Top 10 Mountain Bikes in India

With cycling gaining more and more popularity as a viable form of transportation and an easy way to remain fit in your daily routine, it actually never lost its appeal. The world recently witnessed the oldest and the most prestigious Tour De France 2014 which has wowed the passionate riders across the globe with the latest and the greatest high end bikes and cycling products used. If you are a beginner and want to buy a bike for yourself, two things that you should decide upon are:1. Usage- what will you use the bike for? (Commuting/ fitness/ racing/ off road riding).2. Budget! (Extra money will get you a lesser weight, high quality components, high quality suspension, better wheels, smooth gear shifting etc.). With the onset of the trail biking season, it’s difficult to keep our eyes off the amazing pieces of technology, brawny and cool mountain bikes. We have made a list of our top 10 favourites in the mountain bike - trail riding available in India which will give you a plenty of bang for the buck.Gear up and hit the trail now!

#1 GIANT XTC ADVANCED 27.5 1

Giant, the world leader in cycling technology, has bought in the revolutionary 2014 off- road model - Super light, ultra efficient hardtail Giant XTC Advanced 27.5 1 engineered with fast and stable 27.5-inch wheel platform for a perfect balance between speed and control.

With OverDrive 2 steerer tube producing flawless front-end handling even on rough courses and an advanced-grade composite frame which is available in midnight blue/matte composite and all sizes, this one is rocking all the charts.

Some of the vital component specifications are:

Shifters : SRAM X01, Trigger Shift

Tires : Schwalbe Racing Ralph Performance, 27.5x2.1, folding

Cassette : SRAM X01 10x42, 11-speed

Brakes : Avid X0, hydraulic disc, [F] 160mm, [R] 140mm

#2 KHS ALITE 1000

KHS, a well designed and a reasonably well specced bike pleasing the beginners as well as the experts offersvery neat, impressive, and competitive options in terms of componential model ALITE 1000. With Shimano drivetrain, hydraulic disc brakes and set of easy and fast rolling Kenda tyres making it a good all round trail bike. Alite 1000 is made of double-butted 6061 aluminium frame which is pretty solid, strong and takes the beating. It gives a more confident ride on dry trails with a very neutral geometry giving a stable handling at both low and high speeds.

Some of the vital component specifications are:

Frame: New Design Alloy 6061 Hydro Double Butted Formed T/T & D/T w/replaceable hanger, New tubing

Tyres: Kenda John Tomac Small Block 8, 26x2,1" 60TPI, Folding

Shifter: Shimano SL-M430 Alivio, 9spd Pods.

#3 Trek X CALIBRE-7

Innovative bikes imagined by Gary fisher, built by trek, X-Calibre 7 is the lightest, fastest, smartest 29 hardtrails in the market available in wider ranges of sizes than the ones available in the industry. Equipped with the Hydraulic disc brakes which gives ultimate control and stopping power in all conditions, including wet,muddyinternal derailleur routing to keep the bike running smooth and clean, makes it a fantastic bike.

Some of the vital component specifications are:

Frame : Alpha Gold Aluminium w/semi-integrated head tube, mechanically formed & butted tubing, race geometry, internal front derailleur routing, G2 Geometry

Shifters: Shimano Acera M390, 9 speed

Brake set: Shimano M395 hydraulic disc brakes

Front derailleur: Shimano Altus

Rear derailleur: Shimano Acera M390

Tyres: Bontrager XR1, 29x2.20" front, 29x2.0" rear

#4 SPECIALIZED ROCK HOPPER DISC

Specializedsgreat value speed bike Rock Hopper Disc with lightweight tyres, a lockable fork and other impressive specsis a natural cross country race bike. Kick down the power and the Rockhopper really cracks forward hard and fast. Thoughtful detail touches and a cracking frame makes it long term stuff.

Cassette: Shimano HG-50 9spd

Chain:Shimano HG-73

Fork:TORA 302 SL - 100mm

Frame Material:M4 Manipulated Aluminium

Tyres : Fast Track DC

#5 TREK 4300 D

Alightweight, mountain strong and a ride tuned Trek 4300 D is supremely comfortable, good quality and great looking bike which features a race bred technology to give you a better ride.

Some of the vital component specifications are:Frame:Alpha Gold Aluminium, semi-integrated head tube, butted and hydro formed tubing, internal front derailleur cable routing, replaceable derailleur hanger

Fork: SR SuntourXCM, 30mm stanchions, coil spring, preload adjustment, 100mm travel

Derailleurs:Shimano Acera

Number of Gears: 27

Cassette: Shimano HG20 11-34, 9 speed 1-1/8" thread less, semi-integrated, semi-cartridge bearings

Tyres: Bontrager XR2, 262.2

#6 BERGAMONT VITOX 6.4

Bergamont bikes which comes with a Quality seal ensuringhighest quality properties in terms of durability, riding sensation and design brings to you, the VITOX 6.4, an all round 26" Mountain bike with light Alloy frame, Tektro V-Brakes, Suntour fork and some other interesting bike specifications.

Some of the vital component specifications are:

Frame: 26" MTB, 6061 alloy lite tubing, T4/T6 Heat treated, single butted, all round geometry.

Fork: Suntour XCT-P 100 26", 1 1/8", 100MM, Coil, preload adjust

Rear Derailleur: Shimano Acera, RD-M360, SGS, Top-Normal

Front Derailleur: Shimano FD-M190, 34.9MM clamp, top-swing

Tyres: Schwalbe smart SAM, wired, 54-559

Brake: TEKTRO Y837AL, V-BRAKE

#7 SCOTT ASPECT 750

The SCOTT Aspect 750 is a mountain hardtail bike designed to be light, efficient featuring a great mix of components like the powerful Shimano disc brakes, grippy all terrain tyres, : Suntour XCT-MLO with a lockout, this is a great bike for novices and is available in 27.5" wheel size.

Some of the vital component specifications are:

Frame: Scott double-butted 6061-aluminum

Fork: SR Suntour XCT-MLO, 100mm-travel w/lockout

Front Derailleur:Shimano FD-M190, 34.9mm

Brakes: Shimano mechanical disc, 6-inch rotors

Tyres: Impac Ridgepac, 27.5"x 2.25", 24TPI

Shifters: Shimano ST-EF 51 L, 8R, EZ-Fire Plus

#8 MERIDA BIG NINE 100

Merida is one of the worlds largest, most respected and innovative bicycle manufacturers and has a bike to suit all styles of riding, from beginner to an elite racer. Merida Big Nine 100 is a lightweight alloy 29er loaded with performance features at an affordable price and has the advantage of reduced rolling resistance over rough terrain, which provides easier clearance of obstacles, and general comfort over the trail. It features quality Shimano components for reliable shifting performance, with 100mm front suspension.

Some of the vital component specifications are:

Frame: Big Nine TFS-D SIZES 15-17-19-21-23

Brakes: F/R Tektro HDC-301

Chain: KMC Z99 9s

Front Derailleur: Shimano M370

Rear Derailleur: Shimano Alivio 9

Shifters: Shimano Altus rapidfire

Tyres: MERIDA Race 29er 2.1

#9 SCHWINN FRONTIER FS

Schwinn Frontier FS is a friendly, surprisingly comfortable, a smooth rolling bike at a low price though it is little short for speed work, but is a good mountain bike for moderate to intense trails.

Some of the component specifications are:

Chain: KMC Z-72

Frame Material: Aluminium

Bottom Bracket: Semi-Cartridge

Max. Fork Travel: 76mm

#10 MONTRA ROCK 1.1

Montra Rockis an entry level and a budget bike which is available in different sizes. Looks could be deceptive and this isquite decent mountain bike for trail riding.

Some of the components specifications are:

Frame: Montra Hardtail R1.0 6061 - HTAT Alloy, 1-1/8" Head Tube, Forged Dropouts w/ Replaceable Derailleur

Gears: Shimano EZ Fire Plus - 7x3