Author Archives: alchemyrider

Another Road No Longer Accessible to Cyclists

Posted on August 14, 2024 by alchemyrider
Image courtesy of Microsoft Designer

Like other big cities, Kuala Lumpur is crisscrossed with major roads. Some are accessible to cyclists. Others increasingly less so.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

Over the years, several popular cycling roads in and around the city have been closed to cyclists.

The LATAR Expressway (E25), or Lebuhraya Assamjawa Taman Rimba Expressway, links Templer’s Park in Gombak district to Ijok in Kuala Selangor district. LATAR opened in 2011.

Map courtesy of klia2.info

LATAR became popular with cyclists after the Guthrie Corridor Expressway (E35) opened in 2015. The motorcycle lanes of the GCE provide easy access from Bukit Jelutong to the Kuang Interchange with LATAR. Most cyclists headed west on LATAR to Kundang, Puncak Alam and further afield to Ijok and Kuala Selangor. Cyclists could also ride east to Rawang.

These were the toll rates when LATAR opened. It was free for bicycles.

Table courtesy of klia2.info

My friends and I rode along LATAR many times. Including at the start of a ride to Teluk Intan in 2016.

Photo courtesy of M Lai

Rides on LATAR ended in 2020, when the highway concessionaire, KL-Kuala Selangor Expressway Berhad, banned cycling on safety grounds.

The Maju Expressway (E20) opened in 2007. MEX links Kuala Lumpur with Cyberjaya and Putrajaya.

Map courtesy of klia2.info

MEX gave me easy access to the motorcycle lanes on the KESAS Highway (E5) via the Bukit Jalil Interchange. Those motorcycle lanes took me from Bukit Jalil to Bandar Sunway, Kota Kemuning, Bandar Botanic and Federal Route 5.

MEX was also free for bicycles when it opened.

Table courtesy of klia2.info

My friends and I rode the full length of MEX a few times, including in 2018. MEX was the starting leg of rides south to Port Dickson and Melaka.

Photograph courtesy of M Lim

The concessionaire, Maju Expressway Sdn Bhd, banned cyclists from MEX in 2020. At about the same time that cyclists were banned from LATAR.

The latest highway concessionaire to ban cyclists is Sistem Penyuraian Trafik KL Barat Sdn Bhd (SPRINT). In their case, from the SPRINT Highway (E23).

SPRINT has three parts. The Kerinchi Link and the Damansara Link were opened in 2001, followed by the Penchala Link in 2004.

Map courtesy of klia2.info

A favourite route of mine is from home through Bukit Tunku to Sri Hartamas to Damansara Heights. I ride on the Kerinchi Link and Damansara Link from the Sri Hartamas interchange (2303) to the Jalan Setiapuspa exit and the back roads to Damansara Heights.

Last Sunday at about 7:30 am, I was on the Kerinchi Link about 200 metres from the Sri Hartamas interchange. Two SPRINT Auxiliary Police officers on motorbikes, blue lights flashing, saw me from the other side of the highway. They made a U-turn at the Sri Hartamas interchange, caught up to me, and flagged me down.

Photograph courtesy of litrak.com.my

The officer was very polite. He apologised while telling me that cyclists are prohibited on the SPRINT Highway. So I had to exit at the Pusat Sains Negara Interchange (E2305) and climb the Science Centre hill. The hill that I avoid by riding to the Jalan Setiapuspa exit.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

 This ban will be hard on cyclists who live in Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) and Bandar Utama. Since Jalan Bukit Kiara 1, along the edge of the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club (in red below), was closed, the only way cyclists had of getting from TTDI and Bandar Utama to Bukit Damansara and other popular cycling spots further east was either along the Damansara Link or the Penchala Link.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

Those options are now not available. That means no more cycling from TTDI and Bandar Utama to Damansara Heights.

I am stuck too. I can get to Damansara Heights via Jalan Parlimen, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim and Jalan Semantan. However, that requires crossing multiple lanes of traffic before turning left onto Jalan Semantan. That is much more dangerous than using the Kerinchi Link and the Damansara Link, where all the turns are to the left and do not require crossing lanes.

I may have to drive my bicycle to Damansara Heights from now on.

Image courtesy of Microsoft Designer

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That Did Not Start As Planned

Posted on July 25, 2024 by alchemyrider

My Biker Chick had a three-day work event at Avani Sepang Goldcoast Resort. I tagged along with my bicycle.

I mapped a ride for each of those three days. The first was from the resort to the Sungai Pelek ferry crossing and on to Kuala Lukut.

Map courtesy of ridewithgps.com

When I mapped this ride I didn’t know that 1.5 km into my ride the road turns into a fairly narrow gravel path. The gravel path runs counterclockwise for 7 km. Nor did I realise that the path paralleled a canal.

Map courtesy of ridewithgps.com

I was on my bike at 5:40 am under a full moon.

The path looks innocuous in daylight. I took this photograph the next day.

Not so at night. Despite the full moon, it was pitch-black. The only light on the path was from my Garmin Varia UT800 front light. The UT800 was bright enough to illuminate the path ahead, but nothing was visible outside the light beam.

I was focused on avoiding the stones on the path when what looked like a rock rose into the air. That gave me a shock. More rocks took flight as I progressed along the trail. Birds were sleeping on the open ground. My post-ride research into the birds of the area identified the birds as being Blue-Breasted Quail.

Photograph courtesy of flickr.com

Just as I got used to birds flying up ahead, a dark shape shot out of the undergrowth in front of me. Before I knew it I was over the handlebar and on the ground. Whatever I hit disappeared without a sound.

Subsequent conversations with a few resort staff identified the animal as a wild boar. Hunting kept the wild boar population in check in the past. Today there is much less hunting and the wild boar population has increased.

I think the boar was drinking from the canal beside the path when I came along and disturbed it.

Map courtesy of google.com
Photograph of wild boar courtesy of stock.adobe.com

I was on the ground just 3 km into my ride. The heels of both palms were scraped and bruised. The little finger of my right hand throbbed. Both of my wrists were sore. Other bumps and bruises would reveal themselves later. I am still sore and aching after three days.

I brushed the sand off my hands and knees.  My right shifter had been pushed inward and clogged with sand when my bike hit the ground.  I straightened the shifter and cleared out the sand. I was in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing else to do but pedal on.

1,200 metres later I reached down for my bidon. It wasn’t there. It must have fallen out of the bottle cage when my bicycle somersaulted.

I backtracked, hoping to find the bidon where I had hit the wild boar. I wasn’t sure where I had fallen so I rode until I was sure I had passed the crash site. I didn’t find my bidon. It must have landed in the undergrowth beside the trail.

Map courtesy of google.com

At kilometre 8.5 I got back onto the asphalt. My hands and wrists hurt, but not enough to dissuade me from continuing on my planned route. I came across a row of shops at kilometre 22. A 7-Eleven was open. I bought drinks, and plasters to dress the scrape on my left palm.

That is when my Biker Chick sent me a WhatsApp message asking “Did you forget your water bottle?”, accompanied by this photograph.

I was embarrassed at forgetting it, but happy that I still had a bidon. Onward to the Sungai Pelek ferry.

If only I could get to it. I rode through the housing area in Sungai Pelek toward the path that leads to the ferry as I had done many times before. Except this time access to that path was blocked by a construction site.

No signs were pointing toward a new route. I spent fifteen aimless minutes looking for the way to the ferry. Then a lady watering the plants at her front gate gave me the directions I needed.

The green line shows the new route to the ferry
Map courtesy of ridewithgps.com

More gravel on the way to the ferry, but this time no startled quail and charging wild boar.

The sun was rising, and the rest of my ride was trouble-free.

I am used to seeing monkeys during my rides.

Now I have something new to watch out for.

Image courtesy of microsoft.designer.com

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Where Are We Going to Stop for Food?

Posted on July 12, 2024 by alchemyrider

I have been asked if my blog is about cycling or about eating. It is a fair question. Cycling and eating go hand-in-hand in my world and those of my cycling companions. Almost every ride includes a meal stop either mid-ride or after the ride.

Sometimes, the choice of café or restaurant is entirely opportunistic. We stop at the place that appeals most at that time. Other times, we have a food and/or drink stop in mind before we start riding. These are the regular stops along the routes I ride the most.

Psyclist Café

Psyclist Café is the preferred stop when we do loops up and down Persiaran Saujana. The café is in Dataran PHB, one floor up from street level. There is a bike rack at the entrance to the café. Once inside, it is obvious that the owner is a cycling buff. Vintage bicycles line the walls. Classic jerseys and bicycle components sit under the glass on the long table.

The food and the coffee are delicious. The staff are attentive and friendly. The last time we went there we were given cold towels to wipe our faces Very nice.

Tingkat 1, Block F Dataran PHB, Saujana Resort, Seksyen U2, 40150 Shah Alam
Monday – Saturday: 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
Sunday: 8:00 am – 2:00 pm

Common Man

Common Man Coffee Roasters (CMCR) is a café concept and specialty coffee brand established in Singapore in 2013. CMCR works directly with farmers, millers, roasters and exporters. CMCR has its own Roastery and Barista Academy and operates 6 cafés in Singapore, 2 in Malaysia and 2 in Manila.

The CMCR café we go to is in Taman Tun. There is no bike rack, but there is a lot of space outside the café for bicycles. CMCR aims to provide the best brunch in town. This café does not disappoint in that regard.

A-G-1 New Podium, Plaza Vads, 1 Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad. 60000 Kuala Lumpur
Monday – Friday: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday – Sunday: 8:00 am – 6:00 pm (last orders at 5:30 pm)

Street Bakers

On the other side of the city centre is Street Bakers. Street Bakers is an outdoor roadside stall only open on Saturdays and Sundays. It is no ordinary roadside stall. Run by a master baker and her family, Street Bakers offers croissants, muffins, cookies, cakes, sweet and savoury pies, sausage rolls, hot sandwiches, lasagna and a few other delicious eats. Sip Spot next door provides coffee and tea.

We lean our bicycles in a convenient spot and sit at tables under the trees. Very pleasant.

There is the occasional weekend when Street Bakers is not open. Check their Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/streetbakers23/ to see if they will be open that weekend, and to see that weekend’s menu.

Roadside stall between Masjid Al-Mardhiyah and Bulatan Hillside, Jalan Taman Melawati, Taman Melawati, Kuala Lumpur
Saturday and Sunday: 8:00 am – 1:00 pm

AMP Café

Immediately south of Street Bakers is AMP Café. AMP Café is relatively new. One of my cycling buddies is a trained chef. He designed the menu and helped set up this café. AMP Café has become very popular in the short time it has been operating. I was there this morning. Most of the tables, both inside and outside, were occupied. There was also a steady stream of delivery riders picking up orders. Good to see.

The food and coffee are delicious. Much of what this café serves is made from scratch. Items like their nut butter, ricotta cheese, chicken patties and, of course, all their baked goods.

65 Jalan Memanda 9, Taman Dato Ahmad Razali, 68000 Ampang
Monday – Sunday: 8:00 am – 6:00 pm

If Only

Closer to home is If Only Restaurant. I regularly ride past If Only on my solo rides from my apartment. 

Excellent coffee and pastries are available from 7:00 am. The beetroot and the tomato Danish are worth ordering. The kitchen opens at 9:00 am. I have had some items from the breakfast menu. Also very good.

Ground floor, Regal House, 1, Jalan U Thant, Taman U Thant, 55000 Kuala Lumpur
Sunday – Monday: 7:00 am – 6:00 pm
Tuesday – Saturday: 7:00 am – 11:00 pm
The kitchen opens at 9:00 am

BLVCK Coffee

This coffee van is parked on weekends at the T-junction of Jalan Tun Ismail and Jalan Tunku. The van sits at the top of a hill, so a climb is required to get to it. It is on my route home whenever I ride to Sri Hartamas or Damansara Heights. A caffeine hit 3 km from home hits the spot.

I stop there for a latte, but they serve a variety of hot brewed and cold bottled coffees. You can usually relax in one of the seats set up on the pavement. Failing that, the curb is high enough to sit on.

The posted operating time is from 7:45 am, but the van has been known to be late. The van can also be reserved for special events, so it might not turn up. 

Check their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BLVCKcoffeeMY/ or their Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/blvckcoffee.my/?hl=en 

Bukit Tunku. Jalan Tun Ismail 1, Bukit Tunku , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 50480 
Saturday and Sunday: 7:45 am – 1:30 pm

RGB

RGB (Really Good Beans) has been in their renovated bungalow for at least eight years. RGB serves a substantial Asian and Western breakfast menu until 2:00 pm. The coffee there lives up to the Really Good Beans moniker.

Another plus is the covered bike rack. There are usually other cyclists there, so you don’t feel out of place in your lycra and cycling shoes.

35, Jalan Damai, Kampung Datuk Keramat, 55000 Kuala Lumpur
Monday – Sunday: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm

Crema

The last café on my list is also the closest to home. Crema is 160 metres away. In the daytime, it is Crema Pasticceria Moderna. Serving croissants, panini, egg dishes, amazing pastries, and Italian coffee and sodas. The pastry selection alone is sufficient reason to stop at Crema. 

There is a lunch menu of more substantial dishes. Plenty of ceiling fans keep the outdoor terrace cool. 

There isn’t a bike rack, but as you can see, there are pillars and trees to lean your bicycle against.
In the evening, the space becomes Florentine, an Italian steak house. The food is delicious no matter what time you eat there.

64, Jalan Doraisamy, Chow Kit, 50300 Kuala Lumpur
Crema
Monday – Sunday: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Florentine
Monday – Thursday: 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Friday and Saturday: 5:00 pm – 11:300 pm

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There Goes Another Cassette

Posted on June 24, 2024 by alchemyrider

I wrote about chain and cassette wear in September 2013. You can read that post here: Chain Checkers Do No Good Just Sitting in Your Toolbox.

That post came after I had to replace a worn cassette on my Alchemy Eros. I replaced another worn cassette about four years ago and had to replace another this week.

Photograph courtesy of alchemybikes.com

As with the previous replacements, the need to replace this cassette came after installing a new chain. Chains with just 1% of wear should be replaced. My chain was well beyond 1% of wear. Anything more than 1% chain wear and the cassette is probably already damaged.

Chain wear is often called chain stretch, but this is a misnomer.  The side plates of a chain do not deform under pedalling forces.  Rather, it is wear to the pins, bushes and rollers that causes the distance between the pins to increase, thus giving the illusion of stretch.

This diagram shows A. pin/bushing wear and C. bushing/roller wear.  B shows an unworn chain. In short, chain wear is indicated by increasing spacing between pins. Note that roller wear does not affect pin spacing.

Illustration courtesy of pardo.net at http://pardo.net/bike/pic/fail-004/000.html

The guys at my LBS told me I would probably need to change the cassette. That need was confirmed during my short ride home when the chain started skipping over the teeth of my most-used sprockets. The rollers of the new chain were not meshing with the worn teeth on those sprockets.

The photographs below show a new cassette on the left and a worn cassette on the right. Both cassettes are SRAM Red OG-1090s.

Photographs courtesy of theprocloset.com (left) and blogspot.com (right)

The two teeth in the green circles labelled A show a normal tooth profile. The red circles labelled A on the right show a phenomenon called “Shark Finning,” where the leading edge of a cog tooth curves inwards, making it resemble a shark’s dorsal fin. In time, this erodes the top of the tooth and causes the chain to skip.

As mentioned above, wear to the pins, bushes and rollers causes the distance between the pins to increase. As the gap between the pins, bushes and rollers widens, the ongoing wear widens the space between teeth. You can see that the gap between the teeth, shown by the red arrow labelled B, is wider than the equivalent gap, shown by the green arrow B. The narrower gap between the pins, bushes and rollers on a new chain means that the new chain rides up the sides of each tooth. The chain has less grip on the teeth and skips.

The third sign of wear is the leading edge of teeth that are mushrooming out a little. That’s from the metal being rubbed down and compressed by the chain. Think of it like a roll of cookie dough. If you slap it down on the table, the bottom will spread out, but the top will remain intact. The metal of the cassette acts the same way.

I didn’t need to see these signs of wear to know I had to replace the cassette. The skipping on the two sprockets I used the most was all the evidence I needed to spend money.  

The strain on the wallet didn’t end there.  The LBS guys told me I also had to replace the chainrings. I should have seen that coming. The combination of putting almost 60,000 km on them with a succession of chains in varying states of wear would lead to eroded teeth.

The challenge was to find replacement parts. My 2015 Eros has a SRAM 11-speed groupset. Groupsets today have 12 or 13 speeds. SRAM 11-speed 11-32 tooth cassettes are getting harder to find. My LBS didn’t have SRAM 11-speed 52-tooth outer and 34-inner chainrings in stock either. Fortunately, I have a son living in Australia. I put him on the case, and he got all three parts for me.

Photographs courtesy of SRAM (chainrings), evobikes.co.za (cassette) and excelsports.com (chain)

The general rule of thumb is that a chain needs replacing after 3,200 km to 4,800 km. A cassette needs replacing after three chain replacements, i.e. after 9,600 km to 14,400 km. There is less of a consensus about chainring lifespan. 60,000 km seems a reasonable expectation.

I will pay more attention to chain wear than I have in the past 😄. In the meantime, I will enjoy the silent running of my brand-new drivetrain.

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Escape Collective

Posted on May 27, 2024 by alchemyrider
Logo courtesy of escapecollective.com

This post is intended to get you to subscribe to Escape Collective. If all you need to sign up is my recommendation, click here for monthly, annual and lifetime subscription options.

If you need more convincing, read on.

Escape Collective was founded in March 2023 to be the best bike website on the internet. The history of Escape Collective goes much further back.

In 2008 Wade Wallace started a cycling blog. Cycling Tips became a business Wade ran from his kitchen table until 2013.

Logo courtesy of wildermedia.com

In early 2013 Wade moved the business into a small office and hired his first employees. Cycling Tips quickly became a daily destination for cycling enthusiasts around the globe. Each year millions of people visited the site. In 2015 he entered into a partnership with BikeExchange. That partnership provided capital to grow the Cycling Tips business. In 2019 BikeExchange sold the site to PinkBike. Wade remained as general manager. In June 2021 Pinkbike, including Cycling Tips, was bought by Outside Inc.

That was the start of the end for Cycling Tips. Wade left Outside Inc. in August 2022. By the end of 2022, at least a dozen Cycling Tips staffers were either let go or resigned, with others close behind. By 2023 Cycling Tips has essentially disappeared as a brand. It is now a part of Velo, an Outside Inc. brand.

Wade and Caley Fretz, the former editor-in-chief of Cycling Tips, co-founded Escape Collective in March 2023. To be the “best bike website on the internet.” Many ex-Cycling Tips staffers are on the Escape Collective team.

A key differentiator is that Escape Collective is entirely subscriber-funded. Escape Collective does not accept advertising dollars, which allows them to be independent of the cycling industry whose sponsorships, products, and athletes they aim to cover with honesty and integrity. 

The Escape Collective journey began with a crowdfunding campaign. The goal was to get 5,000 members. They hit their member target in less than a week.

Image courtesy of wade wallace.substack.com

Full disclosure. I am a Founder Member.

Image courtesy of escapecollective.com

It has been one year since Escape Collective launched. I think many members will agree that Escape Collective has lived up to its Mission statement:

To inform, inspire, entertain, connect, and improve the lives of people around the world through our common love of cycling and the power of the bike.

Visit the Escape Collective site to read, listen to and watch content from a long list of contributors that has let Escape Collective provide a wide range of content and services to inspire, educate, and entertain their members.

While there, you can read the 2023 – 2024 Escape Collective Transparency Report. A document that further differentiates Escape Collective from the multitude of cycling and cycling-related media available online.

Image courtesy of escapecollective.com

I think Escape Collective is exceptional in the online cycling space. This is a screenshot of today’s Escape Collective website as seen in Safari on an Apple iMac:

Screenshot courtesy of escapecollective.com

As you can see, the content covers a wide array of topics, including the latest news, race results, and developments in technology. There are also links to newsletters and podcasts. Members can receive email notifications whenever the newest newsletter and podcast is available.

Newsletters include Spin Cycle – news from the world of cycling, Threaded – tools and techniques for bicycle mechanics, Wheel Talk – latest news and analysis from the women’s peloton, and Performance Process – how to get better, faster and more aero.

Podcasts include Placeholder – a weekly news show, Geek Warning – all about bike tech, Wheel Talk – what is going on in the Women’s World Tour, How the Race was Won – weekly World Tour race analysis, The Rest Day with Jack Haig – what riders inside the pro peloton talk about, and Overnight Success – about the founders, the innovators, and the remarkable people in the cycling industry.

You can read a limited number of articles for free, after which a subscription is required to continue reading. A weekly Insider newsletter is delivered to members’ email Inboxes. There are also member-only podcasts.

There is also a member-only Escape Collective online community hosted on Discord. Multiple channels make the Escape Collective Discord a home for all cyclists, cycling interests and perspectives.

Logo courtesy of discord.com

If you are willing to pay for high-quality online cycling content free of advertising, I strongly recommend you sign up for an Escape Collective subscription.

Click here to sample what Escape Collective has to offer.

Click here to subscribe.

Happy reading and listening.

Photograph courtesy of escapecollective.com

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Decathlon Sells Pretty Good Cycling Gear

Posted on April 9, 2024 by alchemyrider

I first encountered a Decathlon store in France in 2002. I had not seen a store selling equipment for multiple sports before. An innovation that founder Michel Leclercq introduced to sports retailing at his first store in Lille in 1976. Today, Decathlon is the largest sporting goods retailer in the world, with 1,700 stores in 70 countries and regions.

Decathlon opened its first store in Malaysia in 2016. There are 16 Decathlon stores in the country today, including the largest Decathlon store in Southeast Asia. That store in Shah Alam has a 2-floor, 5,000 sqm sales area with 230,000 products from 60 sports.

Photographs courtesy of Decathlon Shah Alam

Decathlon was not a brand I associated with high-quality bicycles and cycling gear. I thought of Decathlon as a big-box retailer selling budget bikes. That changed in November 2023 when Decathlon was announced as the co-title sponsor of French WorldTour team AG2R in a five-year deal. The team will be called Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale. Decathlon has also replaced BMC as the team’s bike supplier. The team uses Decathlon’s in-house designed and assembled Van Rysel bikes, the RCR Pro road bike and the XCR time-trial bike.

Photographs courtesy of vanryselcycling.com

Van Rysel developed three new helmets for the Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale team. The RCR, the FCR, and the XCR. Complementing the helmets are the Perf 900 and Perf 900 Light sunglasses.

Photographs courtesy of vanryselcycling.com

I needed a replacement for a Knog Plus light. I clip these lights onto a jersey pocket and sock to make me more noticeable at night. The red one no longer holds a charge. These lights are sold on the KNOG website as a pair for USD34.95 / MYR167 at the current exchange rate.

Photograph courtesy of knog.com

There is a Decathlon store in the city centre. It occupies the entire first floor in Shoppes at Four Seasons Place. Despite the AG2R La Mondiale connection, Decathlon doesn’t immediately come to my mind as a place to buy cycling gear. But having had a good experience with the arm screens I found there, I went to look for reasonably priced clip-on lights.

The Decathlon Malaysia website lists 679 products in its Home > Sports > Cycling section. Among those products are 6 types of bicycles, tools, lubricants, apparel, reflective wear, components, lights, and panniers. The list goes on and on. I suspect most of those items are available in the extensive bicycle section at the Decathlon store in the Shoppes at Four Seasons Place.

The same website shows 24 bicycle lights. Most of those are on display in-store. I wanted a light with flashing patterns and a clip. The Elops LED Front/Rear USB Bike Light CL 900 ticked those boxes. Elops is one of Decathlon’s in-house cycling brands. Others include Btwin, Rockrider, Triban and, of course, Van Rysel.

Photograph courtesy of decathlon.my

The CL 900 has 3 white modes and 2 red modes. I will use the 17-lumen red flash mode. Battery life is a claimed 9 hours in red flash mode. The clip is sturdy and secure. The CL 900 also comes with an elastic fastener to attach the light to a handlebar or other item that needs a looped fastener.

At MYR79 / USD16.65, the CL 900 is a good value. It does what I want, and it does those things well.

I have a new-found respect for Decathlon as a purveyor of bicycles and cycling accessories. Certainly worth considering for clothing and accessories like base layers and jerseys. The prices are certainly competitive.

Photographs courtesy of decathlon.my

The price of this Van Rysel base layer is ¼ of what other cycling apparel brands are asking. The usual cost of this Van Rysel jersey is at least 50% cheaper than other premium brands. The sale price is a steal.

I’ll be checking out Decathlon’s cycling gear offerings from now on.

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Tubed or Tubeless Tyres?

Posted on April 2, 2024 by alchemyrider

When I bought my bicycles in the early to mid-2010s, the only wheel and tire choice was tubular or clincher. Tubular tyres are glued onto the wheel. Clincher tyres have a bead that fits under hooks on the rim to hold the tyre onto the rim. If punctured, the repair of a tubular tyre can be more challenging, and, in many cases, it’s more feasible to replace it. A clincher tyre has an inner tube which is easy to replace.

Graphic courtesy of support.enve.com

Despite the advantages of tubular tyres – lightweight, better ride quality and lower rolling resistance, the choice of tyre for me was a no-brainer. I didn’t want to deal with glueing tyres and carrying a spare tubular tyre when I rode.

In 1999, Mavic introduced the first tubeless tyre for mountain bikes. In 2017, Mavic launched a ‘Road UST’ standard specifying dimensional and pressure requirements. This standard was then used by the European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation (ETRTO) to develop road tubeless standards that were implemented in 2019.

There are three choices of non-tubular tyre and wheel combinations today. Clincher with tube, tubeless with hooks and tubeless hookless. Hookless rims are the most recent innovation in road cycling wheels. The ETRTO set standards for hookless rims in 2019.

Graphic courtesy of support.enve.com

The debate about whether to go tubeless is a lively one. There is no doubt about the benefits of road tubeless. As compared to tubed clincher tyres, tubeless systems offer:

  • Lower tyre pressures
  • Greatly reduced risk of puncturing
  • Repair options
  • Lower rolling resistance
  • Less weight

Tubeless tyres come with drawbacks as well:

  • Require compatible wheels
  • Can be difficult to install
  • Require sealant
  • Punctures can be messy
  • Require regular maintenance
  • Expensive

I still ride on clinchers. I don’t get many punctures and am happy to change an inner tube when I do. I don’t ride fast enough for lower rolling resistance and weight to make a difference. For me, the disadvantages of road tubeless outweigh the advantages.

Someone switching to road tubeless tyres would require most, if not all, of the items below. I suggest tubeless rather than tubeless-ready wheels. Tubeless wheels do not require rim tape. Choose tyres that are on the wheel manufacturer’s compatible tyre list. An incompatible tyre might roll off the rim, potentially causing injury or even death. A tyre that is the right size for the rim may negate the need for tyre mounting pliers. Seating a tyre in a rim will require a high-pressure pump. Despite sealant in the tyres, pack a spare tube and a high-pressure pump or CO2 inflator in case a puncture is too large for a plug to repair.

What You Need to Run Tubeless Tyres

Apart from the carbon rims (I ride on alloy rims), the items below are the exact items I use to keep my bicycle wheels rolling. The Continental Gatorskins are not the lightest tyres but the PolyX Breaker™ cut and puncture-proof layer is worth the extra 115 grams over the Vectran™ Breaker layer in a Continental Grand Prix 5000 tyre. The only maintenance these tyres need is an occasional top-up of air using my Silca Superpista floor pump.

What You Need to Run Clincher Tyres

A challenge to greater acceptance of road tubeless tyres is the level of confusion around which tyres can be used with which rims. The ETRTO road tubeless standards act as a guideline for rim and tyre manufacturers, but there is no law forcing manufacturers to adhere to these standards. This is especially problematic with hookless rims.

Earlier this month the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) issued a statement stating it is investigating “recent incidents” involving hookless rims and tubeless tyres “as a matter of urgency… in the interest of rider safety” following Thomas De Gendt’s crash at the UAE Tour in March 2024, which saw his 28mm-wide Vittoria Corsa Pro TLR road tyre blow off a Zipp 353 NSW wheel, which uses hookless rims.

For those wanting the benefits of road tubeless tyres and especially hookless rims, there is hope for the technology to become much more accessible and easier to use as the industry agrees on new standard guidelines. The use of road tubeless tyres may one day match the almost 100% acceptance of tubeless tyres for mountain bikes, where tubeless compatibility is mostly straightforward.

My issue with road tubeless tyres is the hassle sealant brings. Sealant oozing through sidewalls. The potential for spills when pouring sealant into the tyre. Sealant spraying out through a puncture. The need to remove dry sealant from inside the tyre and valve.

Photographs clockwise from top left courtesy of trainerroad.com, bikeradar.com, GCN Tech and slowtwitch.com

There is a new tyre on the market that may address these issues. The Hutchinson Challenger TLR. This tubeless tyre is designed to run without sealant.

Photograph courtesy of cycling.hutchinson.com

Hutchinson’s HARDSHIELD™ technology provides puncture protection. Their AIRSHIELD™ technology ensures the tyre is airtight.

Graphic courtesy of cycling.hutchinson.com

The Challenger TLR is an all-season tyre that apparently offers better ride quality than the Gatorskins I use now. At about €60 / MYR300 the Challenger TLR is not a cheap tyre. Nevertheless, when my clincher tyres need replacing I may take the plunge into the road tubeless world with the Hutchinson Challenger TLRs.

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I Can Carry On Cycling

Posted on March 30, 2024 by alchemyrider
Graphic courtesy of tickettoridehighlands.co.uk

When I started cycling in 2008, my Biker Chick and I agreed that I must pass annual health checkups to continue to cycle.

These checkups included a cardiac stress test. This test helps determine how well your heart responds to physical exertion. The patient is connected to an electrocardiogram (ECG) machine, a blood oxygen level monitor, and a blood pressure cuff. The test starts on a treadmill at a walking pace. The speed and grade of the treadmill increase as the test continues. Vital signs are recorded every three minutes. The test ends when the patient reaches a calculated maximum heart rate or cannot continue because of fatigue, shortness of breath, etc.

Graphic courtesy of my.clevelandclinic.org

My stress test results at subsequent annual health checks continued to be good.

In 2021, I decided to have a cardiac computed tomography (CT) scan and an echocardiogram at the Institut Jantung Negara (National Heart Institute). These tests were part of a Heart Health Package that included blood and urine tests, a chest X-ray, a pelvic ultrasound, spirometry and a breath CO2 test, and a Vascular Ankle Brachial Index.

A cardiac CT scan uses multiple X-ray beams in conjunction with an intravenous contrast dye to produce three-dimensional images of the heart structure and associated blood vessels. A cardiac CT scan generates a coronary calcium scan to reveal any buildup of calcium in the heart arteries. It also evaluates if there is a narrowing or a blockage in the arteries that bring blood to the heart.

Graphic courtesy of my.clevelandclinic.org

My cardiac CT scan revealed a mild to moderate non-calcified atherosclerotic disease in the left anterior descending coronary artery and mild mixed calcified and non-calcified atherosclerotic disease in the right coronary artery.

Graphic courtesy of hopkinsmedicine.org

These blockages would not have been detected by a cardiac stress test. I can pass a cardiac stress test despite the mild to moderate blockages in my heart arteries. The cardiac CT scan detected the blockages early enough that angioplasty or stenting was not needed. The only change to my lifestyle, if it can be called that, is a daily statin tablet.

The echocardiogram uses ultrasound to check the structure and function of the heart valves and chambers. The ultrasound is often combined with Doppler ultrasound and colour Doppler techniques to evaluate blood flow across the heart’s valves.

Graphic courtesy of thoughtco.com

The echocardiogram did not reveal any anomalies. All my heart structures and heart functions are normal.

Since that first visit, I have had semi-annual visits to the IJN. Every visit includes blood and urine tests and a consultation with my usual doctor. I have an echocardiogram every other visit. My most recent echocardiogram was three days ago. My results were excellent, and my ticket to ride is good for the next six months.

Photo courtesy of Nuno Ricardo on Unsplash

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Have Bicycle Prices Shot Up?

Posted on March 26, 2024 by alchemyrider

Paradoxes abound in the cycling press these days. On the one hand, the last twelve months have seen the news about bike brands like WiggleCRC, Planet X, Orange Bikes, and Islabikes going to the wall. Brands, distributors and shops have piles of unsold stock and have resorted to deep discounting, sometimes as much as 50%, to move product.

On the other hand, questions like “Why are modern bikes so expensive?” and “Are bikes more expensive than they used to be?” are being discussed on cycling podcasts.

So which view is the right one? Everyone agrees that the bike industry is in turmoil. Manufacturers with new releases in the pipeline are striving to empty warehouses by selling old stock at cost or even below it. By the same token, as soon as manufacturers get new models, they will bring the prices to more stable levels so they can start making some money again.

One way to look at the price of bicycles over the past ten years or so is to see how closely aligned bike prices are with the inflation rate. In the UK, the inflation rate between 2012 and 2024 was 37%.

Over that period the Giant TCR price went up 50%, from £1,999 to £2,999. The Specialized Tarmac went up 62.5%, £2,000 to £3,250. The Trek Madone, however, went up a whopping 160%, from £3,000 to £10,200. If the price of the Madone had tracked the inflation rate, it would cost £4,106 in 2024.

The Giant TCR and the Specialized Tarmac cost more today than their inflation-adjusted price. Not by much, though. The 2024 price of the Trek Madone, on the other hand, is eye-watering.

Data courtesy of cycling weekly.com
Inflation Calculator courtesy of bankofengland.co.uk

My experience of price drift can be seen in what I paid for the two Ti frames I bought from Alchemy and what they charge for a Ti frame in 2024. I paid $2,400 for a Ti frame with carbon seat and chain stays and an EDGE 2.0 road fork in 2011. In 2015, a Ti frame and ENVE fork cost me $3,750. Alchemy sells its Atlas All Road Ti frame and carbon fork today for $5,500.

Like prices in the UK, Alchemy’s prices for these frames have increased faster than the US inflation rate. The US inflation rate between 2012 and 2024 was 35.2%.

Over that period, the Alchemy Ti frame went up 129%. If the price of the Alchemy Ti frame had tracked the inflation rate, it would cost $3,244 in 2024. It is selling at a premium of $2,256. Interestingly, a 56cm version of the Atlas All Road Ti frame is on sale on the Alchemy website for $3,500.

Inflation Calculator courtesy of usinflationcalculator.com

There is no doubt that bicycles are more expensive to manufacture today than they were in 2012. Raw material and labour costs have increased. Freight and insurance costs have increased. A frame with internal cabling is more expensive to manufacture. Disc brakes are more expensive than rim brakes. Bike components like electronic groupsets cost more than mechanical ones.

It is also clear that manufacturers have significantly increased the prices of their high-end bicycles. The Trek Madone referenced above is one example. These bikes are skilfully marketed. “You too can ride the exact bikes that the best riders in the world use at races like the Tour de France.” These superbikes grab the lion’s share of media coverage. Much more so than lower-spec bikes.

It stands to reason that the average cyclist feels that bike prices are getting out of hand. That is certainly true of the type of bicycle most prominent in the cycling press. The bicycles that Tadej Pogačar, Mathieu van der Poel and Jonas Vingegaard race on.

A closer look at the full range of bikes from big manufacturers reveals cost-effective options for cyclists who do not want the lightest frames and the latest components. The chart below shows the cheapest offering within each model family. The cheapest bicycle in the Trek Emonda line, for example. There are, of course, better-specced and thus more expensive bikes within each model range.

Price data courtesy of the respective manufacturer’s website

The Giant Contend and the Trek Domane AL 2 Rim are on sale for less than $1,000. These 8-speed bikes are likely to appeal to beginner cyclists only.

The reasonably specced bikes, by which I mean sold with Shimano 105 group sets, start at $1,800 for the Giant TCR Advanced 2 Pro Compact 2 (discounted online from $2,500). At $5,400, you start moving into composite frames, like the Giant Propel Advanced. This bike comes with a SRAM Rival eTap groupset, which makes it a good value.

Of course, the sky is the limit when it comes to superbikes. The Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8, and $21,900, is a case in point. You can buy a new car for less than that.

The paradox of deep discounting, including two-for-one offers, existing side-by-side with superbikes costing tens of thousands of dollars, looks to continue. It remains to be seen how long the bike industry will struggle with the post-COVID downturn in demand. It also remains to be seen how long consumers will continue to support ever-increasing prices.

In the meantime, there are bicycles for all budgets.

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BOA® Fit System Lifetime Guarantee

Posted on March 22, 2024 by alchemyrider

The BOA® Fit System was developed in 2001 to improve the fit and performance of snowboard lacing systems. BOA® micro-adjustable dial and cable fastening systems have since found a place on sports and work footwear, cycling helmets and bags, motorsports gloves and pants, and even as lumbar support adjustment on fishing kayaks.

I own several items that have BOA® dials on them. The ones that get the most use are my Shimano S-Phyre shoes. I gave no thought to the durability of the BOA® dials and cables until the cover of one dial came away in my hand as I was loosening the fastening.

With a bit of super glue, the dial was functional again. A few months later, the entire dial, including the cable reel, separated from its base. This looked like a more complicated repair, so I took the shoe to my LBS, The Bike Artisans. I bought the shoes there. The shop mechanic told me that the dials cannot be replaced because they are stitched into the uppers.

I was disappointed to hear that. The shoes are in good condition.

I assume that after four years of regular use, the plastic within the dial had deteriorated to the point of failure. I convinced Melvin to try super glueing the cable reel back onto its base. He was dubious, but he gave it a go.

The super glue worked. The dial spins and ratchets, tightening and loosening the cable. Melvin told me not to pull up on the dial. This means I have lost the quick-release function, but that is a small price to pay to have usable shoes. This is the shoe. The repaired dial is the one on the strap.

Something bothers me about the irreplaceability of the BOA® dials on my shoes. I don’t know how long the repaired dial will last. The other dials will likely fail. I took a look at the BOA® website. BOA offers a lifetime guarantee. There is even a photograph of a broken dial with the base sewn into the upper.

Photograph courtesy of @brenttaylorphoto

The on-line support is extensive. Including a Redeem Repair Kit option.

Screenshot courtesy of boafit.com

According to the website, I need 5 to 10 minutes, a photo of the broken gear and the gear on hand to identify the parts required. It took less than 10 minutes for me to answer the questions, upload a photograph, and for the system to determine the correct parts for my shoe.

BOA® has just confirmed receipt of my order. A free repair kit with one right-side and one left-side dial should reach me in seven days. The downside is the replacement dials are black.

I can order dials that match the ones on my shoes online from a local supplier. The cost is MYR144 (USD31) for a pair of right-side or left-side dials. I can live with a free black dial.

Update

The warranty replacement dial kit has arrived from BOA®. The blue set is for the left shoe, and the red set is for the right. Included is a small torx screwdriver for the screw that holds the cable reel to the dial base.

The glue repair is still holding. I am ready for when it fails.

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