India Guide
Getting around
By bicycle
In many ways a bicycle is the ideal form of transport in India, offering total independence without loss of contact with local people. You can camp out, though there are cheap lodgings in almost every village – take the bike into your room with you – and, if you get tired of pedalling, you can put it on top of a bus as luggage, or transport it by train.
Bringing a bike from abroad requires no carnet or special paperwork, but spare parts and accessories may be of different sizes and standards in India, and you may have to improvise. Bring basic spares and tools, and a pump. Buying a bike in India couldn't be easier, since most towns have cycle shops and even entire markets devoted to bikes. The advantages of a local bike are that spare parts are easy to get, locally produced tools and parts will fit, and your bike will not draw a crowd every time you park it. Disadvantages are that Indian bikes tend to be heavier and less state-of-the-art than ones from abroad; mountain bikes are beginning to appear in cities and bigger towns, but with insufficient gears and a low level of equipment, they're not worth buying. Selling should be quite easy: you won't get a tremendously good deal at a cycle market, but you may well be able to sell privately, or even to a rental shop.
Bicycles can be rented in most towns, usually for local use only: this is a good way to find out if your legs and bum can survive an Indian bike before buying one. Rates can be anything from Rs10 to Rs50 per day, and you may have to leave a deposit or your passport as security. Several adventure-tour operators such as Exodus offer bicycle tours of the country, with most customers bringing their own cycles.
As for contacts, International Bicycle Fund in the US ( 
206/767-0848, 
www.ibike.org ) publishes information and offers advice on bicycle travel around the world and maintains a useful website. In India, the Cycle Federation of India, C-5A/262, DDA Flats, Janak Puri, New Delhi 110058 ( 011/2255 3006), is the main cycle-sports organization.