To Switch, Or Not

Been seriously contemplating on whether to switch to a hardtail freeride. Reason? I don't really know; Just feel like giving it a go. Want to be able to do higher jumps :p But we all know that I can always jump with the T-bolt too. Anyhow, got a quotation for a Dabomb C4 frame, Rm8xx@SS14 SinMee Trading. But that is out of my budget, I'm hoping to get a secondhand Kona Shred or Scrap frame for much much less. Then I'll dismantle the T-bolt for now and fit everything to the hardtail. I've also been eyeing the Element Xenon-E, don't know if it's costly onot though. But best option for now, is to wait for a Kona. Reputable brand and a 2nd hand unit pop's up every now and then. So patienceeeeeee :p

T-Bolt gets a new fork

After Bukit Cermin, went for drinks and food at a mamak. Then went on down to tatseng at Kota Kemuning. Was suppose to get the Sr Suntour Axon, but due to the irresistible temptation of something "supposingly" better; ended up with a Spinner Enduro TX. :p
rm897@tatseng Kota Kemuning.

Homepage for the fork: http://www.spinner-usa.com/e/allmountain-enduro02.htm



Spinner Enduro, an all mountain range fork with 130mm of travel. Basically comes with Lockout, Preload and Rebound adjustments. Not forgetting the sleek curves which is oh so sexay. :p


Rebound Adjustment


Adjustable Lockout


Preload Air Valve

Bukit Cermin - Downhill Skillz Required!

:p I'm gonna start of by saying I didn't fall down at all at Bukit Cermin today. Both trails at that too. Then I'm gonna explain why; It's because I pushed the bike all the way through. Lol. I probably rode the first 2 slopes before chickening out, pushed the bike a while. Rode the next 2 slopes at SS1(I think that's what they call the new trail), then pushed the bike all the way through. -_-"

Rested for a bit while the rest of the riders took SS1 for a few extra rounds. Took some photos, talk some cog. Next, we headed on over to the old trail and as usual, I cycled when the floor was flat and pushed the bike when going through slopes and jumps. Lol. Didn't really cycle much today, but damn, you gonna need some balls of steel before even beginning to get confident. Today was wet anyhow, so I didn't have the courage to try seeing how even the usual riders were falling quite a bit. But am just waiting for the next dry ride. Lol! Gonna go try again!

Mental note to self, gonna need to buckle up the pants so that I can ride easier. Currently too baggy. Haha!







For sucky photos by a sucky photographer, head on to this album.

Review on Polygon Solaris 08

It just recently occurred to me that I didn't really give my comment or review actually on the Polygon Solaris I had for 3 weeks. I've taken the Solaris on a ride in Bukit Rimau and FRIM once before I traded the bike away, so my review might be kinda half-assed. So here goes; :P

First off I want to mention that Lerun and Polygon are brands from the same company. Polygon Solaris = Lerun Solaris. :)

The frame itself isn't all that bad for light cross country in terms of rigidness. But stay away from big drops though. And being a heavy bike doesn't really help either.

As for the components, my advise is to stay away from riding other bikes. The moment you take another bike for a ride, you will realise how terrible the performance of the components lack compared to others.

The shifters looks good, but will more often than not cause you to over shift. Brakes will have the tendency to fail you the moment you start going downhill. Yes, I know V-brakes do fail should you come across mud or wet surface. But these fail for no apparent reason. The rear derailleur will require back and forth shifting to get the right gear. The rims are probably the first thing you need to change. Total crap; getting dented on my 2nd ride. I haven't even abused it yet.

Come to think of it, only thing I have no complain about the Solaris is the front derailleurs; Didn't have any problems with it. Oh, and the forks too. It probably doens't work well, but at least it hadn't leak, yet. :p

More Cool Vids

Superbly done! Let it load guys and you will have no regrets.


Cool helmet cam vid.

Wish I can ride half as good as these guys. Practice! Practice! Practice!

Avid Ad 3 Brake Levers

Broke my brake levers yesterday. Body still aching all over. But still think it was fun! Lol! And now time for the new levers to get some love. ;p


Tektro Sensir levers




Avid AD 3


Leaking leaking leaking. :p

Crash and Burn!

Another day in FRIM, another casualty report. Lol! And this time's crash was much much worst, I really did manage to flew over the handlebar, did a superman, and the bike flew back over and landed on me. Hahaha! Don't ask me how I managed that.

Early morning, meetup was at 7.30am. Then we rode in. Went up the usual trail as warm-up, heading towards DreamTrail. Reach the start of the Dream :p, took a breather and off we go. Was able to ride my bike like maybe 15% of the trail this time. Which to me is a good improvement. Lol! The other 85%, I pushed my way through.

I once caught a fish, thiiiis big!




Roadbiker trying out Mountainbiking = Saddle aches




Poser! :p


Dark and Spooky


Ridegroup this time includes (From left to right) Raymond, AhFatt, Alan, Batang


The spot where lots of bikes get scratched


Exit of DreamTrail


Washroom time! Lol!



After that, we back down and headed out towards the Endurance trail. I KO'ed around here. Was trying to speed down some corners when some mud threw me flying in the air. Followed the way and headed to the coconut stall. Had our drinks and rest. Another 2 riders who just arrived at the coconut stall asked us to lead the way in. So we had another 2 riders join us. Forgot to catch their name though :p. My bad!


How it's suppose to look like


Broke my lever during the crash. Broken piece taken home to throw in rubbish bin as of not to cause harm to any other riders.


Hash end

P.S: I'd want to just say a very great big THANKS to all the riders who stopped to help me out when I crashed. Especially to the Pakcik who shoulder carried me to the side of the trail and to the other dude who helped me straighten out my handlebar and stem. Mucho Gracius!!!

After I packed my bike in the car, rested a while, then off I went to UncleABC. And got my T-bolt replaced with a new Avid AD 3 brake lever @ Rm43. :p I guess it can be considered an Upgrade?

All and all, today was kick arse. Really did pedal to the metal today. But honestly speaking, won't be rushing down any corners anymore. Seriously hurts when I slammed my ribs against the handlebar and stem. Now my chest hurts when I take deep breaths or whenever I exert strength from the left side of my body.

FRIM 2nd August 2008

Got more pics of the August FRIM hash. Courtesy of Ian@Wildgeeks.


Taking a breather at Dream trail


A common spot for breather at the wooden bridge in Dream trail. From left to right: Frank, Sri Naga, Ian (squatting) , Henry, Mac, Jerry, and me. :p


Coconut time


Mac, Henry, Sri Naga, Jerry


Bicycle parking. Lol.

Weight cautious

Being the fag that I am, am now contemplating between a few forks.
Sr Suntour Axon rm800@TatSeng
RockShox Tora 318 rm680@UncleAbc
Spinner Eagle rm580@UncleSriMuda
Suntour Magnesium rm3xx@UncleSriMuda
Sr Suntour Epicon rm3xx@UncleAbc (dunno if it's true, could have heard wrongly)

And as usual, butt is always itching for the best stuff I can afford, in this case the Axon. Definitely the lightest fork among the above listed, but not the strongest. And only has 100mm of Travel. Wins hands down in terms of weight.

The Tora 318 would be the people's choice. A little heavier, but can withstand more abuse and provides 120mm of Travel.

Epicon is said to be very good, but shortage of stock deems this model a sleeping tiger.

Eagle and Magnesium isn't really something which I hope to get. But still might take Eagle if left with no choice.

On another topic, I weighted the T-bolt today. It is true, it is 14.5kg. :)

Jalan Jalan Cari Makan

My first ride on a busy road. Was actually quite scary as cars do pass quite near on a one lane road. Fortunately, there was not much cars and I didn't cycle far to begin with. It was just a 2 minute travel down the street to the local hawker stall. Ordered a pre-t-t-y good Fried Kuey Teow and a Ice Kacang to top it off. Now if only I can get some company. -_-

August 9th @ Bukit Rimau

Woke up at 6.15am. Brush teeth. Grab a biscuit. And I'm off.

Went to Bukit Rimau today. :) Time to see if I improved. And yes I certainly did. Throughout the ride, I only lost balance once and stopped the bike once. If you could only see my smuck face now. Lol! Thanks to Chun@TatSeng Bicycle Centre for bringing us on this trail. Even though we were the only fella's (me and batang) participating in today's ride, he was kind enough to lead the way for us. He managed to drag along another 2 kaki's. So total came up to 5 riders.
;p


Manage to squeeze a photo quickly before continuing our ride. Was a shorter ride today compared to the first one, I think we went in for probably 45minutes to 1 hour only today. But was still fun, and was at a much faster pace. Uphill with less stops and downhill with less brakes = FUN! Hahaha!

After that, went back, had chicken rice. Rested for a while then went around town and guess what I saw at a shop. Chopper-ness! Lol. Looked a little dusty. But with a bit of a wash and maybe a polish. Would look hot! And no, of course I didn't buy it. -_-"


After I went home, took out the bike, washed it with water. And I noticed this.

The travel indicator actually moved up to half of the tube (is that what it's called?). Hmm, definitely need to pump more air in and stiffen the shocks.

Adjusting the rear derailleur

Found a good video on how to adjust the rear derailleur of your bike here and here.

For front derailleur instead, check here and here.

RST Capa T4 Preload setting

Hmm. Can't seem to find any guidelines on how to set the Preload on my RST Capa front fork. But trying to use common logic in it. This was what I did below.

p.s: Before following the steps below, remember that these steps were just something I thought up and should probably not be used as professional reference.

1 - I know that the fork had a maximum of 80mm travel. Meaning 80mm starting from the oil seal (indicated by the lower white line shown in the picture).



2 - Set the Preload adjuster to the hardest setting possible (keep turning towards the "+" sign until can't anymore)


Preload Adjuster

3 - Use a clean piece of tissue to wipe away the Oil Line (shown in yellow in the picture above). The oil line is the mark made by the oil seal as your fork gets compressed. It works as a good indicator of how far your fork travels up and down.

4 - Take your bike out for a ride, maybe do some jumps. Remember to get use to the bike and the suspension before doing any major jumps. Ideally try to do some jumps or hops which you would expect to go through on your trail ride. So that you can mimic trail riding as much as possible. When done, check on the Oil Line and see how far up your fork went. If your Oil Line is within 70~80% of your Travel (in this case 70~80% of 80mm) then you are good. If not, soften your forks by adjusting to the Preload towards the "-" direction and go again for a ride.

5 - Repeat until you find a compression percentage which you like. Remember that every trail would have it's own prefered setting, so every now and then, check on the Oil Line to see how far your fork compresses after each ride. If it reaches the maximum travel of your fork. Then it is probably too soft.

Alternatively, at step 2. You can adjust the preload setting to minus "-" instead and slowly work your way up. But I worry about bottoming out the forks, so I went with the "+" way instead.

Few days later, and I found an article on the correct way to setting your fork and shocks. Please view here instead. :p

FRIM trail taken by advanced riders

This was the trail which I dented the rims on the Polygon Solaris and almost did a superman. Damn! Wish I could ride half as good as these guys in the video. Can't wait to try again! LOL!
Youtube - FRIM by FakawiTribe

The new ride

So, as I was saying last night. I got myself a new Proton T-Bolt. In case it didn't occur to you, it's Proton as in Malaysia's national car brand. Yes! Bet you didn't know they had bicycles too didn't you. No Worries, a lot of non-bikers wouldn't know. Let when I first started biking. Cost me Rm880 @ ABC Bicycles. Unfortunately, I later found out that it isn't the "upgraded" version, which has a different rear shock and a newer model derailleur. But what can I say, looked good. :p And now, it's sitting comfortably at home.


16" Proton T-Bolt - Carbon Fiber monocoque with alloy swing arm


Shimano Deore shifters


Tektro disc brakes


Dnm Torch A-01


Shimano LX rear derailleur


Rst Capa T4 80mm travel


Truvatic FiveD crank

Frame: T-Bolt
Carbon fibre monocoque with alloy swing arm
Supports 4 " of travel front and rear

Fork: RST Capa T4
80mm Travel with adjustable Preload

Rear Shock : DNM Torch
Air Shock
3.5" Travel (not sure about this, just got off some random site)

Stem: Kalloy Black

Handlebar: Kalloy Black

Headset: Cane Creek AHeadSet
1-1/8" alloy anodised black

Crankset: Truvatic FiveD
22-32-44T

Front Derailleur: Shimano Deore

Rear Derailleur: Shimano LX

Rear Cassette: Shimano
11-32

Shifters: Shimano Deore

Brakes: Tektro IO
Disc Set

Brake Lever: Tektro Sensir

Rims: Taurus 2000
Anodised black

Hubs: Formula 32H

Saddle: Velo Black

Seat post: Kalloy Black

Tires: Cheng Shin
1.95

Joining the WildGeeks at FRIM

Follow the Wildgeeks to FRIM at Kepong today. Boy, was it tough!
We went through both the technical AND the endurance part of the trail.

On the technical trail (I think it's called Dream Trail) I almost did a superman (an action of rider flipping over and above the bike) down the mountain cliff. Thank god gravity pulled the bike back down as the front wheels locked up. Could have easily been hospitalized. Definitely no joking here. After that, I pretty much balled out of it and pushed my bike all the way through. We were riding on a small singletrack, cliffhanger style.

Next we went on to the endurance part of the trail. It was much wider (truck road) but it was a pretty long uphill climb. As with all uphills, there are downhills. :p And During one particular downhill turn, I went a wee bit too fast while turning in. Imediately realizing that, Ballz shrunk, Brake harder, Turn in more, and next thing I know; Was "drifting" on the floor. Lucky the floor had loose sand, so I didn't get too hurt.


Courtesy of the "drift"

After that, we rode on. Reach a stall. Had a coconut, and a teh ais. and started making our way back. Halfway back, we made a stop and rest while 2 Wildgeeks went on a little side trail (Steroid hill, famous for it's extremely steep uphill). A motorist past by and gave us some rambutans. LOL. So had ourselves a little snack. Later continue on our journey back when everyone was here.

















As we were riding back, riders at the back of me were telling me that I got a dented rear rim. Probably from the technical part of the trail "Awwwww... Damn!" I already had a buyer for the bike. Later when I got out, I sms-ed the dude and tell him to cancel the sale. I wouldn't want to sell him the bike now, seeing how it could be hazardous.

While waiting for the 2 who went Steroid, one rider came up to us and asked to join us as his ridemates went home (is it always safer to ride in groups). And of course we welcomed him, chit chat a little, exchange contacts, and later asked him to lead the way back. He took us to another trail which was also very challenging (to me). It was also a singletrack, cliffhanger style but with the exception that it was a downhill ride all the way. But by that time, my ballz had shrunk so small from the previous trails that i decided to push all the way. My balance sarks. :p Cycle a little on the road and FINALLY! time to say chows and get into the car. My car seat had never felt this good!

After FRIM I headed over to Desa Aman Puri, ABC Bicycles. Batang was waiting for me there, as I told him to order T-bolt for me. He was close with the shop owner there and recommended their services. Traded in my Polygon Solaris there (Bye, was fun while it lasted) and got me a new T-bolt. But that's a story for tomorrow. :p

Went home. Took a nice cold bath. Guzzle lots of water. Sit on the bed. Damn! Start rubbing the bruises on my leg, and this is how it looks now. -_-"





We made a few stops here and there where we rest and chit chat, get to know each other better. Good Shitz! Really something you have to do once in your lifetime. :)

FRIM - Forest Research Institute Malaysia
Singletrack - A bicycle lane with just enough size for one bike, no room for overtaking.