Langkawi Gazette

For the Langkawi Bike Lovers

SB, 24 June 2009

Getting on a bike for fun, fitness or simply transport is still possible around Langkawi and there are several local groups of friends who regularly gather together to spend a day out cycling the lesser known parts of the Island.

You can take part !

More information about their activities and Mountain bike events can be found at their blog: http://99bikes.blogspot.com

If you are interested in taking up Cycling . . .

If you are interested in taking up cycling or want to undertake more strenuous bike adventures, a good place to look at the range of bikes, gear and equipment available is at Seng Chye Bikes (see Directory ).
                                  
The owner, Tan, a very keen cyclist, and his friends, who call themselves  “99bikes”,  go on off-road trips most weeks and welcome newcomers to join their mixed group of locals and visitors. They can advise on the best routes on the Island for a range of  abilities and even arrange for cycle tours.

A few words about the History of Biking

The bicycle was developed a couple of centuries ago and was the preferred means of transport in some countries until a recent decades. The first bikes encountered many problems and whilst there was little traffic to impede their travels; rutted roads and cobbled paths made cycling a painful pastime.

The notorious “Pennyfarthing” bike was an illustration of this with its enormous front wheel and tiny rear wheel. Difficult to mount, hard to steer, strenuous to pedal and all too easy to dismount…with a bump…this bicycle, with no suspension, solid hard rubber tires and with the most primitive of braking systems needed to be handled by a determined, dedicated and “well padded” cyclist. It was called a “boneshaker” for very good reason.

Nevertheless, from this simple and rattling beginning the bicycle slowly evolved and became more popular. 50 years ago, many young people built their own bikes from bits of old bikes. Roads were not crowded at that time making cycling fun with many informal cycling clubs taking to the highroad on days when their members were not working.

Then, the world changed. Cars and motorcycles became cheap enough for many people to be able to buy. Roads became wider, the traffic faster and very soon the cyclist was an “endangered species” often taking their life into their hands when venturing out onto crowded roads in the country or in town. Tracks and unpaved roads were too demanding for many of the bikes of the day and despite determined road bike enthusiasts, bicycling declined.
 
Until the mid 1970’s, that is, when the concept of the affordable Mountain or All Terrain Bike was born.

Within a few years the popularity of this type of bicycle revived the bike industry and many types of specialist bicycles were developed.
 
Today, bikes come in all shapes and sizes with balloon tires, 25 and more gear shifts, suspension front forks, damped rear suspension, disc brakes, double wall wheel rims and more.                      
 
There are bikes for mountain paths, bikes for smooth tarmac roads, folding bikes that fit into a suitcase that can be taken on airplanes, trikes, even a water bike that has floats.
 
“All singing and dancing” bikes you might say …well not quite… but to see an expert BMX rider in action they can certainly be acrobatic.

Generally modern bikes divide into 4 main categories;

Mountain or Rough Terrain Bikes :- sturdy, often light weight, with front fork suspension damping to save your wrists. Rear suspension or saddle damping to save your…..back!
There are several sub-categories of Mountain bike each with special design characteristics to suit their particular rough terrain use.

Road or Road Racing Bikes :- compared with the  “ugly duckling” Mountain bike, these machines are slim and elegant. Rather than being built for hurtling over rocks or squatting up to the crossbar in a muddy hole, the road bike is designed for graceful speed on billiard-table smooth tarmac roads.

The Hybrid Bike :- a mix of the two. Strong, heavier than the Road bike with less gears than the mud larking Mountain bike. Some have simple suspension but without the smooth tire of the Road bike nor the chunky wide tire of the Mountain bike which has to find grip on mud or sand or wet vegetation. Hybrid bikes have hybrid tires and can be used on surfaced trails, rough roads, even grass paths as well as on paved surfaces.

Specialized Bikes :- Track Racing bikes, BMX, Water Bikes, even Bikes with short steerable skis,  instead of wheels, for downhill fun on snow.