Tag Archives: The Bike Artisans

The short way home

Posted on November 27, 2018 by alchemyrider

We checked out of the hotel at 7.30am. We rode out in a drizzle to look for breakfast. You can always count on a mamak restaurant to be open at any hour of the night or day.

After breakfast, we rode to the usual photograph spots. First the Porta de Santiago, a small gatehouse which is the only part of A Famosa, a former Portuguese fortress, still standing today. A Famosa is among the oldest surviving European architectural remains in Southeast Asia and the Far East.

Then we went to Christ Church Melaka. Construction of Christ Church Malacca started in 1741 and it was completed in 1753. When the British took over Malacca they added a weathercock and bell to Christ Church and transformed it from a Protestant church into an Anglican one.

We had decided over dinner the night before to amend our plan for the day. Originally we were going to ride to the KTM station in Rembau, where we would catch a Komuter train to KL Sentral station. The Rembau station is 58km / 36mi from Melaka.

We decided instead to ride to the KTM station in Tampin, which is 40km / 25mi from Melaka. We would be very glad that we chose to ride to the closer station.

We rode through the narrow streets of historic Melaka to the AMJ highway. The highway took us north to Alor Gajah.

We left the AMJ highway at Alor Gajah for the 14km / 9mi remainder of the distance to Tampin.

The cool and overcast conditions had quickly given way to hot and muggy conditions. It was 30º C / 86º F at 10.00am. We were relieved to have opted to ride to Tampin rather than Rembau.

We had time for a cold drink after buying our tickets. The train left on time at 10.55am. And in only a few minutes we were cold. The air-conditioning on the KTM Komuter trains is quite chilly.

We warmed up once our damp jerseys had dried out. By the second half of the journey, we could feel the heat of the sun coming through the train windows.

The train takes about two hours to get to KL Sentral station. On the way we messaged Jeff Liew of The Bike Artisans, asking him to book duck rice lunches at the restaurant next door to his bike shop. We would be riding in that direction to get back to my place from KL Sentral station.

It was an easier task to get out of KL Sentral station that it had been to get into Tampin station, where the lift had broken down.

We rode the escalator up to the main hall of KL Sentral station and then wheeled our bikes fifty metres to the exit. In less than a minute we were on Jalan Tun Sambanthan headed towards the Bike Artisans and lunch.

In less than 4.5km / 3mi we were at Jeff’s doorstep. Which was a good thing because it was another hot day.

Kelin joined us for lunch.

As did TH.

We made short work of the chicken and duck rice. Thank you Jeff for buying us lunch, and Kelin and TH for joining us.

All that remained was to ride the hot 3km / 2mi to my place.

We had moaned at times about the heat over the two days. But we did agree that it had been a fun couple of days, and that we looked forward to more such rides.

And there are already some R@SKLs asking to join the next overnight ride.

3 Comments

Posted in Cycling in Malaysia and tagged A Famosa, AMJ Highway, Christ Church, KL Sentral, KTM Komuter, Melaka, Tampin, The Bike Artisans. Bookmark the permalink.

Una Leggenda Italiana

Posted on January 14, 2018 by alchemyrider

Photograph courtesy of The Bike Artisans

The Fiat Seicento, an update of the Cinquecento, is a classic of the automotive world. Dario Pegoretti, on the other hand, is a bicycle frame building legend. He is one of the most revered and respected steel frame builders in the world. His frames, exclusively in Columbus steel, are unique. Frames which are turned into works of art by paint that expresses his artistic passions.

Pegoretti Duende in Mesonperso Yellow & Pearl Blue lines 7

Photograph courtesy of Alvin Lee

Photograph courtesy of Alvin Lee

The Bike Artisans brought Dario to Kuala Lumpur to meet his fans, and more importantly, to take orders from aficionados eager to own a custom-built Duende, Mxxxxxxo, Responsorium, or Big Leg Emma frame.

Graphic courtesy of The Bike Artisans

Over two days Dario measured and interviewed more than thirty individuals. He suggested which of his frames would suit each person’s build and riding style. Then, each customer had to decide whether to have that frame finished with a stock paint scheme, or to go for the “surprise me” option of a hand-painted Ciavete design.

Photograph courtesy of The Bike Artisans

The Bike Artisans very kindly organised two events to mark Dario’s visit to Kuala Lumpur.

The first was dinner on Saturday night at Timbre, conveniently located next door to the bike shop.

Photograph courtesy of Marco Lai

It was an opportunity for Pegoretti owners to get their bikes autographed by Dario, for wish-we-were-owners to ogle the bikes and frames on display, and to get a photograph with the master.

Photograph courtesy of Alvin Lee

Photograph courtesy of Mark Lim

The second was the Pego-Raduno Asia Edition ride, from The Bike Artisans to Genting Sempah and back.

Photograph courtesy of Griffin Yong

Photograph courtesy of Marco Lai

It has been unusually cool over the past few days. Which helped make the Sunday morning ride very pleasant.

The ride ended with a satay lunch outside The Bike Artisans.

Photograph courtesy of Alvin Lee

And the opportunity to look over what was probably the largest collection of Pegorettis ever assembled in Kuala Lumpur.

Photograph courtesy of The Bike Artisans

Photograph courtesy of Alvin Lee

Photograph courtesy of The Bike Artisans

Photograph courtesy of Alvin Lee

Photograph courtesy of Alvin Lee

Photograph courtesy of Alvin Lee

The thirty or so who ordered frames now have a ten month or so wait while Dario cuts and welds tubes, and paints frames in his workshop in Verona.

Perhaps Dario will visit Kuala Lumpur again at the end of the year to deliver those eagerly awaited frames.

Photograph courtesy of The Bike Artisans

8 Comments

Posted in Cycling in Malaysia, Gear and Tools and tagged Big Leg Emma, Dario Pegoretti, Duende, Genting Sempah, Mxxxxxxo, Responsorium, The Bike Artisans, Timbre. Bookmark the permalink.

I’ve Got the ‘Flu. Do I Ride my Bike, or Not?

Posted on October 3, 2017 by alchemyrider

Influenza Virus Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1)

Graphic courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

This is the H1N1 influenza virus. One of the three or four ‘flu viruses which are most prevalent during this 2016 / 2017 influenza season.

Perhaps the ‘flu virus that caught me (I don’t think you catch the ‘flu. The ‘flu catches you) was the B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus. Australia is in the midst of its worst ‘flu outbreak on record.

Whichever strain of the virus it was, I started feeling the effects of the infection ten days ago. It started with a sore throat, which progressed to a fever, upper chest and nasal congestion, aching joints, and an annoying cough.

After a week of Hurix’s Fluaway capsules, and Strepsils lozenges, I felt better. Not 100%, but well enough to ride to Kundang with birthday boy Mark, Marco, and Khoo. I was following the old adage to “sweat out a cold”.

I’m was also sure the Kundang pan mee would have curative properties.

Photograph courtesy of Marco Lai

The same had to be true for the chendol from Hasan’s van on Jalan Bukit Mayang Emas.

Photograph courtesy of Marco Lai

I didn’t feel any better, but I didn’t feel any worse, the next morning. The morning of the Man Ride Day. Lay, Khoo and Mark were coming to my apartment to start the ride with me. There was no backing out.

Graphic courtesy of The Bike Artisans

There were two distances to choose from. 100km and 200km. We all chose the 100km route, from The Bike Artisans on Jalan Doraisamy to Genting Sempah and Janda Baik, and then back to The Bike Artisans. Hardier souls than we rode twice as far, to Raub and back.

The agreement with Lay, Khoo and Mark was that if I started coughing, the pace was too high. Which turned out to be an effective way of controlling our speed up the climbs to Genting Sempah. Cough cough cough!

Photograph courtesy of Qoo Khoo

We started the ride with about one hundred other cyclists. Perhaps half were ahead of us by the time we got near the Orang Asli Hospital. Then everyone moved ahead of us, because we stopped for food and drink at our regular spot, Restoran Sidek Ria.

Photograph courtesy of Qoo Khoo

We spent 25 minutes over roti telur and iced Milo. Back on my bike, I coughed, spluttered, and blew snot rockets every now and then all the way up to Genting Sempah.

Graphic courtesy of REI.com

At the flyover I decided that I felt good enough to continue to Bukit Tinggi. That cut out the Janda Baik loop, which removed some steep slopes and about 15km / 9mi from our route.

We stopped for more food and drink in Bukit Tinggi. There are a number of coffee shops to choose from.

My riding buddies kindly kept the pace low as we climbed the 415 meters / 1,360 feet of elevation over the 9km / 5.5mi from Bukit Tinggi back to Genting Sempah. I had brought some Strepsils to help with my cough, but had nothing to boost my compromised lung capacity.

Once the last slope at Hamburger Hill was dealt with, it was downhill for 25km / 15.5mi to Jalan Taman Ibu Kota. Then onto flat ground past the Twin Towers and back to The Bike Artisans.

Photograph courtesy of Qoo Khoo

The Man Ride Day ended with a nasi kandar and satay lunch, a short talk on Mens’ Mental Health by Associate Professor Dr. Amer Siddiq Amer Nordin from University of Malaya, a short talk on reaching out for help by Kenny Lim of Befrienders Malaysia, and an auction of commemorative Black Sheep Chaos kit.

Man Ride Day 3

Photograph courtesy of The Bike Artisans

It was a well-organised event, and good fun. I’m glad I rode the event, albeit for only 90km / 56mi.

My cough and upper chest congestion didn’t get any better over the weekend. It was slightly worse on Monday morning.

So today, belatedly, I did some research. Was there any truth to the “sweat out a cold” adage?

The answer is “it depends.”

Doctors differentiate between ‘above the neck’ symptoms such as a runny or stuffy nose, watery eyes or a mild sore throat, and ‘below the neck’ ones, such as a cough, a congested or tight chest, an upset stomach, muscle aches and fever.

A light to moderate – and brief – workout is fine if your symptoms are above the neck.

If your symptoms are below the neck? Give workouts a miss. Exercising with major cold symptoms will prolong your illness and can be dangerous.

Which probably explains why I still have a stuffy nose and a cough.

Sick

I have below the neck symptoms. So no BCG Tuesday Night Fun Ride for me today.

Now where did I put those Strepsils?

Postscript

I saw a doctor. He put his stethoscope on my chest as I took deep breaths. Well, as deep as I could manage.

He heard lots of crackling. Walking pneumonia was his diagnosis. I left his clinic with an antibiotic, and something for my cough.

And with strict instructions to avoid any exercise until my lungs were clear.

Seven days later, I could ride again.

3 Comments

Posted in Cycling in Malaysia and tagged Black Sheep, Bukit Tinggi, Genting Sempah, Influenza, Man Ride Day, The Bike Artisans. Bookmark the permalink.

The Bearings We All Forget

Posted on May 17, 2017 by alchemyrider

Bearings

Bicycles run on bearings. Starting from the front of the bicycle, there are bearings in the front wheel hub, which allow the wheel to spin on its axle. There are bearings in the headset, which is the assembly that connects the front fork to the frame, and permits the fork to turn for steering and balancing. There are bearings in the bottom bracket, which allow the crankset spindle to rotate freely. There are bearings in the rear wheel hub and the freewheel attached to it. There are bearings in the two rear derailleur pulleys.

Bearings Bicycle.png

Cyclists pay lots of attention to the bearings in wheels and drivetrains. These are the bearings which help the bicycle’s forward progress. Any reduction in friction (loss of watts, in cyclist’s parlance) is highly sought after. These bearings are regularly serviced. Steel bearings are often replaced with ceramic bearings, which have a lower rolling resistance.

Headset bearings get less love. Bike mechanics should check headset adjustment when servicing bikes. Occasionally a headset needs tightening. It is usually only after the rider feels roughness, notchiness, or uneven drag while steering, that headset bearing get serviced or replaced.

And the bearings we all forget? The ones in our pedals. Cyclists notice when their cleats need replacing. The wear is visible, and that wear is often made tangible by clipping in and out of the pedals requiring either too much or too little force.

Pedals just seem to go on and on doing their job with no fuss or bother. That adage about the squeaky wheel is certainly true where pedals are concerned.

I bought my Alchemy Eros, and the Speedplay pedals that I specified for the bike, in June 2015. I had given my pedals little or no thought since then.

A week ago the bike developed an irritating click. Lim, the mechanic at The Bike Artisans, thought that my pedals could be the source of the noise. The pedals were spinning too freely on their spindles, which is a sign that they needed regreasing. He didn’t have a needle-type grease injector gun, so couldn’t do the quick and easy pedal maintenance via the grease port hole built into the pedal bodies.

When I got home I consulted the Speedplay website. Speedplay recommends that the pedal bearings be regreased at least every 3,200 km / 2000 mi, or every two months.

Bearings What

That means my pedals should have been regreased between five and twelve times by now.

I found online instructions to disassemble my pedals. The Spindle Screw was held in place by some Loctite Threadlocker Blue, but I got the screw to turn without having to heat it, as mentioned in some posts. The fiddliest step was removing the retaining ring.

It is possible to replace the bearings – Speedplay sells a pedal rebuild kit for USD100 which replaces everything but the spindles. I just cleaned all the parts, flushed out what grease was left in the bearings, flooded the pedal body with fresh grease, and reassembled the pedals.

Diagram courtesy of forum.slowtwitch.com

So far so good. The pedals are turning smoothly and quietly.

Unfortunately that irritating click is still there.

Bearings Irritated

Postscript

I have found the source of the click. It was coming from the rear dropouts. A touch of lubrication between the QR faces and the dropouts, and silence was restored.

Thank you Uffe Lindhardt for the link to Keep It Quiet! Jim Langley’s wide-ranging bicycle blog is an excellent resource.

7 Comments

Posted in Cycling in Malaysia, Gear and Tools and tagged Alchemy Bicycle Company, Bearings, Bottom bracket, Ceramic, Eros, Headset, Hub, Pedals, Pulley Wheels, Speedplay, The Bike Artisans. Bookmark the permalink.

My Local Bike Shop (LBS)

Posted on January 13, 2017 by alchemyrider

Wikipedia defines local bike shop or local bicycle shop as a small business specializing in bicycle sales, maintenance and parts.

To become my local bike shop, the business has to meet a few more criteria.

It has to be not more than 5km / 3mi from home.
The staff are there because they love it and really want to be there.
The staff are knowledgeable and keep up to date on the latest technology.
The staff provides exceptional customer service.
The shop provides value for money.
The staff do not unnecessarily upsell, when a simple repair will suffice.
Points 2 to 6 come together to create a “je ne sais quoi” that makes me want to go back there.

My first LBS was West End Bicycles in Houston, Texas. The story of how I found West End Bicycles, in 2009, is here.

Photograph courtesy of West End Bicycles

West End Bicycles has been in business for thirty one years now, and long may they prosper. I moved away from Houston in 2010, but have been back a few times over the years to ride the BP MS150. Most recently in April 2016. Every time I visit Houston I make sure to call in at West End, which is my favourite LBS to this day.

I moved from Houston to Den Haag, The Netherlands. It took me a year to find a group of like-minded cyclists to ride with. By which time my bike needed a full service. David Porritt introduced me to Tom Schouten Wielersport.

Photograph courtesy of Tom Schouten Wielersport

Like West End, Tom Schouten Wielersport is an owner-operated bike store. Tom was always there to talk to and connect with his customers.

The personal touch matched the quality of service provided. My bike felt like a new one when I got it back. All the cables had been replaced. The hubs, bottom bracket and headset had been cleaned and greased. The wheels had been trued. It had new bar tape. It was cleaner than it had been since the day I took delivery of it.

The only downside? It cost me €175 / USD187 / RM833. Enough to convince me to attend a bicycle maintenance course!

There were a few other bike shops within a 5km radius of the Benoordenhout area where I lived. Which would not be considered unusual in cycling-mad Holland. Van Herwerden and Mammoet Rijwielen were two that I used on occasion when I needed an inner tube or a bicycle light. Tom Schouten remained as my go-to LBS when my bike needed work that I couldn’t do myself, like replacing a broken spoke.

In 2012 I moved back home. My first ride in Kuala Lumpur was with a group from Van’s Urban Bicycle Co.

Photograph courtesy of BaikBike.com

It was during that ride up to Genting Sempah ride that my bike developed a nasty creak. Read about getting that creak fixed at Van’s here.

Van’s Urban Bicycle Co. met most of my criteria for an LBS, except the “local” part. The shop was in Petaling Jaya. More than 15km / 9mi, through city streets, from where I lived. Six months later the shop had moved to Kampung Tunku, which was even further away.

As time went by I gravitated to a group of road bike riders, rather than the folding bike riders that Van’s catered to. Those roadies introduced me to Meng Thai Bicycle Centre.

Photograph courtesy of Meng Thai Bicycle Centre

Like Van’s, Meng Thai Bicycle Centre ticked all the boxes, sadly except for the accessibility one. The shop is in Kota Damansara, about 20km / 12.5mi away. To make things worse, the traffic on the way there is usually terrible, and once there, parking spaces around the shop are very difficult to come by. Which is a shame, because Husher and his team at the shop have that je ne sais quoi.

About a year ago Lee and another mechanic moved to their new branch in Kota Kemuning.

Photograph courtesy of Mark Lim

The drive there and parking is much easier, but the Kota Kemuning shop is 40km / 25mi away. Though I must admit that, despite the distance, that shop is relatively easy to cycle to from where I live. Up onto the MEX Highway, and then onto the KESAS Highway to Kota Kemuning. Nevertheless, Meng Thai Cycle is not local.

There is one bike shop that is a 6km / 4mi ride away from home. I went there twice. Once to address a mechanical issue, and once to buy an inner tube. Both times I came away disappointed. I didn’t feel that the mechanic knew what he was talking about with respect to the mechanical issue, and I was charged 30% above the market rate for the inner tube. I will never go there again.

They say that good things come to those who wait. A new bike store opened 2.5km / 1.5mi away in December 2016. The Bike Artisans.

Photograph courtesy of Adrian Goh

Jeff Liew has certainly given his bike shop a generous dose of je ne sais quoi. Helped in no small measure by the drool-worthy bike frames, kit and accessories carried by The Bike Artisans. Brands include Pegoretti, Stelbel, Look, Cervélo, Slide Away, Moulton, Black Sheep Cycling, PEdALED, Warsaw Cycling, Apidura, Kask, Tacx and MCFK Carbon.

Jeff is clearly passionate about the products in his shop, and he is happy to chat about all things cycling. Lim is the in-house mechanic. I am very happy with the shifting tuneups he did on both of my bikes.

And despite the high-end gear in the shop, an inner tube sells for the market rate.

I’ve found my Kuala Lumpur LBS.

Graphic courtesy of redbubble.com

2 Comments

Posted in Cycling in Malaysia, Gear and Tools and tagged LBS, Local Bike Shop, Mammoet Rijwielen, Meng Thai Bicycle Centre, Meng Thai Cycle, The Bike Artisans, Tom Schouten Wielersport, Van Herwerden, Van's Urban Bicycle Co, West End Bicycles. Bookmark the permalink.

Old Roots, New Routes

Tag Archives: The Bike Artisans

The short way home

Una Leggenda Italiana

I’ve Got the ‘Flu. Do I Ride my Bike, or Not?

The Bearings We All Forget

Postscript

My Local Bike Shop (LBS)

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