WoW! : Buying My First Foldable Bike

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BUYING MY FIRST FOLDABLE BIKE

My First Foldable Bike - in its folded look

My friend Sin, a fairly new but avid biker has been encouraging me to take up biking. Looking at his various blogs at hApPy HaPpY, he seems to be enjoying himself - going biking, meeting up with new friends and having eats during his biking treks. Cycling trips up to 130km a day was commonplace to him. These crazy bikers, they have foldable bikes which they keep in their car boot, and pop it out to cycle whenever they have the urge. Lunancy!

But he kept on encouraging me, and there I was telling myself "Can I do it? Am I up to it physically?" No problem he said, start of with the short distances. So I made up my mind, and went out looking for a bike.

Top of the range "Bike Friday"

Through a Facebook friend, I met up with Andy at the pro-shop in the The Club @ Bukit Utama, Bandar Utama, Kuala Lumpur. He introduced me to a fantastic bike, a Bike Friday; these bikes are hand-made in the USA and custom-fitted to individual buyers. I test-rode it around the complex. It has an infinity gear-drum unlike most bikes which have gear-cogs, meaning that there are unlimited gears, perhaps something like a car's clutch. Changing gears was a breeze - seamless & so quiet it's hardly noticeable. But then the price at RM9,000+ was beyond my budget. Perhaps next time, if I get to be really keen on biking - AND if I hit a jackpot.

A Doppleganger from Japan

The "Bike Friday" did me a favor, it got me really interested in bikes. But the price wasn't right for a novice like me. So Andy then introduced me to the Doppelganger, a Japanese bike. It was both beautiful and rugged at the same time - appealing to the macho in me. The price at RM1680 was very attractive. But I decided to shop around first. By the way, I posted pictures both bikes on FB and most of my friends like the Doppelganger for its looks.

I had promised Sin that I would be getting a bike within a week, so he recommended me to Johnny, the owner of My Bicycle Shop located at the Oasis Complex in BU4, Bandar Utama also. Johnny was very helpful and understood that a new biker like me had uncertainties about their biking future and may not want to spend too much on their first bike in case their interests waver.

My Bike!

He showed me the XDS-AFB260. It was a beautiful bike too, although not as rugged looking as the Doppelganger. The price at RM980 was just right too. It came in two color themes - white & red, and black & orange. I went for the latter as it fitted well with my blog color theme. So I finally got my first folding bike!

Lock-set

Water Bottle & Holder

Johnny threw in some accessories - lock-set, water-bottle and holder for free.

And I got the most important accessory, a helmet, for RM80. It was futuristic space-age looking, with reflector strips, adjustable chin-straps and tightening head band.

Helmet - Front View

From the front, wearing it, I could pass for one of Darth Vader's death-troopers. Watch out you guys - make way!

Compact when folded - fits into car boot easily.

Folding it was easy, with multiple levers to unlock the folding mechanism. First, lower the seat shaft all the way down so that it forms a leg to support the bike, then push the pedals inwards and fold towards the bike. Unlock one lever and fold the handle down, unlock another one and the bike folds into two. Presto, a compact parcel.

I am slowly learning the finer points of biking. Weight is important, so is the number of gears. Then one have to consider whether the bike is for casual on-road travelling or for speed-racing or even for off-road / mountain biking. Me? I'll just stick to the basics and take it one step at a time, that is if I until proceed to take the next step. Heh! Heh!

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