The Indian middle class may be looking forward to Tata Motors’ small car, the world’s cheapest car, but a bicycle maker who has launched a product, a little more expensive, believes the future belongs to two-wheels with a pedal.Domestic firm FireFox Bikes has rolled out a high-end bicycle ‘Fuel Ex 8 Bike’ worth Rs 1,06,000, for adventure enthusiasts. The company would source the bike from its US-based partner Trek. It is targeted at “very serious bikers. who enjoy riding bicycles,” FireFox MD Shiv Inder Singh said. He said the initial response to the product has been quite encouraging and the company has already received orders to supply three units. The bicycle sports features like hydraulic and gas-filled shock absorbers, disc brakes and 27 speed options. “These are for the urban kids. This sizable population has the tendency to facsimile the West. Since such bikes are a hit in the West, we expect a good response from here too,” he said.The company expects to sell 60,000 bikes a year by 2011 from 12,000 units now. With the growing market, the company plans to bring mountaineering bikes first.
