Will Buy Mountain Bike Need Local Advice From Experts

[jbeck]

Hi I'm considering a Merida matts lite 3000D from song bikeshop for 50000 b.

Before that it was a Trek 6000 for 25,000 baht, until I realized how cheap the components were and especially the forks RockShok Tora.

Well the 3000D has a Magura Durin fork and Magura Julie brakes and FSA LK carbon arm crank, otherwise is full XT, the Magura fork alone sells for 30,000 baht.

NO SHOP can/will order me any Merida model that is not already in their showroom and the selection is limited to 1000D, 3000D, and lower spec models.

I used to race, and want a light hardtail, durable capable bike for climbing and descending, on road and off, mostly doi suthep, and figure a great front fork is a necessity as well as a safety bonus .

I guess my questions now are: will song bike shop (near the moat) take care of me after the sale (from your experience, or a friends) ?

Anyone have experience with these Magura components, I've read reviews, there are few, and mixed. I'm a 70kg rider. I love good brakes and am willing to pay!

If the Magura stuff needs repair, or brake pads, are they hard to get?

Is Merida even a good bike? I have no experience with them.

The Trek is heavy - correct?, but nobody publishes weights.

I do NOT want to mess with upgrading components, just maintain and ride the bike.

How hard would it be for me to sell a 50,000 baht bike like this later, used (for a decent price) ?

I've found zero decent mountain bikes for sale on the internet in Thailand (thaivisa, craigslist, citylife).

If anyone can comment on the difference between the TREK 6000 (sram x.5) @ Jacky Bike and The Merida 3000, i'd appreciate it, maybe the trek would do the job at half the price?

Thanks in advance.

[Gonzo the Face]

You may wish to check with Tom who has a place on Chiang Moi Rd. the shop is called TOP GEAR..

Seems pretty knowledgable

G

[Mestizo]

A few of my friends run the downhill mountbike hash ground down in Bangkok. They come up to Chiang Mai quite often to ride. I know on several occasions they have broken parts and had them cheaply overnighted up from a shop in BKK as they were not able to get them in Chiang Mai.

You might want to talk with this guy named Aiden who has a shop near Wat Phrasingh. His website is here: http://www.mountainbikingchiangmai.com/ He is a downhill guide and occasionally rides with the BKK hash group. He should be able to help you with all your bike questions.

-Mestizo

[ChiangMaiFun]

Does anyone understand what he's talking about?

[jbeck]

You may wish to check with Tom who has a place on Chiang Moi Rd. the shop is called TOP GEAR..

Seems pretty knowledgable

G

prices higher than song bike shop, zero bikes in stock. could only order low end models. only a thai lady ever there. thanks.

[jbeck]

Does anyone understand what he's talking about?

asking experienced mountain bikers who might have bought bikes from song bike shop - about their experience there,

and asking about their knowledge of Merida and trek bikes in general, and magura components specifically by name.

pretty simple,isnt it, or you're joking? Thanks.

[jbeck]

A few of my friends run the downhill mountbike hash ground down in Bangkok. They come up to Chiang Mai quite often to ride. I know on several occasions they have broken parts and had them cheaply overnighted up from a shop in BKK as they were not able to get them in Chiang Mai.

You might want to talk with this guy named Aiden who has a shop near Wat Phrasingh. His website is here: http://www.mountainb...gchiangmai.com/ He is a downhill guide and occasionally rides with the BKK hash group. He should be able to help you with all your bike questions.

-Mestizo

Thank you

[Puwa]

The shops you should check out in addition to Song are Jacky bike in the Nimman area, Cherry Bike on the road to Doi Saket, and Chaitawat inside the old city. There'a also Velocity, which is across the moat and a few hundred meters wet from Song. If you Google them or search this forum you can find more info on their exact locations and will see various opinions and preferences. A few years ago I bought a Trek 4300 with aluminum frame and low-end Shimano components from Chaitawat, and eventually upgraded the drivetrain with XT parts from Cherry Bike, which also set up a set of Avid mechanical disc brakes I brought over from USA. The stock fork sucked, when new, but sucks slightly less now, as it has softened up over time. I might have bought a Merida from Song, but they didn't have my size in stock and offered an iffy 3 week timeline for delivery. But Merida frames are well regarded as good value.

Check out the shops and at least you'll have more options. Good luck!

[jbeck]

The shops you should check out in addition to Song are Jacky bike in the Nimman area, Cherry Bike on the road to Doi Saket, and Chaitawat inside the old city. There'a also Velocity, which is across the moat and a few hundred meters wet from Song. If you Google them or search this forum you can find more info on their exact locations and will see various opinions and preferences. A few years ago I bought a Trek 4300 with aluminum frame and low-end Shimano components from Chaitawat, and eventually upgraded the drivetrain with XT parts from Cherry Bike, which also set up a set of Avid mechanical disc brakes I brought over from USA. The stock fork sucked, when new, but sucks slightly less now, as it has softened up over time. I might have bought a Merida from Song, but they didn't have my size in stock and offered an iffy 3 week timeline for delivery. But Merida frames are well regarded as good value.

Check out the shops and at least you'll have more options. Good luck!

checked them all. thank you for the answer about Merida.

Song is the only one with a 3000D in stock, and like I said the others say that bangkok has not any stock to order, 2000D, or 1200D, EVER!

Maybe I should contact a shop in BKK.

Oh, one here said wait until July !!

I'm really curious about the Magura fork and brakes, is it really better/as good as the high end Avid elixir / RockShock Recon Gold solo air.

According to Magura, it is and world (european?) championships were won with the exact fork on the merida 3000D.

But will song bikeshop work on it/fix it if problems develop? Or any bikeshop?

It's easy to simply ask them, as the answer is always 'yes' as we know.

Most shops are more likely to be familiar with (guessing) Shimano/Avid/RockShock....

It's a pretty big investment for me and I hope, trouble free, but I know that's wishful thinking.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

pull down the magura manuals and check the service procedures.

Magura owners manuals

If you can afford it then Fox Shocks Forks are the best made by far and very good for maintenance procedures.

TCA is a authorized Fox service center.

Rock Shox models I am familiar with are high performance but more frequent service intervals and a pain to service.

Magura's other products are well designed. It's going to be a rare bird for service however. Not many units sold . Not sure I would want a mechanic doing service on it for the first time.

I wouldn't put a lot of stock in a fork being "world champion" etc because often they are "works" forks with custom lightweight bits and they service them a lot more than a recreational rider would want to .

Ideally a fork owner only wants to replace seals and fluids once a year. If it needs more service than that then it's quality issue or being ridden really hard or abused.

[ThunderDuck]

Cherry Bike were happy to order my KHS mtb from Bangkok.

[bikerjoy]

I got a TREK alu mountain bike. Excellent and good frame. at Jing Bicycle in Sankamphaeng. for 12'000 baht.

ph. 053-332 666

[jbeck]

thanks for the replies: I've been to every bike shop in/around chiang mai.

let me take moment to repost my original questions:

will 'Song' bike shop (near the moat) take care of me after the sale (from your experience, or a friends) ?

The Merida 3000 @ 50,000 baht has supposedly very high end Magura Durin fork and Magura Julie brakes

Anyone have experience with these Magura components, I've checked the internet already.

If the Magura stuff needs repair, or brake pads, are they hard to get?

Is Merida even a good bike?

The Trek is heavy(est) of the higher end mtn bikes - correct?, nobody publishes weights on the websites.

If anyone OWNS the TREK 6000 or the The Merida 3000, or if familiar with these models, i'd appreciate feedback.

thanks

jeff

[T_Dog]

jbeck...I sent you a pm on one Merida experience. Regarding Maguro, had friends with them back in the USA and they seemed to need more repair than my Hope brakes. I have had two bikes with Hope brakes and there has never been any need for bleeding or service of any kind besides replacing the pads. Great product and company, but I do have to get pads from overseas. Good luck with the search.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

WHich Durin fork model is it? what year?

Watch for OEM tricks they do sometimes. They will have a fork that is missing a feature like lockout etc and sell it bundled with a bike. The consumer sees the part and does the math and thinks its a great deal.

If the feature is not very important to you then its a great deal but not exactly apples and oranges comparisons of market value.

I see Magura Durin R 80 selling brand new in the box on Ebay for around 12K baht.

[jbeck]

WHich Durin fork model is it? what year?

Watch for OEM tricks they do sometimes. They will have a fork that is missing a feature like lockout etc and sell it bundled with a bike. The consumer sees the part and does the math and thinks its a great deal.

If the feature is not very important to you then its a great deal but not exactly apples and oranges comparisons of market value.

I see Magura Durin R 80 selling brand new in the box on Ebay for around 12K baht.

Magura Durin Race 100 Remote, thanks, current year (2011) based on the looks.

[paulchiangmai]

thanks for the replies: I've been to every bike shop in/around chiang mai.

let me take moment to repost my original questions:

will 'Song' bike shop (near the moat) take care of me after the sale (from your experience, or a friends) ?

The Merida 3000 @ 50,000 baht has supposedly very high end Magura Durin fork and Magura Julie brakes

Anyone have experience with these Magura components, I've checked the internet already.

If the Magura stuff needs repair, or brake pads, are they hard to get?

Is Merida even a good bike?

The Trek is heavy(est) of the higher end mtn bikes - correct?, nobody publishes weights on the websites.

If anyone OWNS the TREK 6000 or the The Merida 3000, or if familiar with these models, i'd appreciate feedback.

thanks

jeff

Song bike shop totally destroyed the Shimano gears on my bike, I wanted to give this bike to a young boy and thought I would have it checked out before giving it to him, I took it to them only to have the gears adjusted. I picked the bike up in the back of my truck and never even looked at it, just paid and left. Tried to ride the bike when I got home and it was completely unridable. I was furious and wanted to go back and rap the bike round someones neck, my wife eventually calmed me down and insisted I simply take it to a different shop. Don't know the name of the shop but they took one look and said I would have to buy the entire rear gear set. It cost me a thousand Baht to give my bike away.

[SoloFlyer]

Can I ask, which shop can do a professional fitting of the bike??

[rikki]

I believe julies are an xc brake..For doi suthep offroad I'd want better.Maybe a bigger rotor would make the difference

Julies use royal blood iirc. very expensive, but maybe you can find a substitute. Like citroen lhm?

I've never known anyone to use those forks, but I'm not up on xc. Fox anyday.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Can I ask, which shop can do a professional fitting of the bike??

I would try TCA but not sure if they offer it as a service. Their mechanic is the most technically proficient person I have run across in CM.

[jbeck]

well I bought the bike: Matts lite 3000D, after I saw that Chitawat had the same bike not for 52,000 but for 74,000.

Also got a quote on the 2000D for 51,000 with way less good bits than the 3000D.

I rode the bike home, it is very very light and a quick steerer. Shifting was flawless. Full XT. FSA Carbon crank arms.

You can see the bike ate merida.com

After thinking only ladies ran the shop (Song), I met as guy who works there (not a kid) who can speak english, and was able to communicate there is 6 month free service, and the frame is warranted by Merida Bangkok.

He filled out all the paperwork with the serial numbers, etc, for me to mail to Merida.

After 6 months, or before, I will meet the guy at TCA and have him do any work.

The brakes are not Jule, but Louise, with carbon levers.

The front rotor is 180. I think I can put a bigger one on later.

The bars are too wide by a small amount. I will cut or replace them.

I didn't want, cant afford a 'good' DH bike - if I can find some XC terrain and climbs I'll be okay/content, and can always ride on paved road / mountains around chiang mai.

I'm pretty sure I can handle the downhill to the lake on this bike, but need a way to get to the top Doi Pui on a regular basis (don't want to ride up every time).

Can't afford 2 bikes just yet but eventually a second hand road bike is in order.

Thanks everyone and I'll keep my fingers crossed on the Magura components.

PM me if you want to ride,

Jeff

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

sweet ride! congrats.

Make sure to not leave it unattended for long.

How much does it weigh on a truth O meter? Must be close to 20#'s

[jbeck]

well I bought the bike: Matts lite 3000D, after I saw that Chitawat had the same bike not for 52,000 but for 74,000.

Also got a quote on the 2000D for 51,000 with way less good bits than the 3000D.

I rode the bike home, it is very very light and a quick steerer. Shifting was flawless. Full XT. FSA Carbon crank arms.

You can see the bike ate merida.com

After thinking only ladies ran the shop (Song), I met as guy who works there (not a kid) who can speak english, and was able to communicate there is 6 month free service, and the frame is warranted by Merida Bangkok.

He filled out all the paperwork with the serial numbers, etc, for me to mail to Merida.

After 6 months, or before, I will meet the guy at TCA and have him do any work.

The brakes are not Jule, but Louise, with carbon levers.

The front rotor is 180. I think I can put a bigger one on later.

The bars are too wide by a small amount. I will cut or replace them.

I didn't want, cant afford a 'good' DH bike - if I can find some XC terrain and climbs I'll be okay/content, and can always ride on paved road / mountains around chiang mai.

I'm pretty sure I can handle the downhill to the lake on this bike, but need a way to get to the top Doi Pui on a regular basis (don't want to ride up every time).

Can't afford 2 bikes just yet but eventually a second hand road bike is in order.

Thanks everyone and I'll keep my fingers crossed on the Magura components.

PM me if you want to ride,

Jeff

not 'ate' but 'at' Merida.com

BTW and FYI the guy at TCA was very nice and offered to meet me at the grandview hotel when I phoned him and told him I couldn't find his shop, but he's closed Mondays (today) anyway.