Buying My 2nd Foldie

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BUYING MY 2ND FOLDIE

The Dahon Dash P18 Midnight Black

(Disclaimer - all prices mentioned are approximate prices and rounded up. For more accurate pricing please contact the relevant people. This blog is not a review, it's more on my adventure in purchasing my 2nd Foldie)

My first foldie was a basic - one with bare minimum gear-speeds and not to expensive; as I wasn't sure whether my foray into biking would last. Whether it would just mushroom up and fade away all too soon.

I started riding on my own, then joined my friend Sin for some group rides, getting to make new friends. We soon formed our own smaller group of 6. And I was really enjoying biking.

Just after 2 weeks from my first purchase and I was bitten by the biking bug!

But some of the rides (Like the Damansara Heights ride) were tough, going up steep roads and my basic 7-speed foldie just wasn't built for it. At some of the steeper and longer slopes I just couldn't make it to the top, humbly dismounting & pushing my bike up.

So what should I do? Up-grade! My biking buddies advised me. Upgrade!

Two week into biking and I was looking for a better lighter bike. Why? I must clear those slopes. NO MORE PUSHING!

I had met Well, the organizer of the Damansara Heights ride during that ride. She has her own shop Folding Bike Trading located at Emerald Plaza East, Damansara Perdana, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. One can also view their FaceBook page at Folding Bike Malaysia, which informs member of coming rides and also update them on latest foldies and accessories. They sell only foldies, so one can expect a good range from them; from basics to alloy frames to carbon frames. From starter bikes at lower prices to top-end bikes costing RM10k & above. 


Folding Bike Trading
These are the bikes I saw at Well's place. She even let me have a short test-spin for some of the bikes.

Hummer (see specs)

The Hummer HM2000 is a beautiful, rugged looking bike - nicely color coordinated even with yellow cables and brake levers. I was tempted because of it looks but it was a basic with a 7-speed gear train. Price at around RM1,800 So I stayed on track and looked at the next one.

Dahon Dash P18 (see specs)

The Dahon Dash P18, an 18-speed bike with slim tires.Test riding it felt great. But I was concerned about the folding, as it needed allen keys to unlock for folding. And white wasn't my favorite color. Priced at RM2,800. On to the next one then.

Ori ECO C8 (see specs)

The Ori ECO C8, an entry level foldie from Ori Japan, looks classic with a solid mid-shaft frame. Frame is aluminium and it is a 8-speed bike and a light bike (10.8kg excluding pedals). It is unique that it folds at the wheels into a compact size and is yet roller-able. Almost to my liking, but not yet as a 8-speeder and color is white. Priced at RM2,800.

KHS F20-T3 (see specs)

The KHS F20-T3 is an American bike with a 27-speed gear train and weighs a light 11.6kg. It's 27-speed gives it a good riding age. Priced at RM2,950. Still not yet as didn't like the lime green color and wan't sure of a 27-speeder. Well mentioned bringing some KHS F20-T2 in a couple of wees, these at 18-speed at will be cheaper. So perhaps, I wait for them.

Still not having found something suitable, I went back home and searched the net for shops selling foldies nearby and found FoldingBike2u with their shop at nearby Centrepoint, Bandar Utama, Selangor, Malaysia. Well, that's for the next day's hunt.


FoldingBike2u
I called up FoldingBike2u and popped over to Centrepoint, Bandar Utama - please note that they are at the new wing. The address is for a Scuba Diving shop which I think they co-own. The folding bike shop is just opposite this diver's place.

Downtube Nova (see specs)

The Downtube Nova is an American brand, aluminium frame, 7-speed, and looks good in the strong orange color. Priced at RM1,500, it could attract beginners or those who are looking for a basic. Still a basic, so moving on to the next.

Ubike

This is a 7-speed Ubike Taiwan brand, good colors. But still a basic, so still not right. Priced at RM1700. Searching the net for this, I also found Taiwan Commuter Bike Rentals, an interesting public bike rental by the Taiwan government to encourage commuter biking.

16" Providence BP01

The BP01 by manufacturer Providence is a 16" rim bike with a 7-speed gear hub.

Providence BP01 folded

It folds into a very compact & neat package. However at 16" and 7-speed, it's still not the bike I was looking for.

HP Velotechnik Gekko FX Recumbent Tricycle

FoldingBike2u also sell recumbent cycles. Although not what I was looking for, they allowed me to try out the HP Velotchnik Gekko FX, a German bike. It was an interesting short trial ride. Surprisingly this is a foldie and folds fairly compact for it's size.

I was quite keen on a couple of the bikes above, but my limited knowledge made me uncertain of some of them. So I went to see my friend, Johnny (of My Bicyle Shop)  to seek some advice. While he was giving me some advise, out of the corner of my eyes I spotted the following.

Dahon Dash P18 in Obsidian

It was a Dahon Dash P18 in matte black (actually the color is called obsidian in Dahon's site). It looked stunning with lime green stripes. But I was still apprehensive about the difficulty of folding. But Johnny showed me that it only takes one turn of the allen key for each of the two joints, and a couple of turns for the handle. One have to be careful when folding/unfolding though, the rear-gear cable can get caught and will fray.

The Dahon Dash P18 folded

The Dash does not fold as compactly as other foldies as it was designed as a bike to take rugged and fast rides. The body folds in half, but the handles can't be folded down like many other foldies, it can only be re-aligned to be parallel to the front wheel for more compact folding. At 10.6kg it is one of the lighter bikes.

My Dahon Dash P18

I got this as my 2nd Foldie, first to be able to conquer those steep slopes, and secondly for its good ride-ability  and sleek looks. Having ridden it a few time, I have learnt to enjoy biking even more. Next? To more challenging rides and also scenic leisure tours & maybe some overseas rides...... but first got to get a luggage bag that can fit the Dash.

Many thanks to my friend Sin and Nash for encouraging me; Johnny, Jimmy & Well for letting me learn a little bit more of bikes.

Cheerio then. Thanks for reading this old man's blog.

Postcript:
They are two stories behind the buying of my second foldable bike. This is the serious one, for the hilarious one read - Buying My 2nd Folding Bike

You are at - Jotaro's Blog / AhPek Biker / Bikes & Accessories / Buying My 2nd Foldie
If you like this, view my other blogs at Jotaro's Blog
(comments most welcomed below. if you like this pls share via facebook or twitter)

Penang Bike Ride 07/07/2012 : Tg Tokong - George Town

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                     AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures                   
Penang Ride : Tanjong Tokong to George Town
7th July 2012

Trio Ride from Tanjong Tokong to George Town Heritage Zone & back.
Distance covered : 13.5 km.
Time Taken : Who cares? It was a leisure ride.
Recommendation : Good, scenic ride. Can be fast-paced but should take time at Heritage Walk Area.

Penang Ride Biker Route (Click here for Google Map link)

An uncle, coming back to Penang for a short visit, decided to hold his 65th birthday party (see WoW! : No.5 Uncle 65th Birthday) on the 8th July. I was itching to take my 1-week old bike (Buying My First Foldable Bike) to Penang for a ride there, and this was the opportunity. So I loaded my bike up into the holding space of the 5-Star bus I was boarding from 1-Utama Transportation Hub and off we went!

AhPek Biker with Mamatan

In Penang, my brother Vic and his son came by at 10:00am the next day to rouse me up! We had planned to start at 8:00am but a late previous night enjoying Penang's good food altered our plans. Well that's Penang for you.
Mamatan, like any mother, was concerned for the well-being of his son, who crazily was going cycling again after umpteenth years.

Brother Vic & his son Will

We rode down to Tanjong Tokong road and then proceeded to Gurney Drive. Traffic was fairly heavy.

High-rise Condos at Gurnery Drive

Gurney Drive's skyscape has changed with the many high-rise condominiums sprouting up. Looking more like Waikiki, albeit without the beautiful beaches.

Alas, the beaches here are disappearing. Land reclamation further up at Tanjong Tokong could have change the tidal patterns leading to accretion of silt. Mangrove swamps have formed and they  have stretched half-way besides Gurney Drive.

Even the condos are not spared, with the mud-banks inching their way year by year closer to the city. Soon, this area may not be a sea-front anymore as more reclamation may be carried out. What view will the condos have then?

Heritage Among the Highrises

As we cycled along Gurney Drive, I notice only a handful of the original buildings left. This particular one standing "tall", nestled among the high-rises.

We reached the far end of Gurnery Drive, and were pleased to see sampans there - just at the city doorsteps, fisherman are still plying their trade!
Our cycling was at a leisurely pace, and I was able to take the following photos without stopping - hold the camera up, roughly aim and snap, snap, snap. I was surprise that some of the photos turned out quite okay. 

As we exited Gurnery Drive, large and green angsana trees are seen lining the road sides. That's the beauty of Penang, at one side will be the condos facing the sea, round a corner and one will find nice tree-line boulevards. Take another corner and the scenery change again, that is as we approached Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah (formerly Norhtham Road).

Northam Road is a peculiar place, on the landward side there are tall office buildings.....

Whilst on the seaward side, there are still the old colonial mansions - a strange mix of architecture. Some of the old mansions have tall office buildings behind them. It was a lame effort by the previous State Government to balance growth while preserving heritage. Perhaps, in the future this mix itself will become the heritage of Penang. Who knows?

In an effort to meet the government requirement that old mansions be maintained, odd combinations have cropped up - like this one above of a newer building trying to unsuccessfully imitate the older one.

OR this one! Looks too spanking new to be an old colonial building? It is a new building! The old one was suspiciously demolished one fine night. Amid the hue & cry by the public, the developer had to rebuild a new one as close a replica as the former one. Sadly they couldn't really get it right. And the new replica is a sad replacement.

Exiting Northam Road, we rode into Farquhar Street and passed my old school field. It is a large one, the size of two soccer fields; and it holds fond memories for me. We had our PE here, and some of the cheeky ones like me would sometimes be naughty. For this, we would be punished by having to run 10 laps round the field. Which we happily did, as the field is shared by the convent girls, who would be using the other corner of the field. One lap and waving "Hi!" Another few more laps and more "Hi's" and, if their teacher was not around, we would be rewarded by some smiles from the girls. That's teenage years' thrills.

Assumption Cathedral

We are now entering the inner city, the UNESCO Heritage Core Zone. To our right is the Assumption Cathedral at the junction of Farquhar Street & Love Lane, a marker for the boundary of this Heritage Core Zone.

George Town - UNESCO Heritage Core Zone  (Click here for Google Map link)

The heritage zone is an area show-casing the rich culture of Penang. A culture of mixed Malay, Chinese & Indian influences - where one can see a mosque next to a Chinese temple; and which itself would be next to an Indian temple. A fine balance of racial and religious interaction, where racial harmony has allowed this mixed architecture to spruce up. Another uniqueness of Penang, a city with a strong cultural history.

As we turned into Light Street, I was surprised to notice biking lanes in this area, these are probably for tourists. But then still Hurrah! for bikers. Light Street is named after Sir Francis Light, the founder of Penang Island.

Pitt Street Penang

From there we proceeded right into Pitt Street, referred to by locals as "Ia Kar" (meaning "under the coconut tree") as coconut trees used to line this road. It is the Little India of Penang. This road is now called Masjid Kapitan Keling, a renaming effort by the Malaysian Government to rid itself of it's colonial past.

We rode pass the Goddess of Mercy Temple here. Unfortunately, the was a temporary stage (for a Chinese Opera performance) blocking a good view of the temple. I could only take a side view photo of the temple.

Turning left into Chulia Street, we noticed the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, a Hindu temple with Islamic domes.

Just opposite it is the Lim Kongsi (Kongsi is the Hokkein term for surname-clan house). Surprised? I did mention that this area have a very racial and religious mixed.

We turned back to Jalan Kapitan Keling and rode pass the Kapitan Keling Mosque, the namesake of this road.

There was an push-cart stall selling Mee Goreng (i.e. Fried Indian Mee) a Penang delicacy. The Indian man was frying the mee, and the smell wafting from it was tempting but we were not hungry yet. I took a picture of this, thinking to myself that this is probably a dying trade. The Indian man did look old indeed.

Yap Temple. The adjoining green building is the Yap Kongsi.

Further down is the Yap Temple, a temple next to the Yap Kongsi.

Yours truly, the AhPek Biker at the Yap Temple

This being the UNESCO Heritage Day, we decided to ride around & explore the locality..

The area is exciting, full of culture and past. One can see a large mural painted onto the gable end of a shop-house. This and many other wall murals were painted by Ernest Zacharevic, a young Lithuania-born artist, as part of the George Town Festival in 2012.

The three bikeeters, Will, Vic & AhPek

Further away, as part of the Heritage Day celebration, a young Malay boy was playing on traditional Malay gongs.

Signboard at a shop indicating directions to various sites of the Heritage Walk.

The place was fairly crowded with tourists, both local & foreign. Most were following the renown George Town Heritage Trial, a walking tour of this historical area.

It is full of live. The were other signboards promoting other cultural events at other venues in Penang.

Exploring further, we saw an interesting entrance to the Cheah Kongsi, with colorful mosaics adorning the walls. People are actually living in these places, engaging in their day to day activities. Penang is not only a heritage, it is a living and thriving heritage.

Riding on, we stopped at a non-descript entrance, and entered.

The renown Khoo Kongsi

This humble entrance led to the Khoo Kongsi, one of the most beautiful temples in Penang, if not Malaysia. Today, visitors were only allowed into the temple compound. But I understand that the interior of the temple is even more beautiful.

Sun Yat Sen Base at Acheh Street

Exiting the Khoo Kongsi, we went onward to Lebuh Acheh. This area was once an enclave for Achenese from Sumatra, during the heydays when Penang was an entreport. Here we found the Sun Yat Sen Base, and odd place for a Chinese revolutionary to have his base - within a Malay and Indian area!

Sun Yat Sen, during his revolution against the Imperial Chinese, was in the Nanyang (Chinese for countries south of China) to bolster overseas revolutionist and gather funds. He set up a base in Penang and had a brief sojourn here. The base now is a historical monument to him, documenting his stay in Penang; and the various houses he resided in or had meetings with the locals.

Acheh Street Mosque Minaret

Heading towards  Carnarvon Street  we passed by the Acheh Street Mosque. Whilst the Kapitan Keling mosque was built by Indian Muslims, this one was built by Indonesian Muslims from Acheh. Hey! Aren't we in Malaysia? What's this about Indians & Indonesians? Well, this is Penang - a melting pot of cultures.

Finally, the toll of riding was getting to us and hunger pangs set in. At Carnavorn Street, we stopped at Kafe Ping Hooi for a quick brunch. Penang is well known for it's food. In 2009 the New York Times readers voted it as the 2nd best place to eat in the world. Penang Laksa is listed as the 7th most delicious food in the world by the CNNGo.

We had Penang Char Keow Teow, another well known street-fare dish. It is flat rice noodles, beans sprouts and prawns fried with soy sauce over a charcoal fire. This one was delicious, a testament to the reputation of Penang's food. The owner of the stall was an avid biker also and was most happy to see us cycling there.

Tin-smith at Kimberley Street

Carryiing our bikes across the road's central divider, we headed for Kimberley Street. Vic & Will had to rush back for some urgent appointment, and I was left to ride alone at my own leisurely pace. I noticed a tin-smith shop and asked permission to snap photos of yet another dying trade. The lady owner looked up at me and remarked local Manglish "Hey! Go cycling must dressed more stylo, cannot dress like an old man one!" It seems that my reputation has preceded me!

Heading toward Penang Road and then turning into Burma Road (Burmese in Penang? Yes, there were and still are.), I stopped at the Burma Road-Macalister Lane junction to savor another Penang delicacy - Cendul.

Penang Cendul. The drink on the right is "green-grass" a health drink.

The couple manning the stall has been selling at this spot for over forty years. Cendul is a beverage consisting of short green rice noodles served with coconut milk and sweetened with palm sugar (gula Melaka). I also had the "green-grass" drink, a health drink of sorts.

Burma Road - Anson Road Junction. Dark skies ahead!

The sky wasn't being friendly towards biking, dark clouds were forming and I had to pedal faster, puffing away trying to beat the rain. Too bad. I couldn't make it in time to home base and was caught in the rain for the last 10 minutes of the ride.

My humble bike had carried me well and carried me true. It was indeed an interesting ride. Next I plan a ride from Tanjong Tokong to Teluk Bahang, perhaps on a new bike. Heh! Heh!
Adios!


You may also like:

Tanjong Tokong To Telok Bahang Ride 22nd July 2012

Faster pace ride from Tanjong Tokong up to the Telok Bahang Dam, passing by rustic village and scenic beaches.

Adventist Hospital "Go Bald" Charity Ride 26th August 2012

A ride for charity in conjunction with Penang Adventist Hospital "88 Shining Heads - Go Bald & Food Fair" fund raising event.

Penang Cross Channel Ride - Tanjong Tokong to Butterworth 5th January 2013

An interesting ride from Penang Island across the North Channel via the Penang Ferry and onward to Pantai Bersih, Butterworth

Malaysia - Street Art of George Town, Penang : December 3rd 2012 
Interesting street art murals & wire sculptures around the UNESCO George Town Core Zone

Malaysia : Khoo Kongsi, George Town

 A grand clan house full of heritage, with impressive art & architecture.

You are at - Jotaro's Blog / AhPek Biker / Cycling Malaysia / Penang / Penang Ride 7th July 2012
If you like this, view my other blogs at Jotaro's Blog
(comments most welcomed below. if you like this pls share via facebook or twitter)