Montra Trance Pro (2018) - Review

The Montra Trance Pro comes with an Aluminium Alloy frame, this frame is both strong as well as responsive giving a smooth ride on urban roads. The top tube isn’t slanted but rather straight making it a little aggressive which is useful while riding off the saddle on rough surfaces. The riding geometry was comfortable and the frame responds well to vibrations off the surface. The Trance Pro comes with a rigid fork, which was flat and contributed to the smooth steering.

Just like last year the Trance Pro comes with Shimano Tourney at the front and rear as derailleurs. Even though the most basic of gearing components, the Tourney's works well in the city where small but quick shifts were required. But the front derailleur had some minor lags while shifting from 1 to 2 but a little bit of adjustment in cables after the first few rides could fix this. For this price, a combination of Shimano Tourney/Altus would have been ideal. The Shimano Altus shifters are an upgrade this year as this 21-Speed trigger shifters worked smoothly and were good reach from the handlebars.

The Trance Pro which I test rode came in a full red colour with little white and grey graphics, The gloss paint job quality was a letdown as it doesn’t shine as much as it should. The graphics on this bicycle look a little outdated in terms of fonts and design used. There is a blue colour variant with green graphics, which looks brighter in photos. I am waiting to see this blue coloured Trance Pro in person to evaluate the design.

The Trance Pro's stopping power is taken care of by a pair of Power V-brakes. These brakes were balanced and felt safe to use when used during the test ride. Jamming the brake and interval braking was balanced. The XMR Handlebar was 6mm in width and gave an ‘open chested’ and comfortable riding posture to the rider. Lack of palm support on the grips made it a little uncomfortable on the wrists.

The Seyoun 7x35C tires on the Montra Trance Pro were fast rolling and perfect for both wet and dry conditions. The double walled XMR alloy rims were strong enough to take both the rider's weight and luggage for touring. The XMR comfort saddle had the perfect mix of ergonomics and padded cushioning. The overall ride quality was comfortable on city roads.