Wednesday, August 1, 2007

My Rock Bike

It's been almost a year and a half that i am in Sunway city now. Studying in Monash. During my first few months here. I am quite disappointed with the public transport here. It's poor, untimely, unhealthy (all the black smokes), unfriendly, noisy and terrible.

Initially, i wanted to request for a car. A Kancil at this point is quite useful. Fulfilling the criteria of a C-A-R. Cheap, Affordable and Reasonable. None-the-less, i neglected an important point which my parents thought of. What am i going to do with it after i graduate? Sell? Transfer it back to hometown?

Looking at selling as an option. Kancil or any car in common, depreciates very fast. 'They' depreciates 60% once the 'green card' (registration card a.k.a ic for the Car) is produced. Transfer? well, the usage capacity of the cars at home is already under par. There is already a 6006 sitting at home, waiting for some one to use it.

Therefore, getting a car is unpractical. That is if i intend to stay in Kl temporary. Some of you out there may argue with the concern of getting a 2nd hand car. Sound practical? Still, maintenances? Petrol? Accident? Parking fees? where to park? Servicing? Ya i know that many people tend to say that not all 2nd hand cars are in bad condition. But still, there is a possibility And it's quite high!

After i gave up on the thoughts of getting a car, i look upon the 'cabbies'. In KL, these are also known as the common cousin of Dracula. They suck the blood out of you without any consent! Though not all. I thank God and pray for those honest taxi drivers.

After using the taxi services for half a year, which suck my blood dry, i finally accepted the fact of walking to Uni/ College. It was healthy, good exercise and Free! That maintained for another half a year.

The only problem with walking is raining and time consuming. Rain is a factor to almost all transport. EVEN CARS. Raining in Malaysia is as if a storm or disaster is coming. Everyone seems to slow down, or basically stop!~ I don't mean to say slowing down is not good, but not to the extend of Stopping! or causing Jam! For pedestrian and cyclist, of course its because of the sheltering problem. Therefore, raining can be exempted, as its the act of God~

Finally after pondering and evaluating on alternatives. Even looked at shifting myself nearer to Uni/ College. Still it doesn't help much. Through gaining something, i will lose something.
Might as well stay at comfort point.

So, i finally took a bold step of proposing a bicycle. An environmental friendly transport other than walk. Faster than walk, cleaner than a motorcycle, cheaper than a car. Easy, affordable, simple and eco-friendly (E-A-S-E). It's easy to maintain. Portable. If not going long distance.

Looking a few points that help me evaluate on getting a bike:

  1. Faster mode of transport than walking.
  2. Worth investing as its easily 'liquid-able' (Can sell if moving)
  3. Low/ No maintenance
  4. Church is moving to somewhere i can cycle to.
  5. I can cycle to 'Pasar Malam' to buy my vegetables and fruits cheaply.
  6. I am used to cycling since young.
  7. Quite cheap compared to other mode of transport.
  8. Don't need any license.
  9. Environmental friendly.
  10. don't need to wait for bus.

There are actually many more benefits. After proposing these. Thanks to my Mummy and Daddy, I got their approval and went ahead.

This was the bicycle i got from SS 14. I got it with a good friend of mine. Paul. When i first went there, i wanted to get a Lerun. My old bike was a Lerun too. However, the owner advised me to get the Rock Bike. His advice was that Lerun is currently catering to high and low end market. Low end, really low and high end really high. The quality is a little bit lower. He showed me the differences. I even went to the Lerun Authorized dealer shop to have a look at it. Indeed, the low end is really low. The high end is really high. Similar to Giant bikes. Giant is a really famous brand for bikes. Especially mountain bikes. Heavy duty and solid. Though this is my first encounter with Rock Bike. I think it should be fine. I changed the pedals with Alloy pedals, i added the bottle holder as well. Btw, the handles of Lerun for the lower ends ones are really thin. They are just common handles. As for Rock Bike, they are really solid. Never-the-less, i still love my bike back home. The Alloy frame, with extensive aluminum bar. Well, we just have to look forward in Life isn't it?

Not only the handles are different, Rock Bike has the new design of spokes. Its meant for heavy duty purposes and friction retention. Look at the picture:

In ending, I look forward to cycle the bicycle till i graduate. May God keep my bicycle well. I believe He will. Hope it will not be stolen. Thats all for now. Till Then, Thanks for reading. God Bless!

-G@rry-

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

i think kancil no more sale already become limited edition.. haha~ use bike more good,cars will always 'jam' in kL..

van said...

Hey can I know how much does your bicycle cost? =)
You bought it from Le Run shop?