More than an attempt to get fit, picking up a new hobby or simply a case parting with your hard earned cash, buying a bicycle is very much like the start of a new romantic relationship. And you know what they say, you never forget your first.

Knowing yourself

Right off the bat you have to decide what your purpose is and what kind of bikes will meet that need. There are essentially a handful of options that are available for you; mountain, road, commuter and hybrid.

Having a set goal in mind will aid you in moving one step closer to choosing the right bike for you. Factors that should be considered are the terrain you’ll most likely enco...

Whenever brand-names such as “Apple”, “Samsung”, “Sony” and “HTC” pop up in one’s mind, the instinctive reconciliation would be the smartphones that have become so commonplace that a recent online survey has shown that nine out of 10 mobile phone users are using smartphones.  While they may be common and essential items in today’s context, smartphones are relatively expensive stuff to own.  In fact, more than 50 per cent of smartphone models of any brand will set your wallet back by at least 500 dollars.  Higher-end models, depending on specifications, could cost more than 1000 dollars.  Smartphones are not cheap by any measure because the...

Founded in 1989 in our neighbouring island Indonesia, Polygon wanted their brand name to convey and represent the many sides of their characters, with an intention to be a top class and multi faceted bike manufacturer, but with their primary core values remaining the same.  Polygon has a global team of bike designers, engineers and testers situated in North America, Europe and of course in Asia too, ensuring that all their designs are new and fresh as well as relevant to the worldwide market.  Many of their designers are cyclists and riders too, therefore all these real life experiences as well as their knowledge of bike building materials...

Thursday.. Friday.. Saturday.. Sunday.. Whoooaah!  A whooping four long days of non-work festive holidays for this Chinese New Year (CNY)!  For many of us, the duration of the holidays is long enough to make us sit down and ponder “so, how shall I spend my Saturday and Sunday?” after the yearly ritual of visiting relatives (and vice versa) during Nian Chu Yi (first day of CNY) and Nian Chu Er (second day of CNY).  Well, there are a few things that you can do.  You can choose to visit your (more distance) relatives (we hope that we are not getting some frowns).  Or you can choose to get out of Singapore to Bintan Island for a short getaway....

I am personally a fan of mountain bikes with 26-inch wheels.  This has always been the case since the beginning of my cycling days in the mid-1990s.  I have always been naively convinced that all mountain bikes have to have 26-inch wheels because there is no way that engineers and designers can “tweak this engineering fact” (or so I thought because I am neither an engineer not a designer!!) and, well, it seems “natural” to have mountain bikes with 26-inch wheels.  After all, the craze in the cycling industry from the late 1990s to the early 2000s was all about suspension technology and carbon technology.  Apparently, not many people paid a...

It appears to be a tradition that we need (or try) to upgrade our cars prior to the commencement of every Lunar New Year.  But with no visible sign of the prices of Certificates Of Entitlement going down, it looks like the next best toys with wheels that we can upgrade or change will be our road bikes.  And why not?  For 2015, the first two days of the Lunar New Year fall on a Thursday and Friday, leaving us with another two days during the weekend to organise some rides to River AngBao.  Plus, what better time (other than the Lunar New Year) can there be to showcase (or show off) our new bikes? 

Since the beginning of January, Togoparts ...

Now with 25 years bike manufacturing experience, with 77 dealership countries (and growing) under their belt, Merida releases its 2015 Big Seven range.

The story goes that Merida founder and CEO, Ike Tseng, was so incensed by an American’s reference to the low quality of Taiwanese bicycles he took it upon himself to go into manufacturing and turn that perception around. Some 25 years later Merida is one of the largest and most respected bicycle manufacturers in the world, creating both their own brand and manufacturing bicycles for other well-known companies. With the catch cry, “Merida, More Bike”, they pledge to give you quality and defin...

Truth be told:  Polygon bikes have a history of not resonating well with the majority of cyclists in the local community.  Some lamented that Polygon is not an “European” brand.  Some equated Polygon's relatively inexpensive ranges of bikes to the worldly-wise concept of "cheap-means-no-good-and-therefore-don’t-buy".  Some don’t like Polygon bikes simply because… well.. all their peers don’t like the brand!

Having heard so many negativities surrounding this Indonesian-based bike manufacturer, I must admit that I was a little skeptical when I was given the opportunity to review the 2015 Polygon Helios C6.  But nonetheless, I brush...