Reinvent the cycle

Firefox positions the bicycle as part of the good life.

What's a bicycle stall doing at the Auto Expo among Delhi's annual show of high-snazz cars, adrenalin-pumping mobikes and other motorised tarmac scorchers?

"Believe me, we applied no 'pull' to be here," quips Shiv Inder Singh, managing director, Firefox Bikes, "We approached the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) in October, and it seemed keen to bring in a new element which would generate consumer interest."

The Auto Expo, Singh exults, is just the platform he wanted. For his bicycles, designed in the UK and put together in Taiwan and China, are "hi-tech" and thus worthy enough to wow the average Auto Expo visitor.

A dozen car and motorbike dealers across the country have already shown interest in his bikes, he claims, though this is not the first time people in India are seeing them. Firefox began striking attention back in May 2005, when it set up a 2,000-sq-ft bike station at M G Road in Delhi.

So what's it that makes Firefox so hi-tech? Like its software namesake, it doesn't have a built-in web surfer by any chance, does it?

No. But it does assure you a similar sense of freedom. It also makes you rethink your notion of how efficient a cycle can

be. Its body is a lightweight alloy, it has a steel V-brake, advanced shock absorbers, unique hubs for wheel axles, and best of all, a hi-tech Shimano gear system designed to make biking effortless and exhilarating while minimising perils on surfaces smooth or rocky. Safety is a special design emphasis, no matter what your iPod's playing.

Discerning bikers, claims Singh, know the difference. How much would a Firefox bike cost? An adult's all-terrain bike would be for anything between Rs 6,000 and Rs 16,000, while road bikes are for around Rs 21,000 apiece. A kid's cycle, however, could be had for as little as Rs 2,500, but as Singh's choice of platform indicates, this is hardly child's play.

There's more than just the bike on display. The company also sells a range of biking accessories that include helmets, bags, water bottles and even bike carriers for the car. Indeed, it's about "style" as a suffix to "life".

"We are selling a cycling experience," says Singh, "by trying to develop cycling as a fun, family and sporty activity in India. It is one of the only non-impact sports apart from swimming."

Non-impact? That, of course, depends on your perspective. Although Firefox addresses a near-negligible niche in an Indian market for bicycles placed at about 15 million units a year, Shiv Inder Singh is convinced that youngsters and adults alike would want to give this sort of biking more than just a cursory chance.

So the next six months could see Firefox franchises making their way into Bangalore, Chennai and Cochin. Fitness firms and adventure sports operators are being wooed too.

And Singh is thinking four years ahead already. He is hopeful, for instance, that Firefox will be the local get-around wheel-set of choice for all those who turn up for Delhi's Commonwealth Games in 2010.