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Cycle and Work
A stylish all-rounder hardtail MTB for weekday urban and weekend trail rides.
The Octane series is the premium range of bicycles from Hero Cycles and they are aimed at giving more performance focused rides at an affordable price while looking aesthetic. From the hardtail MTB range we got the opportunity to test ride the Hero Octane Springbok and here is what we thought.
Weight – 14.9 kgs
Usage – Leisure/Fitness
Frame, Fit and Comfort
The Springbok comes in 1 standard 17.5” frame size
The Hero Octane Springbok is built on a full alloy frame. The frame geometry was standard as in most hardtail MTB’s with a slanting top tube, which made for more standover clearance and a comfortable posture. The frame is built in a way to make sure alloy is used more in high impact joints like the top and bottom tube intersection and lesser in few others like the chain and seat stays. This made sure the frame is as light as it can get while retaining its tensile strength.
The Spingbok has a stock coil spring suspension with a claimed travel of 100mm and during the test ride the suspension travel seemed to work easily up to 80mm which is good for a flat trail and urban MTB.
Design
The Hero Octane Springbok comes in 2 colour variants; Sky Blue with Black graphics and White with Black graphics
This hardtail MTB that I test rode came in a full Sky Blue frame with Black graphics. This shade of blue looked refreshing and the black added a good contrast. The matte finish paint job along with the colour saddle and fork enhanced the aesthetic appeal of this bicycle.
Gearing
The Shimano Tourney 21-Speed derailleurs worked smoothly during the test ride and are ideal for urban roads and easy trails
The Hero Octane Springbok comes equipped with Shimano Tourney TZ/TY front and rear derailleurs. These derailleurs are a recent version of Tourney and shifted smoothly during the test ride. These gears are ideal for quick shifts on flat trail and in busy urban roads. The 21-Speed Shimano EZ-500 easy fire trigger shifters were standard and easy to use.
Brakes and Steering
The Mechanical Disc Brakes at the front and rear felt balanced and safe to use
The ‘Yining’ branded Mechanical Disc Brakes handled the stopping power on the Hero Octane Springbok. These brakes felt balanced and safe to use during the test ride on rough urban roads, especially during fast turns.
The 660mm stock handlebar was fully flat, making it a typical MTB type bar. This made sure the rider had a slightly aggressive posture and thus helps the rider in keeping full control of the bicycle on fast paced flat trails.
Wheels and Saddle
The Kenda Small Block 27.5” x 2.1” tires is both fast rolling and heavily treaded
The Hero Octane Springbok rolled on a pair of DSI Small block 27.5” x 2.10” MTB tires. These MTB tires were heavily treaded and provided a lot of traction on both rough urban roads and flat trails.
The stock Sport PU Saddle was ergonomically designed with a good design and grippy leather.
Overall Rating
- Strong yet lightweight hardtail alloy frame
- Smooth shifting 21-Speed Tourney derailleurs
- Heavily treaded DSI Small Block 27.5” tires
- 1 standard frame size
This bicycle is a hardtail MTB with a more recent version of Shimano Tourney derailleurs, which shifted smoothly without any lag. The flat handlebar and heavily treaded DSI Small Block 27.5” tires made it perfect for fast paced flat trail rides. Priced at Rs.16,225(as on 29th January 2019) the Hero Octane Springbok is an ideal choice for anyone looking to buy an hardtail MTB for both urban rides and flat trails.
Prices are subject to change by the brand, without due notice.
