CEOs who cycle to work

CYCLING CLUBS

TIMELINE

How did the humble cycle become the young urbanite’s prized possession?Life is like a bicycle, to keep your balance you should keeping moving (Albert Einstein). Ironically, that’s exactly what the bicycle itself has been doing — moving; evolving in order to be relevant.Thirty-three-year old Mahesh Gowda (working in an MNC in the UK) remembers how back in 1997 his father used to deliver milk on his Hero cycle to families living in South Bengaluru. Mahesh too would chip in on days his father couldn’t make it. Reliable and cost-effective,” says Gowda.Until two decades ago, the cycle was the mode of transport for most in the city.Even in the 90s, thousands of factory workers, living in Chamrajpet, Jayanagar, Chickpet, Cottonpet and Benson Town would cycle to work at NGF, MICO, Binny Mills, BEL, ITC and BEML. “My father worked in MICO, near Adugodi, and for almost all his life he has cycled to work. It’s only now, for the past ten years, that he takes the factory bus. But he still has the Atlas cycle,” says Hemanth Narayan (19), a CA student in a city college. Till the late 90s the bicycle had remained the ‘humble vehicle’. But it kept ‘moving’ to keep the ‘balance’ and today it’s become a symbol of affluence. Aspirational vehicle.Something that the urbanites splurge on for fun, health and environmental reasons.Now, cycles are not just cycles. They are “Road bikes”, “off-road bikes”, “tour-ers” and “hybrids” and they cost anywhere between Rs 20,000 to Rs 8 lakh. And that’s just for the shell. You pay extra for the trappings -- LED lights, pumps, combination lock, mobile holder, bottle holder and even cycle carriers that can be fitted on to your cars if you want to take your cycle along on a vacation. Back in the 90s, the Atlas’s Concord series and BSA’s Mac 5 and 10 series was what rich kids would ride. It cost Rs 2,500 – Rs 3,000 in late eighties and to Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000 in the 90s.The launch of Firefox in 2005 changed the game and ushered in the era of premium cycles. Today the market is flooded with top brands — Trek, Bergamount, Bianchi, Dahon, Giant, Merida, Cannondale, Specialized, Mercedes, Hummer and so on — which has partly contributed to making cycling ‘fashionable.’Bengaluru boasts of 15,000 cyclists (mostly corporates) who are passionate about riding their high-end bikes. They go on cycle rides and have weekly cycling meets. “I ride a Cannondale Synapse which I picked up from Chennai for Rs 1,30,000,” says Kiran Venkatesh (44), an architect who goes on weekend cycling trips with his friends. “Ten years ago I wouldn’t have even thought about it. But today, people are willing to go the extra mile to stay healthy and have some fun at the same time,” Kiran added.Earlier, the city was dotted with the ubiquitous ‘cycle mechanic shops’ where one would go to pump air into the thin tyres or change chains or even hire a cycle for a few hours for a fee of Rs 2. But with the entry of high-end bikes, the community of cyclists has become their own go-to resource, thereby creating a closed ecosystem. Rohan Kini, founder of Bums On The Saddle, who quit a corporate job to start the cycle store explains: “Back when Firefox was launched, there were few mechanics/service stations with expertise in handling high-end cycles. There was little option but for us to learn how to assemble the cycle or change the chain through the company websites,” Kini says.But then just like the cycle, the cycle mechanics too are resilient -- they too have evolved. Lakshman P (28) runs a small cycle repair shop in Jayanagar; it was started by his father Puttaraju in 1978 (who mostly worked on Hero cycles and Atlas). Today, Lakshman repairs foreign brands like Firefox, Trek, Cannondale etc. “The parts are all available online and I keep in touch with the distributors,” he says. “The craze for cycling is on the rise and there is no dearth for customers. We (small shops) don’t charge as much as the new fancy stores.” He recently restored a 20-year-old 10 gear Atlas cycle for Rs 4,500.“In a big store the same would cost the customer Rs40,000,” he says.Today, a cycle mechanic working in a hole-in-the-wall shop earns Rs 15,000; mechanics at high-end stores like Specialized and BOTS earn anywhere between Rs 25,000 and Rs 45,000.In 1972, Raju cycle shop also in Jayanagar used to rent out Atlas and Hero cycles for Rs 2 to Rs 5 per hour. “But those days are long gone,” says Ramanna KC (59), owner of the store and who bought his first Atlas cycle for Rs 200. “I stopped renting out cycles two years back,” Ramanna says. Today one can rent a high-end cycle for Rs 500 per hour. Ramanna “believes that the software crowd has added to the revolution of cycles”.“It’s a good thing. Back in our days, cycling made us fit. But between 90s and 2000, people hardly did anything to keep fit. Cars and bikes made commute easier. However, now though people own cars and bikes they also invest in a cycle, be it expensive or not,” Ramanna says.“Today you have many stores that sell good brands. BSA Mac 5 and 10 and Atlas Concord were the first sports race cycles back then,” says BS Seenu (35), entrepreneur. “The Concord Pro-10, which my parents had bought me in ’88, had an imported sun-race (gear system) and was the first 10-geared cycle to be launched at that time and unlike the cycles these days, you could change the gear with the help of a lever. Today, the bikes have buttons or handles to change gears. Back then, the head lamps were dynamo lights and the concept of carriers was huge as it would help carry groceries, books and so on.”Seenu’s 19-year-old nephew has restored the Concord Pro-10 and takes it for a spin on weekends. It was only in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s that Hero Rangers, the sports race cycle was launched.However, truth be told, there are people who still buy the “trusted” Atlas, Hercules and Hero brands of cycles. “They are still in demand as they cost anything between Rs2,800 to 20,000. The spares are easily available and even the ‘corner shop mechanic’ can repair the cycles,” explains Anil Kumar, owner of Gears and Force which deals with multiple brands. The humble cycle might have become an aspirational one. But no matter what the cycle will always remain relevant.* The trend began with Philips Innovations Campus CEO Bob Hoekstra who was sent to Bangalore on deputation in 2005.CEO, TanishqHead- retail operations, Indus League Clothing LtdOwner OpusCEO The Fuller LifeDirector, Cadem TechnologiesThere are about 15,000 cyclists in the city who are part of cycling clubsBangalore Cycling Club Bangalore Cyclists Group BOTS Women Bangalore Cycling ICycle icycle.in Namma Cycle Bangalore Bikers ClubApart from them companies like Infosys host annual cycling leagues – Infosys Cycling League – to promote cycling to work among 25,000 Infy employees in BengaluruIn Karnataka, Bijapur is the cycling capital and not Bengaluru. It has remained so since the time of princely rulers of Bijapur who encouraged cycling by hosting competitions and the tradition continues to this day. Many professional road cyclists, national and international medals such as Neelamma Malligawad, Valappa P Lamani, Gangu Biradar and Kaveri Banakar. In fact the government has also sanctioned a velodrome there.1890 Bicycles came to India. Rs45 cost of the first imported cycle.1917 During the First World War the price of cycle jumped to `500 but soon dropped considerably to `151919 Five persons in Punjab imported BSA cross bar cycle from UK and were given permission by the governor to cycle on the Mall Road in Shimla for one hour. This drew a lot of attention from passersby as they had never witnessed a cycle1951 Shri Janki Das Kapur launched Atlas Cycle Industries in Sonepat. 12,000 Atlas cycles were manufactured in the first 12 months of launch1956 Munjul started Hero Cycles1958 Atalas cycles were exported1975 Hero became the largest manufacturer of bicycles in India with a production of 7,500 cycles per day1978 Atlas introduced the first racing cycle. 4 millions cycles are produced by Atlas alone2005 Firefox, an Indian brand, is launched by Shiv Inder Singh. It cost `6,000