By IANS
New Delhi : Madone 5.2, a Rs.100,000 ($2,500) pedal bicycle launched by Noida-based FireFox Bikes, can go where the world’s cheapest car, the Tata Nano that comes at the same cost, cannot.
“Madone 5.2 can take you to places where the Nano cannot and with its 20 high-speed gears, it is much faster than the small wonder,” said a Firefox official at the Auto Expo 2008 here.
Madone can notch up to 90 km per hour (kmph) through its 20 high-speed gears, the company claimed.
The ‘Tata Expo’, as Firefox officials prefer to call this annual auto jamboree, may have deflected attention from the bike as well as other worthy products, but Madone’s suppliers are not complaining.
This made-to-order bike is a de-tuned version of seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong’s bike – Madone 6.5 SSL – and has a lifetime warranty on the carbon frame.
“You can take it anywhere. It weighs 900 gm and on a day when traffic is sparse on Delhi roads, this bike can speed up to 90 kmph, which is almost on a par with Tatas small car,” said the official.
“This year’s expo, with all that hype around the Tata Nano, was perhaps the best platform to showcase our products when everyone is talking of green cars and emission,” he added.
“The Auto Expo is a mobility exhibition. As the concept is mobility, why not bicycles?” FireFox Managing Director Shiv Inder Singh told reporters at a press conference.
He said the company’s participation at the expo was aimed at creating awareness among young customers on the need for environment-friendly transport alternatives.
“In a few years, you will have to dump your car for a cycle to travel. With the number of vehicles on Delhi roads crossing the 5.1-million mark, maybe this is just the time,” said Singh.
The Madone 5.2 is sure to get some kind of encouragement from the Delhi government, which is serious about developing integrated network of bicycle tracks for the city.
“Look at Chandigarh. They have more bikes than cars now. Delhi definitely has the space and the mindset for such high quality bikes.”
The Delhi Master Plan 2012 has elaborate provision for cyclists.
The new grade separator coming up at Mukarba crossing on National Highway 1 and the 16-km long capacity bus corridor between Ambedkar Nagar and Delhi Gate has cycle tracks incorporated in the design.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has also set up a cycle track cell, which is in the process of preparing a bicycle master plan for the city.