XDS four 91 Touring Bike

Daryl with his new Touring Bike!

Frame: XDS 50cm Hydroformed Alloy

Suspension: Sr Suntour Neon 100mm with lockout

Gearset: Shimano Alivio 24spd, integrated shifter

Crank: 48-36-22T SR Suntour Isoflow crank with sealed catridge bearing

Wheel: Weinmann 700c rim, Shimano Alloy hub, Kenda 700x38c Tires

Brakes: V brake

Accesories: Front & back mudguards, Alloy front & rear luggage rack

Great frame, heavy and durable. Very affordable for a tour bike under 1K!

Touring Bike Setup

Cycle of Violence

Batu Dam -> Sg Tua -> Ulu Yam Lama

3 Dec, Saturday - Another wonderful morning to go a distance. Joined by uncle Meng ( known for his recumbent touring across europe http://bentonthealps.blogspot.com/ ), Rivern, John, Rachel, DC Ong, Chong, Vic, Eric and Daryl.

From the left: Uncle Meng, Rivern, John, Rachel, DC Ong, Chong, Vic, Eric & Daryl

Uncle Meng looks relaxing on a recumbent

Sungai Sendat waterfall, Batu Dam

1st rest stop from the carpark before the big 2km steep climb to the top.

14km to Ulu Yam, 174km to Ipoh

2nd stop after the steep climb. After this, a long way down...

Reached Ulu Yam Bharu

After 23km, reached Ulu Yam Lama - Loh Mee restaurant

Fried fish cake, chili cockles and fried chee cheong fun

Loh Mee

Fried meehoon with stew pork

Thick noodle soup

Finally Rambutan fruit to recharge for the uphill climb

Time to go back where we came from...

Cycling under the scorching a hot sun

The never ending uphill climb...

Resting at the half way of a long steep stretch under the hot sun

Made it to the top, a really tough climb

From here all the way descending...

Rejoiced with Eric, where he had a cramp earlier while climbing uphill

Followed by uncle Meng

John made it

Rachel made it back

Rivern with some rambutan in his pannier from Ulu Yam Lama

Finally, Chong and DC cruising down

Overall, it was a tough ride with long winding steep uphill and fast descending speed. Beware for cars and heavy vehicles traveling downhill on the narrow stretch of road. In total distance, we have covered 46km.

More photos

Knowing your bicycle parts

Found: A Built-In Bike… In A Bathroom

Invitation to Tern Tea Party

Nothing to do this weekend; Check out the Tern Bicycle Launch at Rodalink Bandar Botanic tis Sat ( 3 - 5pm )

DIY camera mount on bike

Use a tripod top mount, screws and bicycle reflector mount

DIY on board camera, can be mount to digital camera or video camera

MTB at Putrajaya Challenge Park

Finally, the time has come for me (victor) to do some trail on my HASA Race 9.0 MTB with my buddy Kaz on his Specialized Stumpjumper. As a beginner on doing the trail, Kaz brief me on what to expect and techniques of handling with some trails. Eg. lean forward when uphill, smallest front crank and keep the cycling momentum... as for downhill, push yourself backward and control the brakes...

Reach the first trail, and wow..... the slope is higher then it look from the photo. Took a few moment and off we go...

1st stop. It was just a mere 5 minutes trail from the slope and here we are, panting... (in between i lost my momentum and have to push my bike at certain upward terrain with sharp corners) imagine doing hiking while pushing a bike!!!

came out from the trail (left side), go across the bridge and more uphill climb...

Finally reach at the highest peak.

Next challenge, downhill...

Completed the intermediate trail... and now going for the red label...

up ahead, a winding downhill trail... from here there is no stopping (approx 2 minutes downhill) till the end of the trail...

End of the trail... completed 18km trails within 2hrs. "Not bad for first timer, man... and made it without a fall", said Kaz.

Well, it take lots of guts and nerves of steel to tackle those downhills.....

Verdict: It's fun and challenging. Will definitely do it again.