyclists must have similar problems as well. Most riders change bikes and gear at periodic intervals, and needed a place to sell their old gear, CYCLOP filled that gap From there CYCLOP just blew up, expanding beyond anyone’s wildest expectations, it has gone from being a market place to the epicenter of the Indian cycling community.

CYCLOP is the place where cyclists from all over the country, from all walks of life converge to discuss, talk, debate everything cycling. It is where buyers meet sellers, beginners seek advice, cyclists debate, it is where people unite over their love for the cycle.

CYCLOP The community hub for Indian cycling

T

his is the story of a Facebook group that grew into Indias largest cycling community. If you are reading CRANK, chances are you have at some point used the Facebook group CYCLOP. If you haven’t or don’t know it is, CYCLOP is a Facebook group for Indian Cyclists. Malvika Jain, the group’s founder established CYCLOP to enable cyclists from around the country to buy/sell cycles and gear. As the group grew in membership, so did its scope. CYCLOP went beyond just a buy/ sell group and now also serves the function of being a platform for cyclists from all over the country to interact, socialize, promote

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When CRANK first reached out to Malvika to do this piece, she put out a post on the facebook group asking people what CYCLOP has done for them, or just anything about CYCLOP they would like to say, and here are some of what was said; “CYCLOP is now an institution in itself as a cycling forum, for buying/ selling/ discussing/telling tales of your exploits. Its an all in one joint for cyclists in India. If it wasn’t for Cyclops and Deepak Rao I wouldn’t have got my titanium bike in this lifetime. Many thanks to everyone. Keep it coming folks. We are one big family now” says Shailendra Bhide in the comments.

Malvika recalls this one time when someone went missing in Mumbai, everyone was looking all over the place, search parties were formed, and someone ended up posting on CYCLOP, since the last time he was seen was on a cycle. When they did end up finding him, all he said was that he just wanted to keep cycling and that his phone died!

YCLOP is run by 3 admins, Charanjeet, Smruti and Nikhil, who C make sure the conversations are cycling related and appropriate to what they think CYCLOP stands for. If you are reading this and are not CYCLOP you can find them at www.facebook.com/groups/ CYCLOPBUYSELL/ . So go find them and be a part of the growing community of people who love cycling!

Surati Cyclists

Pedaling and the city of Diamonds

T

he story of these cyclists from Surat serves to remind all of us of why we love to ride bikes so much, it is inspiring and heart-warming all at the same time. This is a story of how a few individuals were pulled away from an unhealthy life of extravagant excess and over-indulgences by their love for cycling. The key to kicking an unhealthy lifestyle isn’t by forcing yourself to conform to a way of life you don’t like, you do it by finding what you love, something you love so much that you no longer want to indulge in anything but. For these riders from Surat they found it in cycling.

Cycling helped these riders in more ways than one, it helped some get away from a life on a couch, for some it helped get away from alcoholism, for some it started as just a way to stay fit. Regardless of why these people started, one thing is certain, they are most definitely hooked for life!

Once you begin your journey in the wonderful world of cycling, you would tend towards one of two possibilities; first (which is a bit rarer than the latter in my experience), you cycle as a way to stay fit and nothing else. The Second, and more likely option is that cycling becomes a part of your identity, the beauty of cycling is the diaspora of sub-disciplines that exist in the sport, there is quite literally something for everyone. Cycling becomes more than something you do for a couple of hours a day to keep obesity at bay, cycling becomes a lifestyle that you adopt, it begins to creep into every facet of your thought, you find yourself constantly wanting to ride, planning your next great escape. That is what this rag-tag group of riders from Surat embody, people who started out hoping to be able to maybe one-day ride 20 kilometers, and find themselves finishing a 1200 kilometer brevet, people who live and breathe cycling, people who do things the rest of the world would claim is simply insane because they absolutely love it!

Here are some of these cyclists form Surat whom we met Manoj Narang: a self-professed couch potato until he was 32,

when he began attending aerobics, after which he got himself a cycle to maintain weight, from there he progressed until a friend of his dragged him along to do a 200km brevet, and from there, as they say, the rest is history, he was hooked.

Janak Jariwala: Janak started his journey cycling by jumping in at the deep-end by singing up with a friend for a Manali-Leh cycling expedition in June of 2012, from there he simply couldn’t stop Divyesh Gandhi: he was introduced to cycling by a couple of friends after a kick-boxing accident left him with a torn ACL, and just three months into cycling he signed up for his first brevet, a 300 no less, and halfway through the 300 he realized that brevets were his calling, nd in 2015 he did 13 brevets! And he manages to average 14-15 thousand kilometers a year!

Vilki Tamakuwala: when he isn’t crunching numbers and helping people do the dance that is filing tax returns, you will find him on his bike, maybe even somewhere between Manali and Leh! Raju Parekh: he started his journey in cycling like many do, because he wanted to get out of the confines of his home and his office and experience all that the great outdoors have to offer, and experience it he has! He makes it a point to get out riding atleast thrice a week, and has also participated in events like the Impossible race and the Tour of Aravalli Amit Gajjar: Amit is instrumental in organizing and promoting cycling in Surat, and makes sure that he and his team organize at-least 10-12 events a year. Apart for that, he has also done the arduous Manali-Leh ride twice, Spiti Valley once and the Tour of Nilgiris Dhaval Randeria: Its been a long journey for him from riding 15 KM daily in 2011 to doing long distance trips from Manali to Leh and Khardungla and in the Spiti Valley in tough conditions. Dhaval has taken like fish to water when it comes to long distance cycling

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Gadgets? Whats that?

Profiled: Vijay Vasve

C

RANK brings to you a story of a man who rejects number and medals for the simple joy of riding a bike!

In this modern era of cycling, numbers seem to be king.

A lot of us have become obsessed with what our VO2 max is, what our maximum power is, what our threshold power is, what our Zone 2 heartrate is, I could fill this page up with the metrics we obsess over, but suffice it to say there are so many.

The strive to uphold these metrics or to get that KOM on strava sometimes consumes us to the point where we forget why it is that we are cycling in the first place. We spend so long looking down at the screens on our computer that we sometimes fail to take a minute and take it all in, to enjoy that feeling that made us fall in love with riding a bike in the first place.

Amidst all of this comes Vijay Vasve, an engine inspector at TATA motors and a man that embodies the spirit of what cycling is, a man who cycles just because he loves to. He doesn’t care for fancy equipment, or strict, regimented diets. He doesn’t really care for what bike he rides, or whether or not his shoe has the stiffest carbon sole available. He rides his bike for one reason and one

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CRANK with ProCycle FEBRUARY 15TH, 2018

reason only, because he wants to, and because he finds challenges fun.

So after having gotten his SR badge multiple times, he began to look for challenges that went beyond the scope of just cycling.

And since he knew how to swim from his school days, triathlons seemed like the perfect fit. His first triathlon was in Kolhapur, and much to everybody’s surprise, he chose to do the half-iron distance (1.8Km swim, 90Km bike and 21.1Km run), Go big or Go home, right? His preparation made the task a walk in the park, in fact, after finishing, he regretted not doing a full iron-distance (3.8Km swim, 180Km cycle and 42.2Km run)!

It is refreshing and inspiring to see a man like Vijay, a man who rejects the complexity that technology bring to cycling for the simplicity that was once cycling, the simplicity and heart with which the likes of Eddy Merx and Pantani trained and raced with, the sheer joy of churning those pedals. Vijay Vasve is an embodiment of the joy that cycling brings to all of us, and serves as a constant reminder of why we stated cycling in the first place

Review

Marin Gestalt 2 Budget versatility

T

his is an amazing option for anyone on a budget looking for a bike versatile enough to take anything from commuting to touring to gravel grinding!

These past few years has seen a huge growth in road bikes that are a lot more capable than in the years past, bikes than refuse to be confined to just the road. Some call them adventure bikes, others call them gravel bikes, but the intention is the same, to have bike that can take you where you want to go, regardless of terrain.

The Marin Gestalt 2 is Marin’s attempt to make such a bike. the Gestalt 2 is in the middle of the company’s ‘Beyond Road’ series.

The geometry of this bike has very clearly been influenced by the world of mountain biking, with figures like a 72.25o head angle and a seat angle of 73o, for the provided size 54, the geometry felt pretty bang on to me, with the bike handling nice and lively on pavement and plenty stable when taken off the proverbial beaten path, with most gravel and fire roads a breeze for the bike to handle.

The spec on the bike is pretty un-assuming, coming with Tiagra Derailleurs and shifters, own band rims, unbranded hubs, Tektro

Spyre-C road mechanical disc brakes, etc, the bottom line being, the spec is nothing to write home about, but is perfectly functional and does the job just fine. The Schwalbe S-One tires on the other hand were excellent, they rolled nice and easy on tarmac, with plenty of grip should you decide to throw some dirt into your ride, coming in at 30c wide, they weren’t ideal for off-road adventures, but had enough grip on offer to make you feel comfortable and in control should you decide to veer off the beaten path. We didn’t try to go much wider in tires, but we reckon you could squeeze a 35 in there no problem and maybe even a 38. The wheels were unflashy but functional, with them giving us absolutely no problem on or off the road. The biggest complaint we had on terms of spec were the Tektro Spyre-C mechanical disc brakes. They lacked initial bite, lever feel, and was just plain scary at times, with the lever needing quite a hard yank to engage, truth be told, I have ridden many a rim-brakes that felt better and more confidence inspiring.

The frame on this bike is quite stiff, stiff to the point where the ride is a bit too harsh for any period of prolonged use on rough gravel of off-road, if however, your riding will mostly be on the road, the bike is a great deal. The bike should be looked at as a versatile bike and not a hardcore gravel-grinder, but the bike sure loves being taken off the beaten path!

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Mean bikes on the Killer Himalayan Trails

“

I have never done anything like this before! This is crazy.” says Andl Hartmann, winner of Team of Two category at Hero MTB Himalaya who rides for the Rocky Mountain Factory team. Hero MTB Himalaya is a cross country mountain biking race set in the foothills of world’s highest mountain range. The race has been consistently ranked amongst the toughest MTB stage races and witnesses a participation of around 100 riders.

MTB Himalaya, Asia’s largest race happens in the month of September and is organized by Shimla based - HASTPA (Himalayan Adventure Sports & Tourism Promotion Association)

Shimla to Dharamshala with some extreme off-road action along the way The track consists of scenic single track, river crossings, gravel, jeep tracks and broken tarmac sections. To summarize the race, it is some of the most stunning vistas in the world, lung burning climbs and exhilarating descents. “You will have to be aggressive on many sections. The route demands strong technical and endurance skills.” adds Cory Wallace, winner of 2015 and runner up of 2016 edition of the race.

Here is a list of bikes that have proven their mettle in the Himalayas

The race takes it’s riders through a grueling 650km track from

BH Ultimate 29” To get past those river crossings Antonio Ortiz (BH team) emerged as the second runner up of 13th Hero MTB Himalaya.

His bike ruled the Himalayan climbs and Antonio looked as if he was sailing with the strong winds at his back on many stretches of the race.

Antonio ended up winning the 5th stage of race that had crossings of two prominent Himalayan rivers- Beas and Sutlej on his BH Ultimate.

Kona Hei Hei To conquer those single tracks There is no-one more experienced in riding the Himalayan race than Kona Bikes athlete Cory Wallace.

Cory has been riding across India, Nepal and Bhutan for a few years now. The Canadian is a former King of the Himalayas and was on his 3rd expedition to the Indian land when he chose to get his Kona Hei Hei to the race.

With a full Shimano drivetrain, brakes, WTB wheels, saddle and MRP Ribbon Fork - The bike was a beast and led to an interesting stage win on Day 8 of the race which has heavy with single tracks.

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KTM Prestige 27.5 For all the ladies looking to ride the Himalayas For the past couple of years, manufacturers have started to understand the need for female tailored Mountain Bikes, they usually have a more upright position, lower stand-over height and a shorter reach when compared to their unisex counterparts Catherine Williamson is a 4-time champion of Hero MTB Himalaya.

She has dominated every single season of the race she has participated in, and is the current Queen of Himalayas (Winner of women’s solo category).

Catherine’s KTM Prestige 27.5 is equipped with Mitas Scylla tires, a Fox 32 fork and Shimano XTR di2 drivetrain all of which helped win 6 stages this season’s Hero MTB Himalaya.

Her achievements at the race vouch for the mettle of this bike!

Jamis D29 To ride those hike-and-bike sections!

Thomas Turner has been a great supporter of technical sections the race has. Thomas owns a bike shop in the US and was participating in the race for the 2nd time.

His 19 pound (8.6 kgs) Jamis D29 - Team Edition was equipped with Vittoria Mezcal tires and a SRAM Eagle drive train.

He ended up winning the 2nd stage of the race on his Jamis D29!

Trek Procaliber 9.9 Wim Tollonaire runs a bike shop in Belgium. He decided to pick his Trek Procaliber 9.9 with the Iso Speed Decoupler for this event. It payed off as Wim emerged the runner up in the Master’s solo category.

This hardtail was equipped with Fox’s factory spec. 32, and a SRAM XX1 drivetrian the 9kg bike proved mighty on the arduous climbs that were more than plenty at the event

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BMC HT Micael Isidoro has been a road cyclist all his life. For this off-road ‘trip’ with his friends from Algarve, Micael zeroed on a BMC Hardtail. The Portuguese rider was always spotted wearing a smile no matter how hard or hot the day was. Micael is a cycling coach in Portugal, and equipped with prototype wheels and RockShox suspension, he was ready to propel himself up those long climbs, he finished the race in classic fashion by winning the final stage of the race, the Land of Lamas

Scott Scale RC Adria Nougera was on his maiden expedition to India and decided to pick the swanky new Scott Scale RC 2017 for his Himalayan assault!

Adria raged the Himalayan climbs on his Scott Scale RC, ultimately winning the race with a record timing of 27:41:12. He is the current King of Himalaya.

Adria who is a rider of Buff Scott MTB team used the factory fittings from Scott with tweaked Syncros carbon wheels and Maxxis tires. Pau Zamora (Team manager, Buff Scott) used the same bike and finished 5th in the open category.

Trek Top Fuel 9.9 Pedro Campos is the current Grandmaster champion. His first participation in 2015 led to an unfortunate accident leading to a broken collar bone. Pedro returned in 2017 to attend to unfinished business. His weapon of choice to take care of business was his Trek Top Fuel 9.9, tailor made under Project 1.

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The Impossible Race

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Istanbul or Lake Placid How to choose your Triathlon Deepak Raj

W

hich overseas Triathlon race should I choose? This is one of the most common questions I get as a coach when people are looking to choose their next big race. Here are a few pointers to help to make your decision and to think beyond just the obvious, like how hilly the bike course or hot the weather is. While these are valid factors to take into consideration, there are a few more worth spending time on while making the decision as IRONMAN and 70.3 Triathlon races tend to be a big investment and you should maximise your travel and overall experience. Below are some factors, which are not listed in any order of priority, as things tend to be different for each individual but each of the factors are worth spending time while you make the decision.

• Race Date and Time of Year – If you are travelling with family or even alone, taking time off for a few days for the race and maybe an extended holiday at the race location or nearby means that you will need suitably time. So plan ahead as much as possible and choose a time that you can manage and also avoid it being close to any key milestones at work to avoid undue pressure of missing training or too much work travel closer to the race. You have worked hard for the race and would like an ideal build up for the upcoming race.

• Race Location – While choosing an overseas triathlon, it is always advisable to combine it with a family holiday if time and budgets support you. Even if it turns out to be a race only travel, have a look to see how easy or hard it is to get to the race location in terms of flights and local final mile transportation. Some big city races are more convenient with flights and not much of local transportation but most of the races are in towns and smaller cities, which will mean, renting cars, travel for a number of hours after your flights. It adds to the cost, the inconvenience of bike transfers and makes it that much harder to have a holiday post the race with dragging your bike bag all over the place. Also look out for the flight options out of India, general travel costs and also the accommodation options, which will give you a fair indication of what it will cost you. Maybe there are friends and families closer to a race that will help you save a bit and also give you local support in the days before race and on race day.

• Race Course and Weather (Swim) –While looking at the swim course, it is worth looking whether it is a wet suit swim or not and also if it is a fresh water swim or salt water and also the general water conditions (protected waters, beach, lake, calm, choppy, etc). Weather patterns affect the sea or water body. So for example,

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swimming in a wet suit in sea water in calm protected conditions is much favourable than choppy conditions or non wet suit swims.

• Race Course and Weather (Bike) – Most people look for a flat course, which I can understand, but it is one factor amongst others, so as long as you are keeping the overall factors in mind, it is fine.

So look at how technical the bike course is in terms of hill climbs, etc and make a choice. As I always tell people, if for example, the race is a bit hilly on the bike course but convenient on all factors such as schedule, swim conditions, friends and family support at race location and expenses are better, you can always train for a slightly hilly course as you know that 6 to 9 months in advance and still a much better choice. Most bike courses get windy in the last 60 to 90 kms as the day progresses and hard to predict those factors. The weather can also get a bit hotter as the day progresses and you need to make sure that you train suitably in terms of your nutrition and hydration to match the demands of the race. Most times, the weather in terms of temperature is predictable if you check out general historical temperatures or speak to past race participants.

• Race Course and Weather (Run) – All aspects covered under the bike are relevant but most run courses are flat except a few races.

So factor that in and the weather conditions could be getting hotter as the day progresses and you start to run. In most cases, other than the general weather, the run course is not complex and very rarely has any sort of elevation. So check out if you can book your accommodation that is close to run course and also close to race finish thus allowing your family and friends to support you in the run part and also making it easier to head back after your race.

• Expenses – While this may be listed after all the above factors, this would be a major one as Triathlon is already an expensive sport for its equipment and other aspects. So consider the costs of flights and any local travel costs of renting cars, extended holiday beyond the race location, even some registration costs of races are slightly different and other factors while you are signing up for your big race.

Hope the above was useful and helped you to make a decision towards your next big race.

Deepak is a Triathlon Coach and a 20 Time IronMan Triathlon Finisher and can be reached out at Deepak@yoska.in. Check out www.yoska.in for more details about him and the triathlon training programs.

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