700c wheels in India?

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judenixon
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Joined: 31 Aug 2014, 1:39pm

700c wheels in India?

Post by judenixon »

Hello
We're off to India and potentially East Africa (Ethiopia/Uganda/Rwanda/Tanzania) for 9 months from early Nov.
Does anyone have any experience of riding with 700c wheels in any of these parts of the world?
Advice seems to generally point towards 26 inch wheels because of availability but it's limiting my choice of second hand bikes to buy here!
Any advice much appreciated.
profpointy
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Re: 700c wheels in India?

Post by profpointy »

a colleague cycled to India on a Dawes Galaxy which I believe.is 700c wheels. He got there OK but had to detour round Pakistan as they wouldn't let him in

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simonhill
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Re: 700c wheels in India?

Post by simonhill »

I've cycled in India 4 times, approx 12 months in all. Last time was about 7 years ago.

I used 26", however on one trip my partner used 700. It was a new wheel and she started to shred inner tubes due to a rough valve hole. Once she realised we started to look for new tubes. We couldn't find any, including an extensive search of Calcutta (as it was then). Fortunately the remaining tube held out.

I imagine by now that you will be able to find 700 tyres and tubes in specialist shops in big more westernised cities eg Bangalore but they will be limited. I don't suppose you will get good touring tyres. Do a web search and you will probably find some info.

The bottom line is will you need to buy spares for tyres, tubes or wheels? If you are confident with your stuff or think you have sufficient spares, then 700 will work fine. If you think you will need replacements then you will struggle. If not pushed for time you could consider mail order from home, but India used be have tough import rules, not sure now.

I imagine that it will be worse in East Africa.

Another experience was on a trip to Cambodia my mate split his 700 rim (Dawes Galaxy) and the easiest option was to go to Bangkok to get replaced. An expensive hassle, but not tour ending (I chilled in Battambang waiting for him, so no worries for me).
hufty
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Re: 700c wheels in India?

Post by hufty »

I would set off with good quality new tyres of whatever size you need for your bike and expect to get round without replacing anything. If you do need a new tyre and you find one, the quality is likely to be poor.

In Himalayan India at least, where cycling amongst the locals is not that common, 26" MTB tyres (559mm) were as rare as 700c (622mm) tyres. Elsewhere, most bikes are Hero roadsters with 635mm wheels which is no use for the Western tourist. You would think inner tube purchasing would be easy but the Woods valve reigns supreme and finding one with a stem long enough to poke through a box section rim was difficult (but not impossible).

In Uganda there are loads of old 559mm bikes being ridden around, containered over from wherever, as well as Heroes and Flying Pigeons. Whether there's a spares market or not I don't know - people tend to ride/push bikes without maintenance until they fall apart. I guess you would be more likely to find a third-hand MTB tyre than a third-hand 700c though.
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chocjohn9
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Re: 700c wheels in India?

Post by chocjohn9 »

I would have thought it was easier to work with a limited choice of bikes here than buy a 700c bike and find nothing there
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b1ke
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Re: 700c wheels in India?

Post by b1ke »

We cycled in West Africa last year and split the rear 26in rim in the Western Sahara. It was a 32 hole rim and it took us a good while to find a replacement. 36 hole seems to be the West African standard. May be different in the east, but still something to bear in mind. 700c would probably be even more difficult to source. We worked on a project which received donated bikes from the UK and even here there were very few 700c's. For peace of mind I'd go with the 26in option. An old steel mountain bike would suffice.
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simonhill
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Re: 700c wheels in India?

Post by simonhill »

You are right about 32 hole being harder to find (certainly in Asia). 32s are more associated with higher end (MTB) bikes. The norm on the local cheapies is 36.

This is the opposite to here where we normally get 32s on our stock bikes and 36s are a bit more specialised for touring.
hufty
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Re: 700c wheels in India?

Post by hufty »

Just to mention re 32H rims, if you start off with a matching pair you can always get a broken-rimmed rear wheel rebuilt with the front rim, then beg or borrow any old wheel for the front. But start your tour with new but run-in kit and avoid all this!
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b1ke
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Re: 700c wheels in India?

Post by b1ke »

start your tour with new but run-in kit and avoid all this!


Our wheels were fairly new and the rims weren't worn as we were using disc brakes. The bike was a Hase Pino tandem and very heavily loaded. The combination of the weight of the gear and the need to dodge Moroccan trucks was what caused the rim to split. The drop from the road onto the rocky 'hard shoulder' can be substantial and it gradually took it's toll.
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judenixon
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Re: 700c wheels in India?

Post by judenixon »

Thanks for all you posts. After reading them all I'm definitely leaning heavily towards the 26" option which seems much harder to get my hands on here but there's still a bit of time and we can always go 700c and get decent spares. My girlfriend picked up a really nice 26" Edison from someone through this site so it would be good for spares to get the same.

Pretty excited about heading out now - only 7 weeks to go! Does anyone have any India-specific touring advice to give?

Thanks again, your wise words are appreciated and well received.
simonhill
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Re: 700c wheels in India?

Post by simonhill »

Where is here? How tall are you?

Most people find Southern India much more pleasant for cycling. The tourist triangle of Delhi, Aggra and Jaipur is dusty and manic.

If you have never cycled in somewhere like India, it takes a bit of getting used to, but after a while it is fairly easy. You will be pretty near the bottom of the pile so always be prepared to give way. The only rule is that there are no rules.

This isn't nearly as bad as it sounds. I cycle a lot in anarchic Asia and love it. In a strange way this gives you a kind of certainty that you don't get in the UK.

Enjoy.

Edit: Just read your other post that you are looking for camping equipment. I definitely would NOT recommend camping in India.

Also I have my old 26" MTB touring bike which I may be interested in selling. 18" cro mo steel GT Outpost. I used it for years to tour in Asia (including 2 trips to India). Now replaced by my luverly Surly LHT.
judenixon
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Re: 700c wheels in India?

Post by judenixon »

Sorry for the delay in getting back to your q's.

here is London but I'm currently scoping out options which seem to be span the whole country. It's hard work getting a complete setup from scratch! I'm 5'11" so think your GT outpost might be a bit too small for me - what do you think? Hoping to get my hands on a Dawes Sardar but they seem to be a little out of my price range. Would be happy with a decent stell MTB tbh but lots of cheaper Dawes Galaxys keep popping up with 700c wheels.

We toyed with the idea of camping initially but soon realised that it's not recommended. Is it just unsafe to camp? I can't imagine there being many camp sites in India. We're just taking a stove for boiling water and may camp in East Africa if we get there.

Where have you been in India? What are the roads liek on the whole?

An impossible question really but if I end up getting a 700c bike how many spare inner tubes/tyres/spokes etc would you suggest I take?

Thanks,
Jude
simonhill
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Re: 700c wheels in India?

Post by simonhill »

I'm 5"10" and rode the GT for about 10 years. It might have done for you, but I am off to Japan in a couple of days so a bit late now. I live on the Fenchurch St line and may have a bit of time if you want to look over the weekend. PM me.

You are right, no campsites in India. The biggest problem is finding space not used by anyone and also privacy. You are almost constantly being watched and putting up a tent would attract a permanent crowd. A hotel room offers a bit of a respite. Safety is not normally a concern, but there was a recent problem of 2 Swiss being killed while camping. Constant attention and possible pilfering are much bigger problems.

I have cycled from Katmandu to Goa; Goa to the bottom and back; 2 other trips round the South. Roads vary widely. Some are very good, a few are terrible, most are OK. I often seems to be a State thing with some much worse than others. I tried to ride on the State Highways and avoid the much busier National Highways. Many of the smaller roads may be unpaved.

I never broke a wheel and had few punctures, but I am light, ride fairly carefully and don't carry lots of luggage. A few few spare tubes, maybe a spare folding tyre and a few of each spokes should do.

India is a fascinating place, I am sure you will love it. If you don't want the expense and aggro of getting to E Africa, Nepal and Sri Lanka are local and both worth a visit.

Enjoy.
promeneur
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Re: 700c wheels in India?

Post by promeneur »

It seems that DECATHLON stores are in India nowadays!then they have 700Cx 35 tyres and inner tube.
In China for sure.
I cycled in India years ago with 700 C x 32 . i had 1 folding spare tyre + 3 spares inner tube
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