Saturday, June 21, 2008

yeeha! My new bike: Merida Crosssway

I was enquiring abt TREK and Merida bikes here in Bangallore. BOTS had run out of 21" framed TREKs, plus the TREK prices had risen >10%. I went to Venkat's Merida store. I had more or less decided to go for a hybrid bike instead of an MTB, but was keeping fingers crossed hoping he had my size. (But i had also the dream of gettin disc brakes, which sadly would cost me bombs more, plus of course, the size issue)

He had a Merida-Crossway..... Perfect......And i bought it!

Experience so far (18km Chamrajpet-Sanjaynagar-GKVK):
Pros:
- Awesome, effortless ride
- Powerful V-brakes. Doesn't move an inch beyond the spot u braked at. Very smooth too. Was just that powerful even in rain.
- lightweight. Can lift it with one finger (btw, that's not an exaggeration. I actually did that)
- Weird bell - Looks funky

Cons:
- Looks awesome. Chicks looking more at bike than at me.
- Needs extra protection, cos it looks too cool and is so easy to lift and run away.
- A bit of fidgeting at a particular gear position, but i guess i'll just have to tune it a bit and it'll be fine.
- Weird bell - sounds different, so ppl don't realize that there's a cycle behind.

Well, the better aspects of it can probably be apparent on a long ride, or rather after many long rides!

Edit:
Here's what ppl have asked, which i missed on my post earlier

Price: Rs. 15,000. And it came with a free TREK cycle-computer, a tail lamp, headlamp and sidestand. (Offer valid with venkat only till jun 30th). I din't like the headlamp( and bought a good quality TREK headlamp later from BOTS).

Pic:

8 comments:

MadhuSRao said...

Dude,

can you please post the pic of the bike and its price :)
Even I'm contemplating on going for a Merida.

Thanks,
Madhu

manoj said...

Hey Congrats!!

That was a quick decision... again pic and price please...

Unknown said...

@Madhu and Manoj. I have added the details to the post.

@Madhu: Are u the same Madhu with a Red pulsar-180 that i met outside GKVK today (i.e. Jun 24th)? If so, its a small world isn't it?

@Manoj: I have been collecting cash and deciding for months dude. I tried the Trek 3700, 4300D and the Merida Crossway before i bought it.

Anonymous said...

Hi dude. I live in Jaipur and am thinking of buying the same bike. Is the exact model Crossway 5V. Are you still happy with it? I also run and want a bike for my cross training days, road mostly. Is it good enough for bad roads? Please mail me harsh.madhok@gmail.com

Unknown said...

This is so cool i see more merida on the roads and i am also a Merida dude on my TFS 100 - V catch you on the streets of Bangalore
bro.......

Unknown said...

@iggy: sure dude. Will catch up w u on one of the BBC rides at least

ap said...

Hey Neuromancer,
You still have your merida crossway?

I am thinking of buying a bike for myself, more at the beginner / lower range level. I don't want a heavy bike.tyres as I will be riding lot on roads. Hence I am inclined towards a cross model.

I have shortlisted the merida crossway 5v or 10v, rockrider 5.1, and lastly trek 3700.

How is your merida doing now with > 1 yr of use? Are you planning ot switch it for another brike? Also, if I were to take the crossway to a semi hard terrain, do you think the fork or the wheels will get damaged??

Thanks in advance.
-Ap

Unknown said...

@ap: I'm still on the crossway

I've done ~7500 km on it since i bought it (1.25 yrs)..... And i think it has done justice to everything i've spent on it.... The only serious issue that i faced due to some design constraints were: saddle and pedals....

And after this, it has been awesome.... the cool part is that u can put roadbike tires on these, and not on MTBs. The sad part is that u dont get knobby tires for these in case u wanna do tough offroading....

the stock tyres are good for trails, but not stuff like MTB like downhilling..... so are the shocks....,. the crossway costs ~18.5k now.... So, spend a little more and u get a Trek 7100, which is better.....

The crossway would be the best option for u if n only if U do mainly city riding (i.e. commute), and some long rides mixed w some light trails..... Looking for performance? This is not the bike in any category in that case.... its a comfort bike.....

The Trek 3700 is what i'd buy in ur situation though..... cos an MTB can ride on roads too,. and is faster than the steel framed ones at that.... But the hybrid cant do anything that either an MTB can do, or giove the performance benifits of a roadbike.... And abt Rockrider, i have no clue.... some say its good, some say its bad