What bicycle do I need?

After years of successfully maintaining my overweight and not losing one kg (strong personality ) I have now decided to go downhill with my weight but more importantly go uphill with my condition.
This also as I'm afraid kilograms will be added to my weight due to the total stop of alcohol...

Well, to do so I decided to get a bicycle (I will use bike but was afraid to use the word in the title as most people call a motorbike a bike too).
Now you say: buy a bike and shut up. Correct, if you don't know where and how I live
I live in the hills of remote Isan, 75 km east/south/east of Udon, 35 km from Nong han (dir. Sakon Nakhon).
No huge hills but about 100 m difference in height (in several climbs and downhills) to go to the main village, distance 5 km.
Oh yes, before I forget: the largest part (the hills) of this road is a red sand, clay, mud, stones collection with more holes per sq m than a piece of Emmental cheese has...

Therefor my question: what kind of bike do I need?
Do I need just a bike with 27 or more speed, an ATB (All Terrain Bike), Mountain Bike or even another kind?
What do I specifically look for? Tyres? Speed system? I'm a total virgin on this subject

Any serious advice would be warmly welcomed. Any jokes too

Thanks guys.

Joe

If you do not get any good answers and if "FDMIKE" does not see this, then you might want to PM him. He has to be the expert on bikes on this forum.

I have a 1k special with 2 flat tires. When I want to use it I walk it down the soi and inflate the tires, and go on my 3 or 4 k ride, and it is really flat around here, so no coasting. Mike on the other hand, well just add 10 or 20 k to the above.

A general All terrain bike with some gears (any number between 3 and 21). Assuming you are an average height farang, make sure it is large/high enough. Thai bikes tend to have short wheelbases and be of a small size, leaving you hunched over the handlebars. Ideally, you want to be able to almost fully straighten your leg when the pedal is at the bottom of it's circle/cycle.

Don't get anything too elaborate or expensive until you have established to what extent you will use it, and you don't want to worry that it might get stolen if left outside the local shop or bar!!

There is an existing thread or two on this subject. I'll see if I can find a link and add it to this post.

bicycles-t11589.html

specialist-bicycle-shop-in-udon-t8248.html

arjay wrote:A general All terrain bike with some gears (any number between 3 and 21). Assuming you are an average height farang, make sure it is large/high enough. Thai bikes tend to have short wheelbases and be of a small size, leaving you hunched over the handlebars. Ideally, you want to be able to almost fully straighten your leg when the pedal is at the bottom of it's circle/cycle.

Don't get anything too elaborate or expensive until you have established to what extent you will use it, and you don't want to worry that it might get stolen if left outside the local shop or bar!!

There is an existing thread or two on this subject. I'll see if I can find a link and add it to this post.

bicycles-t11589.html

specialist-bicycle-shop-in-udon-t8248.html

Thanks Arjay, very useful.
Yes I'm average, in height that is (1.81m), so I should care about the height of the bike.

Quote: and you don't want to worry that it might get stolen if left outside the local shop or bar!!
This made me smile. Firstly there is no bar in the whole Tambon (13 villages) and the places where I go have people who know me and will watch that nothing happens to my bike. If one tries it must be a "visitor" as all local people know me and I have a good relationship with them. The good village life!

Joe

RLT if FDMike will not react I will send a pm, thanks.

I have a half-decent bike, cost me $600, but to be honest you have to spend that much on something reasonable. My bike has 18 gears but I would use perhaps 5 of them, maybe 7 at the maximum.

It depends on what you want to do. If you want to ride around at 30kph, you need the 'racer' type bike with thin wheels and tyres=less resistance=go faster. However, if you have to cope with anything other than sealed roads you are looking at going AOT and ruining your bike. With the type of terrain you are talking about you need what I have, which is effectively a cheap mountain bike. I say cheap because there is a warning on it, despite its sturdy construction, not to use it for off-roading. It is BTW a 'Giant' bike, Giant being the name of the American company which is apparently quite good.

So you need chunky tyres and good wheels. My mistake was not paying out the extra for 'suspension' for the front forks and back/saddle, because even on so-called flat ground, the pounding can get to you, especially if you are overweight, and certainally going over rough ground you will know, as will your arse.

Yep, you can pay 100 bucks for a 'mountain bike' in your local store, but it will probably be the death of you if you are going to do anything semi-serious in the way of riding, and if you go on rough ground. This is the newest version of my bike, note this one has front suspension and disc brakes: http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-au/bik ... 181/31861/

I would thoroughly recommend something like this, but get some mudguards and a carrier at the back.

Joe,
I was the same a year or so ago, wanted to get a bit fitter so I bought a couple of LA bikes (http://www.la-bicycle.com), one for me one for her in the kitchen. We live outside Kutchap where we don't need to go far to get into the hills, mostly paved roads but the same red earth along the canals. We also go off road in the hills through the forest and through the rubber plantations. Bikes are fine for both.
My bike is 26inch (where they measure from and to I have no idea) I'm 1.80 m tall and it's fine and easy to ride, both bikes are 21 gear mountain bikes, at the time of buying it was 21 gears or 6, all the shop had for the price I was willing to pay, I guess I use about 10 of them now, started off using 2 or 3. Both are alloy framed with decent brakes, I would have liked the disc brakes and rear suspension but too expensive. My bike was 4,000 bht hers 3,500.
Never knew riding a bike could be such fun. Until now the last time I was on a bike I was riding to school in the rain, hail and snow.
Hope this helps

Assuming you're going to buy your bike in Udon, I suggest checking the following locations to size up a bike to your liking:
The LA bike shop on the corner of Adunyadet and Wattananuwong (grid O-10), the bike shop on the corner of the 5-way intersection of Adunyadet and Prajak (N-12) and the bike shop that's on the same side of the road as Makro (as you're heading from AEK to Makro). It's down a side soi....don't know the name, but there are signs on the main road.
If you're riding on semi-rough terrain, you'll definitely want a mountain bike. Be sure you're comfortable with the size. I paid 13,500 for an aluminum frame, shimano 27 gear....5 years ago. Extremely well-built. You can go way cheaper and way way more expensive, depending on your likes.

parrot wrote:Assuming you're going to buy your bike in Udon, I suggest checking the following location .... the bike shop on the corner of the 5-way intersection of Adunyadet and Prajak (N-12)

A little bit of editing

I bought mine from here a couple of years ago .... " Cycle Bay " made in the UK, 21 speed. alloy frame, all Shimano gears and brakes and front suspension ... Great value bike at ฿5600

Last year bought little'un a steel framed version ( can't remember where it was made except it wasn't China!! ) ... Shimano gears etc.etc. at ฿4200

Very good after service, I was offered free servicing for 1yr on both bikes

I bought mine at LA bikes a couple years ago. 26in, 6 speed. It is my transportation while my bride is at work and I ride it all over Udon. It has knobby tires so, I guess you can call it an off-road bike. I am the same, a novice so, I wasn't looking for anything fancy. It gets me up and down the small grades around town without me huffin n puffin too much. I paid 4700 baht, including a skid-lid.

Don't forget a crash helmet.

you could always buy A samlor,and ride your friends around."lol"

Since a few months ago I am a recent convert to recreational Cycling and I admit now firmly addicted, myself and my young and sprightly mates do around 40 kms every 2nd day, sometimes up to 80 kms. I believe we have covered every track and road within a 30 kms radius of Udon.
I use an old Peugeot sports bike gifted to me, but intend to buy a flat bar road bike from LA in the near future.
Good off road tracks are getting harder to find around here, so more and more on paved sections, I prefer the riding position of a 28 inch tall frame road bike, mountain bikes seem to be too small to accommodate my frame, petite as it is.
I always wear a helmet, following the death of an associate a couple of yrs ago, on the Sakorn rd.
Helmets aren't uncomfortable and add to my sense of security.
Taking into account the number of bike shops there are here I see little evidence of Thai's riding in any numbers, so where do all the bikes go to ?

This is probably not relevant to the type of bicycle you would need .out in the ''sticks'',but I live in NK and because it is so easy ,to get around on a bicycle,I started riding one almost 7 years ago at 65,something I had not done for 50 years!

I ride 3-5 times a day and casual riding is great for using the muscles and joints regularly and gives me plenty of opportunity to lok about and take notice of things that I am unable to pay attention to while driving a motorized vehicle!

I prefer ''a girls bike'',as it is easy to get on and off and I have used several LA brand models that I would not recommend to anyone.I am presently using a Raleigh thin wheel that I purchased used and It has been the best so far!

I am also concerned about my weight,but find that unless I ride some distance at ''fast speed''(I am not using a multi gear speed bike),I am not exercising enough for weight loss!

It is important,to me, to ride in a relative safe environment,especially where traffic is concerned!I would never ride a bicycle in large city traffic like Udon ,Korat ,Bangkok etc.,Nong Khai is great!

Something that Stan said to me previously on another "Bicycle" thread, which I have found to have significant merit/validity:- I have found that I do prefer a bicycle which has more of a sit up straight riding position. I find that the riding position of mountain and specialist sports bikes have me looking at the ground too much (thus I can't see what's going on around me so well), and also they tend to cause my hands & wrists to ache after a while, presumably from my weight falling forward to my hands/handlebars.

Thus my comment previously about not getting anything too specialised unless you are very sure/clear about what you want, and particularly if it's mainly for road or track riding. Just a personal observation and thought.

You might check out Mainer's LA bike he's selling, along with a few remaining household goods.

You can PM Mainer or check out the Ads here on UdonMap.

Looks like a good bike at a good cost, though not sure if it'll meet your needs.

Believe he's knocked it down to about THB4500 now...heard through the grapevine. But get there fast, as he's heading back to Maine end of next week.

OK, off my butt (& broken chair); here's the ad: buysell/single_ad.php?ad_id=538

And yes, I'm getting 60% commission!