moonoi

Unfortunately you're trying to compare apples and oranges. This is the way they do business here. You can either agree to buy without a test ride or not. I'm on my 4th bike, all bought here. I tested them for size and that was it. I now do long distance touring on a Surly Long Haul Trucker and am quite pleased with it even though I never tested it in advance.

I can still take the old frame size from before and buy the same. Would mean I am save from buying something complete wrong.

But if someone is new you are easily buy a wrong size and maybe never find it out without test rides. A test ride doesn't need to be far.....

Even taking the old frame size may not help, depends on whether the bike you are looking at is standard or sloping top tube etc. This all makes a big difference for fit.

Bike shops I have had a good experience with are Bike Zone in Amarin Plaza (I bought a Cervelo S5 from them, and they throw in a free 2000THB bike fitting as well). I did a lot of research online before committing, as no test ride was available, but didn't regret it.

The last bike I bought was from World Bike, a Giant TCR Advanced SL ISP to replace the S5 (I got bored with it ), they have a small area in front of the shop, where you can test the bike out before buying. They also do a bike fit, but nowhere near as good and comprehensive as the one from Bangkok Bike Fitter that I got from Bike Zone (although I did use the measurements he recorded when fitting me for the S5 to help dial in the fit quicker).

KM8 Bike on Raminthra is also very good, but again no test ride, but will fit you on a turbo, so you can get a feel for how it feels, and nearby Bike Specials also do allow test rides (sometimes).

Generally I've found that if the bike shop has a private parking area, or safe place without traffic that you can ride, they will let you test it, one shop that I didn't like the service at, but did allow a test ride was Bike RIder 9, near to Chocolate Ville, others might be ok with them

Check out the Events section of BicycleThailand.com plenty listed there. Only problem is it is hard to tell the quality of the event organisers, some are really well done (for example Tour de Farm), and others you're competing on main roads along with traffic, generally if the event organiser doesn't specify what is allowed to compete and leaves it completely open (for example a fixie must have a front brake installed) then I'd give it a miss.

I have a Trinx MB, it was 8500 Baht & the extras cost another 4000 Baht. After 700klms, I have replaced the complete pedal setup as it stripped the threads & fell off. The bike is too short for me so I will be changing to a better bike shortly.

The bike is perfect for someone who wants a cheap bike to just ride around, I wasn't sure if I would get the bug & take ridinf seriously, hence the cheaper option.

I am 177cms tall of portly build, what MB should I be heading towards, I would like to stay under 20K if possible.

cheers

If you're still looking would suggest a Commencal El Camino 2 as a decent upgrade, and almost within your 20k limit (21500THB last time I looked at Culture Cycliste, but believe you can also order from LA Bicycle as well, if there isn't one locally)

I've sold/bought most of my used bike stuff (including complete bikes) on Thaimtb, not sure if there are other options, but never bought a used bike from a shop. Would think private lists are cheaper

Thanks for the explanation, bobfish. Would you say that this applies to mountain bikes as well, or is it a primarily a thing that benefits road cyclists?

CM-Expat

As with everything, it depends what you ride.

Personally, with mountain biking, I think if you ride XC then probably you would get a benefit. But for Trail/Enduro/DH etc, given you're moving around so much anyway, then its unlikely to have much impact, so I wouldn't bother unless there is a specific problem you are having that you can't resolve yourself.

I used to ride a Dr.Hon (a VISC P18) folding bike and for my height (187cm) had to buy a longer seatpost to get the position correct, manufactured by a Taiwan company called LitePro. I believe they also do aftermarket parts for Brompton as well, not sure if those can be used with your Flamingo though.

If so, you may also have to source via eBay, as I'm not sure local bike shops will carry such items. In case you do decide to try, duty is 10% on parts, plus the 7% vat, Thai customs will include the price of shipping when calculating duty.

He's very good, I got a free fitting when I got a Cervelo S5 from them a couple of years ago, although I have since refined the position somewhat myself since then and switched to a different bike. The original fitting did help me with getting rid of knee pain I was suffering (cleats in the wrong position).

But why would you want to have a bike fitting for a folding bike anyway, easy enough to setup yourself.

In Bangkok you can can try Km8 bike, they might even ship to CM for a small fee, not sure.

http://www.km8bicycle.com/store/product/%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%87_SCHWALBE-1912079-th.html

Another alternative is Panaracer Ribmo, which isn't a bad touring tyre and easier to find than Schwalbe, but not sure it goes as wide as you want, biggest I've seen was 700cx35

I picked up my wheels from TCA and I was not so thrilled to see that the front wheel wasn't trued. Also, the hub started to make noises that it didn't make before.

Sorry the hear that, seems like the Chiang Mai branch of TCA is as bad as the Bangkok head office. I won't buy anything from these guys anymore, with all the issues I have had with them, which even includes special ordering an (Easton) wheelset, which they promptly sold to someone else even though I'd already paid for them,and telling me they had a new freehub in stock, when they didn't and doing a crap installation of a groupset on my previous bike. Would avoid using them for anything at all if at all possible! Basically means I can't have the Campy cx groupset I wanted for my new cyclocross bike I'm building up though, which makes me sad

Customs costs for a full bike imported in to Thailand is 30% and on top of that you have the vat of 7% to pay. The 30% is calculated on the full price including shipping, so unless you're looking to bring something in that is hard to get here, I wouldn't bother. Better and cheaper to buy locally.

Alternatively, you could just import the frame. The duty on this is only 10% plus the 7% vat on top

Garmin 510, 810 and 1000 all have the livetrack feature, so if you/she needs this feature then these are the models to look for, they hook up by bluetooth to your iPhone or Android and can also display weather data on the Garmin unit as well, the 1000 is more advanced in that it can also tell you if you have an incoming call, this is the only feature I"m really interested in with this new model. At the moment I use the 510 myself as I have no need for the mapping function (generally I know where I'm going ), I got it when it first came out and had no issue with it at all (unlike my previous 500).

To be honest, whichever one you go for, she'll probably be happy with, at least Garmin are pretty good at updating their devices when issues do come to light, its a bit like any piece of technology these days, they test as much as they can, but there will always be scenarios they miss and users doing things in a way they didn't expect which cause these "crashes". Connecting the sensors is really easy, just a couple of zip ties and you're done, doesn't need a bike shop to configure it for you.

I also picked this up last weekend as well

Thailand is a killer with the heat. My helmet turns into a sweat bucket when out on the road. I am looking for a cooler option, but do not know which helmets are known to better deal with the tropics or are actually available in Thailand. The full shell helmets which are getting more popular do not on first sight appear suited to the heat of Thailand, but not having ever worn one could not swear whether that is actually the case.

Hi

Use a giro aeon, very light, lot of air holes , but not cheap at all.

I finally gave in and bought a helmet while in Hawaii recently. I tried on different makes and models until I found one that really felt good. It turned out to be a Giro Aeon and it is much cooler than my old hat used to be. Like you said, very light but not cheap. ;-)

Very nice, I also have the Giro Aeon (Livestrong edition), and just replaced it last month with a Giro Air Attack Shield. I was expecting the new one to be much hotter on my rides, but have been pleasantly surprised that despite the lack of ventilation holes its actually not much different, although slightly hotter, having the sun shield mounted on the helmet rather than wearing sunglasses I find is far more comfortable on long rides. I picked mine up in the UK, as its far cheaper there than here (plus the local importer, TCA, didn't have my size anyway).

I just picked up a Commencal Meta AM from their original store by Lumphini Park, it's owned by LA Bicycle (Thailand) Ltd. who also happen to be the importers/distributor for all those lovely expensive European brands.

Hi moonoi!

why not posting a picture of your Commencal Meta, just to make us drool!

Oh sorry, how rude of me....here you go slightly upgraded from stock with Magura MT4 Hydraulic discs, full SRAM X0 2x10 groupset and RaceFace Atlas riser bar and stem

Try Evans if they have a branch near where you are staying in the UK, otherwise they will do free delivery if you have an address you can ship to.

I just picked up a Commencal Meta AM from their original store by Lumphini Park, it's owned by LA Bicycle (Thailand) Ltd. who also happen to be the importers/distributor for all those lovely expensive European brands.

I work on Rama IV Rd opposite the park, would suggest not trying to drive to Probike, but instead park in one of the buildings or shopping malls nearby and walk the rest of the way. Even without the protesters trying to park around there isn't easy (they don't really have any proper parking available) lucky for me I can just walk across the park from my office Probably the best suggestion is to try their new branch on Rama 3, Cycle Square is opposite as well, both have quite a bit of parking available.

Believe you can try the top floor of The Mall Bangkapi near to Powermall for the Top Up cards, not sure if its a bit far from where you are though.

No you don't need to buy a contract, you actually get a discount with True or DTAC if you do....my wife bought one for work for application testing, so needed a proper non-jailbroken one and bonus is you get a warranty too!!!

Agree with Nio, both TrueMove and DTAC have shops at Fashion Island on the 2nd floor and 3rd floor respectively where you can purchase an unlocked iPhone, avoid the kiosks as most of them sell jailbroken iPhones for more than the cost of a legit one!

I've been here 4 years and had a credit card for 3.5 years, first one from SCB (just needed a friendly introduction by one of my work collegues to the local branch manager and move all my accounts to them). Then once established a credit record, got a citibank gold card, which has since been upgraded to Platinum Select and just last year got the Thai Airways AMEX Platinum card.

I have a work permit and a reasonable salary, my experience is that it all depends on who handles your application (HSBC refused me).

For all my local cards, I do not have any secured deposit. They are all based on my monthly thai income.

When I first read this in the Nation a while back, I thought it was all a pile of bull having had no real difficulty to obtain cc in the past. Thailand is a strange place!

There is no English manual for the MU-7.....reason is its a Thai only product so no need for them to produce one.

Ask them for the English D-MAX manual, the vast majority of it is the same as the MU-7.

Maybe they are available again as on Ram Inthra expressway they have toll gates which say "Tag only" and there is a person working at the gate.

I think you misunderstood "stevemiddie". The Tag Only gates work, however you can no longer buy the Tags.

I have been told the same thing.

I'm looking at a 1997 ISUZU Supercab, enine is a little loud, but had some great mechanics check it out people I trust, and they say it's mechanically sound for now. He's asking 180,000, I talked him down to 160,000, and he said he will take care of name and title changing on the deed, 10,000BHT seems expensive, he will go as low as 150,000 but then I have to do everything. Is it worth it, or is he just trying to scam an extra 10,000BHT? Any help greatly appreciated!

Thanks

P.S. forgot to add, the odometer say's 61,000 in a ten year old car, lol wonder how many times that's been flipped!

Doesn't matter who they are, never trust the person selling the vehicle. Why is the engine a little loud?

Because its an Isuzu....they are quite famous for there "quiet" engines. 1997 is that the TFR?

Paul ... I think you should really come to Thailand ... spend some REAL time here ... learn the language etc

Agreed.....with "real" Thai people. Not just those that inhabit Pattaya