Bike umbrellas in great demand

Hyderabad: The rising temperature this summer has forced people to take additional precautionary measures by fixing umbrellas on their two-wheelers to protect themselves from the blazing heat.

The automobile accessory stores are hoping to have a good business this summer because of the rising temperatures to provide their customers with umbrellas that promise a cool and comfortable travel in both hot summers and rainy days.

The stores in town are all ready, stocked up and ready to attach the umbrellas to the bikes. "We have been doing this from the last few days. My business is both ways, it either grows immensely or goes down drastically, but on a regular basis, we have a minimum of two customers daily," said Syed Ibrahim, a worker at S.S Two-Wheeler Umbrella, while speaking to The Hans India here on Thursday.

The bike umbrella costs around Rs 1,500-3,000 online where as in stores, the price ranges from Rs 1,000- Rs 2,000 and they also fit the umbrella perfectly. "It is difficult for a person to fix the umbrella properly. Sometimes, there is a risk of the umbrella detaching and harming the person riding the bike as well as people around the bike. We charge a person around Rs 1000-1500 depending on the motorbike and fix the umbrella properly" he added.

"The umbrella has both advantages and disadvantages to it. It is great when it provides shade in hot summers, but because of the air presses, but, it makes it difficult to drive a shaking bike handle and requires an extra amount of force to keep the bike in place and continue driving in the right track," said Vinod Kumar, a user. "Although the umbrella has advantages in the beginning, after a time of maybe 5-6 months, the plastic/rexine kind of material gets foggy making it difficult to see through it," he added.