Hi,
I want to do zwift indoor and then weekends go to a cycle route place. I am training for a triathlon dash - 400 m swim, 20km bike and 5 km run. Getting into the sport as a way to get fit, nearly 2 years without doing any exercise.
I want to get a bike and trainer. Question is which bike? Would also want to be able to ride the bike on the street as a means of getting around but I live in Bangkok where traffic and pollution is terrible so don’t think I’ll be much riding however it would be good to still be able to maybe get to work on my bike.
Which bike, I have no clue and do not want to spend too much time investigating. I can spend max 650 USD.
There are loads of bike shops here with expensive bikes.
Yes thats where Ive gone a couple of times! Rented a bike there, looking to buy my own.
Ay where else that would have mid range bikes or beginner bikes and not too expensive??
Tried signing up to the MTB forum but all in thai.
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Most of the bike stores have cheaper bikes but it is fashionable to buy expensive ones for some reason.I hardly ever go into Bangkok anymore so I don’t know much about specific stores. I’m down near Rayong so I go to the local bike stores closer to Mae Pim.
I think its suicidal to ride anything less than a fatbike on BKK crappy roads with dangerous rain grates, but good luck. All road bikes are transitioning to disc brakes and tubeless tires so if you don’t mind running rim brakes and tubes then get a great used bike on thaimtb or kaidee. Otherwise you could go as low as this if it fits you properly, buy some clip on aerobars and wait to see if you stick with cycling. https://888bike.net/...AAาย
This website has a lot of road bikes.
Then by the time you want a better bike most new bikes will be disc brakes and maybe tubeless. It rains a lot here, rim brakes are inferior, buy a bike with disc brakes.
Last year I was turning on the airport track and there was a meter long monitor lizard basking, but hidden by that huge chrome guardrail. If I had been riding fast in the rain I would have probably crashed into the steel rails and broken a lot including myself. Of the 40 rides this year more than half were raining; I go after 6pm so you know how much it rains at that time.
Personally I don’t do triathlons but cycle a fair amount. I ride a 1998 GT road bike with clip on aerobars only at this track. The $700 carbon Ciamillo rim brakes suck compared to my folding Birdy with $150 hydraulic disc brakes. My next bike will be a triathalon bike with disc brakes but have to wait till all the big players revamp their bikes. Still waiting on Trek, Canyon, and Giant.
I think its suicidal to ride anything less than a fatbike on BKK crappy roads with dangerous rain grates, but good luck. All road bikes are transitioning to disc brakes and tubeless tires so if you don’t mind running rim brakes and tubes then get a great used bike on thaimtb or kaidee. Otherwise you could go as low as this if it fits you properly, buy some clip on aerobars and wait to see if you stick with cycling. https://888bike.net/...AAาย
This website has a lot of road bikes.
Then by the time you want a better bike most new bikes will be disc brakes and maybe tubeless. It rains a lot here, rim brakes are inferior, buy a bike with disc brakes.
Last year I was turning on the airport track and there was a meter long monitor lizard basking, but hidden by that huge chrome guardrail. If I had been riding fast in the rain I would have probably crashed into the steel rails and broken a lot including myself. Of the 40 rides this year more than half were raining; I go after 6pm so you know how much it rains at that time.
Personally I don’t do triathlons but cycle a fair amount. I ride a 1998 GT road bike with clip on aerobars only at this track. The $700 carbon Ciamillo rim brakes suck compared to my folding Birdy with $150 hydraulic disc brakes. My next bike will be a triathalon bike with disc brakes but have to wait till all the big players revamp their bikes. Still waiting on Trek, Canyon, and Giant.
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I rarely ever go to BKK and would never do a training ride there (Pattaya is the same).Almost everyone I know who rides road or tri bikes does a short drive out of the city before riding on quiet roads or they ride indoors.The closest my bike ever gets to BKK is the airport when I’m flying in or out.
I live half the year in Laem Mae Pim which has quiet and smooth roads everywhere but even then I’d never ride in the heavy rain,not because of the water on the road or braking issues but because people driving can’t see shit when it is pouring down.
Wow some solid advice there! I currently only go to sky lane at the weekends - have to get a taxi there, rent bike etc.
Thanks for the website 888bike - Do they have a physical shop? Buying online problem is I don’t know anything about bikes. On there, there seems to be some good bikes for under 15k - if that was your budget what would you get? What about the twitter bikes?
I can’t log in to TMB because it’s all in Thai and can’t even manage to sign up.
Do you know any shops that I could walk into to ask and get something decent?
Right now Im leaning towards following your advice and just buying something half decent (if possible) for 15k or less - try to get out to sky lane more times and consistently and maybe some indoor riding - Then if I want to continue in the future I can buy a better bike.
So for that sort of money what should I get? I am 84 kg and 1.81m tall.
go to a bike shop and buy a used bike that meets your budget and fits you. your size is “large”, many brands also call it “56”. with your budget you might afford a good condition carbon bike with shimano 105 drive train. have fun!
I am a beginner as well. As you may know already, the depreciation on bikes is ridiculous. So knowing this, I bought a used bike off of craigslist. It is a 2008 Felt S22. It has been great for me so far. It is a decently aerodynamic and light bike. Obviously can’t hold a candle to these new $6000 bikes, but alas, I am a beginner, and I don’t feel the need to “buy myself in” to being a pro just yet. Good luck.
The Giant shop has a bike fitting rig and they sell tri bikes so maybe they can size you onto a road bike properly but you should explain you will do triathlons and probably add aerobars later. https://www.worldbike.co.th/...d/71014613-34-detail
If you plan to ride on public roads you might consider a gravel/cyclocross bike so you can ride wider tires and not die from a pothole or storm drain.
I think most new bikes of any brand should be fine; all bikes have to meet the same safety test standards. As much as I love cycling it is a major scam for recreation. You can buy a decent bike for $300-500 but then some companies sell bikes that cost more than a new car. No amount of bicycle R&D or the most exotic parts should cost more than the R&D to develop a car that contains thousands of parts, computer systems, and has to pass emissions and crash standards. My bike is 20 years old and I only use ~7 gears since there are no hills in Bangkok, but with some cheap clip on aerobars I can cruise past most of the new aero road bikes as long as they are not drafting others. For me, aerobars allow me to run 2 or 3 higher gears than on the brake hoods. Modern tri bikes often leave me in the dust though which is why I will be scammed into a new tri bike someday
The Giant shop has a bike fitting rig and they sell tri bikes so maybe they can size you onto a road bike properly but you should explain you will do triathlons and probably add aerobars later. https://www.worldbike.co.th/...d/71014613-34-detail
If you plan to ride on public roads you might consider a gravel/cyclocross bike so you can ride wider tires and not die from a pothole or storm drain.
I think most new bikes of any brand should be fine; all bikes have to meet the same safety test standards. As much as I love cycling it is a major scam for recreation. You can buy a decent bike for $300-500 but then some companies sell bikes that cost more than a new car. No amount of bicycle R&D or the most exotic parts should cost more than the R&D to develop a car that contains thousands of parts, computer systems, and has to pass emissions and crash standards. My bike is 20 years old and I only use ~7 gears since there are no hills in Bangkok, but with some cheap clip on aerobars I can cruise past most of the new aero road bikes as long as they are not drafting others. For me, aerobars allow me to run 2 or 3 higher gears than on the brake hoods. Modern tri bikes often leave me in the dust though which is why I will be scammed into a new tri bike someday
