When I first moved to Da Nang i decided to carry on the tradition that I had established in Chiang Mai, Thailand and that was to get around town mostly by cycling. The reason for this is simple really: You get some exercise and end up at the same place that you would normally be paying for a taxi to get to. Also, if you do have a few too many, there is only so much damage that you can cause to yourself or others on one.
Bikes don't need to be expensive and I am not the kind of jagoff that would be at all concerned about having a $6000 bike just so it can weith 5kg like they use in the Tour de France. When I see people on bikes like that I kind of roll my eyes because really, you don't need that.
Here is a photo of the bike that I am going to go and pick up this afternoon.
This will be the first fixed gear bike that I have had in many years. This was something I would shy away from if it wasn't for the fact that almost all of Da Nang is dead flat since we are at sea level. The mountainous areas are extremely steep and I managed to make it over them just one time when I had an 18 gear bike and it was not a process I intended to do again. I used my old bike like a madman and I would meet everywhere by bicycle. It's quite hot here so I would almost always bring a backpack that had another shirt in it to change into rather than be a sweaty disgusting mess when meeting friends for dinner. It was really unfortunate one day when I walked out of my condo and it had been stolen.
I will admit that one of the main reasons why I bought this bike was specifically because it was manufactured by a company called "Twitter." I don't use actually online Twitter because I don't like wasting time but this bike was very good to me. It wasn't a top end bike by any means and it would frequently piss me off with the gears getting a bit out of whack and changing on their own or simply refusing to change at times. That's what you get for spending just $150 on a brand new bike I guess. I also didn't need the big boi tires on it either since there sadly is not a great deal of off roading to be done here in Da Nang because everything is covered in cement. So therefore the smaller wheels on the new one will be more appropriate.
The best bike I have had in the past 20 years was the one I had in Chiang Mai
This bike is what they call a "hybrid" in that the tires could handle off road situations but they were slimmer than mountain bike tires so you could get higher speeds on it. Believe it or not, that Nadi basket on the back there is NOT a professional accessory but is a laundry basket that I attached to the rack with about 127 cable ties. That is where my shopping or even better, my dog would be put when I cruised around town. I loved that bike and technically I still own it but I had to leave it behind because I was not going to pay the cost of moving it to another country. I paid around $200 for that bike and I used it daily.
Since I have become a bit more health conscious as of late, this might be exactly what it is that I need in my life because I genuinely enjoy riding a bicycle even though the streets here can and should be considered chaos by most western standards. The trick is to find a car and use it as a shield if you are ever at an intersection. They also sell horns for bicycles, which I initially found amusing but it is actually extremely necessary in this country.
So I am off to go and buy the TXED or whatever the hell that thing is called in the top picture in just a few minutes. I'm taking a taxi to pick it up and will ride it back home. Unlike my last situation with a bicycle, I am not going to be just leaving it unlocked outside my condo because I plan on actually keeping this one this time. No more stealing from me!
We used to have a BMX. One time, my elder brother brought it to the hill and it was stolen. We recovered the bike from some local street rat kid by paying 150 for the redemption. Many years later, my brother no longer uses the bike. I didn't really cherish it much and leave it lying everywhere as and when I reached my destination. The bike was safe because it was way past the vanilla ice era, until one time a garbage truck thought it was a rubbish and collected it 😕 my mom did tried to stop the trash collector, but as they say whatever "property" went on that truck, belongs to "the company".
Now that many decades later, I wished I kept the bike for nostalgia sake 😔
Well it is probably better that you don't have the bike unless you have a huge amount of "crap storage" in your house. I limit the amount of things that I keep because I move a lot but I can understand why people who don't move would hang on to such things.
That looks like a really nice bike. I have one that used to be my dads and that is what my wife and I take camping with us. It's a Diamonback which used to be a pretty good brand, but I don't know if they are still around like they used to be. I love the basket. You are going to have to get something for the new bike. Just one gear? I haven't ridden a bike with just one gear since I was a kid! My buddy has a bike that has disc brakes and all kinds of fancy stuff. It's cool, but I don't ride enough to justify it.
Yeah same here and those bikes were all BMX style bikes although I am sure my frugal family got me a Huffy!
The new bike isn't practical for anything other than street rides and I am already feeling as though I may have made a bit of a mistake by buying it because due to the lack of shocks i feel every imperfection in the road and in Vietnam there are a lot of imperfections in the roads.
The last pic would have been a better choice for me and I may end up selling this one after a month and just going and buying one of those. I did love the basket on the back and Nadi enjoyed it a great deal as well.
My friend has a basket on the front of her bike, but it makes it very heavy, so the wheel always turns and the bike falls down. I'm not in the best shape, so I really like the idea of those pedal assist bikes. Not a full on ebike, but if you are struggling up a hill it helps you out a little. If most places are flat though, that might not make a lot of sense. My buddy I was talking about before swears by GIANT brand bikes, but I honestly don't know.
I rode yesterday with a guy that was on a Giant mountainbike and for basically the entire time he was struggling to stay in a particular gear. These of course can be microadjusted but I have always had similar problems with bikes that have many gears. I think something to look out for when buying a bicycle is not so much the manufacturer of the frame because honestly, how different can they possibly be? The thing to look out for is the quality of the gear shifter thingy, whatever that is called.
Yeah, that makes sense. His is more of a touring bike I think. Not like the racing Schwinn style, but he sits very upright on it when he rides. It's a very big bike.
The bike looks very good which really gives a sense of riding pleasure. Many times we get thirsty when we travel long distance by bicycle. A bottle of water can quench our thirst. It's so nice to have a place to put a bottle. May God always bless you with all abilities.
Looks decent enough and no basket for Nadi or are you adding a granny basket to the front lol. I also enjoy my cycling and not fussed about a top brand ,but it must also not weigh 15kg's like many of the Chinese brands do.
This bike is one of those "2 finger lift" deals. It weighs practically nothing and this was a big selling point for me. There are other aspects of it that I don't like but I am going to adjust it a bit and see if I can make it more comfortable to ride. The other day I did about 30km on it and I couldn't feel my butt anymore at the end. I'm gonna have to do something about that and no, I will not purchase biking shorts :P
Don't be a pussy the seat will break you in and give it a month and you wont notice it. You can get those padded seat covers but the pain will still be there until your body adjusts.
you are probably right. I already notice it less after just a few days. Thanks for pussy shaming me, that is what it takes sometimes.
It is all about breaking in the bum cheeks and there is no avoiding it because it is that uncomfortable. I know I used to ride hundreds of kilometers without thinking when I was younger and if I climbed on a bike today it would take time to feel normal again. I would just but a padded cover that slides on.
I look forward to the post coming up showing how you've rigged your bike with a skin melting acid filled IED to teach any would be bike thieves a lesson. A true measured response.
Something along those lines, or exploding gel packs that mark the would be thief with ink that wont come off and can be spotted by satellites.
🤣🤣😅 Stay tuned jjj, maybe the thief is reading this 😱🤣, good post, I don't know much about bicycles, to me they all look great, Regards ✌️
We actually caught the thief of my last bike on CCTV but crimes like this do not get solved in Vietnam. The police just give you a piece of paper that you can submit to your insurance company but I don't have insurance so it was a waste of time. I think that even if they knew who the person was on the video they wouldn't do anything about it because the people stealing bikes and other things are mostly desperately poor and stealing not to buy a new Mercedes but so they can have food to eat.
Ultimately it is my fault it got stolen because i left it unlocked outside my condo in the middle of the night when we have a secure garage to park it in. I was drunk and I got what I deserved.
😮 You made me feel sorry for the thief, I don't think that robbing you is your fault, but hey, there are people who are really having a hard time, I would have to go through that to understand it even justification, They also stole one from me right behind my back but I managed to get it back, it was a relief because it wasn't mine 😅
Oh your situation would be much worse. It would be very bad if you borrowed something from a friend and it got stolen, especially if you didn't have the money at the time to replace it for them.
😅 Luckily my friend is very popular 😄 and he found the bike himself thanks to his connections 🙃
Congratulation! That is a nice bike, you will be healthier by riding on it everyday. I also have a bike but I have never riden for a long time.
I think this is the case for most people who ever bought bicycles.
That's a cool bike! I like the combination of red and grey!
Many safe kilometers with this bicycle and don't forget to lock it this time!
This post was upvoted by the Cycling Community
You can support the Cycling Community with a delegation by clicking one of the amounts below
| 25 HP | 50 HP | 100 HP | 250 HP | 500 HP |
Delegations are highly appreciated
⋆ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ ғᴏʀ sᴏᴜᴛʜᴇᴀsᴛ ᴀsɪᴀɴ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ ᴏɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ
⋆ sᴜʙsᴄʀɪʙᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ
⋆ ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ ᴠᴏᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴀɪʟ
⋆ ᴅᴇʟᴇɢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ʟɪɴᴋs 25 ʜᴘ⇾50 ʜᴘ⇾100 ʜᴘ⇾500 ʜᴘ⇾1,000 ʜᴘ