I did not want to start with an ideal bike. To a certain extent, I felt that I could not justify spending too much on my first two-wheeler, especially if the body has not worked up the fitness to deserve one. Countless hours spent shopping at various bicycle shops and reading profusely on forums and blogs resulted in one affirmation – it had to be either a Dahon or a Tern.
Why? My first experience with a folding bike needs some measure of assuredness – I needed to know what good looks like. I am not obtuse to riding less-branded bikes but first I needed to feel the finesse of a dedicated folding bike specialist. A low end one would do – and in this regard Dahons were generally more affordable than the Terns. In addition, having a respect for history and elders, I wanted to support the father first rather than the son.
One fine day, in one of my various stopovers at Rodalink Bangsar, I chanced upon some Dahons on sale. The one that caught my eye in particular was the Dahon Vybe, both available in steel and aluminium frames. I wanted a tough bike, and I have been known not to be too gentle with them, so I though steel would be the ideal choice, even more so as it was the cheaper of the two. WI thought the trade-off with it being heavier wouldn’t matter too much as I would mainly be lugging it from folding into the boot and vice versa, and not really lugging it around on trains and the like (splurging on a Brompton would be tempting on the latter point, but oh man the cost!). Moreover, I liked the white frame with black detailing of the Vybe C7 rather than the black frame with white detailing of the Vybe C7A. Saving approximately RM500 ringgit from its original price, I thought it was a rather good bargain too! And so the deed was done!
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| First Photo of the Vybe C7 at Putrajaya |
I justified that the savings that I had made should be spent on accessories for the bike, and oh boy did I exceed those savings (by almost a factor of 2!) I started understanding women’s needs to accessorise immediately upon the purchase! I wanted the bike to be practical right from the start and therefore the first concerns was how I would carry stuff. I loved the solid look and feel of Tern’s Cargo Rack, which looked much tougher than their Portage Rack, both from Biologic. I do have dreams of attaching panniers to them one day, and the Cargo Rack seemed like a good move to future-proofing the investment.
Secondly, tools were required for maintenance. I chose Topeak’s Aero Wedge Pack that would fit under the seat. In in I out Topeak’s Racerocket MT Pump which fits just nicely, as well as a Schwalbe 20″ spare tube. For comfort, I affixed a Selle Royale gel-padded seat for my rather ample posterior.On a separate visit to Rodalink, I quickly added the Tern Luggage Truss with a Biologic Tour Bag which was on 20% discount. The Tour Bag is a real jack-of-all-trades for me, easily fitting many things including water bottles when required. It unhooks easily yet is sturdy when clamped to the Luggage Truss (mine is in black). There is also a key lock at the luggage truss that avoids the Tour bag being taken away, although this should only be used for short periods. For longer periods, the Tour Bag can be attached to a shoulder strap and carried away. It also has an internal waterproof lining that avoids getting your things wet.
I then thought I needed an even bigger bag, and having the Cargo Rack, the recommended bag was Biologic’s Commuter Bag, which can clamp onto the Cargo Rack easily using the KLICKfix bracket system. It also has a 3Point shoulder strap converts into additional straps onto the rack to stabilise heavier loads, especially as it sits on the Cargo Rack vertically.
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| Waiting for the food at Basil with Commuter bag and Kabuto |
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Sword of Gnosis 