Merida is the second largest bicycle manufacturer in Taiwan, and is known for their quality products for as long as I can recall. The brand has grown from strength to strength since its inception in 1972. In the International competition arena, Multivan Merida team is well-decorated with over 30 World Cup wins as well as Olympic gold and silver medals since 2004. In 2013, Merida took a leap beyond mountain biking and co-sponsored the Pro-Tour Lampre-Merida team.

In the last decade, Merida has seen numerous successes in the mountain biking segment, which corresponded to their active involvement in the professional racing circuit via th...

I’m a big fan of foldable bicycles: When I’m tired, they fit into car boots effortlessly; they sit inconspicuously in a small corner of my 4-room HDB flat, never asking for a larger space; and, of course, the eyeballs they attract when they do a “transformer”.

All the aforementioned reasons, coupled with the emergence of brands such as Tern, Dahon, Tyrell and Bike Friday, have contributed to a spike in the number of foldies in Singapore. Thus, it is of little surprise to see brands like homegrown Vert jumping onto the foldie bandwagon.

I was given the opportunity to test ride the Vert V8. Made from aluminum, its black and red version...

Togoparts: Dahon has been the pioneer in folding bicycles for the last 30 years. What would be Dahon’s direction for the near to middle term?

Dr Hon: Dahon has strongly established ourselves in the segment of folding bicycles over the years and it is common that our patents are widely copied by others. Nonetheless, Dahon will continue to focus in product development so as to introduce better products for consumers. Dahon will focus on the mid to high-end segment, bringing quality products.

Togoparts: We understand that Dahon has just announced the public listing of Dahon TW LLP. What role will the new establishment play in Dahon’s global o...

Last March 2014, Actionbods Singapore in conjunction with Ridley Bicycles from Belgium had announced an agreement with the Malaysian National Cycling Federation.

Caption: The Malaysian Track Endurance Team posing with the Ridley Bicycle at the event.
Photo Credits: Actionbods Pte Ltd

Singapore’s Actionbods together with Ridley Bicycles have agreed to provide The Malaysian Track Endurance team to set a competitive edge. They were equipped with the necessities to assist with enhanced routines and performances in track endurance events, throughout Asia and the World track cycling arena.


Caption: Ridley Bicycle with the Arena Carbon frame spot...

Guru Bicycle is a boutique Canadian frame maker, based in Montreal, and has been building custom frames for the last 19 years. They produced a wide range of frames for various applications, utilizing carbon, titanium and steel as the base material. While their complete range covers triathlon, road, touring, cyclocross and even cross country, their main focus is in the area of Road and Triathlon, or at least that was the impression I got talking to Adamo Furian (one of Guru Bicycles representatives)  during the Taipei bicycle show.

Adamo was proud to show us their latest road frames, the Photon. Guru has built the new Photon based on the o...

Xentis is an Austria based company that specialized in the design and production of high-end carbon wheels. All their wheels are developed, wind tunnel tested and 100% handmade in Austria, as ensured by Mr Fritz Sackl, Head of Sales at Xentis, Mr Fritz was excited in bringing us through the range of Xentis wheels when we met up, plus a little more.

Xentis wheels are best known for their patented XBP carbon-braking surface. Their proprietary process allowed them to remove close to 80% of the resin found on the carbon surface, so the rougher surface beneath them can be exposed to generate sufficient friction for effective braking. It is so ef...

Mini velos are gaining real traction among commuters in Singapore these days. Their compact sizes and the zippy speeds they offer also make them a fun ride, a good alternative for weekend warriors or people who want to be able to easily fit their bikes into their cars. Most are also relatively affordable, and can be built up with as high or low-end components as you prefer. 

The Wheelsport Fantasy is a mini velo from Taiwanese company Wheelsport, already well-known here for their wheelsets which are popular among folding bike enthusiasts. The Fantasy is Wheelsport’s foray into the fast-rising mino-velo bracket, offering good p...

Tern has been offering quality folding bikes since their inception 3 years back and has been doing continuous improvements across their product line ever since. We understand from Mr. Eric Mah, Project Manager Consumer Marketing at Tern, that Tern does not seek to revamp their products on an annual basis. He believes that by doing so, there will be a lot of wastage in resources that would not translate into benefits for the consumers. Instead, they seek to revamp about 33% of their product range annually. This approach allows Tern to focus their research and development effort in improvements that will benefit the customers and not just co...