it's not the best money can buy.. if you don't have high expectations on it.. it is a bike that is better than the ones sold in hypermarkets.. that is all i can say..

if you are looking for a bike to stroll your housing neighbourhood, go riding with your girlfriend and enjoy nature somewhere in the parks... this is perfect and cheap.. no worries of getting it scratched or falling and hitting something... that sort of thing...

if you find midway owning the bike that you want more gears, better brakes, and stuff.. you are quite stuffed..

but, at the end of the day.. your budget is limiting your choices.. it's a good one to start off if you are in between finding out whether you are going to like the sport or not..and if you decide you don't like cycling... RM800 is not a painful loss compared to spending a couple of thousands..

this is most likely the situation of the owner of the 2nd hand bike you mentioned, he either regretted by giving up the sport or upgraded to a better bike realizing it's not what he wants... i think it's not too much to ask for lower sale price from a buyer perspective.. but it might be too much for the seller to lose that much in 1 month's of ownership.. put yourself in his shoes and think if you like to suffer a 50% loss in just owning the bike for 1 month...

single speed is still OK.. but you might find it tougher once you meet some hills... no gears does not mean strengthening leg muscles.. it just means more suffering... gears are made for a purpose.. and if you like singlespeed.. you can try not to shift on a geared bike and that effectively makes it a singlespeed.. but give you the choice of choosing a lighter gear in case you can't make it up a hill instead of pushing...

we are not against fixies... but it depends on your riding experiences.. to start off from almost zero or long absence from a riding a bike on a fixie is a dangerous thing especially the ones that has no brakes... border-lining stupid and crazy for me personally.. on a fixie you have to be more aware of surrounding traffic since you can't stop as fast as bikes with brakes... hell, you can lock your wheels up.. but that does not mean it is stopping you..

fixies for leisure riding is a fact.. but you must at least understand what the fixies are about in the first place and not just by watching the fixie riders ride and think that it is a cool thing to do...it's dangerous not to have brakes.. it's totally another thing to have a pedal that you need to constantly keep spinning without letting go of the pedals and use it as a backpedal to stop the bike...

finally purchased my first road bike, exitway ergo logic 1.5k. i know u guys will say this is so wrong, well i did tried two bikes ones is  alloy frame with carbon fork (volcano brand) with shimano tiagra groupset. i tried on the bike and oh well, i am not comfortable with the handling and the seat, the shop owner already adjust the position to suit my body size but still i feel awkward and not comfortable, the handling was not up to my taste.
Then i tried the exitway ergo logic, when i sat on it, oh my, wat a comfort and the handling yeah, it feel right with my hand. At that time I was like, wat the hell? I paused for a second to decided which bike and i decided it because it is the exitway bike that my body feel comfortable with...did tried to weight yeah, the exitway is abit heavy compared to volcano frame.

And here my journey to the world of cycling start, and saving up for 10 speed groupset, the owner said can trade in and I think it is better for me to learn the charateristic of each part of the bike first before jumping the bandwagon of tiagra,carbon,fulcrum and the likes.

kuching is sarawak or sabah??? sorry la... my geography is failed epically... draw white flag on test script type 

take a look... maybe there is something near you...
http://www.baikbike.com/cycling-clubs-malaysia/

Kuantan?

PJ is pajamas... trick question or wat???

or you actually meant Suck Suck 2 in Pajamas??? or super sucker in pajamas? tat some CIA code breaking shit...
i have a bad joke about kuching... better not tell... later kena whacked...

yeah i from kuching, u can join w.g cycle group cycling, pm me ur fb..

 

got a positive feedback on Aster brand bike.....

lucky i got my Giant TCR SL3... else i would settle for Aster brand...

soon will go visit the bike shop....

not 7k anymore..should be 5k-6.5k only nowadays since the 2013 merida line is on sale already.. it's a good carbon bike..last i weighed it's around 8.3kg with FR0 and 105 grouppos. I think the crank is the culprit for the weight. all in all, im pretty satisfied with my purchase...i'm glad I get a carbon bike

from my observation..there are 3 options if you want to indulge in cycling. get a the basic alloy bike (I would skip this option), get the medium range bike (carbon is preferable), and get the top end of the line where your money permits you.

if you choose option 1, you'll end up choosing option 2 and 3 later on.
if you choose option 2, you'll be glad you didn't waste your money on option 1, but you'll be dying to choose option 3 if you failed the temptation.
if you choose option 3, you'll be damn proud with your effing expensive super duper pro bike. But if you can't sustain your cycling passion, you'll regret you didn't choose option 1 or 2 and save a whopping lots of money.

so as a conclusion, for us mere weekend riders, or hobbyist, not even a semi pro, who entered a couple of dualthlons or triathlon not for living, leisurely or actively riding with your filthy rich cycling buddies with those italian frames and the likes...option 3 is not worth your money. neither do option 1.

just settle for option 2. get a medium range bike, and a good medium range one will cost you from 5k-10k.

Just my 2 cents 

touring bike is meant to be tough, sensible and comfortable...going fast is just not a factor in touring bikes...

you can turn a race bike into touring bikes and still tour with it... jus dun expect it to bear loads from your pannier racks

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Added on September 21, 2012, 10:10 pm

7k and 18k is just how people see as value... if i have a 1mil per annum salary... of course 18k would be mid range...for most of us.... 7k would already be on the high side in terms of $$$..but the fact that those bikes in that range would be entry level performance bikes make them mid range....18k would be high end to us and sub 50k bikes like mclaren sworks venge would be halo bikes for us.... fabled unicorns or that ferrari 458 italia that is impossible for us...

105 is the workhorse performance group in shimano...other than weight and material differences... it the best value for $ group

touring bike is meant to be tough, sensible and comfortable...going fast is just not a factor in touring bikes...

you can turn a race bike into touring bikes and still tour with it... jus dun expect it to bear loads from your pannier racks

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Added on September 21, 2012, 10:10 pm

7k and 18k is just how people see as value... if i have a 1mil per annum salary... of course 18k would be mid range...for most of us.... 7k would already be on the high side in terms of $$$..but the fact that those bikes in that range would be entry level performance bikes make them mid range....18k would be high end to us and sub 50k bikes like mclaren sworks venge would be halo bikes for us.... fabled unicorns or that ferrari 458 italia that is impossible for us...

105 is the workhorse performance group in shimano...other than weight and material differences... it the best value for $ group

touring bike is meant to be tough, sensible and comfortable...going fast is just not a factor in touring bikes...

you can turn a race bike into touring bikes and still tour with it... jus dun expect it to bear loads from your pannier racks

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Added on September 21, 2012, 10:10 pm

7k and 18k is just how people see as value... if i have a 1mil per annum salary... of course 18k would be mid range...for most of us.... 7k would already be on the high side in terms of $$$..but the fact that those bikes in that range would be entry level performance bikes make them mid range....18k would be high end to us and sub 50k bikes like mclaren sworks venge would be halo bikes for us.... fabled unicorns or that ferrari 458 italia that is impossible for us...

105 is the workhorse performance group in shimano...other than weight and material differences... it the best value for $ group

In my opinion, its better to start some where in middle as in high end alu frame or mid range carbon bike. Cause u could have general feeling of road biking before throwing in more $ on it. I am saying it from newbie road cyclist point of view. It will be diff if the person is experienced road cyclist but did not ride for many moons.

I am happy with my current ride. At least i could learn the basic of riding and hopefully will be able to feel how things works before i move on to more awesome bike.
Speaking of my bike, since i upgrade my wheel, Will i see any diff if i upgrade to carbon crankset like fulcrum crank or fsa carbon crank on my 105 system? Is it worth to do so or save it for the next bike?

i am really interested with the BMC SR01 as i am just a beginner but Allez series really tempted me..

get it now. u don't run in slippers until u can do sub 1hr 10K, only then buy running shoes, do u?
clipless pedals will help u to use all muscles when u cycle (push n pull). without clipless pedals, u will only push.
don't think or worry too much. people fall bcoz they are too busy thinking, rather than just doing it.

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Added on September 26, 2012, 12:28 am
from 3xx to 1k. there's no usual price. depends on type; carbon or nylon or carbon reinforced, velcro or buckle or boa, two straps or 3 straps, etc....

Just to share to y'all newbies here.. during my day, the cheapest cycling shoes was Pro Specs at RM90.. simple black one with laces, I bought the 2nd cheapest one.. actually I gift from my parents after my SRP.. RM160, brand was Patrick, single velcro strap... I still have that shoes... Those were the days when the most expensive cycling shoes was Shimano SH210 I think, full carbon sole, 3 velcro straps, SPD-only.. RM600. My first shoes was Patrick... I've used Shimano, Gaerne, Sidi..

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Added on September 26, 2012, 12:50 am
Cycling shoes shud be an essential item, not accessory. The difference of using a normal shoe & cycling shoe is just to great just to be an accessory item. But I agree that it might be 2nd on the list of essential items, 1st being helmet, 2nd shoes, 3rd sunglasses... some ppl spend on sunglasses 1st... 

yeap, if can afford, why not.

actually i have a very poor eyesight under low light. so if i wear sunglasses, especially early morning, i can't see properly. even rudy's racing red also, no use. tried specialized, also no good with me. but after i've tried oakley, i can see clearly even under low light.

degree? u mean it changes from clear to dark under various light conditions? or it eliminates glare (polarized)?

i think he meant if you have short sightedness sort of degree...

correctional lenses i think is what they call em

no la. normal type.

WOI!!! you all grill me for "planning" to buy 400 bucks cable... you baskets belakang beli RM800 punya glasses... a bit too much rite?? maciam the ratio tarak ngam adi..

there is a lacking of reasons to get expensive shades unless you can get laid due to it making you more lengchai...