Tern Tea Party!

The stage is set for Tern's debut in Malaysia

Just got back from a preview photoshoot of Tern Bicycle's new products.
Some 19 models are going to be shown at Rodalink's outlet in Bandar Botanic.
I sat in the Le Run's team meeting about the event where the floor plan was laid out for the launch.
The show is going to start at 3pm on Nov 19 for the public, so, if you are interested to check out the new bikes, make a beeline towards Bandar Botanic.
There might be a media preview of the bikes earlier in the day. Details are yet to be finalised.
One thing is for sure: there are gonna be some cool Tern Schwag for the lucky visitor, plenty of foodstuff and lots of foldies at the launch.

One sexy bike!
I caught a glimpse of the new Verge S11i folding bike.
Straight out of the box, this is one of the sexiest foldies around.
Everything I expect on retro-fitting my Dahon Speed P8 is found on the Verge S11i.
The Shimano Alfine 11 drivetrain makes it a sweet and smooth ride.
There are attachment for touring racks and the Andros steering system makes it a dream bike to handle...

When it comes to versatility, this bike nails it!

 Great expectations..
Pricing, fit and finish: How?
Having handled the Verge S11i, I can say this: Its solid!
The street price is between RM6.8K - RM7K. 
And the bummer is this: There's only one sample bike for Malaysia. So, 'siapa cepat, dia dapat!'
If you have handled the Dahon MuXL, the Verge S11i is much better than expected.
Everything on this bike spells 'Elegance' and I guess that if I save up enough, I will be able to score one next year!

Come on Baby light my trail!

Sigma's new Powerled Evo

Some balsy folks cycle at night with blinkers front and rear.
They've got balls as big as Churchbells. Not me.
I made a beeline to a new bike shop in Damansara Perdana recently. Found out that they are selling a range of Sigma Sports accessories for bicycles and this included headlights.
One that caught my eye was a rechargeable light.
When I asked the store guy, an oldish dude, sleek and mean-looking with an earring entertained me.
He was quite nice and took out the light to show me.
The headlight came with a 4AA adapter and also functions as a flashlight.
You can rig this on your bike and it yields 90LUX. 
The guy told me that this translates to 900 Lumens at full output.
I was impressed.
And it came with a pricetag of RM589 a pop.
Now, an earlier visit to a popular bike store in Damansara Uptown yielded a search for Niterider lights.
But they were damn expensive.
One such find was a rechargeable light at RM1,450.
"Eh, this one brighter than your car headlights la," said one of the sales guy.
Yeah, right.
Even Billy, my cycling buddy had complained about the price there.
The shop is runned by Burmese guys. They don't understand our lingo and the customer-salesman interaction is purely based on guess work.
At the new store, the oldish sales dude, well, I think he is the co-owner of the joint, said his pricing is decent.
I can attest to that.
The Sigma stuff are affordable.
But some of their staff are pure unadulterated morons.
There's also a lower-end headlight going for RM190 a pop. This is competitive to what Cateye had to offer.
Their latest range, the Cateye Econom rechargeable light is just too expensive.
Since the new shop said they cater a full range of Sigma lights, the latest 900 Lumens Powerled Evo is worth the wait. 
I don't know how much this is going to cost, but its definitely worth a go.


 

Garmin EDGE200 is finally here!

Affordable GPS-enabled cyclometer

Garmin's latest budget cyclometer is in the house!
At RM495 a pop (Aeco Technologies) and the best buy price of RM470 (authorized dealer), this is definitely a bang for the buck if you are in the market for a GPS-enabled computer.

Pros
Ride data - speed, distance, time & etc can be uploaded to Garminconnect.com. You are able to record your rides and also set a training goal. 
Long battery life.
Fully accessorized with charger, cables and bike mount.

Cons
No map, waypoints and POIs cannot be marked.
Black and white screen.
Not able to be synched with heart rate monitor, cadence and speed sensor.