To avoid confusion between the XS, S, M sizes, look at the actual measurements itself. MTB measurement tends to be in inches, while road bikes tend to be in cm. Normally I'll say that a size S is either 15.5 inch MTB or 43cm for road bike.

I'm 165cm, and I use a size 15.5 MTB, which is a size S. If you're at 178cm, a size M is likely to be too small for you, let alone a size S. Your size should be more towards a L or sizes between 56, 57 or 58cm.

This is rather important, getting a bike that's the right sized. My first bike was a 16.5 inch (size M), and its too big for me. The result are aching shoulder and neck muscles, and the palms of my hands getting numb very often during longer rides, as I was leaning forward too far, placing too much weight on the palm of my hands, as well as having to raise my head higher up.

Another cycling buddy who's first bike was too small for him says that the problem he's had was pain in his upper arm muscles and mid back muscles during longer rides.

You can sort of use this here as a rough guide: http://www.evanscycles.com/help/bike-sizing

But at the end of the day, you'll still need to get yourself test fitted properly for the bike that you're looking at. You'll also need to get the seat position, handlebar position, brake level angles, distance between saddle and handlebars and so forth adjusted properly to fit you, in addition to the frame size.

The adjustments can be well, adjusted as you go along, but frame size cannot be. And nothing throws you off cycling more than spending money on a bike to find that the size is wrong for you. And this is not something that you'll notice right away, but you'll only experience the problems during longer rides.

i am going to give you a very vague answer... in some ways yes...

you have to know yourself very well... if you have very very good self control.. then you might as well get everything right upon buying your bike even if it means to spend a bit more than you planned... like RM500 more for hydraulic disc or RM500 more from Tiagra to 105, very little now but a lot when you plan to upgrade later not counting the additional parts that you have left behind.

you will still spend some over the year if i am to be frank, for maintaining worn out parts and you can afford to splurge on it a bit then...  when the chance comes (see, i am the evil one  )

if you are the type where you have evil friends that spawns from hell and always tempts you to buy useless junk and you have next to no control over your impulsiveness to buy things... then you are better off worrying later as you are bound to succumb to their evil temptations sooner or later.

Bikes are unlike cars where a jump from a Proton Inspira to a Mitsubishi Evo X is not within many people's reach.

A price jump from an entry level carbon to a high end carbon bike can be easily acquired by anyone with a plastic card. Therefore, control is first and knowledge of what you want is second. Or you can substitute control with your "wife", the best finance controller the world has ever known.

Wish i had one...

you can, but not easy unless you have a really long thumb...

i sort of like Sora because the brake lever does not swing like most of the other shimano shift levers..very very disturbing on descents when you pull the lever and it moves....

that is until i used SRAM  never looked back since then...

they chew anything when they're bored
wait till they see this

[attachmentid=2622930]

that's how dirty it is after 3 hours of riding

You can sort of make it out on the middle chainring

below 4K is good price... 2011 model? i think they want clear old stock...

a specialized allez will land you RM5k for the same 105 or apex configuration.

my Helios 500 is Mavic wheelset... the one u found is shimano wheelset?

Missed out something... did you asked if they were a 2012 model or 2011 model? your link is pointing to the 2012 which is lacking quite a bit of details. But from the 2012 picture if that looks everything the same as you saw has a

Crank
i doubt it is this (expensive) but based on the big FSA livery on the crankarm which is not on the gossamer and vero usually paired at this price range
http://www.fullspeedahead.com/products/14/...egaExo-Crankset

2011 is a vero model FSA crank
http://www.fullspeedahead.com/products/37/...ompact-Crankset

Rear Derailleur
seems to be a mid cage 105 to support in excess of a 28T cassette, would be a plus point if you decide to take it to ride lots of hills. this also makes sense as they have on the 2011 model either a triple or double compact crank. will sacrifice slightly on shifting speed and precision but allows you to run a wider gear ratio than the the usual ones like a 11-23, 11-25 or 11-26

General Drivetrain RD, FD, shifter, brake calipers
looks to be full 105 except for the crank, good idea to check the front derailleur as it might be from a lower range, can't tell from pics

Wheelset
looks like their own brand of wheelset, 3 cross lacing to their own rim and most probably a shimano hub

Cockpit
again their own brand of saddles and stem / handlebar combo i think

The only question here is the frame and the material used. The specs don't say whether it is a 6000 or 7000 series aluminum and the butting on the frame. Most of the bigger brands would have 7005 triple butted frames, 7000 series aluminum would have slightly more longevity against 6000 series and also slightly a bit more stiffer.

Generally, be it a 2012 or 2011 bike it is placed at a competitive price range @ 3.9k for the focus brand if you are brand conscious. Generally if you look at a 105 combo equipped aluminum fuji, scott, bmc, or even specialized it will be placed above RM4k with most in the region of 5.

Yes, the shop is right that shimano's have never used any form of cartridge bearings over the years for their wheels. They have stick to using cup and cone loose ball bearings all the while. For me sealed bearing are overrated and isn't a selling point, they are only normal cartridge bearings fitted with dust shields for minimizing dirt from entered the bearing and gauzing them in the long term.

Contrary to many beliefs, loose balls actually rolls smoother than most cartridge bearings. It is just that cartridge bearings offer easier replacement as cup and cone system is much more harder to service.

Any idea how much is the weight for the Focus?

Reading from the review you mentioned it is 23 pound or 10.4 Kg  (60cm frame) .

Other review on bicycling.com mentioned 21.4 pound or 9.7Kg for XL size.

Comparing the Focus to Giant TCR SL2 2012 (7.9KG) @ RM4.8k (quoted by one of Giant dealer, before nego), is the saving of ~2Kg worth the extra RM1k?

Both having similar white colors, 105...