moonoi

Moon... I was a roadie back in my younger days, but around 30 years of age, I converted and never looked back. You should consider moving up north where there are infinite trails with no cars, no exhaust fumes, shade, and plenty of nature. My most dangerous part of the ride is getting from the house to the trail head. After that, it is all smiles! Here's a video TV member Tonto21 put together of a scouting trip that ended up being one of our favorite weekly rides. Up north, we have lots of climbing too on the trails that get you in shape quickly.

I'd love to, but I and the missus still have to work and we don't have a office up north I can only stay here because of my job (non-imm B with WP) , not sure I'd find something up there either that would pay as well and feed my cycling habit.

Btw I did make a video of my Club 11 ride here

Edit: seems some you tube links can't be posted?

You can do that on a road bike too you know ;-)

Show me. ;-)

Cheers, CM-Expat

Downtown racing with the street bike includes a lot jumping (up the sidewalks), or down some stairs with the thin street tires. But I think it isn't done in Bangkok, or at least no one lived long enough to report back.....

Surely not boring....

Or bunny hopping over speed bumps / sleeping policemen

Maybe because what is available for MTB around Bangkok isn't challenging? I don't know, I love the speed and adrenaline I get out of riding on the road, every time I've tried off road, I find it uninteresting and not fun.

If you appreciate speed and adrenaline, DH may be your ticket.

Unfortunately, Bangkok is not the best place for downhill riding, although there are a few dedicated people trying to change that (https://www.facebook.com/bkkpod). Given BKK topography it's probably a bit of a challenge.

There are decent (though twisty) XC tracks at Putthamonthon park and Club 11, good enough for regular endurance training and some basic technique.

Most Bangkok-based Downhillers, head out to Khao Ito and other destinations outside of Bangkok.

The choice between riding in the beautiful and quiet surrounding of a forest or on noisy roads with legions of plonkers piloting smoke-belching metal boxes always was an easy one for me.

Cheers, CM-Expat

I've been to club 11 a few times on my old Merida big Nine Lite XC and my current Commencal Meta AM HT. just found it too technical and boring, not really much in the way of jumps (fun?) and not really any hills to either go up or down.

Nope. Not boring.

You can do that on a road bike too you know ;-)

I agree that of the two disciplines, one is more boring than the other. but am having a hard time understanding why you find road riding more exciting than off-road mountain biking - can you explain a little?

Maybe because what is available for MTB around Bangkok isn't challenging? I don't know, I love the speed and adrenaline I get out of riding on the road, every time I've tried off road, I find it uninteresting and not fun. But then again when I road motorcycles in Europe, I always preferred road/track to off road/Enduro.

But that's why I asked, could it also be the bike? I know on the road, I went through a few machines be for I found one that suited me (Trek Madone 3.1, Cervelo S5, Specialized Allez E5 and finally to the one that I can't imagine living without Giant TCR SL ISP).

What I am thinking now is to keep my road bike, but only use it on rollers/turbo, sell my HT MTB and buy a full sus one instead and try again. That might keep the missus happy until she has forgotten about the recent accidents and my fall.

She even suggested I go ride around Hua Mark Velodrome instead, now that would be incredibly boring!

To illustrate my point, have a look at the following video clip. These are pictures from the 2015 UCI world cup opening in Rotorua, NZ showing a number of riders passing through an extremely tricky, slippery, off-camber turn. Many of them are world class pro riders and even they fall.

http://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/features/Corner-Carnage-Enduro-World-Series-Rotorua,28517/sspomer,2

Cheers, CM-Expat

Looks like a couple of them ditched the bike even though they may have made it through! Some neat skills displayed though

Chiangmaiexpat: I think cadence tracking is very important for people who start, as many people tend to pedal too slow. If you are later used to the fast cadence it might become relative useless. I for the beginning focus only on the right cadence, just to get used to it again.

I couldn't agree less. The whole cadence discussion appears nonsensical to me, and there is very little science to back it up. Cadence optimization comes with experience, not with a stop watch, and it differs individually.

BTW, the Mio watch that @moonoi mentioned got "Sehr gut" assessment from the German Stiftung Warentest which means it's probably good. One of the few optical measurement devices that deliver similar accuracy as a "traditional" chest strap.

Cheers, CM-Expat

We agree to disagree

I doubt I could go at the same speed with 75 rpm I can with 105 for 3 hours. I think as more experience you have as less you need to monitor it, but beginner always pedal too slow. All the Thai biker I see here pedal something like 70-75 and none of them is fast. Slower than me at my 100-105 rpm and I only sat in the office the last 15 years.

All the professionals have high cadence, even these with slow one aren't really that slow. 20 years ago they told with hard slow cadence you use more of the sugar in the muscle instead of fat, so the muscle gets "empty". But that was 20 years ago, might be long proofed to be wrong.

Would be nice to try such a device for a week before deciding. My idea is always to buy a bit more expensive and good instead of buying twice.....Thanks for the information. It helps a lot (but I am now even more confused)

Suggest you watch GCNs What cadence is best experiment. Might surprise you, personally I find I'm better at mashing it, than high cadence. For me I'm faster and have more endurance, I'm at my most efficient at around 75-80rpm.

There are also local maps available for Garmin devices that support mapping here, I can't say how accurate they are though off the beaten path.

Forget the free OpenStreetMap, completely useless in Thailand, even in major cities......

Always wondered if I am doing something wrong in relation to mountain biking, by its very nature it should be fun I think, yet I find it lacking......that's why I ask, could it be the bike? If I get a nice full sus, let's say a Commencal Meta AM v4.....will it be that much better that I start to enjoy it, or is it money down the drain?

Since I crashed by bike (all in my lonesome I might add), my family no longer wants me riding on the road. It hasn't helped with the 2 high profile accidents, open of which was just 2km from my house and on my regular riding route, with the usual justification of "you're being selfish, you have kids and a wife to take care of etc etc"

So they've strong hinted that I should sell my pride and joy and understanding the cycling is part of my blood, politely suggested I should use the money to buy a full sus MTB and then go ride off road out of the way of cars at places like the new Peppermint Bike Park and the Army Club 11 MTB course.

Problem for me is, I'm pure roadie, I have a hardtail MTB, but personally so far I've found it boring compared to the road. Maybe full sus would make it a different experience? I don't know, I'm not convinced.

Btw the green lane at suvarnabhumi isn't an option for me, too far away.

What would you do?

Sorry can't help you, keep in mind one should only run if being chased. And even then, one should only run fast enough to prevent capture.

:-) good luck

I found that the chest strap irritates and you always know it's there. The wrist strap I forget I'm wearing after a while, I think there is another type that straps to your upper arm as well. Suggest checking out the DC Rainmaker site for lots of information and reviews on different types of HRMs and other fun devices

http://www.dcrainmaker.com

A Mio Link looks like this btw......

Don't know why but picture attachments seem to not work again!

Thanks everyone, I think I should get one.

now I don't know if I should buy an independent one.or one for my bike computer.

Perfect would be if there is a device I can have on the wrist like a watch, normally but when on the bike it connects with a bike computer and the mobile phone.

But I might want too much.

Can anyone recommend a specific product or brand? Or warn about others? I don't mind spending a bit more, but I really hate half working devices (they always angers you but aren't bad enough to put into the trash bin)

Chiangmaiexpat: I think cadence tracking is very important for people who start, as many people tend to pedal too slow. If you are later used to the fast cadence it might become relative useless. I for the beginning focus only on the right cadence, just to get used to it again.

The Mio Link and Mio Fuse do what you are asking for. The Fuse is mentioned in the link I posted above, but also contains step counting and sleep monitoring features. The Link is a pure out and out wrist mounted HRM that transmits both ANT+ and Bluetooth. Love mine, had it a year, much more comfortable than a chest strap and more reliable too, only problem is you have to recharge it after every 6-8 hours of use, the traditional chest strap type just use a CR2032 button battery and last for months.......

I use a Mio Link optical HRM, here's an advertorial (I would say most applies to any type of HRM though) to help you decide if monitoring your heart rate will be useful to you or not. All of these ones are easily available in Thailand as well btw.

http://www.clevertraining.com/blog/top-reasons-track-workout-wearable-mio-hrm/

Connda... Your quick release should be quite tight, and it should take a bit of force to open it back up. I disagree with the other poster that said loosen it to let the disk ride in the middle. Never loosen a quick release to solve the alignment problem. Some of the calipers need to be shimmed and your local bike shop will make quick work of it as they have wafer thin washers in stock.

Also be aware that some quick releases can go into your front disk and lock up the wheel as it causes severe damage. Many people have been severely injured over the last decade due to this problem. Replace your skewer if it can rotate into your disk.

Well that's what my LBS told me! Happy to be corrected though.

My MTB now uses a thru axle, which are much easier to get the right tightness in my opinion, and have a stiffer front end.

For me, when you close the lever it should leave a light imprint on your palm. If you have a problem with the pads rubbing, then you do as you just did.

Mission Workshop makes some biking specific backpacks. Bo Velo in Bangkok used to stock them and perhaps still do. Pricy but decent. However, truth be told, I'm not comfortable riding with a pack on for longer rides. Perhaps consider a seat post mount rack with a quick release instead?

I'd second the seat post rack as riding here with any back pack is awful in my experience. Too hot and makes for way too much sweating.

But only if you have an aluminum seatpost, if it's carbon you can forget about a seatpost rack.

I used to use a toppeak seatpost rack and bag that I got from Worldbike in Bangkok, about 1500 THB from memory, but that was nearly 2 years ago, so might be a bit more now.

Depends what you're going to do with it.

If you are using it for training and to improve your endurance and recovery then it is a necessity. As you need to know what zone your heart is in to be most effective.

Even if you don't use it for that, it can be interesting just to see over time how you improve.

For example at the moment I'm averaging 30bpm less for the same effort, comparing with last year.

I find a mix of training by heart and training by feel is the best methodology, but that's just my opinion.

The key thing is not to get fixated on the data during the ride.

Australia has always seemed to be a bit of nanny state to me. Doctor's in Australia now seem to be recommending wearing a cycling helmet when doing DIY...http://road.cc/content/news/150709-aussie-doctors-urge-people-wear-cycle-helmets-when-doing-diy-home

Just read that story as well, and the lesson in Australia is that they've seen a drop in cycling since mandatory helmet laws were brought in.......

I resisted the adoption of wearing a helmet for a very long time. I am not a conformist by nature so you won’t find me wearing something to fit in with a particular group or conform to the mandates of others. You may have seen pictures I have posted wearing all black and pretty much covered from head to toe. I get some grief for what I choose to wear but I take some pride in that fact.

One time I was buying shorts and gloves in a triathlon shop in Hawaii when I noticed a selection of helmets. I had no intention of buy one but I started trying them on. To my surprise one of them was so light and comfortable that it even surpassed the comfort of the hat I used to wear.

With no hair, wearing nothing on my head is not an option. Since I have never fallen off my bike, safety was not my main concern but since I feel the need to cover my head, this helmet in conjunction with a Buff to block the sun reaching my skin, seemed the most comfortable option I had found. I may be stubborn about some things but when something works I go for it.

I really don’t care what others wear or why. Wear a helmet or don't wear a helmet, it is your choice in my opinion.

Well, I am the total opposite: I wear as little as possible (I would go naked, if it wouldn't cause a public disturbance) and I have a lot hair (which can be annoying as well), so no sun ever reaches the skin below. The idea to put something hot, sweaty on top of is terrible for me.

(but I only go good streets with the street bike, no MTB, so the biggest risk is that a truck driver on Yaba is flatten me and a helmet wouldn't help in this case)

Or you do what I did, and happily bombing along on your normal route, you hit a small bump, not even noticeable and you're thrown over the handlebars on to your head. In this situation, a helmet can help a great deal as I just found out last weekend.

The Giro Aeon, is the helmet I had, and it has such good ventilation, I found it no different than just wearing a cycling cap, which I did anyway to keep the sweat out of my eyes. Just plop the helmet on top of the cap, not any hotter and as a bonus you look just like you belong in the pro peloton as well :-p

But the nice thing is, everyone has the freedom to decide themselves.

I know helmets reduce the risk of head injuries, but I wonder how big the window is where they help? I mean, there are wrecks you'll walk away from with no helmet, and wrecks that will kill you even with a helmet. In between the 2 are the window where a helmet will save you from serious head injury. I question whether that window is big enough to justify wearing a helmet, carrying it with me so it's not stolen, and not feeling the wind on my bald head (though I have to wear a cap anyway to keep the skin up top).

If you read the posts in this forum regularly, you'll find that this question has been answered with good scientific reasoning.

Yes, helmets do save lives and they do prevent injuries. It's a fact, not an opinion.

BTW, I've worn one of these "fabric helmets", too, back in the seventies.

Cheers, CM-Expat

I still wear one of those "fabric helmets", underneath my proper helmet, great for keeping the sweat out of your eyes ;-)

This accident has my wife telling me she doesn't want me to go out training on my bike anymore, as this is one of the roads I always use during my weekend training sessions. Although I never ride a night, I had been considering it as my time is not available as it once was, but no longer.

Also It's not actually RamInthra Rd as the article states, it is actually Rachada-RamInthra Rd which joins RamInthra and Kaset-Nawamin roads. Generally for that past 3 years I've been riding around the area, it has been very safe, and is a well known cycling loop used by many local clubs.

From the description of the accident, it sounds like there was little the cyclists could do to protect themselves and was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. RIP.

Obviously tragic news and my heart goes out to the victims.

But some cyclists invite trouble by riding after dark with no lights front and back, no hi-vis clothing, no helmet...no common sense.

Nice bit of victim blaming there. If you knew what you were talking about, you would know that hi-vis actually makes drivers more comfortable and pass closer to cyclists, it actually proven safer to ride without. Again with helmets, although I would never ride without one, there is plenty of research to show that they only help in a very narrow set of circumstances and can even cause more injury in some.

The funny thing about common sense is that it isn't that common........

I'd prefer Alex to keep it, and sounds like he could have gone faster as well.

I don't know why, I just don't like Wiggins at all.