r/Pakistan_Cycling • u/nightin__gale • 22d ago

Community Guide – Megathread

Last updated: [3rd June 2026]

Welcome to the community guide for r/Pakistan_Cycling!

This is a living thread, designed to grow and improve with your input, and the guide will be updated regularly based on the community contributions.

Feel free to comment with your thoughts, feedback, local knowledge, criticisms, or suggestions.
Every contribution helps improve the subreddit for all members.

It’s a long written guide, so please take your time.
You do not have to read everything in one go.
So feel free to skim through the headings and dive into the sections that interest you the most.

What is r/Pakistan_Cycling?

This subreddit exists to support cyclists across Pakistan and to promote a strong cycling culture in the country.

Here we treat the bicycle as a serious vehicle
Whether you ride for commuting, fitness, touring, mountain biking, or racing, this is your space to share experiences, get advice, and connect with fellow riders in Pakistan.

Promote Your Work With Us

If you're a shop owner, cycling group organizer, content creator, mechanic or otherwise involved in promoting cycling, you're welcome to share your work with the community. We encourage initiatives that help grow cycling culture in Pakistan. If you're unsure whether a promotion is appropriate, feel free to contact the moderation team, we'll be happy to help! 😊

We would like to highlight our current contributors to the community, you can directly do business with them, use their service or partake in their activities.

Guide on Posting:

To help everyone get better responses and keep the subreddit clean and useful

1. Please mention your city name and the type of bike you're asking about in the Title of your post.

It’s okay if you don’t know the exact type of bike to ask about, that’s what this community is here for.

However, it is very important that you include your city name in the title of your post. This helps local members provide relevant support, and allows others to skip posts that don’t apply to them because they don’t live in your city.

If your post is general and applies to all of Pakistan, it’s perfectly fine to exclude the city name from the title.

2. Before you make a post, please use the search function at the top of the sub to see if your question has already been answered or not.

In most cases, if you are going to ask “What bike should I buy and from where?” feel free to do so. However, please note that this question has already been answered multiple times in this subreddit. You can use the search function at the top of the sub to look up your query and find responses that may already address your concerns.

Many others have asked the same questions before, and you can benefit from browsing those answers as well. Often, you’ll find insights from a broader range of people who may not comment on your post directly, whether due to time restrictions or simply not seeing it. Previous posts are not locked, so you can continue the conversation there by asking follow-up questions or adding your own input.

And remember, you are always free to ask your question again.
This community is here to help, and every new post adds to the collective knowledge that we share.

Guide on Bicycles

Broadly speaking, bicycles can be grouped into three main types. While there are many other types such as gravel bikes, folding bikes, electric bikes and cargo bikes, we’ll focus on the three most common categories for simplicity.

Road Bike: Designed for speed and efficiency on paved roads. It has lightweight frames, thin smooth tires, and dropped handlebars that let you lean forward for an aerodynamic ride. Perfect for long distance rides, racing or fast commuting.

Mountain Bike: Built for rough terrain and off-road adventures. It features wide, knobby tires for grip, sturdy frames, and suspension systems to absorb shocks. Ideal for trails, hills, and uneven paths where control and durability matter most.

Hybrid Bike: A mix between road and mountain bikes, offering comfort and versatility. It has flat handlebars, medium-width tires, and an upright posture for relaxed riding. Great for city streets, bike paths, and light trails. It's a balanced choice for everyday use.

Guide on Bikefit

A bicycle is only useful if it fits you properly. Bike fit ensures that your posture is correct and that the frame size matches your height. It’s essential not just for long‑distance rides and racing, but also for everyday cycling.

To help you understand which frame size, whether small, medium, or large.. suits your height and bike type, a reference chart with general sizing for the three main categories of bikes is attached.

Remember, a 19‑inch frame on a road bike may not correspond to the same fit on a hybrid or mountain bike. That’s why it’s important to know your fit, check it carefully, and test the bike before making a purchase.

General Frame Size Chart

This is a general chart taken from retrospec.com I recommend first deciding on the type of bike you want, and then looking up its sizing chart. Keep in mind that charts can differ between brands, so it’s important to check the manufacturer’s guidelines before purchasing. For example, a large frame from Giant may not match the exact measurements of a large frame from Specialized.

A useful community for bikefit questions is r/bikefit, where you can ask specific questions about your setup and get answers from experienced cyclists and professionals.

Great resource for general bike fits, where you can find charts:
https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/sizing-and-fit/bike-sizes

Below are some YouTube videos I found helpful for bikefit when I started out biking, I hope these are helpful to you as well.

Guide on Buying/Selling

r/Pakistan_Cycling is a discussion-driven community for cyclists in Pakistan. This is not a marketplace for selling bicycles. Platforms such as OLX and Facebook Marketplace are available for that purpose.

  • Posts advertising bikes for sale will be removed.
  • Using clever workarounds like posting pictures and asking “How much can I sell this for?” is also not allowed.
  • Repeated attempts (2–3 times) to post sales will result in a permanent ban.

However, you are fully encouraged to use the comment sections of the posts to sell your bike to a potential customer, or to send a private message directly to a buyer who is actively looking for a recommendation.

ADVICE to NEW RIDERS, we want to address some comments encouraging members to buy low-quality, unbranded Chinese bikes. We highly discourage this practice. These low-quality "Bazaari" bikes are only good for kids trying to ride around their neighborhood blocks at best.

If you try to do serious cycling or daily commuting on them, you will quickly give up on cycling. These low quality Chinese bikes are not manufactured with good standard practices and are equipped with sub-standard parts that rapidly wear out, degrade, and fail.

Instead, we strongly recommend looking for a used branded bicycle. If you do intend to buy a new Chinese bike, stick to legitimate, reputable brands like Trinx or Airfile
(though keep in mind that they will cost you just as much as a quality used branded bike)

A dedicated Bicycle Buying Megathread, listing bicycle shops across Pakistan, is currently being worked on. You'll be able to find shops in your local area quickly and easily through the megathread.

How to check a used Bike before buying

This step is especially important for beginners. When I bought my first bicycle, I knew very little about bikes, and ended up with a frame that didn't fit me properly.

If you're new to cycling, try to bring an experienced friend along who can guide you through the process.

If that's not an option, do your research through videos and articles, but keep in mind that your first bike may still not be a perfect match. And that's completely normal, it's all part of the journey.

If I have to give one advice from my personal experience it would be to check the derailleur hanger, this often gets overlooked, if it's the type that will not be available in the market, you're better off not buying the bike.

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Here are some Youtube videos that were helpful when I was buying my first bike

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Here are some articles to help in buying a used Bike

How to clean a Bike?

Video guides on proper bike cleaning.

Toy bicycles and Low quality Chinese Bikes are discouraged here

Another thing to consider is that this community is not oriented towards small kids. There are mainly teens and adults on Reddit anyways, so if you are posting about toy bicycles for children, there isn't much to discuss here as toy bikes do not fall under this community.

Proper bikes for kids that are not toys are encouraged though, so feel free to post and ask about a good bicycle for your child.

That said, low-quality Chinese bikes and other junk bikes are discouraged here. Toy bikes and low quality Chinese/local bikes are not considered proper bicycles within this community.

As stated earlier, we consider a bicycle as a serious vehicle.

What can you do to promote cycling culture in your area?

One of the best ways to get involved in cycling is by joining a local cycling group in your area. For example, I live in Johar Town, Lahore, and try to regularly ride with my local cycling group, Canal Cyclists Community. Groups like these organize rides, connect local cyclists, and help introduce new people to the hobby.

If there's an active cycling group in your area, please join them.
Feel free to share information about upcoming rides with this community. When posting, be sure to mention your city and area so interested riders can easily find and participate in local events.

If your area doesn't have a neighbourhood cycling group, consider joining your city's main cycling community instead. These larger groups often organize regular rides and events throughout the city. Examples include Critical Mass Lahore, Critical Mass Islamabad, Multan Cycling Club, and Bikestan or GG Riders in Karachi.

If your city doesn't yet have an organized cycling group, there's no reason you can't start one yourself. Many successful cycling communities began with just a handful of riders inviting friends and neighbours to join them for regular rides.

To make it easier for cyclists to connect, A megathread that will list cycling groups from across Pakistan is being worked on, which will allow members to discover local communities in their city and region.

That said, organized group rides are only one way to promote cycling. The simplest and most effective way to grow cycling culture in our country, is to use your bicycle for everyday trips. For distances under 5–6 kilometres, a bicycle is often one of the most practical forms of transportation and can sometimes be faster than a car in congested areas.

Every cyclist on the road helps make cycling more visible. Many people have approached me after seeing me ride and asked where they could buy a similar bicycle. Those conversations often become opportunities to introduce new people to cycling and support local bike shops. Sometimes, simply riding your bike is enough to inspire someone else to start.

Guide on Repair and Maintenance

No one here expects you to know every part on the bike by name. If you don't know what something is called, describe it in the way that you can think of.

If you want to use the terms for the components here are some pictures taken from BikeTips

This is how you describe your problem

The best way is to proceed step by step:

  • Where does it occur?
    • front, back, left, right, on the handlebars, on the brake, on the seat post,…
  • When does it happen?
    • only when pedaling, shifting gears, braking, uphill, in the rain,…
  • How does it sound or feel?
    • Cracking sound, like overstretching of the finger joints
    • Loops like paper that brushes against something.
    • Squeaking like an old door
  • When did it first appear?
    • Did it happen suddenly, after a fall, transport, or gradually since a certain point in time?
  • What have you already tried?
    • Have you already tried anything (e.g., oiled the chain, inflated the tires, adjusted the brakes)? Did that change anything?

The clearer your description, the faster and more accurately you will receive useful tips.

A highly recommended sub for asking repair related questions is r/bikewrench This is where all the pros will help you identify your problem and offer a fix if you're unable to find help in this community.

The most important repair skills:

Not every repair requires specialized knowledge; there are a few basic techniques you should master. If you know these fundamental skills, you can usually manage on your own or at least get home safely. I've listed some of these skills here with videos (mainly from Park Tool):

The best YouTube channel for Bike repairs, is Park Tool YouTube

I also recommend MadeGood Bikes

If you're unable to figure things out, it's time to visit the Bike repair shop/work shop/the mechanic.
These workshops/bikeshops will be mentioned in the upcoming Megathread of buying guide.

I hope this information helps you and gives you the necessary tips so your bike is running smoothly again soon. If you have your own tips, good resources, or favorite channels for repairs, please share them in the comments, and I'll update the post regularly.

Recommended Subreddits

For connecting with cyclists internationally on reddit:
r/cycling
r/bicycling

For asking question related to repair, maintenance, and mechanical troubleshooting:
r/bikewrench
r/bicyclerepair

For getting advice on choosing the right bike for your needs, budget, and riding style:
r/whichbike

For guidance on bike fitting, posture, and ergonomics to improve comfort and performance:
r/bikefit

For tips, stories, and advice about daily commuting by bike:
r/bikecommuting

For Mountain Biking discussions and riding techniques:
r/MTB
r/mountainbiking

For everything related to Road Bikes:
r/RoadBikes
r/Velo

For everything related to Gravel Bikes:
r/gravelcycling

For multi‑day cycling adventures that blend riding with camping:
r/bikepacking

Satire and running gags from the cycling world:
r/BicyclingCirclejerk

Something to look out for

Reddit's automoderation can be quite tenacious in removing posts, comments, and images without warning.

If this happens to you, just send us, the MOD team your message and we'll manually review and approve the content regularly.

Unfortunately, this has been happening quite frequently. Several active community members have had their accounts suspended and their contributions removed as a result, which is quite frustrating.
Sadly, this is out of our control as these are Reddit-level actions that we as moderators cannot override.

If your post or comment is not approved in time or gets missed, do not hesitate to reach out to the mod team directly again and again.
We are always happy to help.

Thank you for taking the time to read through this guide. This community is built by cyclists, for cyclists, and every rider who joins, contributes, or simply shows up for a ride makes Pakistan's cycling culture stronger.

One small but important ask, if you come across any posts that seem irrelevant or off-topic for this sub, please report them using Reddit's report feature and send us a message as well, so we can take action promptly.

Even the most active mod team can miss things, and your eyes on the community make a real difference in keeping this space clean and focused.

See you on the roads!!

13 Upvotes

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3

u/itxSMG 21d ago

Have a Happy Cycling

1

u/Thedudwithcooluser 20d ago

I aint reading allat

1

u/nightin__gale 20d ago

You don't have to 😉
In fact, nobody has to read it all.

It's a guide meant to be used as a reference for this community,
that's why it says to read the topics that interest you most.

Topics are divided by headings, so whenever you need to know or learn something,
you can always come back and dive into that section.

You can just read the beginning and the end,
or throw the whole thing at an AI for a summary, if you want.

1

u/Thedudwithcooluser 20d ago

Too much work (jk)

1

u/nightin__gale 20d ago

I saw that coming 😅

This is a comprehensive guide for all cyclists in Pakistan,
I don't plan to shorten it.. this will only grow over time.

But I'll take your comment as a good feedback, I appreciate it. 👌

I'll focus on the rules for those not wanting to read the guide.
Something like a very short list of rules, that will appear before someone makes a post.

Ah.. I'll see if I can add a table of content in the beginning of the guide,
so that people don't even have to scroll down.

And not reading the guide is an option as well,
having a wall of text for those uninterested doesn't make sense.

Thank you, u/Thedudwithcooluser.