Friday 2 January 2015

The Start of Exploring Foldies

Peace!

The very concept of a folding bicycle was intriguing to me; I had always been more of an urban cyclist, and to the surprise of many I actually like to cycle in the city and suburbs. There is a different sense of adventure, of even urgency that would be missing from coasting down a meandering bucolic path. It may have to do with the fact that I was very much a city boy, born and bred in the Klang Valley for most of my life. To cycle in the city was a matter of... survival. A slightly perverse sense of high...

I had bought a bicycle rack that attaches to the back of my Kia Sorento for weekend rides at Lake Gardens. The preparation of hooking up the rack and transferring 3 bicycles (one Proton T-Blaze rigid frame Mountain Bike which was my father's, which he received as a result of previously co-owned a Proton retail outlet, an XDS aluminium-frame single-speed boy's bike purchased from Bangi and a Toys-R-Us pink Barbie girls one) from their suspended hooks at the car porch, which usually takes more that 30 minutes, more often than not discourages the thought of even having the excursion. A folding bike, now that's a different proposition! From my desktop research, it only takes some 20 seconds to fold a bike and carry it into the boot! The possibilities beckon...

Folding bikes have had a long history, and it is a little too long to relate it here, but here's a link for those who'd like to know. I focused instead on conducting extensive research both online as well as visiting various shops that had been checked out online. One of my most often referred-to blog site is Sam Cheong's excellent "The Samosaurus Chronicles", probably the most exhaustive folding bike blogs there is, and a Malaysian one to boot. It was through his site that I developed a keen interest for Dahon and Tern bikes. Today, the Dahon name is synonymous with folding bikes after coming out with its first production in 1982 by Dr. David Hon, a physicist; Tern is owned and developed by his son, Joshua Hon; fortunately, the legal dispute between the two companies (one of the impact was that Dahon bicycles were released, for a period of time, as Dr. Hon) was settled and we can now enjoy superb products and new models from both companies.

Polygon Urbano 3.0
Rodalink Bangsar
The only time I really had to visit bicycle shops were lunchtimes, in-between meetings or sometimes on the way back home, so that was what I did. The first was the closest to my father's house in Bandar Baru Bangi called Ogen Cycle, where I saw the Polygon Urbano 3.0 (black) which was pretty appealing, more so than the various XDS folding bike models that they carried, and it even came with a carrying bag. Closer to my house, I had visited Rodalink Bangsar and was impressed by the range of folding bikes that they carried, inlcuding Polygon, Dahon and Tern. Early on, I had my eye on a Dahon Jetstream P8, mainly because of its dual-suspension system although its almost RM4k price was disconcerting. My infatuation with Dahon bikes began.

Dahon Jetstream P8 

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