Inspiration
After a layoff of over 10 years, I've decided to come back to cycling.
Yet 4 years ago, I proudly acquired a GT Aluminium frame bike with 10Spd state of the art Ultegra components. That did not do it for me. The ride was somewhat harsh. Some might debate its the material but to me its just the way the frame was made and down to personal preference.
You see, I've been on steel for most part of the 80's, starting out with an old Motioncraft with Shimano parts back in 85' (a gift from my uncle). That was great bike that served me well as I use it as my daily commuter to friends, after-school tuition, badminton and that occasional 20km ride to school (I stress 'occasional' here). That was of course until i inadvertently knocked into the rear-end of a solid mercedez benz (probably was dreaming or looking at some girl crossing the street at Jalan Raja Kam in the suburbs). That took the fork with it.
Well my dad, being the gifted handyman that he is, bent it back into shape but things were to get worst. On one commute back from tuition at 9pm, I knocked into stealth-like black raleigh steel bike, those from the 50's or 60's. It was at a junction and that fella was nicely cruising by, without realizing i had the right of way. And that was it. That bike had to be binned. By the way, the raleigh was still unscathed and he rode away after saying a nice 'sorry'. I had push the mangled Motioncraft about 2-3km back home.
Soon after, I purchase another steel road bike (shimano parts again, i guess mid-end from the era) from a good friend for peanuts as he upgraded his to a more 'premium' one (you know the fancy types with hidden brake cables? yeah it was the rage at the time). This was around circa 1987. It was blue yet again, like the motioncraft but i highly suspect it was one of those steel frames from Taiwan. Still, it was a great bike that served its purpose well and provided me with hour of enjoyment at a time. It was fast, relatively light and very very practical for me. Came time for me to pursue my studies in Singapore , it was locked all the while back home and one day, it just got stolen.
Well many years went on without me on a road bike, after all Singapore boasts a great transportation system that only the Shikanzen (bullet train) just-in-time schedule can rival. There was no need for one, and it was not very safe to cycle in Singapore.
Then in the 3rd year of my engineering degree stint at NUS, I kept seeing a nice old steel 'black' bike that was always chained to a post at Raffles hall but yet no one claimed it. I eyed it for months and one day i decided to try to find out who the hell has the keys to the chain. Apparently it belonged to a senior who graduated and left the bike for a junior from my same year but he does not use it at all. So after much bargaining, we settled at a 50 dollar price agreement which I will pay him (and have not done so). He was cool about it though. I swear if I ever see him again, I'll pay him up.
Anyway this bike had great weight. It was lighter than both my previous bikes and had full 105 groupo....this was back in 1994. I loved this bike. It was purely for enjoyment riding. It served no other practical purpose. I would ride with another close friend from NUS all the way to Changi Airport (total of 60km-65km to and fro) and it was great fun, starting our trip at 2am, going through Shenton Way and all the way to Changi. We would sit down have a beer and watch the planes take off and land right on top of us. On the way back there was always the trusty 24hr prata shop which took care of our breakfast and supply of cheap indian cigarellos called 'bee-dees' (yes we were poor struggling student then). I stripped down this bike once gave everything a good clea/overhaul and painted it blue. Oh yes, had the crank changed to a neat biopace ones....
Graduation came and it was time to get real within society. Work pressures, time, killed off most of my interest in pleasure riding as I indulged in more beers, golf and scuba-diving. Still, the bike was with me. Everytime I moved every 2 years (being foreigners, we had to rent) the bike went with me, though I never rode it anytime soon. I did though for once tried mountain biking....went off to Carrefour and purchased a really cheap and heavy 'soft-tail' bike and did some trekking around Bukit Timah area. It was quite fun but that activity never quite really picked-up with me. I even cycled down to Desaru (about 140-150km) with the same friend, slowly and painfully on that piece of junk excuse of a mountain bike. I gave it away to my housemate though he wnted to buy it from me for his cousin. All that time my road bike lay unused in the basement carpark at our rented condominium in Toa Payoh.
As we (the housemates) parted ways and I was about to tie the knot, I went down to the basement to see that road bike. It was in a sorry state. The wheels were long gone. The seat/seatpost were non-existent and it was getting closer to Rusty Heaven than I ever imagined. I should have moved it with me but I did not. That was in 2004.
In 2006, a close buddy moved me back into cycling. I acquired the Alu GT bike with really nice 10spd groupo. It was a very fast and light bike (about 8kg), faster and lighter than anything i even owned. I did not ride it that much though, I just hated the ride quality. It was very stiff and I was not used to the twitchy nature of the stiff frame. On another butt, it would have been ok, but not mine.
Fast forward to 2008 (Now). I cycled the GT again and beginning to try to love the new stiff ride that my butt was so unaccustomed to.....until the seat stay cracked. I had the option to try to repair it but I thought it was time I went back to basics, back to the time that allowed me to rekindle the joy of cycling.....on steel.
I quickly acquired an old steel bike 'Saronni' at a hefty price of SGD650. I probably could have paid less if I waited but hell....I just wanted one quick so I can get on the road again!
It starts here......as I blog and chronicle my new biking days!
Yet 4 years ago, I proudly acquired a GT Aluminium frame bike with 10Spd state of the art Ultegra components. That did not do it for me. The ride was somewhat harsh. Some might debate its the material but to me its just the way the frame was made and down to personal preference.
You see, I've been on steel for most part of the 80's, starting out with an old Motioncraft with Shimano parts back in 85' (a gift from my uncle). That was great bike that served me well as I use it as my daily commuter to friends, after-school tuition, badminton and that occasional 20km ride to school (I stress 'occasional' here). That was of course until i inadvertently knocked into the rear-end of a solid mercedez benz (probably was dreaming or looking at some girl crossing the street at Jalan Raja Kam in the suburbs). That took the fork with it.
Well my dad, being the gifted handyman that he is, bent it back into shape but things were to get worst. On one commute back from tuition at 9pm, I knocked into stealth-like black raleigh steel bike, those from the 50's or 60's. It was at a junction and that fella was nicely cruising by, without realizing i had the right of way. And that was it. That bike had to be binned. By the way, the raleigh was still unscathed and he rode away after saying a nice 'sorry'. I had push the mangled Motioncraft about 2-3km back home.
Soon after, I purchase another steel road bike (shimano parts again, i guess mid-end from the era) from a good friend for peanuts as he upgraded his to a more 'premium' one (you know the fancy types with hidden brake cables? yeah it was the rage at the time). This was around circa 1987. It was blue yet again, like the motioncraft but i highly suspect it was one of those steel frames from Taiwan. Still, it was a great bike that served its purpose well and provided me with hour of enjoyment at a time. It was fast, relatively light and very very practical for me. Came time for me to pursue my studies in Singapore , it was locked all the while back home and one day, it just got stolen.
Well many years went on without me on a road bike, after all Singapore boasts a great transportation system that only the Shikanzen (bullet train) just-in-time schedule can rival. There was no need for one, and it was not very safe to cycle in Singapore.
Then in the 3rd year of my engineering degree stint at NUS, I kept seeing a nice old steel 'black' bike that was always chained to a post at Raffles hall but yet no one claimed it. I eyed it for months and one day i decided to try to find out who the hell has the keys to the chain. Apparently it belonged to a senior who graduated and left the bike for a junior from my same year but he does not use it at all. So after much bargaining, we settled at a 50 dollar price agreement which I will pay him (and have not done so). He was cool about it though. I swear if I ever see him again, I'll pay him up.
Anyway this bike had great weight. It was lighter than both my previous bikes and had full 105 groupo....this was back in 1994. I loved this bike. It was purely for enjoyment riding. It served no other practical purpose. I would ride with another close friend from NUS all the way to Changi Airport (total of 60km-65km to and fro) and it was great fun, starting our trip at 2am, going through Shenton Way and all the way to Changi. We would sit down have a beer and watch the planes take off and land right on top of us. On the way back there was always the trusty 24hr prata shop which took care of our breakfast and supply of cheap indian cigarellos called 'bee-dees' (yes we were poor struggling student then). I stripped down this bike once gave everything a good clea/overhaul and painted it blue. Oh yes, had the crank changed to a neat biopace ones....
Graduation came and it was time to get real within society. Work pressures, time, killed off most of my interest in pleasure riding as I indulged in more beers, golf and scuba-diving. Still, the bike was with me. Everytime I moved every 2 years (being foreigners, we had to rent) the bike went with me, though I never rode it anytime soon. I did though for once tried mountain biking....went off to Carrefour and purchased a really cheap and heavy 'soft-tail' bike and did some trekking around Bukit Timah area. It was quite fun but that activity never quite really picked-up with me. I even cycled down to Desaru (about 140-150km) with the same friend, slowly and painfully on that piece of junk excuse of a mountain bike. I gave it away to my housemate though he wnted to buy it from me for his cousin. All that time my road bike lay unused in the basement carpark at our rented condominium in Toa Payoh.
As we (the housemates) parted ways and I was about to tie the knot, I went down to the basement to see that road bike. It was in a sorry state. The wheels were long gone. The seat/seatpost were non-existent and it was getting closer to Rusty Heaven than I ever imagined. I should have moved it with me but I did not. That was in 2004.
In 2006, a close buddy moved me back into cycling. I acquired the Alu GT bike with really nice 10spd groupo. It was a very fast and light bike (about 8kg), faster and lighter than anything i even owned. I did not ride it that much though, I just hated the ride quality. It was very stiff and I was not used to the twitchy nature of the stiff frame. On another butt, it would have been ok, but not mine.
Fast forward to 2008 (Now). I cycled the GT again and beginning to try to love the new stiff ride that my butt was so unaccustomed to.....until the seat stay cracked. I had the option to try to repair it but I thought it was time I went back to basics, back to the time that allowed me to rekindle the joy of cycling.....on steel.
I quickly acquired an old steel bike 'Saronni' at a hefty price of SGD650. I probably could have paid less if I waited but hell....I just wanted one quick so I can get on the road again!
It starts here......as I blog and chronicle my new biking days!
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