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I want to take part in cycle race, so for that I upgrade my bicycle to 18 gear. (It was not shipped with gears)
Here is my cycle STREET RACER NE 26T. (this is the same model I've, but size may be different)

Is it good idea to use upgraded cycle in race or I should buy new one on which gears are pre installed?

Here is my event detail Vishal Khadi BRM - 200 and here 200 BRM on 16-Jul-2017

Also is this type of bicycle is ok for this type of race event or I need other one?

Here are some personal detail
I am riding around 20km (in 1 hour) in working days.
40-45 km in weekends and it take aprox 1 to 1.5 hour.
Max speed I rode was 42km / hour (in trafic)

This is first time I am taking part in cycle race event, so how should I start practice for this event?

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    Despite it's name, there's almost nothing about that bike that makes it well suited for racing. You might be able to make it work, but that's not what it's build for. I don't know what the used bike market is like in India, but my general recommendation if you're on a tight budget is to get an 80s road bike.
    – Jamie A
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 15:33
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    The event isn't even a race, but an organized long distance event without competition. Still, it's going to be painful to ride 200 km on that bike and claiming to average 40 km/h on that bike sounds like the OP has actually never ridden it.
    – ojs
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 16:58

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You can ride any bike in a race, provided it's in good enough working order to get you over the line.

Regarding gears, it looks like the cost to add derailleur style gears may be prohibitive, as I assume this bike's rear wheel is single-speed specific and the dropouts aren't vertical (which isn't the end of the world but not ideal). I'd probably either look at a geared road bike, or rebuild your rear wheel around an Alfine/Nexus internally geared hub.

If this is your first race I'd probably just ride what you have to see if you like riding competitively before spending money on upgrades or on a new bike.

edit: This 'race' appears to be a 200km audax - I'd be incredibly reluctant to do that kind of distance as your first race. Have you ridden over 150km in one hit? If you're super fit, or not bothered about your time you could do it on your existing bike, but a specific road/audax bike would do it quicker and more comfortably. Maybe build up slowly to that kind of distance - that's a very long day in the saddle.

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    Hi @ShivamPandya, honestly, I think your bigger concern should be covering the distance. The kind of bike you ride is irrelevant if your body isn't ready to ride 200km - it'd take a seasoned cycling a good amount of training to cover that kind of distance. If you are dead set on it, then a relaxed/endurance style road bike would do the job, or a more classic 'audax' style steel touring bike.
    – Drew
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 9:15
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    Agreed -- the jump from ~40km to ~200km is huge. Even if Shivam can maintain 40km/h for that distance (which is a very impressive speed on the linked bike and which I doubt could be maintained for that long), we're talking about five hours in the saddle and that alone is a big jump.
    – David Richerby
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 10:19
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    You can ride any bike in a race, provided it's in good enough working order to get you over the line. and provided it meets any requirements imposed by the organisers (tri bars are often banned, disc brakes may well be)
    – Chris H
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 10:21
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    To back up @Drew's point on increasing distance: I did two rides last week of around 70km. I'd do a 100km ride happily, but wouldn't expect to get on and do 200km (or even 160km, which is a common distance here being 100 miles) without significant training. A week's worth of riding in one session is probably doable but hard for most commuters
    – Chris H
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 10:26
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    Quite right on the race restrictions @ChrisH - I hadn't thought about that.
    – Drew
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 10:27
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I once did an 80 km ride with some 400m elevation, and at the end of it I felt fresh enough that I added another 20 km with 400+ meters of climbing.
Yet, a couple of months later I suffered a lot (from excessive heat, long hours in saddle and so on) on a 180km ride started at 5AM.
Your mileage might vary, but 200km is a long time riding, and you shouldn't do it if you don't have the experience of at least a couple 100+km rides.
Also, elevation changes count a lot, but at 387 meters it should prove a relatively easy ride. In this case, keeping up with a group (in a group) could cut an hour of your "independent" time, which would be huge.
I do ride a 90s road bike, so that's acceptable for a 200km ride (2x8 speeds, 700C by 23mm wheels). As for training, you should learn to ride behind someone, train your capacity to stay in the saddle for long periods (at the beginning your hands will hurt after an hour). In a way, fitness level is less important than the ability to "get aero", to stay close to the cyclist in front of you, to be able to ride in a group, to last long hours in the saddle with only small breaks.

Good luck, and share your experience after :)

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