Sunday, April 3, 2011

The Bike Tune Up Workshop At Escapades - a Success


The one day Bike Tune Up Workshop at Escapades was a success, infact it turned into a BIKE OVERHAULING for Manoj. Manoj pedaled all the way from Corlim to Ponda covering a 20+ Kms one way. The workshop began at 10am with Donald, Jagdish, Raju, Hazrath, Anil and Me.
Fortunately (should I say unfortunately?) Donald’s bike had a flat in front tube, it was a first hands on experience for Donald in patching up the leak on the tube. 


After the demo by me on Tuning of Deraillers (Front and Rea on Donald’s biker), Manoj’s Bike came on the workstand. Manoj eagerly set to work on his bike and managed to get grease on his hands, shorts, t-shirt and where not.

With all the mechanics around we stripped the bike naked; wheels, deraillers, bottom bracket, fork and all. After cleaning thoroughly, the bike was assembled chiefly by Manoj with helping hand from Raju.


 Within the span of 3 working hours, we managed to tune up one bike and overhaul another.
After the lunch, Manoj test rode the KHS ALITE trail bike and then rolled off on his TREK 4300 all smooth and shiny!




Escapades plans to bring many more workshops on BIKES and BIKING!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Had a blast riding the black beauty - the KHS ALITE 1000!

WANT A TEST RIDE? DROP A LINE AT - escapbikes@yahoo.in or ajd2k7@yahoo.co.in

Had a blast with this black beauty today, took her to the rocky uphill trail. This trail is a tough single track climb, off  Ponda - Belgaum highway, passing through mixed vegetation of cashew and wild trees and shrubs. One of my favorite trails!.

The uphill trail breaks on a lateritic plateau and picks up again on the other side for another kilometer or so, terminating at a private property with a small farm house and coconut plantation.





This is my first ride with KHS ALITE 1000

Here are the brief first impression notes:

The frame
The 6061 aluminum frame feels solid and light, the double butted top tube, the square chain stays and seat stays are the strengths of this frame. The solid and light feel of the bike pumped up my confidence level, the bike actually coxed me into riding the tough and tricky patches and I managed to do it!  
The downhill was real fun, managed to take corner the two sharp turns

Tires
The Kenda small block 8, 26 2.1 tires gripped the gravel and the rock equally well, the credit of riding uphill tricky patches with lose rocks goes to this rubber


Brakes
The BENGAL HELIX 3.0 HYDRAULIC DISC BRAKES worked just fine on the downhill, providing fantastic modulation and instant stops whenever demanded.




Shifters and Drive train
With Shimano Alivio shifters, Alivio front derailler and Shimano Deore rear derailler the shifting is crisp and smooth


Shocks
The RST Omega 100mm shocks with preload and lockout smoothed out the ride on the rocky terrain on the lateritic plateau.


Saddle
The WTB stock saddle felt comfortable, the ride was short, will have to wait for a longish ride to judge this one better.


The bike has a lot of promise. Detailed review  coming up, but I need to do some trails! 




















Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Wonderful All round Bike KHS ALITE 150

Be it tarmac or be it a trail, the KHS ALITE 150 will take you there. This is a nice entry level mountain bike or all terrain bike.
The 100m shocks will make trail riding a smooth experience and Bengal mechanical disc brakes has all the stopping power.
The frame is light weight Aluminum 6061. The KHS 26x1.95 tires with 14-34 mega range free wheel and 48/38/28 chainrings makes this an all round bike.

Comes in TEAM RED COLOR. Priced at Rs. 16000/- this is a real VFM bike

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Escapades - the bike store


Cycling is not only a means to move around but, also a fantastic way to experience a ‘high’, a great way to explore and stay fit, whether on ROAD or on the TRAIL. Do you remember your childhood bicycle escapades?, certainly you do!......, why not relive it !

‘Escapades’ is a small venture, operating from home. The shop intends not only to sell the bikes, but, provide quality service, popularize cycling, conduct workshops on maintenance of the bike, organize biking events……

  • Since the shop is part time venture, please call 09823905756 or email - escapbikes@yahoo.in/ajd2k7@yahoo.co.in to ensure the shop is kept open for you : - ))


The bikes presently available at the shop are KHS ALITE 150, ALITE 500 and ALITE 1000. All these are mountain bikes. KHS FLITE 300 and FLITE 500 road bikes are available against order.

KHS 150 specifications – price Rs. 16,000
KHS 500 specifications – price Rs. 23,000
KHS 1000 specifications – price Rs. 30,000

Escapades Address - H.No.23, Prabhunagar, Rajiv Kala Mandir Road, Behind Sapana Park, Ponda, Goa.

Escapades location map



Photos - KHS ALITE 150 and 500