bobfish

Oh no, I'm full of it - using outdated stats.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.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/331775343624741

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. 

Easy-peasy fitness wise for you. No e-bike needed.
As suggested, build up to it to acclimate the muscle groups and your butt!
Tip: The latter may be your biggest hurdle. Don't be suckered into gel seat and get some decent cycling pants.

Agree with SC.  That Decathlon BTwin as suggested by Frequentatore looks the ticket.

Edit: I don't recommend a mountain bike.

+1 for watching via vpn. Sure, you'll have to put up with ill-timed ads, but much less disruptive than GCN+. And that's a real shame, as GCN+ looks so promising but just fails to execute. 

I've used 888bike. No problems.

Update:  I'm still not convinced I am getting value with the GCN+ App, and I don't want to be a complaining bitch.....

Downside: Last night, a few App crashes, more prevalent as the Stage 4 finish approached. Totally collapse as Dombrowski was about to cross the line.... By the time I got it all rebooted nd up and running, at least 50 riders had crossed and I'd missed the GC battle.

 Ho Hum!

On the plus side: I did watch the finish and highlights over a nice coffee this morning. And, my 16yo Son just sorted the audio commentry feed; apparently an icon on the phone screen - young eyes!! Mea culpa though, I have to wear that one.

????

I'm using GCN+ as an App on my iPhone. It is a bit clunky*, but there is some great content. Rate it at three stars.

My main driver for getting it was for Live race coverage. For that, it only really 'works' on the phone. Using Airplay to the Apple TV loses commentary... And it buffers quite a bit more than a VPN video coverage.

So far, Apps are limited to iPhone/ iPad [but not iPad specific]. It really needs an app for Apple TV/ iMac/MacBook for functionality.

I'm led to believe the problems are similar on the Android side of things: but happy to be educated differently.
I'm also sure that Phone/TV mirroring could be better via a cable if my own set up was more compatible.

*Tip: inhibit sleep setting on the phone; otherwise you need to relaunch and start from the beginning of the program.

And as I type this, watching the Giro, it has dropped out. Again.....  

On 5/2/2021 at 3:04 PM, Smithson said:

And it will sit there and rust like this one, I just don't have the time and don't really enjoy it that much.

So probably sit this one out.

Very likely the seized pawls on the freehub are the tip of the iceberg:

The bearings are likely knackered. If you want a rim as well, buying separately will require a wheel build. Cheaper to buy a complete replacement wheel and hub. Then there's the other moving bits; chain and other bearings [Headset, front wheel, bottom bracket]. And the other ills mentioned by your mechanic; brakes, gears. Bike companies have greater buying power than you or I, so rebuilding can cost more than replacing the entire bike. You'll get sticker shock at the price of decent forks.

If you don't enjoy it, bin the klunker. 

No experience with e-motors.

But, bike wise I'd choose the Riverside. At that price you're not getting great quality, especially the woeful front fork and mechanical [not hydraulic] disc brakes on the Trinx.  Best keep it simple.

Hey SC, try hanging your bike vertically with the caliper lowest/master cylinder highest. Zip tie [or bungee,tape, bodge etc] the lever actuated close to the bar as possible. Leave it a day or so, give the line a bit of a tap from time to time and hopefully the trapped air bubble will find its way up and out of the "open" system. 

And while you're at it, you can bin that front derailleur guide sticker - it has done its job ????

Buy a wheel with 11sp hub. For 9sp, use a 1.85mm spacer. 

I've found the Sram front derailleurs drive me to drink, rather than Shimano....

Some would say it is inconveniently not far enough!

2 hours ago, harrry said:

runway length is 10007  metres which is still very adequate for almost all aircraft.

Hey I know it's off topic, but if we're gonna run with this:

10007m is longer than the usable landing distance at Spaceshuttle landing fields Whitesands, Edwards AFB the Shuttle landing facility at Kennedy Spaceport. Runway length at Hat Yai is 3050m. Yep, that's 10007ft! A B747-400 at max landing weight could land there safely. The Pavement strength is more than sufficient to support it's weight at Max Take-off Weight. However, the runway is not sufficiently long, so weight would have to be reduced [fuel/payload] to takeoff safely.

Well I had a different experience last week with Shopee:

I ordered an item with a shop after checking stock by chat. I had to pay THB35.5k up front. The shop was then unable to get the item from the distributor [yeah,yeah...] so the order cancelled. 

For refund, I needed a Thai ID Card [Nope] to register my bank account. So I contacted Shopee via their Thai drop down menu [that took a bit of cut n paste translation], and sat back awaiting the brewing cluster#$%^....

Shopee replied to my email after a couple of hrs,  gave some advice on configuring my account  details and asked for a copy of my bank passbook.

Money credited back to me two working days later.

Yes, the contact menu could be in english, but hey, T.I.T. after all - and it was sorted professionally. No complaints.

Short answer: Yes.

There are not many downsides for AWD if it is independently selectable; fuel and a litle bit of wear. 

1 hour ago, caribbean82 said:

Yes I've seen Holden hq coupe here in samut sakhon abandoned!.  From my understanding a porche 911 would incur much higher import duties and taxes based on it's value compared to a humble Toyota corolla which only has sentimental value. I'm thinking the cheaper the car the less the import duties. 

Yes. I was quoted CIF duties including valuation based on the engine capacity and 300% of the original [new] sales price [with a small depreciation allowance]. Just a no brainer. 
Grab that HQ!!!