moonoi

I don't understand some of the statments..... Bikes bought in Thailand are more expensive for the same make & model than bought outside.

OK, I will concede that this may be true for some and not all top end stuff.

I have bought 2 bikes and just ordered a 3rd, all 3 have been at the time of purchase cheaper, with the same spec. The first a Miranda Sub 40, 5000 Baht cheaper than in UK, the second, Trek Fuel 5.5, 30,000 Bhat cheaper than the UK and my new one, (on order) a Santa Cruz 5010 CC...... 68,000 Baht cheaper, same model....same spec. That's with the bike on sale in the UK.

I haven't posted this to brag guys, where are you guys buying your bikes in Thailand? Or have I missed the point and your all talking about high end road bikes, fancy makes I've never heard off?

I live in Chiang Mai...... Are they cheaper outside BKK?

Trek, Giant, Merida are all the same or cheaper price than US/Europe.

Cannondale is US MSRP + 10%

Canyon is EUR MSRP + 10%

Specialized on average is 30-40% more expensive depending on model.

Colnago, if it's a master or v1-R approx same price, maybe a little less, but if it's a C60 then almost double the price.

Pinarello about 20-30% more expensive depending on exchange rate.

Those are the ones I have experience with when hunting for a new bike. If I'm looking at a premium brand, I'd probably look to bring it over myself.

Any of the big brands, with the exception of Specialized, I'd buy locally as it is similar price or cheaper. Only go for Specialized if you get a good deal on an end of line model ;-)

The biggest issue here is if you need larger sizes (L/58 or above), you're going to struggle to find something you want in stock and will probably have to special order in (if they are willing to do so), taking 3-6 months for delivery.

Canyon are not available in Thailand. If you see some here they are probably fakes. They only sell directly by mail order.

Secondly, I've seen Look road bikes on sale here for 35K. Impossible. Definitely fake.

So buyer beware.

As posted previously there is no need to spend Pinarello money on a frame. $3000?? They are the same as a Planet X for circa $600!!

Another option is using a Thai Brand: Infinite & NICH are two such brands that spring to mind.

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Not true, Canyon are available in Thailand, what they do is order from the website, but get the reduced tax rate on the import, which you as an individual will struggle to get. Warranty is also handle by Canyon.

LOOK is imported by LA Bicycle, and sold through their Culture Cycliste branded shops. Yes if your seeing a complete new bike for 35k, likely it is fake.

NICH is a pile of crap, the worst quality open mold frames available. Even the NICH racing team don't race their own brand bikes, mostly they use Pinarellos.

Infinite are ok, and do their own design, but they don't do larger sizes for us tall/lanky people.

And to claim Pinarello and Planet X are the same frames, means you know nothing at all about the bike industry and how it works.

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Had a look at the app I used to use before Strava, called Endomondo, but that uses mapping provided by Tom Tom, so that won't help you with the street view side of things, but maybe route planning might be better?

Also saw on the Strava forums that they are providing an external link to take you to street view, rather than being integrated as before. Not sure if that is helpful or not, but doesn't help with the map accuracy inside Strava.

Not sure that there is a single app that can answer your requirements, in the way that Strava used to. But if you find one, please let us know!

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Funnily enough the new mapping solution in my area of Bangkok is superior to Google maps, so I'm not overly fussed about the change :-)

But then I never used it to plan and assess routes, I just look at a map and then ride in the general direction and see where it takes me.

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I understand that the more populated areas are quite reasonable due to user updates - enjoy it!!

I travel a LOT through my work, so I end up in many unfamiliar countries/cities. If I can't rent a reasonable bike, I drag mine along. With that sort of commitment, I utilised the better mapping and Streetview functions that Strava did have to help plan rides. While I'd like to embrace Villagefarang's style, It's potentially risky to go by feel in some areas - better to make it back to the Hotel than get geographically embarrassed. That sinking feeling of being jet lagged, f*cked famished and far-from-home gets old quickly.

So I need to replace Strava....

On business trips I normally just take my collection of SufferFest videos and head down to the gym with them. I still haven't found a flight case that my bike will fit in to take it with me, perils of an integrated seat post and a large frame size..... :-)

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Funnily enough the new mapping solution in my area of Bangkok is superior to Google maps, so I'm not overly fussed about the change :-)

But then I never used it to plan and assess routes, I just look at a map and then ride in the general direction and see where it takes me.

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Why isn't this in the Events sub forum?

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Try this thread http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?/topic/849211-Swampy-Cycle-Track

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Got my bike and its perfect!

Thanks for all the information and suggestions.

Good day

Don't throw half a brick, what did you get?

And pics too!

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The one I went to was at fashion island, but I would have thought it is in all stores

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Any hint where fashion islands is?

No problem will ask wife....something calles "fashion islands" is surely well known

On RamInthra Road, next to the number 9 motorway.

Not sure where you are in Bangkok, but there is probably a closer store to you ;-)

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The one I went to was at fashion island, but I would have thought it is in all stores

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I picked up some nice Reebok running shoes last weekend from Supersports in Robinson. 2000 baht, they have a 50% off sale at the moment.

The model I got is called Hexaffect Run 2.0, but there was also others brands including Nike and Adidas on discount too, you should be able to find something decent and not too expensive quite easily I think.

I've managed over 70kph on parts of the Doi Suthep ride, & that's going up! But, I try not to boast about it

That's slow ........

uphill MTB.jpg

...........on my MTB

I sometimes get the same wheeling my bike through the underground car park, I think - I can't actually see where the max. allegedly occurred..

The graphs are smoothed, and the erroneous points don't appear, and the averages over each kilometre look OK.

My gps data estimates agree with my friend's speedo results to within less than 5% for average speed and distance, and for maximum speed (obvious errors aside), the difference could be genuine - the results agee to within 10%.

The calorie estimate does seem to take far more account of speed than of elevation, which differs from my opinion of how much work I've done.

SC

If you aren't using a HRM, the calories burned will just be an estimate, and not likely to be accurate.

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Alright guys.

I checked with SaengThong already and the guy seem really nice.

I'll be going to their shop later this afternoon. Upon browsing the range of bikes that they have, I am really looking forward to try Merida Scultura 300.

If it feels comfortable, I'd definitely go for that one. Thanks for all your help!

If it is the one in the pic as well, nice pro team (Lampre Merida) replica version as well.

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Thanks for those videos moonoi. I have seen videos like that before but what happens when the forks are 6 years old and have been baked under the tropical sun? My forks have an alloy crown with carbon legs glued onto the crown. This is the bit that may fail? Have I had a good innings with these forks. Best to get a fresh bike or forks? If the forks were steel I wouldn't worry about UV damage or glue deteriorating.

Well the glue used to bond the fibers together is supposed to be UV resistant, so I personally wouldn't worry about that, I would look at how many kilometers you've done and the type of riding, along with how many times I'd had an fall/crash in that time as the main factor as to whether it needs replacing. But if there are no visible signs of cracking and it isn't making strange noises, it should actually be fine.

But if you're still concerned about it, perhaps consider upgrading the fork to one with a composite steerer rather than alloy, would be cheaper than a new bike.

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Carbon forks can be a nice feature and add to the comfort. I like them but they are less durable to knocks and falls. I have carbon forks on my specialized tricross. 1000's of miles, off road too. The bike is 6 years old, the forks seem ok but i don't have faith in them like i would some nice steel forks. Its always in the back of my mind whizzing down doi suthip. They give a very nice ride though together with 32mm tyres.

Downhill

Suthep ain't all that fast ..... 55Km/hr is about top.

Now the road behind MaeJo reservoir from the temple ..... 67Km/hr on my MTB ........ that's steep!

Not really doing much fast downhill on the Road bike yet, lacking confidence, whole bike is too insubstantial, rim brakes aren't good, too bumpy and I'm not that confident of the grip of 25mm tires on the bends.

Uphill

But cycling up the hill on the road bike, fantastic, hoping to reduce from my current 50 mins to under 45 mins in the next month or two.

I just need a lower gear cassette, it came with 11-28, and I need 11-32 for that last 250m uphill.

I suspect the problem you are having on your road bike is simply that you are going beyond the Trek 1.1's capabilities when descending. You should probably consider to upgrade it. You can upgrade the brakes easily and relatively inexpensively too, along with the wheels (but I'd do the brakes first, would recommend going for Ultegra brakes, as they have the best cost/performance ratio, but you won't go wrong with 105 either). Having effective brakes you can trust will transform your confidence. The other thing to change is the tyres, if you haven't already, I'd recommend Michelin Pro 4 Service Course or Continental Grand Prix II both have outstanding grip in wet or dry, Michelins edge the Contis for outright grip, but the Contis are more durable.

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I think the brakes themself aren't so important but the brake pad (that what touch the rim) must be good and set right.

Frames differ a lot....my old Bianci and Musil (spelling) frames started to shake at high speed, but felt safe if you could block the shake with the knees.

The Trek doesn't seem to shake but doesn't feel safe, specially in turns....or maybe I just need more km on it.

Understand, but having been there and done it, I can tell you that there is a phenomenal amount of difference in the power and modulation of entry level no brand brakes (normally made by Tektro) and the branded series brakes from Campagnolo, SRAM and Shimano. Obviously when you buy new brakes, they also come with new pads.

My Giant TCR Advanced SL corners like its on rails and is very confidence inspiring even at speed, you just have to be careful in turn in, as the short wheelbase means it is very fast to drop in to the corner and change direction.

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Carbon forks can be a nice feature and add to the comfort. I like them but they are less durable to knocks and falls. I have carbon forks on my specialized tricross. 1000's of miles, off road too. The bike is 6 years old, the forks seem ok but i don't have faith in them like i would some nice steel forks. Its always in the back of my mind whizzing down doi suthip. They give a very nice ride though together with 32mm tyres.

Downhill

Suthep ain't all that fast ..... 55Km/hr is about top.

Now the road behind MaeJo reservoir from the temple ..... 67Km/hr on my MTB ........ that's steep!

Not really doing much fast downhill on the Road bike yet, lacking confidence, whole bike is too insubstantial, rim brakes aren't good, too bumpy and I'm not that confident of the grip of 25mm tires on the bends.

Uphill

But cycling up the hill on the road bike, fantastic, hoping to reduce from my current 50 mins to under 45 mins in the next month or two.

I just need a lower gear cassette, it came with 11-28, and I need 11-32 for that last 250m uphill.

I suspect the problem you are having on your road bike is simply that you are going beyond the Trek 1.1's capabilities when descending. You should probably consider to upgrade it. You can upgrade the brakes easily and relatively inexpensively too, along with the wheels (but I'd do the brakes first, would recommend going for Ultegra brakes, as they have the best cost/performance ratio, but you won't go wrong with 105 either). Having effective brakes you can trust will transform your confidence. The other thing to change is the tyres, if you haven't already, I'd recommend Michelin Pro 4 Service Course or Continental Grand Prix II both have outstanding grip in wet or dry, Michelins edge the Contis for outright grip, but the Contis are more durable.

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Btw anyone know why quotes seem to be screwed up recently?

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Usually "operator" error

EDIT: did the same thing again, this time the quote works properly, how odd! Anyway not important, back to bikes ;-)

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And Pinarello testing their fork to destruction is pretty cool to watch as well

Btw anyone know why quotes seem to be screwed up recently?

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And it had cheap bontrager parts. Really EVERYTHING labeled Bontrager on my bike makes problems.

Hubs leak oil and turn difficult.

All screws from Bontrager rust, even the bike didn't get wet ever. I wouldn't buy Trek with Bontrager again.

And yet

My Trek 4300 MTB, 8 years old, still works fine.

Sure a few bolts with a bit of rust, and needed new parts now and again.

But it's done 1,000s of Kms and still manages the Doi Suthep Hill climb twice a week.

Gotta have a carbon fork on a road bike ..........

h90 is living in the past.

In fact, almost all new road bikes have carbon forks ....... apart from the cheap Chinese no name bikes.

steel frame:

I admit I am a Dinosaur, but a couple of companies start again to produce good steel frames as the are the most comfortable. But usually heavier. Titanium would be also good but not my price level....

Well all the Bontrager on my Trek are below that I would expect from a 10.000 Baht BigC bike. But the frame is OK, the Shimano parts are excellent and the no name brakes are also excellent. So the complete deal was OK....Well Trek and Bontrager is Chinese (ROC and not PRC but still China) and the difference to Italian made shows everywhere (but also in the price).

Carbon forks can be a nice feature and add to the comfort. I like them but they are less durable to knocks and falls. I have carbon forks on my specialized tricross. 1000's of miles, off road too. The bike is 6 years old, the forks seem ok but i don't have faith in them like i would some nice steel forks. Its always in the back of my mind whizzing down doi suthip. They give a very nice ride though together with 32mm tyres.

I like steel forks, i have 4130 cromo forks on other bikes and have no intentions to replace them. I remember buying my first 531 tubed tourer in 1989. The ride with 531 forks was amazing as i cycled it home from the shop.

Take a look at this then, you should have more faith with carbon :-)

And the same test for steel

As a novice your chances of finding a bike that you will be happy with a year from now, if you keep riding, is very slim in my experience and opinion. I learned a lot by upgrading one piece of the bike at a time as I developed my fitness and interest.

I eventually switched from mountain bike to road bike as my interests changed. I used to be happy with 15km - 20km but now it is more like 55km to 100km. Like me your needs may change with time so just take the advice given and get out there on the road and enjoy yourself while staying fit.

I have had great luck with Trek and think I get more bang for my buck with Trek but it is also the main brand at my local bike shop and I prefer to go with the flow. Have fun with your new bike and let us know what you get.

I think it depends a little on your expectations. My friends are sick of this story, but I'll repeat it for the rest of you all...

A couple of years back Hari Raya came round (as it does every year) and I didn't fancy a five day weekend with nothing to do but drink, so I walked down to my local bike shop. They were quite busy, so I browsed for a while, looking at the price tags. The last bike I'd bought had been in Taiwan, with as detailed a spec as my Chinese would cope with: Bicycle. Very cheap. So I reckoned I'd be out of pocket by two or three times that - maybe 10,000 baht. Anyway, you can imagine me, browsing this bike shop, wincing and sucking my teeth with every bike I looked at.

"Can I help you, sir"

"No, it seems 'I've come to the wrong shop..." and I walked out.

Anyway, it was a long walk home, and a five-day weekend, so I went back in.

"What's the cheapest bike you;ve got?"

And I walked out with a Mondraker Ventura Pro for about 30,000 baht. It's a mountain bike, so it copes pretty well with the pot-holes and the tree roots, and I can ride on the construction roads and the building sites. As you say, VF, I'd like something more roadey, but it's done me well this last couple of years, and it's by far the most sophisticated bike I've ever ridden. The indexed thumb shifters were like Christmas at Ramadan. I couldn't believe that with disc brakes, you can stop in wet weather.

I reckon err on the side of robust comfort rather than speed and distance. If you are happy riding 20 km a week and want to go further and faster, you'll upgrade, but if you find your bike uncomfortable and fragile, you won't ride it at all.

SC

Anyone new to cycling who has a MTB and wants something more "roadey" first thing to do is buy some road tyres for your MTB. 26.x1.5 or 1.4 . Whatever wheel size you may have 26 , 27.5, 29 etc. Maybe 600 baht a tyre? You can still use your fat inner tubes if you like.

First thing you will notice the bike will ride easier, steering will be faster. You can ride further. Stick a rack on the back and 1000 baht for a pair of cheap vincita panniers and you can tour thailand. Pop the fat tyres back on when you fancy more off road rides or a plusher ride.

The road tyres will work offroad too but will be more bumpy. Totally fine when its dry.

For 29er the Panaracer Ribmo tyre is perfect in 35mm version, retains the plushness of the mtb tyre but with less rolling resistance. I did that when I wanted to do the Ayudthaya 200km Audax, which has to be self supported, and slapped a top peak seat post mounted rack on the back of my XC Mtb.

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Please DO NOT tell me where this building is

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To be honest, the best advice is to try each one that you like out, and go with the one that you feel most comfortable on. Most shops will let you test ride around the car park, so you can get a feel for the bike before you purchase, the most important thing is getting one that fits you right and is comfortable.

Couple of things to look for if going for a road bike, try to find one with a carbon fork, it will be more forgiving over rough surfaces, and your hands will thank you for it, try to get at least 25mm tyres on it, you can run lower pressure than the usual 23mm tyres and it will be more comfortable and they also have a lower rolling resistance, so you'll be faster ;-)

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Instead of a carbon fork, I would look for steel fork or bike. Cheaper and more forgiving than carbon and less likely to get problems.

But of course more heavy....

Not if it's a Colnago Master, but then you're paying 100k just for the frame and fork ;-)

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I just wanted to write no way that steel can be as light as carbon......good that I didn't.

1.85 kg for this steel frame..

it makes me nervous....itching in my fingers.....I need to have a word with Santa Claus.....

It is beautiful, and handmade in Italy too. Very hard to keep the credit card in the pocket, especially as they have one on display in the bike shop in my office building.....

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To be honest, the best advice is to try each one that you like out, and go with the one that you feel most comfortable on. Most shops will let you test ride around the car park, so you can get a feel for the bike before you purchase, the most important thing is getting one that fits you right and is comfortable.

Couple of things to look for if going for a road bike, try to find one with a carbon fork, it will be more forgiving over rough surfaces, and your hands will thank you for it, try to get at least 25mm tyres on it, you can run lower pressure than the usual 23mm tyres and it will be more comfortable and they also have a lower rolling resistance, so you'll be faster ;-)

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Instead of a carbon fork, I would look for steel fork or bike. Cheaper and more forgiving than carbon and less likely to get problems.

But of course more heavy....

Not if it's a Colnago Master, but then you're paying 100k just for the frame and fork ;-)

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http://saengthongshop.weloveshopping.com/template/e3/showproduct.php?pid=27223639&shopid=319083

Selling off 2015 year model. A bargain.

You also need someone's Thai ID card photo to buy at that price.

Something to do with 'Bike for Mom' I guess.

Difference between 2015 and 2016 Spec ...... colour scheme, no white in 2016.

So I believe that if I choose to buy it via EMS, I will receive the bike with no damage? I also cannot read Thai, how do I do the transaction?

Anyway, I will ask a Thai friend later to check it out when I get home.

Thanks

Seriously, if this is your first bike, you shouldn't buy without trying. As MaeJoMTB said earlier, you need to get a bike the right size and that will be virtually impossible without sitting on it first.

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I'm sorry but you are speaking rubbish, a road bike will not break if you hit a significant bump, that would not also have a detrimental impact to an mtb or hybrid.

My MTBs would have jumped that rock without me noticing.

Road bike does somersault and buckled front tire.

The guy in that video was completely out of control after half wheeling the guy in front and catching is back wheel, do the same on your mtb and likely the result will be the same, when he hit the gravel he wasn't in an position to try and avoid the gravel he was just a passenger.

To take it the other way watch this :-) even worse he is riding a Giant!!!! :-p

http://www.zapiks.fr/dirt-merchant-a-line-with-cx.html

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Westgate…what an odd thai name…..

Almost as odd as Eastview, the other new Central opening up soon......it has a lovely view of a Tesco Lotus.....

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