A tough call..

People ask the darnerst questions...

Through time, I received some really interesting questions.
Most of these queries centered around the procurement of a bicycle.
New or old, people want to get a bang for the buck...

Nobody likes to get ripped off

Here's the hard truth: Cheap bikes are never good, good bikes are never cheap.
Even on the secondary market, a decent-condition bike would fetch a good price unless its owner is looking at recovering the minimal amount.
Let's say for instance, you bought a folding bike for RM2,200, the most you are going to get back is roughly around RM1,400 or less -- depending on the condition of the bike.
Pricing also depends on the supply and demand situation.
And older bikes seldom appreciate in value. That is a fact that is hard to swallow.
Then again, its a 'willing buyer, will seller' situation.
Some deals are so great, you find bikes for price of a song..

It all starts with a good bike

My take on this - get a good bike, do your research, don't be afraid to ask around.
Patience will land you the right machine.
Ask yourself what you want to do with the bike because there is no such thing as a bike that does it all.
As for me, the most crucial factors are: performance, reliability and ease of maintenance.
You don't want to end up with a bike that goes back to the workshop so often, you end up spending a bomb.
And when performance is a factor, the quality of components count.
Lucky for me, I've had a good run with a few reliable machines. They hardly failed me.

The new brands on the block..

The last two years saw a surge in new brands of folding bikes coming into the fray.
I see that the more mature crowd are willing to spend.
There are Brompton and Moulton peer groups, mostly among the elites and very wealthy crowd.
A normal guy like me would be contented with my Dahons.
I am thinking of getting at least two Terns by the end of this year. Or maybe never.
Recently, I met a young man on his Tyrell folding bike. 
Its really fancy and he paid more than RM8k for it.
Good for him, but I think he paid too much. It also didn't help as the people who sells these bikes are morons.
I can say the same about the Doppleganggerer bikes.
Nice ring to the name, but what you get, is a piece of junk.

Credentials matter...

If you are bent on quality, look for a brand that is recognised by being awarded by the bicycle industry in terms of quality and innovation. 
You can't go wrong with that.