My new commuter - LA-Sovereign Spider

[Prasad]

Very nice commuter arnuld - you get a lot of bike for 4500 INR which is about £60 here!

Just to put in perspective, INR 4500 are not exactly £60 compared to here. Yes, they are, if you use exchange rate.

INR 4500 are enough for family of 2 to survive in a tier2 city in India for a month. In my opinion, he has invested decent amount of money in his bike.

 

[arnuld]

No, it's worse.

I don't mean to disrespect you and you don't have any idea about either Indian manufactured bikes or the market and the public.

1/ the seat stay welds at the seat tube. Where are they?, three inches lower than the top tube joint. The seat tube is extended to allow the seat pin to end ABOVE the top tube weld.

The seat has clip-release system, you can customize its height and once I found out the exact height, I removed the clip and fixed it.

4/ Yes, the brake handles are plastic.

5/ V brakes are pressed steel.

Brake are quite powerful and responsive. I have ridden other cycles hell of a lot and these brakes take half of the time to stop the cycle and whats the best point, my hands never ache, never get tired.

6/ the stem riser is far too long for that head tube length. There is little or no adjustment to get the handlebars at an ergonomic position.

I raised the handlebar 1 inch position higher than the normal, that was the maximum it could be raised.

This bike is the most comfortable bike I have ever ridden in years. Its smooth, you just pedal and it goes much faster than other bikes. Perhaps you have never ridden Indian Milkman bike, quite solid, rough and toughest bikes ever made and that on a very, very economic price. Perhaps you have never ridden other Indian bikes like Hercules AXN, Hero ranger and other ones, ride them and you will know the meaning of an Indian cycle. This LA-Sovereign Spider is an expansive bike that no sane middle class person would buy. You can get 2 Indian bikes with that price. As I said, its one of the best bikes I have ever ridden , the comfort it has can only be found in brands KONA or Cannondale or Merida etc and they are 10 times the price.

 

[MrRidley]

Well said Arnuld, i hope you enjoy many miles on it.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Just to put in perspective, INR 4500 are not exactly £60 compared to here. Yes, they are, if you use exchange rate.

INR 4500 are enough for family of 2 to survive in a tier2 city in India for a month. In my opinion, he has invested decent amount of money in his bike.

Don't worry, it wasn't lost on me and I congratulated him on his very nice bike.

 

[bauldbairn]

I don't mean to disrespect you and you don't have any idea about either Indian manufactured bikes or the market and the public.
Perhaps you have never ridden Indian Milkman bike, quite solid, rough and toughest bikes ever made and that on a very, very economic price.
This LA-Sovereign Spider is an expansive bike that no sane middle class person would buy. You can get 2 Indian bikes with that price. As I said, its one of the best bikes I have ever ridden , the comfort it has can only be found in brands KONA or Cannondale or Merida etc and they are 10 times the price.

Well done for standing up for yourself Arnuld - I don't think any of us understand the Indian bike scene.

The most important thing is, that the bike suits "YOUR" needs - and that you get many pleasurable miles out of it. Happy Cycling!

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

2/ The headset is the cheapest they can find.

3/ B/B is a 'cup and cone', not even a cheap cartridge bracket.

Ridden many miles on cheap headsets (always packed them with loose balls myself out of preference) and cup & cone bottom brackets. I (and people before me) got many miles out of cotter pins and old fashioned BBs. These are at least cotterless (and not the awful cheap one-piece that sometimes keep appearing on cheaper bikes)

Sure, cartridges are BETTER. But they are only improvements, not necessities

6/ the stem riser is far too long for that head tube length. There is little or no adjustment to get the handlebars at an ergonomic position.

That's the one thing that I did notice - at first I was concerned it was set above the limit mark - its not is it Arnuld? Still - its a cheap stem - on that basis, replacing it with a shorter cheap stem wouldn't be that hard. Or - with care to get the angle right, cutting the stem down (and marking a new limit). IF the stem needed to go down, sounds like its been raised to that height intentionally!

Arnuld, enjoy your bike. At some point you may go on to buy something "fancier" but some of the bikes I've had in the past - well, I'd have been dead jealous of yours!

 

[jimboalee]

Let me say for the record.

Two OTHER members of this forum slagged off the ASDA bike for it's cheap components. Plastic brake levers, plastic pedals, low quality V brakes, cheap hubs, cheap stem and bars, cheap chainset, cheap seatpin… Shall I continue.

Can anyone tell me how the LA spider differs from the British Eagle at ASDA?

So 4500 Rupees is a lot of money locally. £80 is two weeks Council rent of a single bedroom 11th floor flat in Chelmsley Wood which overlooks the new ASDA who sell £80 bikes.
Some of the C Wood residents CAN'T spare the cash for a £80 bike, let alone the weekly groceries from the same store.

I will repeat, the buyers of the ASDA bikes were belittled by members of this forum, while I stood up and said "It's their choice".

OP has had a look around and found this bike. It's componentry is akin to that on a British Eagle BSO. ???

Why is it some members of this chatroom can call one bike a BSO and then 'big-up' an identical bike which has been bought by a poster?

Is it a BSO or not?

I will also repeat what I said months ago. "There is no such thing as a BSO." A well maintained bike will last as long as the owner wishes, no matter what quality the components.

PS. Whoever set-up that front V Brake was not a competent bike mechanic.

 

[arnuld]

That's the one thing that I did notice - at first I was concerned it was set above the limit mark - its not is it Arnuld?

Holy cow ... what that mechanic/assembler did ? I was just cleaning it up when I noticed the minimum insertion mark saying hello to me . Quickly without wasting time I went to the local cycle shop and corrected the mistake of the assembler. I asked the mechanic to raise the handlebar but I also asked him whether it could be raised or not, if the company does not recommend it I told him NOT to do it but I think he was stupid. He also inflated the tires to just 50% of the air, I noticed it only after riding 40 KM because I thought I am cycling after 10 years, may be that is why its feeling tough. I usually check tire pressure before riding and only next day I noticed that one . I should have trusted myself rather than the mechanic (one lesson from riding). He did not give a shoot about my hard earned money.

Arnuld, enjoy your bike. At some point you may go on to buy something "fancier" but some of the bikes I've had in the past - well, I'd have been dead jealous of yours!

Last line is nice , I plan to buy a Hard-Tail MTB in the end of this year or may be Giant Dowery FMX fixed-gear too. I know what I like now, its not cars or motorbikes, its bicycles

 

[Arch]

Holy cow ... what that mechanic/assembler did ? I was just cleaning it up when I noticed the minimum insertion mark saying hello to me . Quickly without wasting time I went to the local cycle shop and corrected the mistake of the assembler. I asked the mechanic to raise the handlebar but I also asked him whether it could be raised or not, if the company does not recommend it I told him NOT to do it but I think he was stupid. He also inflated the tires to just 50% of the air, I noticed it only after riding 40 KM because I thought I am cycling after 10 years, may be that is why its feeling tough. I usually check tire pressure before riding and only next day I noticed that one . I should have trusted myself rather than the mechanic (one lesson from riding). He did not give a shoot about my hard earned money.

It's not a situation that's unique to India. We have a retailer called Halfords....

Most decent bike shops over here, the ones that keep going and are valued, have decent mechanics - often qualified on paper, and from long experience and interest. But there's always the odd shoddy one that gets through. And there's a certain feeling, I think among people who only drive, that bikes are toys, and therefore don't need much work, just bung it together and ride off...

The main thing is to either find a shop you can trust, or if you can't, learn how to do stuff yourself - there are lots of helpful video tutorials online....

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

I asked the mechanic..... I think he was stupid.

Looking at the angles of the front vees, I would tend to agree with your assumption.

Still, you can either have the stress of taking it back again to have the brakes set right, or teaching yourself. Its how I learned - my poor mum coming home to find a 14 year old me on the fireside rug lacing up my first wheel from scavenged spares, copying the spoke pattern of another old back wheel. Of course I gave no thought to the fluids that tended to leak out of the plug on old AW hubs

Its fun, and it gets easier, and its great not being reliant on others when anything goes wrong!

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

I asked the mechanic..... I think he was stupid.

Looking at the angles of the front vees, I would tend to agree with your assumption.

Still, you can either have the stress of taking it back again to have the brakes set right, or teaching yourself. Its how I learned - my poor mum coming home to find a 14 year old me on the fireside rug lacing up my first wheel from scavenged spares, copying the spoke pattern of another old back wheel. Of course I gave no thought to the fluids that tended to leak out of the plug on old AW hubs

Its fun, and it gets easier, and its great not being reliant on others when anything goes wrong!

 

[fossyant]

Jimboalee......knock knock....... Arnuld is from India..he does not have access to the bikes we do......... simples....

Don't go slagging them off. That's a very good bike compared to what is the 'normal' in India.... FFS...........

Don't even price compare.........EU / India... ???

The bike is up to the job, and he'll get parts..... You won't get much Shimano or any Campag sh1t out there......

 

[fossyant]

Jimboalee......knock knock....... Arnuld is from India..he does not have access to the bikes we do......... simples....

Don't go slagging them off. That's a very good bike compared to what is the 'normal' in India.... FFS...........

Don't even price compare.........EU / India... ???

The bike is up to the job, and he'll get parts..... You won't get much Shimano or any Campag sh1t out there......

 

[Tollers]

Hey Arnuld, I just noticed this thread. Congratulations on finally buying your new steed

Ignore Jimbo, we love him, but he loves an argument...Don't you Jimbo

Where in India are you? Hyderabad if i remember correctly. I hope you realise, that next time anyone from cyclechat visits, we will be expecting you to take us out riding!

You just wait though. When someone gets into cycling, you just want more and more bikes. Has an indian ever rode the Tour de France?

 

[Tollers]

Hey Arnuld, I just noticed this thread. Congratulations on finally buying your new steed

Ignore Jimbo, we love him, but he loves an argument...Don't you Jimbo

Where in India are you? Hyderabad if i remember correctly. I hope you realise, that next time anyone from cyclechat visits, we will be expecting you to take us out riding!

You just wait though. When someone gets into cycling, you just want more and more bikes. Has an indian ever rode the Tour de France?