mumbai over 130 km thats the average distance a dabbawala pedals daily in mumbai for lunch deliveries so when nashikbased nibe motors said it would replace their old and rusty roadsters with electric cycles members of the mumbai dabbawala association mda were elated little did they know that nibe would charge them 29000 per cycle we were hopeful of electric cycles initially but when the company gave us price quotes we knew it was way above our budget says ullas shantaram muke president mda well be able to buy an ecycle if we get some financial help if not well have to continue using our normal cycles the dabbawallas decision to retain their faithful saikil however would cheer the 4000 small and large manufacturing units that form the 6500crore bicycle industry in india its been a steep gradient for bicycle manufacturers over the past three years sales have remained more or less stagnant close to 16 million cycles are sold every year in this country an annual growth of 2 whereas indians bought over 23 million twowheelers and 34 million automobiles last year in contrast china the worlds largest cycle maker produces more than 110 million bicycles of which 80 million are exported this is the collateral damage of a developing society which is urbanising at a fast pace owning a bicycle is not aspirational anymore admits kr chandrasekaran president ti cycles of india a murugappa group company to shrug off its listless existence the industry led by largest player hero cycles and about 150 parts manufacturers met last month in ludhiana hub of the cycle industry with jagdish khattar former managing director of maruti suzuki as a special invitee to chart a way forward one the occasion hero announced the launch of the cheapest bicycle at 2000 atlas cycles went one up a few days later and announced a new roadster at 1951 named after founding year the lower the price more the buyers reasons pankaj munjal managing director hero cycles but will that be enough affordability and availability are the two most important elements required to expand market hero and atlas initiatives only address the first believes khattar problems not cyclical there are 11 crore cycle owners in india as per data sourced from cycle manufacturers association aicma the industry employs over 10 lakh if one includes shop owners and their salesmen a 2014 study conducted by policy research organisation teri states that cycling as a mode of transport has declined 30 over the past few years even if you do decide to ride to work where are the riderfriendly roads asks kb thakur secretary aicma just about 9 of indians ride cycles to work one of the main reasons for this is the lack of adequate cycling infrastructure also read cess has been brought back to pregst levels jagdish khattar carnation auto but thats just one of the many problems the sad truth for the cycle industry is that a lions share of their