Beyond 1200

Why is it that people’s first reaction to a lot of my riding or any suggestions about riding is “you can’t do that”. There are unspoken preconceptions of what you can and cannot do on a bike, and even what is “normal” to do on a bike.

In general, riding more than 5km is not “normal” on a bike, riding fast is not “normal” on a bike, riding for more than like and hour is not “normal”, folding a bike and taking it on the bus is not “normal”. The list goes on and on, but I will spare you the rambling.

So this comes down to a problem of how we define “normal”.

For most people, this is how it comes out. They don’t do those things like that, so why would anyone else.

Well, here are some of the things that people do on bikes that are slightly out of the ordinary.

Endurance

A recent post on Taiwan in Cycles talked out Jure Robic, a Slovene who is considered to possibly be the world’s greatest endurance athlete. The picture above is him after 2,530 miles and 7 days, 9 hours and twenty minutes on the bike. In that time he only got 9 hours sleep and consumed a mind boggling 100,000 calories. At a different time he set a 24 hours riding record of 834.7 km.

The article in the New York Times outlines the metal breakdown he goes through in his attempts at RAAM, a non-stop race across the USA.

Definitely not “normal”

Speed & Distance

Bicycles are usually considered fairly slow, but here are some figures…

• 200m flying start record (HPV): 132 km/h
• downhill speed record (on snow): 210 km/h
• 24 hour distance record (HPV): 1041.25 km

These are all records that were set on human power alone. The reality is that these were all achieved with very specialized bicycles and in perfect conditions, which might lead you to discredit them.

But not so fast, because the entire Human Powered Vehicle crowd are basically University students and people who do it as a hobby. There are no big sponsorships and to use a computing metaphor is closer to the open source crowd than to the battles of the big names.

Big Stuff Transport

Let’s get a little more practical. Moving big stuff is often a reason for cars, but just like trucks are specialized motorized vehicles more moving lots of stuff, so there are also bike for doing the same thing.

Introducing the Long John. Nope, not a pair of underwear to keep your precious bits warm in the winter, but a bike for hauling big things, typically up to 120 kg or so.

Not for long distances probably, but definitely convenient for errands.

Kid Transport

As a parent of two, one of my main struggles is with just how to take the kids along on rides. Oftentimes it is just me by myself, so I need to be able to get both on one bike.

My solution is to take a very standard production bike, put a kid seat on the back and another one between the seat and handlebars. It works, but does lack a bit of comfort for longer rides, which is where my other favorite kind of bike kicks in.

The cargo bike is designed with a very long tail, which adds stability when putting lots of weight over the rear end of the bike.

Take Them Anywhere

And finally, if you really need to take a bike with you and are short of space, something like the little guy below fold really tiny and can take you short distances.

The wild west. A small and dusty town. A bar.  A derivative walks into the bar. All the functions scatter. In a dark corner, a lone function dares to stand his ground. The derivative walks up to the lone function and asks, “Who the hell do you think you are?” Without skipping a beat, the function, with eyes barely visible from under the brim of  his hat, replies “I’m ex.” The derivative gives a small, knowing grin and says, “Today is not your lucky day, I’m d/dy.” – Original source unknown

So it’s been a while  since whipping out the high school math books. I mean who needs that kind of grief in the real world?

Well, ladies and gents, for the first time ever, I’m going to show you a practical use for your trigonometry classes.

But fear not, I’ll be holding your hand through this, you just need to plug in the numbers.

Why This Is Useful

The best option for choosing a stem is to have yourself measured on your bike and get a stem that matches the angle and length of the one used for measurement. There is no guessing here, and it’s all worked out well.

But what if your bike is not quite right, or if you didn’t have it fitted, or after some time the “correct” fit just doesn’t quite cut it?

Amongst other things, the stem will need to be adjusted.

Simple?

No.

Doable?

Yes.

Because of the angles, every adjustment of the stem affects not only the height, but the distance from the top of the saddle to the handlebars.

How My Dilemma Helps You

I am 6′1″ (185mm) and my build gives me legs that are quite long, but not long arms. I’m like a Tyrannosaurus on wheels.

Ideally I’d be riding a custom built frame that’s just right for me, but I don’t have deep pockets for that kinda stuff, so standard consumer bikes is the only option. Fitting my body on a standard, production bike takes a bit of work, thought and adjustment.

My current mountain bike setup puts the handlebars about 79cm in front of the saddle (measured from where my sitting bones would rest). This is a position I have had on my bikes for over 10 years already, but after riding a small, folding bike that is only 72cm from seat to handlebar, and finding it quite comfortable, I need to make some adjustments to my bigger bike. The vertical difference between saddle and handlebar currently puts the handlebar 2cm below the saddle.

There is one other sure giveaway of being too stretched out. When riding for over three hours I often place the middle of my fingers on the handlebars, rather than the palm. This position eases strain in my back and just feels right.

Target: move handlebars 4cm closer to seat, and raise them by up to 2cm.

Ready?

Let’s go.

Preparation

First, some abbreviations:

• hl = horizontal length, the length of your stem measured directly forward, parallel to level ground (we’ll calculate this number)
• vh = vertical height, the height of your stem as measured directly upwards (we’ll calculate this number)
• sa = stem angle, the angle marked on the stem
• sl = stem length, the length marked on the stem
• hta = head tube angle, the angle of your head tube (we’ll measure this)

To measure the head tube angle:

• Take angle from manufacturers specifications (I did)

or

• Stand bike securely (lean against something, tie rubber bands around brake levers and handlebars to stop sliding)
• Find something long and straight (broom, etc)
• Drop line straight down the head tube to the floor
• Measure the head tube angle as shown in the diagram, between the floor and that line (you’ll need a protractor for this)

To measure the stem length:

• Check specifications (often written on the underside of the stem)

or

• Measure from the center of the head tube to the center of the handlebar.

The Math Part

You’ll need the online scientific calculator (or a real one) for these.

Calculate horizontal length and vertical height.

bignum = 90 – head tube angle + stem angle

horizontal length = cos(bignum) x stem length

vertical height = sin(bignum) x stem length

Original Stem Figures

My current figures are…

• stem angle = 25
• stem length = 120mm
• head tube angle = 72

so…

bignum = 90 – 72 + 25 = 43

horizontal length = cos(43) x 120 = 87mm

vertical height = sin(43) x 120 = 81mm

Find A New Stem

Now you just need to plug in the numbers of a new stem to find the one that is closest to your requirements.

To get 4cm extra height is quite a rise, so I’ll try out a 45 degree stem first. These are available in a range of lengths, this angle is probably right, but the length will make a big difference.

120mm stem with 45 degree rise:

bignum = 90 – 72 + 45 = 63

horizontal length = cos(63) x 120 = 54mm

vertical height = sin(63) x 120 = 106mm

So I’ve moved back 33mm, but moved up by 25mm.

I was hoping to move further back and don’t need that much more height.

Next…

100mm stem with 45 degree rise:

bignum = 90 – 72 + 45 = 63

horizontal length = cos(63) x 100 = 45mm

vertical height = sin(63) x 100 = 89mm

Overall, for my bike, they work out as shown in the table below.

Conclusion

Taking the time to get the right stem is worth it. However, this isn’t really needed any more and there are plenty of shops with adjustable stems in their stock. It’s much easier to use one of those to determine the right length, etc.

If you are in the market for a very expensive stem, I’d recommend just buying an adjustable one (not that expensive), and then spend a little less on the full stem when you’ve determined the right size and length.

When my wife originally wanted to go riding with me and needed a new bike, the Giant Hello Kitty caught her attention.

Its first major ride was a 70km ride from Yonghe to Fulong even though she had never been a cyclist and had not done training of any kind. She threw her bag on the rack, held it down with the sprung part included on cheaper racks and just headed off. What a trooper.

Now, 7 years later, the bike is still in use. It doesn’t get nearly as much use as any of our other bikes, but it is a staple in the stable of loyal chariots.

Amongst its features are:

• Big basket (with Hello Kitty picture up front)
• Downtube-only “girls” bike design
• Kick stand attached to rear wheel bolt
• Big seat with springs for comfort (but not comfortable)
• Hello Kitty bell
• 6-speed Grip Shift (rear gears only)
• Caliper front brakes
• Drum brakes at the back

The child seat at the back was most often used on my mountain bike when I used to take Christina out on bike rides. It was a little more pricey than the other models available and seemed more comfortable. It was just the right size when she was almost two years old and it is still fine now. She enjoys trying to climb up and into the seat on her own now.

Although it is not my first choice by any means, it is still a regular in our household.

I think it will continue to be for some time too.

“Just hop on and enjoy the ride” – a mantra I can appreciate.

Throw all concerns to the wind, just get on with it, cut to the heart of a great ride.

But…

If you want to go that little bit further, save that little bit more energy and make your long efforts feel that much easier, then a slight change in riding style is probably called for.

The reality is that any ride is directly affected by how effectively you pedal. When going for distance or going for speed, or anything beyond a quick spin around the block, how fast you pedal has a direct effect on your overall energy usage and power output.

Usually…

People will hop on a  bike and start to pedal at a pace that feels comfortable. And surely being comfortable is a major concern, right?

Or course.

But what we find comfortable is actually more accurately described as “what you’re used to”. Pedaling in the same way as you always have is just falling back on your experience, and chances are that your experience has probably taught you some bad habits.

To break those bad habits you’ll need to bring a bit of science and timing into your pedaling action. So here’s the background information.

What is Cadence?

Cadence is how fast your pedals are turning around while you’re pedaling.

Thanks to the invention of gears you end up turning your legs around at about the same cadence all the time. You adjust the gears to be easier when you are climbing a hill and you adjust them to be harder when you are descending or on a flat.

Low cadences require you to put more pressure on the pedals to maintain the same speed. This puts stress on your muscles for hard strength. Spinning as low as 60 puts most of the strain on these parts of your muscles.

Higher cadences require you to put downward pressure on your muscles but require you legs to turn over very quickly. Racers will typically keep their cadence over 90, while spin at up to 120 during time trials and such speed events.

What Is The Best Cadence?

This article on Cycling Performance suggests that the perfect cadence is somewhere from 85-100 RPM.

It varies depending on the terrain, but a smooth, fast cadence will increase your overall efficiency.

How do you work out your cadence?

Many bike computers/speedometers and fancy bike gadgets work this out for you. They will have a sensor mounted by the crank.

But if you don’t have one you can get a general idea of how fast you are pedaling.

You’ll need:

• An easily visible timer (preferably on the handlebar, a watch can be wrapped around the handlebar for this purpose too, if necessary)
• A clear road (because your focus will not be entirely on the road for up to 15 seconds)
• You math hat

Counting cadence:

• 1 revolution = right side pedal movement from bottom position (6 o’clock), all the way around, past 12 o’clock, and back to the 6 o’clock position

Timing (best shown by example):

• 6 seconds = every stroke from the moment the clock shows :00 to the last moment it shows :05 (stop counting once the clock shows :06)
• 12 seconds = every stroke from the moment the clock shows :00 to the last moment it shows :11 (stop counting once the clock shows :12)

The process:

• Start riding
• Settle into a single gear at a constant speed
• Start counting pedal strokes when the timer hits :00 (first stroke is the second time the right pedal is at the bottom)
• Stop counting as soon as the timer hits :06 (or :12)
• Multiply the result by 10 (or 5) to get your cadence

Because you’re multiplying by 10, it’s important to start and stop counting at the right time.

If your cadence is too low, change to an easier gear (bigger cog at the rear or small chainring at the front). If it’s too high, change to a bigger chainring at the front or a smaller cog at the back.

How Will This Help Anything?

There is a useful test you can do which is outlined at the link above.

The test goes like this:

• Thorough warm-up (20 minutes, with a few fast efforts)
• Rest for 5 minutes
• Pick your usual gears with slower cadence
• Go flat out for 15 minutes and time it
• 15 minutes rest
• Change to an easier gear
• do 15 minutes hard again

Try the same two days later, with the higher cadence part first and you will be able to feel the difference.

The best way to test a bike is to ride it for a long time and a long distance.

Small niggles and annoyances are easily overlooked on bicycles that are seldom used, or only used for short commutes.

There’s precious little time to determine just how well things work as the ride is over before any poor design elements of the bike start to rear their ugly heads.

Longer rides are a true test of just how well all the parts work. After a few hours in the saddle, as your body starts to become tired and your muscles start to ache, every little creak, every little part that is slightly out of place and every uncomfortable element become painfully obvious and a constant hinderence to riding performance.

This is when the real test begins.

I recently took the Dahon Super Comp for a 100K ride to test these very elements.

And this is what I found.

I’ll start with the good stuff, then move onto my dislikes.

Overall solid build

The whole build is nice. There is nothing out of place, the only small consistent noise is the rear fender, which will probably get fixed. I’m still concerned when I hit bumps or need to go off sidewalks since I’ve read the big warning sticker warning against off-road use and not riders over 105kg, a weight that I am too close to for my own liking.

Still haven’t tried folding much, but that’s another post in itself.

Relaxed riding position

This is the most upright position I’ve ridden in. The handlebar is actually about 1cm higher than the saddle. The reach from seat to handlebar is also very short, approximately 6-8cm shorter than my regular ride.

This certainly came through with much less pressure on my arms throughout. The pain I sometimes start to feel from my palms did not happen during the ride. This could also be, in part, due to the nice comfy grips.

Comfy grips

I’ve eyed these new “ergonomic” grips for a while and wondered if they really work well. The ones on this bike are fat, softish and have the ergonomic bump facing the rider. The bump is supposed to support the ball of your hand so your wrists don’t rest at an extreme angle.

These grips tend to slip while riding, meaning that they start to rotate backwards slowly. This would be eliminated by a set that have fasteners at the ends.

Comfy seat

Maybe I’ve been riding on the vicious Selle seat for too long, but this seat felt very comfy. It was comfortable throughout the ride.

Front shifting very heavy

No matter how much I try to adjust them I can only get a decent match on the setup. The match of the three speed shifter with a two-ring crankset is not good. My other bikes has not needed the gears adjusted in over two years and works precisely every time.

The upside is that on flats there was almost no need to change chainrings.

But, the downshift is too much lighter than the upshift. Although the upshift is heavy, just a small nudge on the shifter could push it down to the smaller cog. I don’t expect the downshift to be tougher, I expect the upshift to be better.

Poor water bottle position

Bad cage design aside, getting my Zefal Magnum bottle in and out was a bit of a squeeze. The top of the bottle hits the stem.

I had to use a slightly sideways motion to slip the first part into the cage, then push in as normal.

Stupid brake levers

There are times when developments are made for no reason, and at other times it seems like products are deliberately downgraded to be crappy.

These levers feel like that.

The braking action is fine and the barrel adjustment works as expected. But the position of the fastening screw is ridiculous.

On longer rides it is necessary to move your hands around on the handlebar to give you hands a break. Rather than the usual position for the screw, down and out of the way, it has been positioned in the exact position where it will press directly into the palm of my hands when I rest my hands there. It is still possible to put your hands there, but it’s very awkward and I had to twist my wrists in a slightly strange position for that.

Disintegrating rubber handlebar guides

In order to assist with the disassembly and reassembly of the bike, the handlebar has two rubber stoppers to indicate where the center of the bar is. This helps when putting the handlebar back on the stem as the stop mark the right position.

However, after a few rides the rubber has started to deteriorate, so if you rub your hands on them you’ll get black marks on your hands.

This has little bearing on riding, but is a concern for commuters who are riding in their smart clothes. Last thing they need is to get black marks on their clothes.

Rattling rear fender

The rear fender rattles a bit. This got progressively worse throughout my ride.

I narrowed this down to the clip that fastens between the seatstays. It might just need a bit of crimping, but after that is sorted out it should be a very quiet ride indeed.

Conclusion

My test ride was a bit faster than I’d intended, simply due to time constraints. At a slightly slower speed this bike would probably be fine for over 150km. And as I’ve stated before, that’s even easier if the bike fits you.

The feel of the bike is good, the ride is smooth and the brake lever clamp was the only persistent niggle throughout.

Overall I’m pretty happy with it.

The morning sunlight can make anything look good and shiny.

On my way back home along the riverside path, the morning sun was shining down, piercing through the slight chill in the air.

Here’s a few shots I took of the Dahon. I had been waiting for good, strong sunlight and I got it.

Yep, that’s me below. Not a shadow panda, but I’ll get around to one of those another day.

If you ride a bike much you’ve probably taken a picture like this. Raw, on the go, just you, just for fun.

Well, sometimes you just wander into things that you don’t know and don’t expect.

For some reason I was on Flickr and I wondered into a picture in the same style as the one above, either captioned or titled as “Panda”. Now to set the obvious aside, there were no big black and white animals in the shot.

So, dutifully following the rabbit trail of digital knowledge I discovered the Panda Portrait Flickr group.

As it turns out, the panda portrait is a very specific kind of cycling photo.

It’s a photo taken of yourself, by yourself, on your bike, while moving. The only exception to these rules is shooting the aftermath if you crash while doing it.

Here are a few tips (from a non-photographer who uses his cellphone to take pictures most of the time):

• Set the camera to take the picture faster (set the ISO to 400 or higher, higher is faster, compensates for wobbly arms)
• Try a few first to get an idea of where to aim (or just forget it and see what happens, just as fun)
• If you really want a decent shot, check the image after taking (take again if your head is half cut off etc.)
• Watch the road! Quieter roads without too many cars are better. You’ve been warned!
• Capture yourself, bike and… something else. Getting a friend in the shot, or something interesting in the background adds a little something to the basic panda.

In the end, just have fun. Be aware that although you probably won’t get fined for using a cellphone on your bicycle, that you still need to pay attention to the road and where you’re going.

Here are some interesting ones for your viewing pleasure. Big, happy smiles were my main criteria when picking. (Photos that are not mine are linked to their pages on Flickr)

Warren Buffett, a legend in his own time. Ever since I first heard of him I have been amazed at how he works. By simply picking stocks and buying companies in a sensible manner he has managed to get over 13% growth per year on average for the last 40 years.

The average investment advice basically assumes that the market is absolutely efficient, so you can’t really do anything to beat it. The best approach is just to buy a spread and ride the same waves the market rides. Basically everyone ends up with the same odds.

But Buffett proves this assumption is wrong.

By preparing, staying informed, making sensible choices, avoiding duds and understanding the companies he invests in, Warren Buffet has been able to beat the market. It is true that he doesn’t let on to the complete details of his investment strategies, but he proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that you can beat the odds.

You can beat the odds of having an accident too.

When you’re out on the road cycling, your odds of being in an accident are related to your riding skills, your awareness while riding, your riding position, choice of approach and ability to avoid dangerous situations.

A lot of this has been adapted from Bicycling Safe as I thought it did a great job at explaining things clearly.

Avoid accidents

The ultimate goal for cycling safety is to not have accidents in the first place.

No accident = no injury or death… simple.

Helmets are promoted as the way to cheat death while riding.

Lies, all lies.

Your bowl of polystyrene is very unlikely to put up much of a fight against an 18-wheeler.

Most likely result: big truck 1, little cyclist 0

Ride like you’re invisible

Huh?

The trick here is to be as visible as possible, but to ride in such a way that even if you were invisible, you still wouldn’t get hit by any cars. Basically avoid every single possible situation where a car or other traffic vehicle would have to react or alter their course for you not to get hit. Easier said than done, but worth the effort.

Relying on the other drivers not to hit you is a guaranteed shortcut to the emergency room or worse. Your safety is entirely your own responsibility. Whatever crappy roads or driving get thrown your way, you have to deal with it to ensure you arrive home safe for your loved ones.

Pick safe routes

Better than trusting your skills to save you is to not have to use your skills.

Choose the safest route possible. Choose quieter roads, choose roads with a wide shoulder, choose bike paths, take the longer, less traveled path.

Ride further into the lane

Ride far enough into the lane that you will not slam into a car door if it is opened in front of you. When there are no parked cars you can ride closer to the side.

This position also makes you more visible to cars at intersections in front of you. Don’t hold this position all the time as it can be quite annoying for drivers behind you, but be aware of your safety before their annoyance.

Avoid crosswalks and riding on the wrong side

You are most visible when you are going with the flow of traffic.

Cars are looking for other traffic and that is their primary concern. Pedestrians or bicycles crossing from the right when the car is turning right are not seen. The car is looking for traffic from the left. Best to wait and cross when there are no cars or ride on the correct side of the road.

Don’t stop or ride in the blind spot

The blind spot is the position directly next to the car stretching about as far back as the rear bumper.

Do not stop in this position as the driver cannot see you in the rear view mirror and might turn into you. This also applies while moving, stay out of this position. Drop slightly back to where the car behind can see you but you won’t get clipped by the turning vehicle.

Lights, lights, lights

In Taiwan this is particularly bad. Very many people don’t use lights at night, and the places where there are less street lights, there seem to be even less bicycle lights.

Cars cannot see you. Really.

Cars have the oncoming lights in their eyes, which detracts from their ability to see you. Those same lights cast you into shadow. Use big reflectors if necessary, the bigger, more garish and uglier, the better.

Nighttime kit includes:

• front lights
• rear lights
• front reflectors
• rear reflectors
• side refelectors
• reflective jacket (construction site style)
• anything else reflective or bright

And when it comes to the ugly reflective jackets, the phrase “I wouldn’t be seen dead in that,” rings true. If you’re wearing the reflective stuff your chances of an accident are less.

Be Safe

Remember that in the end you want to get home safe and sound. Being overly worried about safety is not helpful, but being aware enough to take the relevant steps to improve your safety is key.

The two guides below are highly recommended and put into text many things which have become second nature after years in the saddle.

This years show was pretty awesome with a wide scattering of bike and bike parts from big name brands down to much lesser unknown brands, and those without brands.

Although my primary focus is bikes, what I was aiming at with this show is to see just how well local companies manage to represent themselves to a worldwide audience. Not just to see what the big guys like Merida, Giant and Dahon are doing, but smaller guys who have carved out good niches for themselves.

Here’s the lowdown.

Amoeba Bikes

Amoeba make a whole host of bike stuff including handlebars, stems, bar ends, frames and other bits and pieces.

Amoeba are an example of a parts company that have really poured their efforts into their brand. I recognize this brand from years ago and even here at the show, the use of the manufacturing company’s name only appeared in some small places.

This emphasis on brand has, I think, given them a decent and permanent spot on the parts choice list of many riders.

This is their road bike model.

Bear’s Bikes

Bear’s Bikes is a local company making single speed bikes. These guys were sharing a portion of a booth with another company, but Bear’s were getting the vast majority of the attention.

Their stand was really well done. In a tiny space they managed to pack in just the right amount of bikes. They also have videos on the go of them and their buddies riding these bikes and doing all kinds of tricks and stuff. And the two guys manning the stand had intimate knowledge of their products, how they work and what they are good for.

This is a shining example of what can be done with a few contacts, enthusiasm and hard work. I’m not sure how well these bikes are selling, but they are riding on the wave of fixies and single speeds that seem to be doing the rounds at the moment. The main guy is also involved with Giant in some way, I can’t quite remember how.

They also have a bunch of videos on the Bear’s Bikes YouTube channel. Here’s my favorite one of the main dude doing some stuff that I would assume would break the bike.

Dodsun Bikes

The Dodson shown above features a Shimano Nexus hub and some pretty good looking, but probably extremely non-functional fenders. The more interesting bike was the one below.

The bike shown above is their classic road bike frame. This was mated to what the sales guy called the Campagnolo ‘59 commerative groupset, made in the likeness of their 1959 groupset.

It had a really retro feel to it, especially with those downtube shifters.

Pictured above is a flat handlebar road bike from Dodson.

Favor Bikes

Favor Bikes are a local frame and fork manufacturer, the bike pictured above is based around their Spun single speed frameset.

HydraKnight

HydraKnight make bags, hydration kits and panniers. Although I don’t use a drinking bladder much anymore I used to use them all the time.

One of the primary things I like about local stuff is the price. I know the Camelbak was always a big investment of money, so I ended up using it for way longer than it was intended to be. My current Camelbak is over 10 years old.

The bladders are very solid and they incorporate some interesting designs. There is a bladder with two compartments inside so you can store an energy drink in one and water in the other, or any combination you can think of. The tubes from the two compartments are fed to a switch that selects which bladder to get liquid from, then goes to the section of pipe with the drinking thingy on the end.

The other cool thing was a range of very waterproof bags for commuting and touring. They come in different sizes and also include a handlebar bag that’s also waterproof.

Nankon Bikes

This long tailed cargo bike from Nankon was one of the highlights for me.

I have had my eyes on this style of bike for a long time now. With two kids it’s a bit of a mission to do any riding with them and I don’t have a bike setup quite right to take them both at the moment. Also the pricing on these is pretty expensive, with the well-known Surley Big Dummy cargo bike going for over US$2,495 as a full bike. This one would appear to be in a better price range and it’s made with aluminum rather than chromoly.

I’m hoping to get to try this one out sometime after I get in contact with them again.

The cyclocross offering from Nankon.

Girly Single Speed

This was propped up against a wall, I have no idea what company makes it but it looks pretty flash. The mix of the red aerospoke on the front, deep section white rim on the rear and gold cranks and handlebars are really stylish.

Free Parable

“Smart Low-Tech” is the moto of the folks at Free Parable. Based in Kaohsiung they design stuff for bikes.

Pictured above is the T1, which is a suitcase/trailer. When the wheels are folded up they are just like the little wheels on a normal suitcase. When they’re folded down they are read to act as a trailer that easily clips to an attachment on the quick release.

They also have what I’d like to call an inverted waterbottle holder. Instead of putting the bottle into a cage, you put an attachment onto the bottle itself, that attachment then clips to the parts on the bike. This allows any standard bottle to be clipped onto the bike.

Lastly was the Monkii, which is a folding tool carrier.

Polar

Sorry, couldn’t help myself.

Of course no show in Taiwan is complete without the scantily clad girls. Unlike Computex though, they were few and far between, and most of them were for slightly less heard of local or Chinese brands (it’s a local thing).

The lady above was a bit surprising as she was modelling for Polar, but it looks like all their stuff is made here. Polar are best known for their range of hear rate monitors.

Lian Hang New Product

These two were dressed just like the computex ladies, those shiny, plastic skirts and tops. Okay, okay these are my only pics of girls.

A Great Show Overall

After seven hours at the show I still only managed to get a good look at and talk to about 20% of the exhibitors, another 15% were just quick looks without talking to anyone.

Next time I hope to get more time to check everything out better. I was really impressed with the whole layout of the show and was amazed at how great it is go on a trade day as opposed to the weekend where it’s just a madhouse.

Well over the weekend I managed to get hold of my first real folding bike. The impression so far has been good, but many of my concerns about these small bikes are still there.

My only experience with folding bikes in the past was a sub-NTD2000 ($60) bike which was kinda fun, but so flexy and small that it was no good for any distance further than the end of the block. That gave me the impression that they’re all like that.

I was wrong. Here’s why.

First Impression

The first thing I noticed is that the bike is pretty light, with everything smaller than a normal bike it ends up being on the light side. It’s not as light as a well-specced road bike, but for a small frame made from 4130 chromoly and a seatpost to match, there is a good balance.

I was going to talk about body position and setup on such a small bike, but will save that for a later post.

All that I need to say for now is that for commuting it is a comfy position. I’ve set the handlebars to the same height as the saddle, which is a little more relaxed than my main bike.

Overview

The bike features the following bits and pieces:

• folding frame (made of Chromoly 4130)
• foldable pedals
• double chainring (39/56)
• eight speed rear cassette (with MTB ratio)
• grip shift (three speed front shifter for only two chainrings? odd.)
• 16″ wheels
• front and rear fenders
• straight-pull brakes
• dia-compe levers
• ergonomic grips
• curvy downhill-style handlebars (with less width)
• massive, long seatpost
• saddle with beam
• rear rack
• front/rear reflectors

Gearing

With two chainrings up front and an 8-speed MTB cassette at the rear, you get 16 gears to choose from. Plenty for city riding and commuting. These give a lot of range for climbing some smallish hills and moving along at cruising pace of up to 40km/h.

But I have a gripe. Of course I do.

Through the city I usually maintain a 20-25km/h pace, which is a balance between not going too slowly and not breaking into a torrential downpour of sweat. At this speed I am firmly in the bigger chainring and shifting amongst the middle cogs at the back.

But the mountain bike cassette has too much range. The lowest combination on this bike would be suitable climbing very steep hills, and I mean spinning the cranks while going at 5km/h sort of hills.

Just not necessary.

I’d rather have a road cassette with much closer gears for a lot of variety in the 13-28km/h range. The gaps between gears at the moment are just a bit too big.

With that said, the gearing all works as advertised. The front shifting is very stiff and takes a heavy twist to get to the big chainring. The rear shifting is smooth and precise.

Handling

There is inherently less stability when using smaller wheels. That’s one of those scientific things that teams of people in lab coats have spent years analyzing and found to be true.

Larger wheels roll better, roll over bumps better, give slightly better power output and are more stable at speed. Smaller wheels are lighter and more maneuverable.

I was actually expecting the steering and handling to be worse than it turned out to be.

My unscientific test (I should get a lab coat for authority) of stability is riding hands free. That balancing turned out to be very difficult, but doable. On an MTB or road bike you can keep riding without hands until you run out of road or trail. The effort to stay upright was almost not worth it as the constant counter balancing was very tiring. It is still doable however.

It should also be noted that one side effect of the small wheels is that although the overall size can okay after adjustment you are still perched very high the wheel hubs, which might be a contributing factor in the lowered stability. But that is inherent in the design, so I can’t really fault it for that.

Bumps are not fun and the super long stem and seatpost amplify the effect of stutter bumps on roads. Even at a measly 25km/h I felt something would break or I’d lose control. The leverage makes those bumps very much bigger and I’d warn you to ride them carefully, something akin to the lightweight riding style for cross-country mountain biking would do fine.

Braking

Well, I stopped. Good enough?

Not quite. The little wheels are not perfectly round which is not unusual for many wheels. They take a pounding over time, they’re not built quite right and they just end up slightly unround or not straight.

Unfortunately the same leverage that comes through when hitting bumps also comes through when braking. Just a small imperfection in the rims makes the braking very stuttery. This is mostly solved with a good wheel truing. If you can do that yourself, great, if not, it might be worth having a decent wheelbuilder tension the spokes correctly and work out any slight imperfections in the wheels before putting the bike into heavy use.

Having become accustomed to the feel and power of disk brakes, these do feel a little less powerful, but great for the slower speeds the bike is intended for.

Folding

I still haven’t figured it out.

I tried without the manual and was a little confused. “It’s not really that small,” was my first thought.

Well, as it turns out I’ve only had to fold it twice so far. Claimed folding time is less than two minutes.

I still have a soft spot for the Strida folding bike simply because of its super foldability. This doesn’t fold up as easily as the Strida’s 15 seconds, nor as small, but does give a range of gears that the Strida doesn’t.

Comfort

The ergonomic grips were good on my hands, giving support where needed.

The saddle is soft enough and well designed. Softer than a race seat, but not a big cushion. I’d say it’s a racing-shaped seat with cushion-like padding. Comfortable after and hour of riding.

The riding position is relaxed. If it doesn’t feel relaxed, get your local bike shop to help you out with that.

Who is this bike for?

Considering the makeup of the components and the price and quality of the bike, it would be ideal for a regular commuter who covers up to 10km on their daily commute.

It’s not a cheap bike, which puts it out of the bargain bike range, but it won’t be suitable for longer riding like touring. Big bikes are always more comfortable for longer rides, but if regular folding and transporting on public transport is required, this bike would do the trick and do it comfortably.