Basic Bicycle GPS workshop

Series 03 workshop

I try to keep the Malaysian Foldies Forums and its Facebook page active by hosting at least two workshops a year. 
The first workshop we had was 'Basic Bicycle Recovery' workshop held at Desa Park City. The crowd was awesome, but the venue sucks.
Later, we had a more successful 'Basic Bicycle Touring' workshop at Edmund Foo's Atmosphere Outfitters in Subang Avenue in Subang Jaya. 
To kick off this year's programme, I designed the 'Basic Bicycling GPS' workshop to cater to those who are interested to find out more on utilising these navigational devices for fitness and travel.
Its also a way for me to give back to society by sharing my knowledge. Being a GPS user for the past 12 years, I think I am qualified enough to lead the small workshop.

Location, location, location...

For the purpose of educating my fellow cyclists, I chose an outdoor location.
Reason being is to enable the GPS units to acquire its signal as well as having an open space environment to conduct the class.
So, that said, I picked Taman Rimba Kiara near Taman Tun Dr Ismail for this purpose.
It wasn't hard to assemble the participants as we were lucky enough to get at least a dozen folding bicycle enthusiasts to participate in the event.
Among them were Uncle Francis Chin who uses a car GPS to navigate.
He told me that he used an external power pack to keep the device running.
"Aiya! I can only get so much usage time on the GPS. Now, I know that the bicycle GPS can do more and is actually energy effecient," said Chin.

Open air session: Sharing with the foldies

Pointing out the Garmin GSC-10 speed and candence sensor

A decent turnout

We had a good mix of people who came for the workshop.
This includes support from QuckSport Sdn Bhd, a Garmin re-seller and a representative from Garmin Malaysia.
Mr WT Yong was generous enough to offer his time to co-host the event.
I led off the talk with a simple history of the GPS and how it came about.
At the same time, the crowd had the chance to experience the Garmin Geko 201, GPSmap 72csx, Garmin Oregon 300.
I shared the benefits of having a dedicated bicycle GPS mounted on the handlebar and how the track logs can be shared with other bicyclists.
After I was done, Yong took the floor by explaining his flagship product, the Garmin EDGE800.
We also talked about the up and coming release of the Garmin EDGE810 and 510, but these will not hit the shelves until March.

Yong of QuickSport sharing his views on the Garmin Edge800

The attentive crowd

The workshop participants

   

Free, as always..

We don't charge a single sen for the Malaysian Foldies' skills workshop.
Just as long as there are people who are willing to learn, that'll be good.
I've lined-up some talks for the entire 2013 and the next one would be the 'Basic Bikepacking' workshop which I will slot for late April this year.               

This time, they got the colour right..

A replacement too soon? 

Olympus announced the successor to the TG-1 premium all-weather camera recently at the CES show in the US.
Its the TG-2 HS and its an improvement from its predecessor. 
Said to go deeper and tougher than the TG-1, this premium-priced compact camera are made with some noticeable improvements in terms of how deep this camera can go underwater and its crush-proof rating.

The TG-1

TG-2

The camera's rear controls

  Same-same different? 

From the appearance, both cameras looked the same.
The tweaks in terms of its controls are really marginal.
But, in terms of colour coordination, I think the Olympus guys got this one right.
The lens rings can also be changed for the fashion-conscious user...

March debut

The TG-2 is expected to hit the market in the US (at a retail price of USD$380 in March this year..     

Some cool MKS pedals..

You can't substitute the best..

MKS of Japan makes some of the best cycling pedals in the world.
Well, for a folding bike, you can't ask for more.
With the exception of our Dahon Curve D3, all our bikes are equipped with the MKS MT-E easy and Exim superior pedals.

Looking forward to some cool beans..

With some new bikes coming our way, we can definitely look foward to some cool new pedals from MKS.
My preferred source is www.thorusa.com who ships to Malaysia.
Most of my pedals were imported from this store which is based in the US.
The store owner Thor, is an avid folding bike cyclist and an expert in everything folding bikes..

For flat shoes: the MKS urban flat superior

Wow factor: the MKS step-in superior

Weird and wonderful: The MKS Lambda superior

"Good things no cheap, cheap things no good.."

The stock-standard pedals that comes with your folding bike are normally inferior.
So far, I've broken one during a test-ride and had no choice but to ride home for another 25km with a broken pedal.
From my experience, the MKS are built to last.
The start-up investment is higher than the usual, but its worth every Ringgit and Sen.
Even the basic MT-E easy pedals (quick-release with a stop pin) can cost as much as RM220 a pair.
The asking price for a pair of MKS step-in superior would be RM453 excluding freight charges. 
So, to sum it up, if you demand performance, the MKS are there to take you on.. Otherwise, you can settle for a pair of cheap pedals and pay the price for using inferior accessories..