Air Itam Dam uphill ride on 8/28/2011

 Beginning of the uphill to Air Itam Dam. The road is narrow and need to watch out for some cars and motorbike going up and down since it's holiday season. There were also a number of mountain bikers there.

At the mid- span of the road to Air Itam dam, the heavy breakfast start to take effect. Never eat anything spicy or too filling before a challenging ride.

Second pit-stop at 1/3 of the journey. Stop for some pictures. Now the food has digested and have burp out the wind, we feel better.

Reach Air Itam dam.

Going up to Tua Pek Kong temple. The road up is much more challenging and slippery as it has been raining for the past few days.

Reach the Tua Pek Kong temple.

Final picture before descending down to Air Itam town for some drinks. We have finish our water.

Giant ATX 2011 - An excellent value bicycle frame by Giant

This Giant ATX bicycle below is a custom build bike which belong's to my friend. The frame size is XS as she is small size.

This bike is fitted with Shimano SLX chain drive. The brakes, suspension fork are bought separately.

This is frame is made of Aluxx SL butted alloy which is similar material to Giants XTC. This frame cost approx half the price of XTC and is heavier than XTC by approx 200 grams. In my opinion it does not make a lot of difference as I'm not that concern on weight.

A difference between ATX Pro and this would be the behind seat stay. The ATX frame is bridge-less which is similar to the ATX Pro .

The cost to do up this bike is a lot as a lot of good quality components are use. However, the frame itself cost approx RM650 which I think it is reasonably priced.

Focus Whistler (2011) - A value bike for beginners

This bike belongs to my friend who recently wanted to take up cycling as exercise. This bike cost close to RM2,000.

 

The bike comes with a mix of Shimano Alivio and Suntour components. It also comes with Tektro Draco hydraulic disk brake which is quite common for bikes priced around the RM2,000 range.

The suspension fork is Suntour XCT, but it has the Focus brand is more visible. This fork is also very common to come with bikes priced at this range. The performance is good but is not suitable for free ride and downhill.

Overall, this bike is good for beginners cyclist who don't want to spend too much on their first bike.

RST First Platinum (2011) Suspension Fork - Terrific budgeted Air Fork

RST First Platinum is one terrific value for money air suspension fork. It cost approx RM650 which is a lot less than Rock Shox, Fox and Manitou. This fork is build for cross country and not suitable for downhill or freeride.

This fork is also light weight, which is approx 1.7kg. It is one of the lightest budget suspension fork to have if you are concern on the weight of your bike.

The performance is good and absorbs shocks pretty well during cross country ride. The model shown is the Release Lock model. The control of the fork is located at the handle bar for ease. There is also the TK model for those who prefer to use turn key function instead of Release Lock.

Specialized Stumpjumper Carbon EVO 2012 Curtis Keene First Look DEMO

Suntour Epicon Suspension fork 2012

Suntour Epicon 2012 suspension fork is for all mountain and trail rides. It is not for freeride or downhill.

The estimated weight is approx 1.6kg. Suntour Epicons are value for money suspension fork and many bike shop recommended it to those who don't want to spend a lot of money but has the performance that don't disappoint.

SR Suntour 2012 Forks And Shocks – First Look - BikeRadar

Shimano SLX 2012 Brake with Ice Technology

Shimano is now making it's ice cool technology available on it SLX Groupset as well. 

The way to know whether the ice cool technology is fitted will be to look at the brake pads and the rotor.
It's brake pad design different compare to others. There are some fins which help to reduce heat buildup from braking especially going downhill.

Exitway KSX Hardtail Mtb - A value buy

This is another value buy hardtail mountain bike by Exitway. This model is the Exitway KSX. The price of this bike is approx RM1,900.00 and it comes with Shimano Deore 2011 components. The bike has 30 speeds and come with Suntour XCM suspension fork.

Next, it comes with Tektro Draco hydraulic disk brake which is an entry level disc brake but produce enough stopping power.

For those who just wanted to take up mountain biking as exercise, this is a good bike to start with for a budget below RM2,000. After sometime in this sport, if you don't like the frame design, you can change the frame to whatever frame you like and still keep the components.
I was informed by the bicycle shop, buyers who bought this bike mostly change the frame to Giant ATX and the suspension  fork to Suntour Epicon after sometime.

GT Avalanche 2.0

This GT Avalanche 2.0 is a mid-priced hardtail mountain bike. The picture above is taken at Chin Aik Bicycle shop at Lebuh Carnavon. The price of the bike is approx RM2,200. The suspension fork is Suntour XCM which is quite common to see in low end - mid priced bikes.

This bike comes with a mix of Shimano Components and comes with Tektro Auriga hydraulic disc brakes. The bike has 27 speeds.

The Crankset is Shimano Octalink which is the predecessor of Hollowtech II.

It comes with Shimano Deore rear derraileur. I've used Deore and they rarely give problems and the gear change is smooth.

Giant ATX Pro (2011) frame - Light and worth it

The above bike belongs to one of my friend. Each of the components are bought separately. There are no Giant ATX bikes. Only the frame is available for purchase. The frame cost approx RM600.

 

In this bike he fixes full Shimano SLX groupset which is considered leaning towards the high end Shimano mountain bike components. The suspension fork fitted on this bike is RST First Platinum. 

The total weight of this bike is approx 11kg which is considered light in the mountain bike category. Total cost to fix up this bike cost approx RM3,600 and that makes it a medium priced mountain bike. The frame itself weighs approx 1.6 - 1.7 kg depending of the frame size.

Merida Matts TFS 500 (2012) Value for money mid-range Mountain Bike

The bike above is the Matts TFS 500 (2012). It comes with Alloy frame and weighs approx 12kg.

This bike comes with 2012 Shimano Deore 10 speed groupset which lean towards the high end Shimano components. This bike also comes with Shimano Hollowtech 2 crankset and Shimano hydraulic brakes.

The bike is fitted with Rock Shox XC 30 push lock suspension fork which is also a 2012 model. I can't find this model it in the website at all. Probably the website is not yet updated.

The cost of this bike is about RM3200 - RM3500. In my opinion this is a value for money mountain bike as it is light weight, comes with Shimano Deore Groupset which never disappoints in it's smooth gear change and you don't need to spend extra cash for upgrades if you are a beginner or intermediate cyclist.