Hero Cycle | India At 75 | World Cycle Day

Across developing nations, the bicycle has long been the most common and cost-effective form of personal transport. Though developed in Europe through the Boneshakers and Penny Farthings of mid-nineteenth century, growing economies lapped it up since it neither requires expensive fuel nor demands precious parking space in densely populated societies. India too has been no different and one brand which became practically synonymous with the homely but trusted bicycle is Hero.
If you were growing up in the India of 1970s and ’80s, chances are, your first cycle was from the house of Hero. Founded in 1956 in Ludhiana by visionary entrepreneur Om Prakash Munjal, Hero initially manufactured cycle components. But recognizing the pressing need of a newly independent India to put its millions on the move, Munjal began manufacturing entire bicycles. Soon, the economical, sturdy and reliable Hero cycle became the choice of transport for thousands of Indians—even finding a place in the 1986 Guinness Book of World Records as the largest cycle manufacturer in the world. Despite its unceasing popularity, Hero Cycles has had to deal with vagaries of markets and consumer preferences. An increasingly aspirational India has begun to look elsewhere—motorbikes and hatchback cars—as the preferred mode of personal transport. Also, a hot climate, bad roads as well as the difficulty
in carrying heavy loads and passengers means that the average Indian is eager to
shrug off the cycle as soon as he or she can afford to. One way that Hero Cycles has
managed to remain relevant is by tapping into changing needs through newer offerings like Lectro e-bikes, the performance-focused Octane and the fashionable Insync.
Finally, as parking spaces lessen and people realize the environmental costs of fuel-run transport as well as the health advantages of pedalling to work or play, cycles
are bound to get a fresh lease of life—and Hero Cycles is raring to go!

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