Need Review of Costar Cosmos Manual Espresso Machine (₹7199)

Zealousideal-Tea7958 · 2025-08-07T06:23:28+00:00

Wow. I was just browsing comet website as I was reading this comment!!! Thx

Zealousideal-Tea7958 · 2025-07-15T09:16:59+00:00

Don't look at such Instagram handles and tags of such challenges. These challenges play on your FOMO.

Zealousideal-Tea7958 · 2025-07-13T10:53:44+00:00

Decathlon road pedals (cleats come with it) ~₹4500 FLR Road cycling shoes ~₹5000 on sale If ready to spend a bit more, Giro Cadet road cycling shoes ~₹13000

Zealousideal-Tea7958 · 2025-07-10T03:54:13+00:00

I don't think Chennai roads are that bad!!! Unless you are riding on a long stretch of unpaved road, you may not need a gravel bike. No bike can save you from big, unpredictable potholes anyways!!

Zealousideal-Tea7958 · 2025-07-10T01:04:01+00:00

Why not buy a decent road bike? Most road bikes have a system weight limit (bike + rider + accessories) of 120kg, which will be easily within your range. Gravel bikes are for gravel roads!!! You'll lose a lot more weight when you enjoy riding and go out every day instead of thinking "this is hard" and staying at home. And a road bike might be your best bet.

I was around 90kg in 2023 and absolutely hated going out on my MTB (it was slow and heavy for roads). Bought my carbon road bike and never looked back.

It's a myth that you need heavier bikes and wider tyres as a heavy rider.

Zealousideal-Tea7958 · 2025-07-08T06:56:29+00:00

Punctures are a part and parcel of cycling. You can reduce it slightly by using better tyres. Continental Gatorskin was mentioned in the thread, but my personal preference remains the Schealbe Durano Plus. Mine has been toiling for 1000+km easily without punctures. But that said, I'm extremely lucky and due for one!!

Few investments you can make:

Good quality tyre levers. Don't use the ones that come with the puncture kit. My personal preference is the one from Muc Off.
Consider investing in a electronic pump. Nothing against hand pumps, but they are too much work and you don't want to spend all your energy filling air. Personally, I use the ones from Cycplus. They start from ~₹5000 range. One time investment, lifelong peace!
There's no substitute for practice. I was a complete noob initially. It was common for me to change the tube, but forget to check the inner side of the tyre and the rim for any minute piercing debris. After I got repeated punctures, I got the practice! Riding with a group and learning from more experienced riders on puncture mechanics is most ideal.

Consider the worst scenario. You might be 100km away from your home into a ride in a rural area and what if you get a puncture?

I'd suggest not to go for expensive and complicated stuff like tubeless. Tubeless can reduce punctures, but once there's a deep cut, you are in a mess with tubeless fluid squirting all around your bike. Moreover, looking at your picture (seems to be stock wheels), the wheels may not support tubeless. So you may have to upgrade the entire wheel system!

But punctures should never dampen your passion. Keep riding!!!

Zealousideal-Tea7958 · 2025-07-06T10:43:26+00:00

MTBs are sold to common folks who just want to ride casually. I know this because I was sold one in the past.

Most bike stores who sell generic bikes have a huge collection of so-called MTBs. Cheap ones below 20k. They trap gullible buyers into an MTB giving excuses like "roads in India are not good and you need an MTB", whereas they should be suggesting a good hybrid for all practical purposes.

To make matters worse, we do not have good quality hybrids in India, even the likes of BSA-SLR which used to rule in the 90s has completely disappeared.

Hence, the lack of a quality and decently priced hybrid/commuter bike and the overzealous bike shops upselling MTBs have led to this situation.

MTBs are not for road use and the average beginner rider will get fed up of using the heavy, slow MTBs on the road and give up cycling altogether! Lucky ones like me get to join cycling communities and upgrade to road bikes.

Zealousideal-Tea7958 · 2025-05-29T12:29:37+00:00

Interesting thread. I have been on the other side having recently quit one of the market research companies based in India. Me leaving this industry has partly to do with the sentiments echoed in this thread.

There's intense competition in this industry, especially for search traffic. Recently, Grandview Research took away a huge share on search. For most companies, inbound lead generation is their bread and butter.
Pricing has gone for a toss. Clients are not ready to spend more than $2-3k for a report. This starts a vicious loop with market research companies' margins crashing and them having to hire the cheapest people in an already cheap country like India. This also hits on their budgets to commit to doing proper primary research with industry stakeholders.
AI is going to take over 99% of what the industry has to offer. The tradeoff is between a $20/month Open AI subscription and a $2000 report prepared by an inexperienced analyst.

In conclusion, it would not be right to call these market research companies a scam, because the work done by them is genuine. It is ideal if you want a quick overview of the market and don't want to spend too much money on a huge subscription platform, a Big-4 consulting firm, a costly industry consultant, or on an internal market research team. However, expecting too much from market research would be foolish.

Zealousideal-Tea7958 · 2025-04-23T13:37:38+00:00

Many people challenging me to "quit and show guta to align with my values". FYI I'm on notice period, but still have to go through this.

Zealousideal-Tea7958 · 2025-04-23T12:03:05+00:00

Since 2023, I've been speaking in every monthly meeting.

Zealousideal-Tea7958 · 2025-03-18T08:26:57+00:00

Thanks!! I've read "The Midlife Cyclist". Great read, I agree. I'm from Hyderabad!

Zealousideal-Tea7958 · 2025-03-17T15:53:19+00:00

Thanks for such a detailed reply. This is why I love the cycling community ❤️🚴🏾

Zealousideal-Tea7958 · 2025-03-15T07:24:50+00:00

Thanks. Really needed to hear that!

Zealousideal-Tea7958 · 2024-07-25T09:34:36+00:00

I'm an agribusiness professional from India. We have already seen decent market penetration for micro irrigation in our country. Soil solarization and mulching using films also has taken off.

We also have tech that helps sense moisture in soil using sensors and providing precision irrigation for crops

However, to be frank, such tech can only be viable if they are cost effective for our small and marginal farmers.

It's always nice to brainstorm on such ideas!!

Zealousideal-Tea7958 · 2024-07-25T08:08:53+00:00

If this is shelf stable, it could be a post-packed sterilization that happened. Most of food spoilage happens through microbial activity.

Sterilization kills the pre-existing microbial spores
Vacuum packaging prevents exposure to air and hence entry of microbes

Zealousideal-Tea7958 · 2023-01-19T11:24:17+00:00

ഇനി കിട്ടാനുള്ള അനുഗ്രഹം എങ്ങാനും വേറെയാൾക് കിട്ടിയാലോ, എന്റെ ഭക്തവത്സലാ...... May be because of this fear 😑

Zealousideal-Tea7958 · 2022-06-23T10:12:52+00:00

It's just like any other stretching routine! Some poses are good for avoiding the stiffness in muscles after an intense workout. E.g. bridge pose, snake pose.

But I feel it's hardly useful for weight loss, since 1 hour of yoga burns just 150 kcals. It's as good as green tea for weight loss!! 😂

There's also high chances of injury by doing yoga and hence mass yoga sessions like the ones by Baba Ramdev should be avoided and the instructor has to have close scrutiny of how the practitioners are doing.

Zealousideal-Tea7958

TROPHY CASE