At a first glance: 2015 Tern Verge X10

A chance encounter...

I made a beeline to Johnny Ng's bike shop in BU4, Bandar Utama to leave a packet for a fellow cyclist.
In it, a piece of nut for his rear hub. The poor fella has been searching high and low for a replacement not for his Dahon Speed Pro. This is an old bike which was handed down to him from a mutual acquaintance of my wife.
When I arrived, I was greeted by GC "The Ninja-Godfather" Tan, an old-timer who rides a Tern Eclipse X20.
He was eyeing the new 2015 Tern Verge X10.
With little or no announcement, the bike has arrived with two other models in Malaysia.

Tern's 2015 Verge X10 is as impressive as it looks

So, what's new? 

The second-generation Verge X10 is a vast improvement from its predecessor.
It maintains its unique colour and custom-made SRAM X9 rear derailleur which is color coordinated with the frame.
A noticeable change is the new Tarsus hydroformed fork. This is said to be stiffer and lighter, so, you can expect the bike to perform even on the tightest bend around the corner.
And for next year, Tern had included a mainstay chainguard on the bike. This acts as a cushion to prevent the chain from bouncing and derailing from the main chainring.
What's even more impressive, is the massive 55T chainring made by FSA for Tern and the 11-36T cogwheels. 
This enables the rider to take on any terrain, be it a flat course or a hilly climb.

The X10, folded

Hot item: the Kinetic Pro-X hub

The V-brakes

You can expect the new Kinetic X rim to perform

Stability and solid handling comes from the VRO syntace steering system

The huge 55T chainring, largest on any Tern bikes of its class

Expect cutting edge performance..

There's no doubt that the large chainring and wide array of gears on the cogwheels would really spin the bike fast.
Despite the makeover, the genius is in the details.
On the crank, Tern had included an FSA BB386 bottom bracket. So, there's no issues with moisture on the crankset when you ride in wet weather. its practically sealed to prevent dirt and water from damaging the bottom bracket.
Another major improvement is on the Kinetic Pro wheelset. 
The Kinetic Pro-X hubs are out of this world and to give the wheels a real solid roll, there's the sapim aero spokes that is much stronger than previously used on the first-generation Kinetic Pro wheels.

How much and where to buy? 

The Verge X10 is available in two colours: White/Lime Green and White/Orange. It is priced at RM5,900 and is available at My Bicycle Shop, Lot G3, BU 4, Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Call Johnny Ng at 016-632 2599 for details on the bike.

Ipoh Foldies' Open Day - Part 4

Time out with the course trainers...

After freshening up and a little rest, we rode into town for a quick meal. 
In the town area, I led Johnny and Des to a chicken rice shop and split up in search of Halal food for Mohd Radzi.
The first thing that came in mind was Mee Kari Daud Mat Jasak.
This makan place is located in the middle of town just a row after the chicken rice area.
It wasn't hard to locate and in the evening, there was a slight drizzle.
We arrived first and found a table to have our meal, but a family and their young kids sat there without even bothering to ask if the seats were taken.
Seeing the look of hopelessness and desperation on the man's face, we offered our table to him and took a smaller table next to it... 
After the meal, we rode off to the KBS complex to catch up with the Ipoh Foldies for their night barbecue session.
It was there where I had a real fruitful discussion with Zairil, one of the senior guys who is into long-distance exploration rides.
I told Zairil that The Malaysian Foldie's main criteria now, is to provide support to small groups that are starting up.
We are more keen in providing skills training and sharing of experience rather than organizing social rides.
There are plenty of peer groups of such in the Klang Valley now, so, our focus is more on establishing contacts around the country and promote responsible bike habits and ownership.
After spending some time socialising with the Ipoh folks, I can see that the guys were tired and with that, it was our cue to say good-bye to our hosts as we parted ways...

Zairil (left) an experienced cyclist from Ipoh and his new found friend from KL working on the grill

Azam: Our outstanding host

Saddle up, lock and load!

Back at the hotel, I had a little crisis on hand.
My Ortlieb Flight 27 bag's front panel had delaminated. A large tear can be seen across the panel just below the waterproof zippers.
I tried to mend it with a temporary solution by taping it with some bandage adhesive. That didn't work.
What's majorly disappointing was the fact that if failed during a crucial time. I made a note by bringing along some duct tape and bond adhesives in future trips. But seeing the poor quality of the RM650 bag, I might as well retire it for good. I've had the same problem with my Ortlieb hip pack in Indonesia in which I fixed it with an adhesive bond. The pack is now permanently retired.
My biggest worry about the Flight 27 was having it fall apart on me when I ride. Spewing all my personal belongings on the road won't be a pleasant experience.

This pack is robust, but at the same time: fragile. I was major disappointed..

My bikepacking rig: Ortlieb Flight 27, Bell Muni helmet and Tern Eclipse X20

A quick-spin around Ipoh..

We rolled out from the hotel towards the Medan Selera Stadium nearby where we had breakfast.
Johnny wanted to shop for egg-tarts at Simee village. I told him that I don't know the way and that going all out to find egg-tarts is a waste of time.
As a trade-off, I led him into town to get some salt-baked chicken. This is a specialty dish in Ipoh.
At the medan selera, we had a good fill and rolled out towards the town area.
There, we had fruit rojak and ice-cream soda at Loke Wooi Kee coffee shop. 
Later, the guys bought their supply of baked chicken as we proceeded towards the mural area near old town..

At the town murals

The ride-along

At concubine's lane

Coffee break

All aboard!

It's a wrap...

All the baked chicken packed, we were ready to roll.
This time, a whirlwind tour of the Ipoh Old Town.
Uncle John Cheong, a cycling buddy of mine who resides in Ipoh said the Old Town area is merely a tourist trap.
I led the guys around Old Town and found a place for coffee.
We chilled out there for a while till it was time to head to the train station.
By 11:30am the crowd was building up in the departure area.
It took me less than 10-minutes to pack-up the bike and other gear and by the time we assembled at the gate, the KL Foldies arrived and some of the guys were seen hurrying with packing their bicycles.
The least I can say is this: though new to cycling, the guys took great effort to wear head protection and pack their bicycles. This is commendable and very thoughtful to the welfare of other passengers.
When it was time to leave, a member of the Ipoh Foldies came by to send us off. He had even shot a video of us entering the platform.
On the coach, I plugged into my ipod and listened to some music to kill time.
By the time I knew it, we were entering Rawang. 
Johnny and Mohd Radzi got off at Kepong Sentral while Des and I continued our journey to KL Sentral.
We were joined by two other members of the KL Foldie group and parted ways after setting up the bikes.
By the time I loaded the bikes onto the car, it was already mid-day and I looked forward to getting some rest at home.
On the whole, the Ipoh Foldie Open Day experience was awesome. We made friends and shared experiences and hope to keep up with such events in the future.

Ipoh Foldies Open Day - Part 3

The willingness to learn..

Humility is a trait that sets apart small town people from the big city dweller.
Here in Ipoh, the good folks are eager to learn and honest about their intentions.
We are humbled before a group of young people who showed great enthusiasm to socialize through bicycling and improve with new skills.
I experienced this in Ipoh with the Ipoh Foldies group at the KBS centre in Ipoh Stadium.
There, I met a doctor who works in Seri Iskandar who came up to me and introduced himself.
"Hello Sam, I follow your blog la. Your solo ride to Port Dickson was very interesting."
He went on to comment about some conflict of interest between me and some peer groups.
I explained to him that such was a learning process to me and that I have moved on to other things.
He said the reason he drove all the way from Seri Iskandar to join the event was to attend the workshop.
"If it's merely a social ride, there's plenty. The organizers have thrown in a classroom session for beginners, that ; I am very interested.."
The humble doctor had declined to reveal his profession when I asked him and merely stated that he was a civil servant. 
These are the kind of people who appreciates knowledge from experienced cyclists and are grateful from what they have learned.
At the KBS centre, we were treated to a hearty meal. 
It's nasi campur kampung style and everyone have had a great time filling up. Especially after a ride in the hot Sun, the good folks have worked up a good appetite.

Makan time... 

The awesome meal! 

An attentive lot...

After the meals, the Muslim participants performed their mid-day prayers.
Then, we set up the classroom with a projector to carry out a slide presentation.
My topic: "Folding bike for beginners" was first.
I presented a 30-minute talk on everything folding bikes.
The crowd were nicely settled-in as I began my lecture.
Later, it was Mohd Radzi's turn.
He shared his touring experience in Sumatera.
Mohd Radzi's slide show had captured the crowd's imagination.
Some of them were merely talking about cycling outside Ipoh and paid full attention to the first-time touring foldie's foray into Eastern Sumatera.
Mohd Radzi shared about his experience cycling from Dumai to Pekanbaru.
After the talk, Azam took over the floor to conduct a lucky draw. 
A few cyclists who came for a daytrip had to leave as they have booked a passage home with the 5pm ETS service.
One of the guys was kind enough to send a cyclist to the train station because it started to rain.
Johnny Ng's turn was up with basic bike tuning and maintenance.
He took two bikes and tuned it to show the crowd on the importance of maintaining their bikes for long-term usage.
The attentive crowd were drawn to Johnny's skills on tuning the bikes and also gave it a try to feel the difference.

Azam, addressing the participants

The first speaker

Mohd Radzi, sharing his touring experience with a Dahon Eco 7 folding bike

Johnny explaining to the crowd on the importance of bike maintenance

The practical session

The crowd

A lucky draw prize winner

The Kuala Lumpur Foldies posing for a snapshot before departing for KL

A fruitful session..

After Johnny had concluded his talk, we drew again for the lucky draw session and handed away prizes sponsored by Le Run Industries and Guan Chow bikes of Perak.Johnny Ng also contributed some prizes via My Bicycle Shop.
The last session was conducted by a former national cyclist, but we couldn't stay because of our accommodation issues.
We had to ride over to Fair Park to check-in at the hotel which was fully booked by some state hockey players who came for a tournament at the Stadium Azlan Shah.
Some of the participant had thanked us for sharing our knowledge and said that they had enjoyed the presentation.
With little daylight left, what's left to do, is to head to our hotel room to freshen up and later join the Ipoh Foldies for a barbecue session at night..