Greeting from Thailand's biker

Date: Sep 16, 2005

Greeting from Thailand's biker

Siu On · Veteran Member

Hi O'Pern,

Welcome to Hong Kong. Wish you have a nice trip.

You are looking for a folding bike. But it is not easy to find in HK. There are a bike shop in Wan Chai. It is very close to Excelsior hotel. You can try to have a look there.

You can also try one in Mong Kok. There have 3 bike shops. They are mainly selling high end road bike and mountain bike. I'm not sure do they have folding bike or not. But you can find many jersey, pants and other accessiores there as well.

You can go to the following link to get the bike shop adderss http://www.cyclistclub.org.hk/english_frame.html . And I'm creating a map for you to easier to get the bike shop. I will send it to you tonight(21/9). I hope it can help.

Siu On

kwyan · Veteran Member

Hi O'Pern,

Welcome to Hong Kong.

There are 2 bike shops close to the Excelsior Hotel. One is the Victory Cycling Workshop which is to the East of Excelsior Hotel, very close to the Tin Hau MTR station and also rather close to the hotel (the hotel itself is close to the Causeway Bay MTR station). Unfortunately the shop owner is a road racing cyclist and mainly sells road racing bikes. I don't think they sells folding bikes.

The other one is the Bicycle World which is to the west of Excelsior Hotel, almost half way between the Causeway Bay MTR station and Wanchai MTR station. They have more variety and sell both Dahon and Giant folding bikes.

The above are the 2 of the 3 nos. bike shops on the Hong Kong Island. There are more bike shops on the Kowloon peninsula side, e.g. the Mongkok region and Cheung Sha Wan region, and then there are even more in the New Territories. Travelling from Causeway Bay to Kowloon like Mongkok or Cheung Sha Wan via MTR (mass transit railway) is quite convenient and fast, particularly the Mongkok shops which are close to the MTR station.

In the meantime we will try to gather more information for you so you could shorten your shopping time.

You have a good question about the park issue. Well you have a good news that right to the East of the Excelsior Hotel you will find the Victoria Park, the major park in Hong Kong where many different activities will be held. The bad news is that most parks in Hong Kong do not allow bicycle riding. The secondary choice is the seafront sideroads in Wanchai at the back of the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre where the roads are quieter, but certainly not the main seafront roads from Wanchai to Causeway Bay where the traffic is terribly fast. Another choice is around the football stadium at Carolina Hill in Causeway Bay. There will be beginner motorists learning/practising their driving around 6:00pm - 9:00pm, but after that the roads will be very quiet.

K.W. Yan

-- Edited by kwyan at 13:09, 2005-09-21

Date: Sep 23, 2005

Thanks a lot for information.

I will find one folding bike for sure and hope it will can pack in my samsonite. I also love many kind of bike, today I buy Giant Revive DX it's semi recumbent bike.

Anyone will visit Thailand? If you love to ride don't hesitate to ask me. We have nice cool trip every week. You can ride in most park in Thailand. Don't have bike? No problem we have a bike for rent : )

Regards,

O'Pern

nurgles · Member

hi o'pern

sorry just read your posting.Yan has pretty much told you everything.There are a few of us really into folders here in hong kong and I could lend you mine for a short period if you want.Let me know and maybe we can meet up.

burn fat ,not oil

Phil

Iris · Newbie

Hi, o'pern,

Welcome to HK.

I have been using my Dahon for connection to West Rail stations, home and school for a few months. Need to cover the bike with a big rubbish bag on West Rail trains and so far I haven't had much trouble carrying it on other public transport (ie bus, MTR and KCRC train).

There are nice quiet roads around where I live, do let me know if you want to meet up and cycle around.

Iris

Date: Oct 5, 2005

nurgles wrote:

hi o'pern sorry just read your posting.Yan has pretty much told you everything.There are a few of us really into folders here in hong kong and I could lend you mine for a short period if you want.Let me know and maybe we can meet up. burn fat ,not oil Phil

Thanks for yourk kindness.

I may looking for Strida Bike too. I like the design and component. Yeah I know this bike is not build for speed

Strida may good for air travel.

Regards

O'Pern

Date: Oct 5, 2005

Iris wrote:

Hi, o'pern, Welcome to HK. I have been using my Dahon for connection to West Rail stations, home and school for a few months. Need to cover the bike with a big rubbish bag on West Rail trains and so far I haven't had much trouble carrying it on other public transport (ie bus, MTR and KCRC train). There are nice quiet roads around where I live, do let me know if you want to meet up and cycle around. Iris

What model of the Dahon you use? Can you tell me the price?

Folding Bike is pretty popular in my country. Most people use performance bike like Dahon Helios, Speed Pro, ect But I like the bike that great design like Strida and IXI. Can I find IXI Bike in Hong Kong?

Regards,

O'Pern

kwyan · Veteran Member

Prices of Dahon folding bikes

Date: Oct 5, 2005

RE: Greeting from Thailand's biker

Date: Oct 8, 2005

O'Pern,

First of all, welcome to Hong Kong! Very nice to know folding bike fans like yourself have the enthusiasm to go and ride in other countries! We have a few very well travelled members here, but unfortunately I am not one of them. Maybe one day, maybe one day...

In anycase, I heard that you are looking for a Strida? Actually, I am the official distributor and retailer (Strida only allows me to sell direct) in Hong Kong. If you are interested in a Strida, you can contact me directly at philip@gum.hk

We are also the distributor for iXi, but unfortunately I only have a demo model left (Lane Crawford have taken the rest of my stock).

Glad to know that you appreciate the design of the Strida and iXi. Look forward to hearing from you! We should talk more!

Phil

G.U.M. (Green Urban Mobility) Limited - www.gum.hk

Date: Oct 9, 2005

WOW !

So glad to read your post. Further more you have both Strida and IXI !

So cool, I love both bike a lot.

Does any suggestion about other nice cool look bike?

Regards

O'Pern

nurgles · Member

For foldability and a good ride the Brompton takes some beating

cyclingnut · Member

Brompton does not seem to be popular in Hong Kong. At least I don't know which bike shop get it.

I have asked Flying Ball (a very big bike shop at Cheung Sha Wan of Kowloon) and their reply is that they once got it but not now. Some cyclists seem to have casted doubt about the reliability of the connecting bolt of Brompton and their overall quality.

Flying Ball now sells KHS, Airnimal, Bike Friday, Alex Moulton and Japan's version of Alex Moulton which is licensed by AM to Bridgestone.

KHS are the cheaper ones which are more suitable for commuting. Airnimal and Bike Friday both are higher ends, with the Bike Friday made of steel in slimmer tubes and the Airnimal in beefier aluminium tubes and with rear elastomer suspension and is sturdier.

British Alex Moulton are the Rolls Royce of bicycles with prices in the range of HK$80K - 90K. The Japan's version by Bridgestone is much cheaper and sells for about HK$15K. The Alex Moultons are separable bikes, not foldable. They are more suitable for people demanding high riding quality and not suitable for commuting where quick folding is more desirable.