Cranking Temasek

Note: This post may use some too geeky names & in depth technical syok sendiri words. Hence Parental Advisory may be required :)

Hometown trip had a detour this time around. Azizi, a friend whom I met at Padang Istana running route last Hari Raya with Shuk, persuaded me to jump on board the bikeshop tour in Singapore. He planned it a month prior, when my email to him about his wife's new ride sparked the conversation. He insisted to bring me across the strait and into those magnificent boutiques with gorgeous crafts. Aku SIGN.

The strategy was to lock my credit card away deep inside my wallet, or better still leave it in Johor, and only bring cash just enough for Geylang's bryani. Hehe. We started our journey somewhere late morning and headed out to The Bike Boutique as our first stop. They just shifted to Kaki Bukit area from Amoi Street two weeks ago. Glorious Cervelo frames gleaming behind the glass door, waiting for me to caress each one of them. The first one was the 2011 R5 in black and Thor Hushov's green. Happened to be, Aviva 70.3 will be on Sunday, so we saw triathletes in and out of the store in their training trisuits and merciful Cervelo P series. I was surrounded by Cervelos!

House of Cervelos

We met Dennis, the SA and he showed us the secret rooms. One room full of Louis Garneau stuff. Jerseys, bibs, helmets, shoes, socks. Full of them. Next room was Ironman's merchandise. Now Azizi was traumatized. Besides the normal Ironman's sportswear, they also have Ironman mouse pad, keychains, bumper stickers, etc. Awesome. But Ironman is just not in the list.

Next stop was Cannasia. Asia's Cannondale distributor. Located somewhere at Frankel Avenue. Don't ask me how to get there. Azizi did all the driving. He commutes JB-Singapore once a week I guess. A simple row of shoplots, just like the bikeshops in KL nested in a bungalow surroundings. The jewel I hunt down was no other than the alu hyped CAAD10. Put it in simple words, I didn't sleep well that night after witnessing the best alu craft ever made on earth.



Sz52 CAAD10 with Edge 50 at 6.5kg. Freaking...

Next was Bryani at Geylang. We need carboload. Bike shops tour creates stress, hence complex sugar and fat is crucial. More bike talks over the lunch table and some chats about events in Singapore.

One stop center at Vertex where four giant bike brands located. On one corner was khcycle. Freaking huge, covering floor area larger than my home! They housed Scott, Look and Bianchi brands. Ziff's bike was there but slightly overpriced I guess. Just like TBB, the staff were busy attending racers with gorgeous Plasmas.

Walking 5 lots to the other corner, we entered Giant and Specialized side by side. I guess same owner. Left, right, above and under, my neck sprain admiring those elegant TCR Advance and charming S-Works. They even have the newly released Prevail helmet, which I tried all 5 different colors of them. Lol. "It's lighter than the magazine in your hand." That's what the advert says in bicycling mag. Lucky I downloaded currency converter from BB Apps, so I kept on calculating the exchange rate everytime I peek at the price tags. Freak.



Triple craze...

Now this Cannondale hub is kinda a showroom to the earlier outlet we went. This is where the displays played the trick and adds up to the stress. Talk about all kind of Cannondale products, they have it. It's rare to be riding in KL with more than 3 cyclists riding Cannondale. What more having it in a KL shop? That day, Cannondales are all over me. Lefties, monoshocks, Six, Supersix, Six13, all kinds of CAAD series. Now me sounded so biaise la kan? Prowd owner of a CAAD4 of course.

Azizi had to decide for our last stop at Entro, nearby also. It was almost 4.00 p.m., hence a quick visit before crossing back to JB to avoid peak hour. Entro have Argon! Beauties! Brrrr....I think Argon are more on tri specifics. 3T and also Fiziks are on the shelves as well, plus Lazer helmets.

That's about it I guess. We had to skip the smaller shops and other tri shops, cause that would mean within purchaseable reach for small items. Save by the bell! We wrapped it up in Singapore but last stop at our very own local bike shop Kedai Basikal Ah Fan in Gelang Patah, Pontian. Very old shop, structure almost die one, but Mr. Ah Fan (a soft spoken with wetlook hairstyle chap) have SRAM Red, Shimano DA and Bora Ultra 1 on display! Lol. I got myself a CO2 for 40 bucks as a souvenir from the trip. Cukup ler tu. Nasib baik 40 hingget, bukan 4000.

Yet still Ah Fan was busy attending mountainbikers bringing in their super steeds either for upgrades or servicing, which reminds me of my old days frequenting LBS. Tapi kenapa mountainbikes tayar bersih? Kayuh on road ler tu. Keh keh keh. Tak kisah ler, as long as they live a healthy life and not merempit.

Yes, cycling have grown to a different level in Malaysia. I saw hundreds of groups all over, be it roadbikes or mountainbikes. Even events sprouted throughout the year to cater for the growing demand of healthier lifestyle (besides healthier spending...lol). But still, our government impose import duties or tax on cycling items, unless you buy a complete bike. Why eh?

The rest of the album:

2XU distributor. Too bad they closed. Maybe they open up a booth at the Aviva 70.3

Ironman on the street

My kind of Universal Studio :D

Amir will love this one. Notice the lefty!

Hey! My  2003 frameset is still around!

I sprained my neck while attempting this

Carbon composites beauties

Alamak! Sidai basikal kat luar je beb

Entro front look

Finally...hujan batu di negeri sendiri :)