I am using 2 sets of those thin metal strips that car mechanics used to adjust the tappet valves instead of business cards. For 160mm rotors, it is fairly easy to adjust but for 180mm rotors, it's a nightmare adjusting without the spacers. If you are using old MTB frames, that means a rigid frame. It's much better to use hydraulics and the price is going really cheap nowadays. Even Tektro hydraulics is better than a mechanical setup. I will be upgrading my wife's Deore setup this month's end to XT. If you wish I can sell you the old Deore setup.

Genting Sempah (GS), to those who usually rides, is a one way up and one way down. It's 16 kilometers to where most usually turn back. The moment you start, it will climb very gradually and then past the 4th kilometers the inclination gets steeper and thenon the last two kilometers, it gets even steeper. So, it all climb! Then after resting, it's all the way down to the car park. Going down is even more dangerous, especially at the bridge, where there are gaps on the road. That answered, it is only one mode " medium/hard ".

In GS, you ride 16 kilometers to an elevation of approximately 634 meters ASL. Many riders after getting seasoned with the route, they will continue down to McDonalds (where the actual GS is) and then ride back UP Many roadbikers continue to Janda Baik and even Bentong.

In contrast, Genting Peras (GP) is actually easier or harder , depending on your riding style. In GP, you usually start from the 18th mile Ulu Langat police station. Then it is a 12 kilometer flattish ride, gaining an elevation of 130 meters over 12 kilometers. Quite easy actually. Many riders likes to ride here as the road is cleaner, air is fresher and not as many lorries plying as GS. To those who wants an easier ride, they will turn back after reaching the junction. The last 500 meters is quite steep so most will be puffing already, demoralizing many and wants to turn back.

The next section, the tougher section, is 10.5 kilometers to 600 meters ASL. Some parts will be steep, especially the 1km stretch just after the junction and also the last kilometer. With some sporadic sections that are steep, it will sap many new riders. The hardest part (to many seasoned GS riders) is the after getting back down to the junction is the last 12 kilometers flat road back to Ulu Langat. Unlike GS, you suffer the ride up but it's downhill all the way.

I personally prefer GP because I find the smell of rotten food hard to bear on the GS stretch. There are many restauranteurs who dump their garbage down the slopes beside GS road. The smell can get over bearing at times. But most definitely, both of these routes is tougher than FRIM

PS/ Most riders don't realize that actually Fraser's Hill is an easier ride. I noticed many riders don't really study the routes. In Fraser's Hill, there is no compulsion to where you want to start or where you want to end. It's only the riders who thinks one must complete the KKB to Fraser's clock tower. I rode 6 times and only twice I do it to the clock tower. I find the last 8 kilometers (very steep) not worthwhile. You see, you have already done 33 kilometers and really tired, why suffer the last 8 km.

To really get use or learning to ride hilly terrain, skip the KKB to Sg.Chilling part first. Park your car in Sg.Chilling. Riders are earlier than hikers so the car parking in front of the drinks stall is available. Someone to look after the car, mah! You start here and ride uphill (it's actually very gradual, even horse cart can navigate up). 20 kilometers , you reach GAP. If you don't , doesn't matter as turning back is all the way down, just coasting. !3 kilometers you will reach the waterfall. So, just ride as hard as you can and if you cannot, coast back to the car. Eventually, it be become easy and when you reach that stage, you can start from KKB or occasionally ride the last 8km to the clock tower and take that symbolic picture.

Sadly, I see a lot of riders, drive up there and take the pictures as well.

3°09'51.3"N 101°50'48.8"E

The coordinates of where to park your car. If going on Sunday, better be early as there will be many riders. You can have your breakfast there too. On the main road, on the opposite, there's a chinese coffee shop ( all riders knows this place, the iced barley after ride is really oommph! ). It's open after 7.15am. Here's the exact location of the route and path. Right where the path ends, to the left is Genting Peras and to the right is Semenyih where you pass the dam and lake. The elevation is also shown on the link.

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/865219413

Actually I opted not to carry my MTB and wife's on the roof. We managed to put both bikes in the car. Anyway, Dahon foldies are rated to carry 105 kgs. That's actually a proven figure as I am 100 kgs and have ridden all over and even off road too on a foldie. No issues as long as you get branded ones. Dahon is a good choice.

To mod the Tern C7 to 18 or 20 speed, you have to change the wheelsets as well. You can change the hubs alone if you want to save but the rims are also not a good one. Usually they pair the rims with single walled rims which are soft and broad as well. You can't fit the Duranos or any narrow tires on it. So, it makes better sense to just change the whole wheelset. A sealed bearing set can be had for RM400 , give and take 50 bucks. As for 18 speed or 20 speed, that depends on you.

For 18 speed, it means 11T/32T or 34T rear cassette (cogs) and you can use mountain bike RDs. This means shifters, chains and RDs are aplenty to choose from. The front most definitely be road bike set up. A 52T or 53T/39T chainrings. You can't find mountain bike FDs that can fit the big diameter seat tube anyway. So, roadbike FDs are used. It will be much cheaper, but not much.

For a 20 speed, means you use roadbike components all over. 10 speed mountain bike components are already 34T or 36T for the rear cogs which are a bit big as the cage of the RD will hit the ground. So, roadbike components are more suited for 10 speed. The biggest is 30T at the rear which should suffice for a 20 inch foldie. It will cost a little bit more, namely the Shimano Tiagra is the cheapest 10 speed outfit, then comes the Shimano 105s and then Ultegras and off course the top Dura Aces. All the latest models of the top 3 models are now 11 speed already and that requires different hubs, Unless you can find older versions, I guess you have no choice.

I did manage to fit in 10 speed SRAM X5 mountain bike components on the 20 inch foldie though as SRAM X5 RD has a shorter cage. Also you need to shorten the length of the chain in such a way that when you engage the lowest 36T, the cage is pulled to the front and not vertical to the ground. This makes going uphills .........hyper easy. But shifting is not as crisp as the Shimanos. Other than that, it's fun. Roadbike components are designed to shift very smoothly. They are precision gears. I ride mountain bikes with Shimano XTs and they are not even comparable to Shimano 105s when gear shifting. Maybe it is also due to the small ratio changes.

It's going to cost as much as what you paid for the Tern but buying a ready made Tern with similar specs are even much more pricier. So, be prepared for that.

When I clicked the link I got what I mapped. Funny. It's titled Sg.Lui BTW. The route is actually Sungai Lui. Genting Perez starts at the end of this Sungai Lui road. You only want to ride the flattish part.

If the used ones are branded, eg. Dahon , Tern, Brompton, Ori Bikes, Pacific, KHS etc. chances are they are in good condition. As for the cheaper ones, you really have to try. You need to first ride and see if there's any creaking, especially from the handlebar, seat post and MOST importantly the folding mechanism. Other than that most items are repairable or changed. So far though, I never encountered a bad used Dahon or Tern.

A medium cage one unit can handle 32T already with the B-tension adjust almost at the maximum. Usually short caged rear derailleurs are road bike ones, MTBs are usually long cage with some medium cage.

The listed price of this model is already RM1288 for the new stock. How much less can you get, it's up to your negotiation skill. I saw Jimmy of Kimbell Jaya assembling some new shipments the other day. That's why I know.

I am going for another Performer mini velo so as to be the same as my wife's. Am letting go my Dahon Dash. Not appropriate to discuss here so anyone interested in getting an "L" sized Dash, PM me. Price now is very negotiable.

24 inch wheels have better tires choices than a 451. At least you can choose Schwalbe Marathons on 24 inch.

Titanium usually last a lifetime, in fact it can outlast us. That's one of the reasons why titanium is choosen as the material. The manufacturing and material cost is the main reason why it is expensive. Considering it is a folding bike, I would consider it cheap already, seriously. A Van Nicholas or Litespeed mountain bike frame ALONE cost 7K already.

You can't compare a 16 inch (Yes, Bromptons are classified as 16inch, 349 to be exact) with a 24 inch. My guess is, this 24 inch is even lighter than the Brompton. Bromptons has become a status symbol already so functionality is in the bin! Yes, it is functional as a commuter bike but no rider uses it as one yet in Malaysia. Looking at the "wow!" factor that you mentioned, I can guess where your inclinations are. heheheee.

My wife's velo and my Dash uses the Tiagra 12/30T cassette. Both of us were suing 11/28T (maximum for 105s and Ultegras) but then after riding Genting Peras, it's more convenient to use the lower grade Tiagras which is the only one that has 12/30T cassette. It's does not matter to us, sacrificing the 11T as it is not usually used anyway. A ratio lower using the 30T is more used actually for climbing. One or even better 2 ratios lower will save your butt when climbing when it is our age!

Off course, unlees you want to invest in the latest 11 speed 105s or Ultegras which has 11/32T. Hahahaa.

Any bike with smaller than 26 inch wheels cannot be considered as sports equipment ( non taxable ) , so it is taxable. But many has avoided, how I don't know. Some send it to Singapore and ride in but the tax is not much, 10 to 15 percent, I think.

This post has been edited by etigge: Sep 24 2015, 10:04 AM

They did mention in their site, they will consider selling the frame only after the Kickstarter project ends and the Helix goes into production. I was studying the geometry and the trail length seems very narrow. The fork is straight and head tube angle makes the trail length ( in their sizing and geometry page, labelled 'K' ) very narrow. I think the bike will be more twitchy compared to other bikes. The longer the trail length, the more stable the bike is, that's why many forks are curved out. Either that or the head tube angle is more. Anyway, they already have prototype ready and the road doing testing. Maybe, it's OK but still one needs to ride one to actually experience it. There's a compromise between compactness after folding to geometry in this case.

This post has been edited by etigge: Sep 24 2015, 01:16 PM

Ini tempat orang kaya la! Everything is more costly.

The possibility of selling it off one day............ most definitely goes to a Dahon. Giant folding bikes doesn't command a following as popular as Dahons. Most definitely will be easier to sell off later. Giants are not really folding bikes specialist anyway. They are more into roadbikes and mountain bikes unlike Dahons which specializes in folding bikes only. Why not look into MIT as well for KL commuting. It folds smaller and easier to carry into LRTs. In fact it is even lighter than a B. Just a thought.

Yun, mana enko pi ? 406 rims not expensive nowadays. Can get about 300+ in Kimbell Jaya. Sealed bearing lagi.

There's a WTB wheelset that has disc brake (6 hole) hubs and also rim brake sidewall. So, it is suitable for your needs. Just ask Jimmy about the WTB rims. Price is as I mentioned also.

Yun, those 'lidi' can be replaced. Not expensive lah. If you come to my place, I got many spares. You still have my number?

This post has been edited by etigge: Oct 7 2015, 09:39 AM