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My New Babe _ ARGON 18
Can't help but to show off my new babe and also to highlight to our bicylce vendors. Please dont just sell bike but configure bike properly for your customer.
The bicycle departemt at Harrod Departmental store at Knightsbridge but bought my bike at another specialty shop at Wimbledon, Tri and run shop.
It is a lovely bike and I am glad it fits me very well except for the seat post which is 2 cm longer. Spencer the owner of the shop refused to sell it to me because the configuration is out by 2 cm!! Incredialbe, got business also don't want. Unfortuneately our fellas back home should learn some of good biking business ethic. Dont just sell bike but do it with passion.People will curse you if the bike does not fit when after a month of riding, aches started to manifest. I went to this shop at Wimbledon, 3 times ; first to look at the bike, secondly to consult all the sifus in particular Nicolas who hv the same model. And finally on the advice of Nicolas I "forced" Spencer n to sell it to me even though the seat post is out by 2 cm. He is ethical enough to tell me the deal is off because of the seat post. Howvever, when I discussed with Nicola, he also have the same problem when he bought his and our fellas back home saw it off by few cm, I suggested to Spencer to do it, he said it is not feasible and he is not keen to sell it to me. I persuaded him our Mcgvyer gungho, bicylce shop can do wonders.
Spencer of Tri and Run, keying in all my parameters into a programme called bikefitting.com which he subscribed(got to pay yearly a subsription fee) to get a configuration of my bike.
Sorry,upside down, the measurement apparatus thaat he used to obtain my parameters including height, arm length, height of ground to crotch etc
Finally this is the final parameters that a properly configured bike should have all the above measurements. Wish one day our bicycle shops will be professional enough to do this and also to refuse to sell the bike to you if the bike is not your size.
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Wow! Saw it yesterday on your way to Pearl Hill. Looks damn nice. Wonder if the experience is better than your Look368?
Took the red bull for a spin today. Naturally it is our Fartlek Hill aka Pearl Hill. This babe can rock. It is truly speedy but the uphill is a bit strenuous with its 53/39 and back gear of 23. I particularly like its posture i.e sprinting postion as in a sprinter before starting a race. Noticed that it uses a lot of these group of muscles.
The group set nothing to shout about esp when compared to my roadie's dura ace but it is serviceable. Not intending to upgrade. I enjoyed the hind carbon wheel Prolite 50mm Gavia with its tubular tyre. This is my first ride on such a tyre. The advantages are it supposed to be lighter having done away with an inner tube. One also need to overinflate the tyre to about 140 so that the tubular tyre could grip on the carbon rim securely. Sifu has also used a double sided tape to secure the tyre to the rim. The front wheel is an alloy Prolite Brasciana normal tube tyre. Intending to change this to a tubula tyre later on.
Upon completing my ride, sent the bike to our great SIFU for further tuning. Changing the back cassette to my titanium dura ace 10 speed and also the chain to a shimano chain. I think it is too short the current one, having disengaged one while changing gear.
Overall, enjoyed the ride esp the posture. Next got to visit our friendly local bike shops for a pair of Look Keo clipless shoes!!!
Dr got to test his new red "Ferari" this evening !
When we were going up Pearl Hill Dr received a call from the hospital. Dr then decided to cycle to the hospital, I followed along.
The Agron-8 looks elegant !
Glad to hear that there are some bike shops back home who are now gearing up professionally but I am glad to get my tri bike properly fitted as even a slight discrepancy may cause havoc.
On another note, I got it for a steal, a 2010 model with full set up complete with a 50 mm Prolite carbon rear rim. Wonder if it will be tax when I bring it home.
hi doc,
i' ve checked the kastam(custom) website. there should be no taxes for road racing bicycle ("basikal lumba") in bolehland. mtb and all other bicycles including kids bicycle 25% and components 30%. above are just general figures, could be different in actual case.
in bolehland only road races are considered a sport. hope in future some top fellows in the sports/trade ministry shud make some changes since we have so many mtb races/jamborees now. mtb is also considered cycling sports.
Thanks Jonathan,will let you know there is tax. well suprisingly the total weitht was still ok, did not hv to pay excess baggage. Good idea if next time need to bring bike overses, the best way is
to pack it in own fashioned box, solid enough, to hold and protect the bike. In retropective, I think it is better than those bicycle bags unless it is of hard casing which will increase the weight a lot. Mine together with the box and packing weights only 13 Kg. In the underground from Wimbledon to my central London hotel. quite a job lugging it up and down to the tube
I can confirm road bike is tax free. Can find the info at Malaysian Custom website. Check http://www.gov.my for details.
Hard shell bike case will not cost much since you already paid a premium(at least for me lah) for your bike. Instead of using the original carton, I would suggest a hard shell bike carrier case.
I agree with adchin. Many blame their lack of knowledge on the dealers. Many cyclists may not even be able to differentiate apples from oranges. It is always better to do some research first via i.e. internet, magazines or experienced cyclists. There is always a reason why various manufacturers come up with different sizes, material, types, pricing and etc.
sk
Doc,
The shop owner probably did not have the tool to cut it, and it may require diamond cutter to cut the post so that the integrity of the pots maintains. In some case, if the post wer cut by not using the tool specified by the manufacturer it may void the warranty.
I checked the website, http://www.argon18bike.com/main.cfm?l=en&p=01_100&C=1&SC=14&item=E-112. It does not mention that though. I would contact the manufacturer first just to be sure.
Btw, you can find Argon bike in KL if I were not mistaken too.
To be fair to the bike shops, especially the 2 that I visit, they do put in effort to try to match the bike to the rider profile and needs.
I think what is lacking is customer knowledge too. I have seen customers walk up and want to buy Giant because their friends have Giant, that kind of mentality. Not knowing what is it that you really want, be educated from reading, and just buy because your friend has XYZ, this creates a situation where it becomes very difficult for the shop guys to advice properly too.
For example, I think not many people know the differences why they should get a carbon fibre or aluminum body on a bike. These are small criteria that the consumer should educate themselves first, before they go to a shop to fine tune the requirements with the shop guys
My 2 sen
hi doc,
going for triathlon huh
it is definitely a beautiful bike especially with the striking red colour. i believe bolehland will never reach this kind of standard, selling bicycles professionally. below is another fine example but older model.
happy riding!