Is it okay to buy a cycle from a new brand?

Question

I'm from India and I was looking to buy a bicycle for some really long commutes and fitness rides. I'd mostly be doing paved roads with the occasional gravel/dirt. Some reading told me that I should be looking for a hybrid. So, taking my budget into consideration, I've rounded up two.

• Triad X3: https://www.choosemybicycle.com/en/bicycles/triad-x3
• Montra Downtown: https://www.choosemybicycle.com/en/bicycles/montra-downtown-2019

I guess the Montra is superior here but I didn't really like the sporty graphics and its more expensive than the others. The differences are the dual disk brakes, the Shimano front gears. How important are these? I love the Triad but it seems like they are a new player in the game and I couldn't even find a single review for the X3 online. I was wondering if its okay to go ahead and buy it cause it seems like all that Triad makes is the fork, frame and the handlebars. Most of the other parts are same for the Montra and the Triad. Could someone please guide me as to what to consider and whether I should go for the Montra?

I'm a noob at buying a cycle. Is it okay to buy from a new brand?

Answer 1

At this price category new brands are created all the time and badged onto generic Chinese bikes. There is next to no difference with regard to quality between brands. While 16k rupees (about 200 £|€|$) may be a lot of money in India, it is still a bit below the costs of a bike of reliable quality.

Shimano tourney components are a good sign in an inexpensive bike. However, there will be cost savings in other parts, like cranks, pedals, bearings, and brakes. For example, the pedal threads and square taper interface of cheap cranks tend wear out and fail quickly. Pedal and head set bearings seize or get loose.

This is not necessarily the case for your bike. If sales margins are low, the bike isn't necessarily a dreaded 'BSO' (bicycle shaped object). Yet, learn how to identify one: [BSO identification for amateurs [Is KCP a trustable bicycles Brand?

Unfortunately I cannot recommend how to get a better bike for not much more in India. Where I live a decent and simple one costs about 2 times as much. There is a large market for used bikes of good quality that cost about as much as the bikes you posted.

You might want to search for India on bicycles [SE] we had a number of similar questions.

Answer 2

Is it okay to buy from a new brand?

All bicycle brands were new at one time. Some new brands have been very good and others not.

How can we tell a good brand from a bad brand?
TLDR (Too Long Didn't Read) skip down to the "Things to keep in mind" section

Some background on how a bike gets to you.
Most bicycle companies today:

• Purchase parts from factories all over the world (a few bicycle companies still make their own frames and or forks). Hopefully, the bike company has spent some time making sure the parts they purchase actually work well together.
• Have the parts shipped to an assembly point where the parts are poorly assembled (hubs too tight, brakes and derailleurs need adjusting, wheels need to be trued and spokes tensioned etc.) and a sticker with a brand name is attached to the frame. Sometimes different names are attached to the same bike.
• The poorly assembled bike is boxed up as a complete bike.
• This boxed up bike makes it's way to a retailer or online store where it is sold to a customer.
• Sometimes the retailer will finish the assembly of the bike so that it is "ready to ride". The quality of the final assembly varies wildly. There is little to no chance the bike will be well assembled at a department store. There is a much larger chance that a bike shop will do a good job of assembly.

For many bicycles the "brand" is really just a trade-marked name. For example "Schwinn" is a brand name owned by Pacific Cycle which also owns the names Cannondale, Mongoose, Murray, Roadmaster and many others.

Triad is owned by Transworld E Cycles

Having a quality bike is a starting point. Poor assembly - no matter how good the parts are - will ruin a bike. Even a lower quality bike assembled well can give good service.

Things to keep in mind -
When evaluating a new brand (or any brand really):

1. Who makes the parts?
   If a bike is made up of name brand parts then then you can assess the quality of those components.
   In the case of the Triad bike above
   • the hubs are listed as "steel" and no brand is given.
   • Brakes and cassette are listed as "Power" which is an off brand.
2. Who can I turn to if there is a problem?
   Find a phone number for Triad and try to contact them. If you can find a contact ask them how they handle warranty issues. Do they have anyone local to you that they work with to resolve issues?
3. Are you comfortable with the warranty? Here's a link to Triad's warranty.
4. How willing are you to take risks? If you are not open to risks go with an established company/brand. You can reduce the risk if you can find someone who has the bike and can recommend it (especially someone near you where you can see and ride the bike)

When buying a bike in a box you will need some basic tools and mechanical skills to get the bike rolling. You will need some specialized tools - cone wrenches, spoke wrench, etc. and some moderate bike mechanic skills to get the bike assembled correctly.
Or...
You could take the boxed bike to a trusted shop/mechanic and pay to assemble it.

My personal recommendation is:

1. Don't buy an unknown brand unless you can find enough information to indicate that the company behind the brand is building a good bike.
2. Don't buy a bike you have not ridden and sized correctly.
3. Don't buy a bike that is not correctly assembled unless someone qualified will assemble the bike after purchase.