ABOUT ME
From Pune City, India. Have a college degree in Marketing. Been involved with mountain biking, MX, BMX, the outdoors in general since I was a kid. Love for being in the mountains, soaking the sun, the smell of the soil got me into mountain biking. Photography/Filmaking followed over a few years into riding. Editor at India’s leading mountain bike/BMX e-magazine –Freerider Mtn Bike eMagazine. Co-owner of the performance bicycle brand – Psynyde Bikes.
Ride a Bike: I’ve been into mountain biking for nearly 25 years now. All wheel sizes roll for me, 20″ to 700c. Pushing myself every time I’m on a bike is what gets me charged up! The Ride Life is what I’m breathing right now…
Competition Appearances:
*Indian National XC Championships 2008 – Maharashtra State Team (Pondicherry) – 11th Place.
*Enduro 3 – Adventure Race 2007 (Pune).
*BC Cup Canada 2010 Round 1 & 2.
*Nepal National DH Series 2011: Rd 1 – 6th Place.
*BBCh Downhill Madness 2011 (Bengaluru) – 3rd Place.
*BBCh Downhill Madness 2012 (Bengaluru) – 2nd Place.
*4X Indian National Championships 2012 (Trivandrum) – 5th Place.
*BBCh Downhill Madness 2013 (Bengaluru) – 2nd Place.
*Asia Pacific DH Champs 2013 (Bali, Indonesia) – 8th Place.
*Himalayan DH MTB Trophy 2014 (Manali) – 6th Place.
*Asia Pacific DH Champ 2014 (Bali, Indonesia) – 6th Place.
*Himalayan DH MTB Trophy 2015 (Manali) – 8th Place.
*Kohima DH Challenge 2015 (Nagaland)
*Bangalore MTB Festival 2016 Downhill – 3rd Place.
*Asian Enduro Series 2016 (Nepal) Rd 1 – 12th Place.
*Himalayan DH MTB Trophy 2016 (Manali, Himachal Pradesh) – 4th Place.
*Gui’de Geo Park International DH Race 2017 (China) – 10th Place (2X Elite), 11th Place (DH Elite).
*Himalayan MTB DH Trophy 2017 (Manali) – 6th Place.
*Bangalore MTB Festival 2018 Downhill (Bengaluru, Karnataka).
*Mechuka Adventure Festival 2018 Downhill (Arunachal Pradesh) – 2nd Place.
*Mokokchung MTB Festival 2018 Downhill (Nagaland) – 4th Place.
*GHV Endeavor Dirt Pump Track Championship 2019 (Murbad, Maharashtra) – 4th Place.
*Ladakh MTB Festival 2019 (Ladakh) – Downhill – 2nd Place.
*Ladakh MTB Festival 2019 (Ladakh) – Pump Track – 2nd Place.
*Bangalore MTB Festival 2020 Downhill – 2nd Place.
*16th Indian National MTB Championship 2020 – Downhill (Haldwani, Uttarakhand) – 5th Place.
*Ladakh MTB Festival 2020 (Ladakh) – Downhill – 6th Place.
*17th Indian National MTB Championship 2021 – Downhill (Gadag, Karnataka) – Track Build/Media.
*Ladakh MTB Festival 2021 (Ladakh).
*Manali MTB Festival 2021 (Manali) – Track Build.
*Bangalore Bicycle Championship 2022 – Downhill (Bengaluru, Karnataka) – 1st Place.
*Rayate MTB Fest 2022 – Enduro (Rayate, Maharashtra) – ‘Enduro’ Race Director.
*5th Ladakh MTB Festival 2023 (Ladakh).
*28th UCI ACC Asian MTB Championships 2023 (Ponmudi, Kerala) – Course Check/Media.
*3rd Monduro ‘Enduro Race’ 2023 (Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh) – Media.
Featured/Performed:
*FLOW Show (Canada)
*Volkswagen Demo (India)
*TATA Motors TV Commercial (India)
*Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment ‘Hindi Film’ (India)
*Vijaya Productions ‘Tamil Film’ (India)
*Ti Cycles TV Commercials (India)
*RUSHES Series supported by Mercedes (India)
*#GoFreestyle Commercial supported by Ford Motors (India)
Magazine/Print Features:
*BIKE Magazine (USA)
*SPOKE Magazine (New Zealand)
*Decline MTB Magazine (USA)
*Freehub Magazine (USA)
*VELO Magazine (Czech Republic)
*Mans World Magazine (India)
*EVO India Magazine (India)
*Fast Bikes India Magazine (India)
*DIRT Mountain Bike Magazine (UK)
*Mountain Biking UK Magazine (UK)
*Singletrack MTB Magazine (UK)
*Mountain Flyer MTB Magazine (USA)
*MTB-PRO Magazine (Spain)
*Bike MTB Magazine (Germany)
*Mountain Flyer Magazine (USA)
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Photography & Filmmaking: Started clicking stills of my buddies in the mid 2000s, a passionate crew of motorcycle and bicycle riders in India. Been capturing MotoX, Mountain biking, BMX, Skateboarding, Surfing, for over fourteen years now. Working with the best Motorcycle and mountain bike athletes of the country, I’ve been able to share the rad times through my lens.
Clients:
TVS Racing
Sherco Racing
AUDI India
KTM India
Haul Apparel
Vans India
Holystoked
Himalayan Motorsport
Tour d’Afrique
Mountain Bike Kerala
Veloscope
Himalayan Mountain Bike Network
Aashan Sports Entertainment
Trail Building: Riding mountain bikes has made me want to make newer trails with features on the mountains I roll on. I end up spending a decent amount of time digging lines in the landscape. It has also led to designing and making few mountain bike trails for bicycle manufacturers in India. One of the recent ones I got the opportunity to help build includes, India’s highest, sanctioned mountain bike park in Ladakh – “Disko Valley” by ‘Unexplored Ladakh‘.
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vinaymenon.com 
hi vinay,
query about BMX stunting. I would like to have your contact number so that we can talk more about it .thanks.
regards,
varun
December 17, 2010 at 9:15 AM
Oi Vinay,
Hows it going – just back from Belgium – did the Tour of Flanders yesterday – 212k road bike on cobbles with 22% climbs – hard man – hope alls cool over there – had a great trip with you guys – give me a shout if you’re coming to England – clivesmith7@hotmail.com – laters…..
April 4, 2011 at 4:23 AM
🙂
November 25, 2011 at 3:50 PM
Hey! Had never visited your site before. Should say its awesome! Keep riding n clicking 🙂
February 6, 2012 at 3:06 PM
hey where did you make the videos in Pune, have bikes with me and want to get out and ride, please get back to me and let me know
November 4, 2012 at 10:08 PM
Hey man,
My name is Kirti KM and i live in Navi Mumbai… done a lot of downhill in Colorado but since i’ve been back havent really gottten back into the riding scene…. would love to come along for any sort of a ride… lemme know…also can you give me your email address or number that would be great…
October 16, 2013 at 11:33 AM
Dear Vinay,
Zapped by your pictures and rides. I want to have a word with you. If possible please send me your cell number or give me a call on 9822899966. I am cyclist and have covered Kashmir to Kanyakumari on wheels. Waiting to catch you soon.
Regards.
Ajay
October 2, 2014 at 9:38 AM
Hey! Lone-wolf cycling n00b here … moved recently to Pune and ride the Dighi Testing range on weekends. Could you suggest Mountain biking groups active in Pune, fb links etc … I have so far met a sum total of zero people who are into mountain biking 😦
Your blog is the most relevant online link I have found so far… and the only one to acknowledge the Dighi Range in MTB context !
October 11, 2014 at 11:21 PM
Hey Prakash, gr8 to know u r ridin the Dighi zone!!
October 12, 2014 at 3:49 PM
Hi Vinay, Is it possible to rent a bike there?
November 11, 2016 at 5:21 PM
Hey Munny, renting a bike in Pune is a little narrow at the moment. There are a few guys who conduct rides for corporate groups, they stock few hardtails that can be hired. How many of yall wish to ride? And what kind of riding do you plan on?
November 11, 2016 at 7:40 PM
Is it only for downhill or any category of mountain biking.!!
May 27, 2017 at 11:57 AM
I have known Vinay for years now…. Its a great joy to see him grow stronger in so many spheres of life and the sport..! Wishing you great success, bigger drops, lighter machines, better ‘exposures’, lots of light and some ‘sick’ riding…!
August 28, 2017 at 4:27 PM
Hi there. I’ll be in Pune on Sunday 10th December 2017 and would love to go MTBing somewhere but I can’t find any details of any business online who do that can you give advise please?
Andrew
December 7, 2017 at 3:58 PM
Big thanks to Vinay for connecting me with his mate Akshay who loaned me a bike and helmet and took me riding for a couple of hours. Highly recommended.
December 13, 2017 at 10:42 AM
Hey man
I bought a Tata harries 100. After using this I feel that it is not smooth to ride like the other MTB. I should give a high pressure to ride. If I change the bottom bracket “will be problem be solve?
March 16, 2018 at 3:54 PM
Hey Hrishikesh, if your bicycle has appropriate gears to adjust on climbs and descents, it should be sufficient for recreational, simple riding. Your BB may not necessarily be the cause!
April 13, 2018 at 5:06 PM