Road Bike

[mike44]

I want a fairly basic road bike with say 18 gears but don't want to spend too much as I will use it infrequently. I would prefer somethng a bit better than the 4500Baht bikes at Tesco but don't want to spend more than say 10000Baht. Any thoughts on where I should look?

[flying]

Last time I was in town I checked out the bike shops & there are some good ones in Chiang Mai

10k THB may be a little light though for the good stuff

But maybe try the shops & see if they have any used?

Velo City looked like they had some used....or maybe a lot of repair jobs?

TCA was a really nice shop too & may have something....but again 10K not sure

Here is a list of shops...

http://www.chiangmai...cycleshops.html

Also there is a cycling sub-forum here....maybe someone local can help you out

http://www.thaivisa....ng-in-thailand/

Good Luck

Edited April 18, 2012 by flying

[el jefe]

Last time I was in town I checked out the bike shops & there are some good ones in Chiang Mai

10k THB may be a little light though for the good stuff

But maybe try the shops & see if they have any used?

Velo City looked like they had some used....or maybe a lot of repair jobs?

TCA was a really nice shop too & may have something....but again 10K not sure

Here is a list of shops...

http://www.chiangmai...cycleshops.html

Also there is a cycling sub-forum here....maybe someone local can help you out

http://www.thaivisa....ng-in-thailand/

Good Luck

I would try Chaitawat, inside the moat near the SE corner. They deal mostly in lower end mtb's, although not really as low-end as the OP is looking for. You could also try Jacky who might have a bike in that price range. TCA is a great shop but they have very limited stock and I've never seen anything there remotely close to that price level.

[cm das]

I was making the rounds of some of Chiang Mai's bike shops yesterday looking for a full suspension mountain bike (didn't find any). Cherry Bike on the 118 just before the middle ring road intersection had some road bikes in that price range. I don't remember seeing any road bikes at Chaitawat. I visited Velocity and Jack Bike about a month ago & both carry a selection of road bikes but I don't remember the prices. TCA is definitely high end - a beautiful shop but unless you want to triple or quadruple your budget I'd forget about it.

[brebs]

Try Song (either shop).

[el jefe]

I was making the rounds of some of Chiang Mai's bike shops yesterday looking for a full suspension mountain bike (didn't find any). Cherry Bike on the 118 just before the middle ring road intersection had some road bikes in that price range. I don't remember seeing any road bikes at Chaitawat. I visited Velocity and Jack Bike about a month ago & both carry a selection of road bikes but I don't remember the prices. TCA is definitely high end - a beautiful shop but unless you want to triple or quadruple your budget I'd forget about it.

I need to learn how to read. I read the OP's post and when he said "18 speed" my brain shut off and I immediately thought of mountain bikes. You're right -- Chaitawat only carries mountain bikes.

Road bikes at every level cost more than equivalent mtb's. There are very few road bikes that come in at the stated budget. In addition to Song, another place to try is the huge bike shop in Pasang. They too specialize in mtb's but they have hundreds of bikes on display. They always have a few road bikes at various price points.

Das, I'm surprised that neither Jacky nor Velocity had any full suspension mtb's. That's sort of good news for me. I'm a roadie and that means they expect to sell more road bikes, meaning more people to ride with.

[mike44]

Thanks for the helpful replies. I went around a few of the shops today and concluded that I will either have to up my budget or go for a mountain bike. I'll probably get a mountain bike as I don't go cycling very often.

[el jefe]

Thanks for the helpful replies. I went around a few of the shops today and concluded that I will either have to up my budget or go for a mountain bike. I'll probably get a mountain bike as I don't go cycling very often.

that's the dilemma. road bikes are much more efficient on the road, but mtb's are a much better value. Based on your budget and infrequent usage, I'd go with the mtb, but wherever you buy it, I would ask the shop if they can swap out the knobby tires the mtb will certainly come with for a pair of equivalently priced narrow slicks. even if you have to pay a few baht for the swap, it will be well worth it if you never plan on going off road.

[jackr]

Chaitawat has, or had, road bikes and anything not in the shop he can order. A mate bought a Trek roadie from him not so long back, which was cheaper than other places and came in a nice box, though 20k ish. Don't know if LA do roadies or not, but as above, just go with a MB and bung some 1.5 semi-slicks on there (which I have) - from about 400 baht each. You can then bung the knobblies on if you fancy off-roading, but it'll still be light enough for someone who's not serious about biking. I'd go with Cherry - the old dear's a bit indifferent but they're not snotty, like certain places here - and the mechanic's a nice lad.

[mic6ard]

Won't go with totally slick tyres, I preferr a bit of thread for the occassional rain day! Or do what I did when I was in the US, have 2 set of tyres at home, one for road and one for the mountain!, never use the hybrid (multi purpose) for the mountain, tried that almost got my arm broken when it got side ways

[jollyrog]

Won't go with totally slick tyres, I preferr a bit of thread for the occassional rain day! Or do what I did when I was in the US, have 2 set of tyres at home, one for road and one for the mountain!, never use the hybrid (multi purpose) for the mountain, tried that almost got my arm broken when it got side ways

mic6ard............I call that pilot error...............Last year I rode my Trek 7200 Hybrid off Doi Pui down to the lake......kick-ass ride .........

and I'm 72. Hy brid is the way to go.

Jolly Roger

[jamesbrock]

I bought a hybrid about five months ago as the roads here in Samui are shocking; I'll be moving to CM in a few months and can't wait to tackle the mountain! I'm sure when I was there I saw people doing it on all types of bikes?

Edit: just saw your post jollyrog - good to hear!

Edited April 28, 2012 by jamesbrock