bobfish

Your preferences are of course your own. Most of the advice so far is sound. Take a look at 888bike.net [ english menu ]. I've used them on a number of occasions. Both your bikes are listed there at Bt6900, less on Lazada. Hydraulic disc brakes will almost always be better than cable, unless you need maintenance somehere out of the way like the Atlas Mountains. Any Thai shop can sort hydraulic brakes. A tyre lever easily sorts the inadvertant lever pull with the wheel removed. Out of those two bikes though, I'd choose the Java. Cost savings have to happen somewhere - gears trump brakes - and the Shimano Tourney shifting beats the L-Twoo offering for performance and spares. It is true that for around Bt8000 you are not buying an actual mountain bike. Just something which looks a bit like one. A rigid fork will be more reliable bolted to a practical hybrid frame. If you don't like mail-order, I'd suggest you check out the nearest Decathlon offerings on arrival. Their Riverside doesn't have a crappy 'suspension' fork or cheap disc brakes and is a steal at Bt5000. Comes with 700[29er]x38 tyres. Pick up a Shrader/Presta combo minipump while you're there.

Oh no, I'm full of it - using outdated stats. So I'm not about to try to be accurate any more as this is all selective BS and not related to hybrid models at all ????: Bianchi have won almost 100 Grand tour Stages. Giant closer to 200. Trek more than both together but Pinarello still the most. If you count XC and Downhill Worldcup wins, Trek, followed by Specialized easily beat the competition. Giant has won its share, and many more than Bianchi. However! I recently bought a Giant brand tail light, and also a Bianchi branded espresso cup.....

Giant vs Bianchi.... I've had 6 Giant bikes. Road and MTB at the upper end of their catalogue. All great bikes at a fair price point. Only one carbon framed road bike suffered at the hands of Parisian baggage handlers...... Bianchi; a much older and storied company. I've only had 2, both made in Italy and CrMo. Delightful bikes, full Campagnolo - you get the idea.... $$$$$$$! For years, Bianchi have been threatening to move their full production to Italy. So far, the bulk of frames are still manufactured in China, or Taiwan, and assembled back 'home'. At similar pricepoints, I'd argue that Giant is the superior product with better components. Of course, it doesn't have the iconic head badge, nor celeste paint option. These things may matter at the coffee stop or sharing on Insta. After all, Bianchi have won 64 Grand Tour stages! But so have Giant....... so better get a Pinarello.

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Handlebar: If you haven't done already, flip your stem up the other way it will raise it a bit [well actually the sin of the stem angle x length x 2 ????]. Otherwise, some on here have previously recommended an adjustable stem which is okay for your intended use. Seat: Always personal as apparently each butt is different... If you plan to ride regularly, a firm seat is much more comfortable in the long run, after seasoning your butt. If you get keen get some padded shorts and maybe use a specific cream like Smoothass Silk. A soft[er] seat of is ok for short rides. There are many sites with advice on seat style, size and adjustment, so I won't bore you on here.

Well done! RRP for the two 20.5K. Your Survey model has an interesting [in a good way] spec at that price point: 1x13 Sensa groupset and hydraulic brakes. When you're maintaining these steeds ????, here's a couple of tricks: When washing, try to avoid spraying water into the bearings [crank/ wheels]. You can be liberal afterwards everywhere with the 3bond/WD40 spray although avoid/ cover the brake disc and caliper areas to prevent contamination. There are much better specific lubes, but that stuff will kinda work. Also, give the fork stanchions a spray and wipe [or better still a thin [thin!] layer of grease] to delay the inevitable rust. You can save a few Baht and possible tears by regularly adjusting the mechanical brakes on your Wife's bike. Enjoy, ...... and file a review!

As gently as possible, because I know you 'need' to fix these bikes. But, I think you've been given sound advice to move on before dealing with incompatibilities, specialist tools, cable pull ratios and indexing. For 10K please don't get disc brakes or a suspension fork. At that price point both are for looks, add complexity, boat anchor weight and degrade reliability. Decathlon is a good starting point. Have a look at the Btwin Riverside series. Try to keep your new bikes clean and maintained ????

sounds like an excellent adventure! Clearly you know your budget and enough about cycling already, but here's my thought[s]: Consider buying a bike in Nan. Get something reliable. Nancycling is a Giant dealer among others. Perhaps go for a flat bar bike with full size wheels to roll through the potholes and broken road shoulders. Safer trajectory control on any inevitably busy roads! You'll get more bang for your baht by avoiding a folding mechanism. eg: Giant Escape 3 = +/-11K vs Giant Momentum Pakaway = 12k, [both specced at Shimano Tourney level]. The Escape is 'streets' [sorry] ahead as a bike. For anyone else reading/considering this type of thing, be aware of the bicycle size challenges in Thailand and current supply-chain limitations.

Two day trip is easily doable, about 19-20hrs all in. Done it a number of times in my Vigo. Budget 10K for fuel and accommodation. You probably won't spend that much, but it buys lots of refreshing cold beers on arrival. If you pay someone, delete the beer and add on their fee and return airfare.