Old Mtber Now In Bkk

[pauleddy]

Can anyone advise re the following:

I haven't ridden for 6 years. Before that I had two Specialized Stump FSRs in the UK and then in Spain. Rode 15 years. The better one had a lot of enhancements, new Fox shock, better rims, blah blah and was valued at about 8000 usd (if all the parts were new etc). I was an active weekend rider and did a fair bit of rough stuff and some downhilling. I only ever used flattie peds, and I had a fair bit of body armour, the best helmets etc.

I'm now 53 and I miss it so much. But, I live in BKK, and I don't have the time to buy a rack and get to CM or other trails. I live about 2 km from Chatuchak, where us oldies can ride around the park, I hear.

I want to get a new babe. I am a Specialized fan, but they can be a bit temperamental. In general I don't like Trek, except for the high end. Giant seem strong but clunky and straight from Taiwan. GF never appealed much. Marin always seemed "nice" and very Californian, but genteel. Kona are OK. Bianchi and Co are prissy Italian road bikes (but very good, sure). I like Dales but the odd front shocks, and the prices, are off-putting

Some questions would be--

How dangerous is BKK if heading out to find a trail (traffic-wise)?

If I am doing local trails or parks, should I get a hard-tail? Would the rear shock only be nice for jumping up pavements?

Sure, I always have a lock, but the best advice is not to leave it at all, or lock it for 5 min outside the 7-11where you can see it. Are there a lot of snatches here, or is it the same as LA or madrid?

Can I take it on the MRT or BTS? Are there clubs?

Now, the 64,000b questions--

In the UK, I was part of the bike shop "gang", and got heavy discounts on everything. What sort of a discount should I get here? Are there any shops which like to haggle?

I am not dead-set on Specialized, but I still like them. I went to Probike (Trek, GF etc.) and they seemed very professional...but I didn't ask for discounts (yet)

Can I test-ride at all of the shops?

Do the shops do steep discount on last year's models?

Do the web pages of shops have price lists?

Where can I find semi-new bikes?

Are some of the bikes here "good copies"? I have read some posts...

How do the prices of good brands compare with USA or Europe? I am not interested in 8,000 baht chinese bikes.

If anyone can answer any of the above, it would be great.

Thanks

Eddy

[wantan]

Wow, lots of questions. I cannot answer many of it, but i will try a few

Yes, near Chatuchak park is the "Rot Fai" park, where you can ride bicycle and rent them too. But its more for family riding, not for mountain bike.

Dangerous, riding in BKK? If you are not used to it better start carefully. Or maybe use your car to get out of the worst traffic and ride at the outskirts. Good luck. You will need some time to get used to the special conditions on thai streets.

You can take your bike in the Skytrain, but not in rush hour. I do not know the exact times, better ask or look on their website.

Here some more information:

http://bicyclethaila...bicycle-on-bts/

Good bikes in Thailand are a bit more expensive than in western countries and there are less options to choose from. If you start cheapskating you might better be aware of copies but in the "better shops" they sell original hardware for normal prices

Sure there are many clubs with thai people, but not many with farangs. If you want to get out of Bangkok once every month you can join the Bangkok Hash House Bikers on their weekend rides.

Good luck and have fun. Please not forget to write a report about your first ride

[pauleddy]

Thanks for the reply. It was certainly useful. Sounds like there is nowhere inside BKK that has "fun" areas--freeriding, small jumps, difficult trails. However, I see that you can take bikes on BTS--altho' going to the end of the line may not be worth it if you end up in a grimy suburb.

Can anybody comment re. which shop gives the best discounts for the high-end brands, and which shops will sell their 2011 bikes with good discounts?

Eddy