I bought a Hero Octane about 15 months back. The cycle is made of aluminum and hence light weight but the pros end here. Within one month the tube in the front wheel got perforated in multiple places because no protective rubber bead was placed between the rim and the tube to prevent the spoke ends from damaging the tube. The tube had to be replaced. The front tube had to be replaced about 3 times till date and innumerable patch repair work done in between. Hero offers no warranty on the products and you have to make do with substandard parts.
Then the derailer started malfunctioning and the gear shifting became crazy. Hero did not provide any user manual and as such I had to learn adjusting the derailer from U Tube and adjust the cable tension myself and after that the shifting became OK. The PVC mudguard are useless and cycling during rain means ruining your shirt, The PVC is of extremely poor quality and is made of recycled plastic.and clamped with a flimsy plastic clamp which broke off within 6 months.
Replacement mudguards are not available even with a Hero dealer. Rear wheel spokes break frequently as the rim being made of aluminum cannot withstand any severe jerks and shocks. In the last 15 months the spokes have broken 6 times and it is extremely tough and expensive to get the rear wheel repaired with all the gear derailer and cables to be taken care of. Skilled mechanics are hard to get. On a whole it has been a frustrating 15 months and I am planning to dump this cycle and go back to my dad’s 60 year old Raleigh cycle which is tough as nails or buy a Hercules geared cycle. Hero always had a reputation of providing cheap and substandard items but now it seems that they have started ploughing new lows. It is better if they quit the cycle business and concentrate on the motorcycle business. Never buy Hero Cycles specially the high end models unless you happen to have roads as smooth as Hema Malini’s cheek.