First new bike in 19 years, getting into cycling
 

Hi, I just wanted to make a thread and introduce myself as I hope to be lurking/posting in these forums in the future. I haven't had a new bike since my parents bought me a mountain bike for Christmas when I was in grade 8. Now I'm 32 and find myself living in Seoul, Korea. A friend got me interested in the idea of buying a new bike to blast around the city and river in (and also burn off some of the excessive alcohol calories from weekend drinking). I decided a hybrid was a good choice to start since the city streets here are a mixed bag... The problem, imported bikes are insanely expensive in Korea. After a little research I found there's a ton of Korean brands in the $120-$250 range online that are cheap out specials... (no name gears, brakes, plastic pedals etc..). Then the bike shops tend to carry Korean bikes for $300-500 that have decent components and AS/warranty service available. Then you can go well north of that for something imported and name brand. As this why my first bike and I was sure once I got into it, I would probably want something else (and not really knowing what I wanted or needed) I opted for a Korean bike that cost around $330 Canadian since I can probably flip it for $200 or so down the line and use that towards the bike I determined I want. The shop I bought it from makes and services this brand, so it's quite small. I'm not too sure about the specifics, but the gears are all Shimano and SRAM with Tektro brakes. The guy showed me a Giant bicycle he had for 3x the price that was fitted with almost identical components. I got front and rear LED lights, bottle holder, lock, bell and a cool wallet/smartphone mount for my Galaxy Note that sits on my handle bars thrown in with the purchase... the smartphone wallet/mount is quite awesome I must say. I'm not sure if my bike is a huge ripoff by North American standards or par for the course given what I paid. Either way I've put about 500km on it in 2 weeks and have zero issues. It seems to fit well and can absolutely fly when I want to.. it's also bizarrely quiet, maybe I just don't hear my own bike but it seems like everyone else's geared bike is playing a small symphony of noises whenever they roll past.

Anyway below is a link to my weekend ride throughout Seoul. This is the kind of ride I hope to make a regular thing. Maybe 3-4x a week. I'm living next to Gangnam station which is like being in the heart of the urban jungle, I'm adjusting to the intense and utterly erratic traffic as I make my way out to the paths :)

I hope to learn from you guys. I've already ordered new grips, some Giant Connect Ergo Max Plus lock-on grips which should arrive tomorrow, looking forward to getting them on this thing.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=316545

http://www.sports-tracker.com/#/work...ge1udg70urrk6l

Don't try to ride it Gangnam Style.

It really looks like a nice bike, and well worth the money. What does it have for rear cogs? Is there a link to it anywhere?

could you take a picture of the smartphone holder? I'm looking for something similar on ebay and I'm not sure which one to get..

thanks!

welcome to the club! I'm a fan of city riding, but you are a BRAVE BRAVE man to ride through Seoul. When I lived there in 2000 I was amazed at how insane the drivers were as I walked around downtown. Seemed like a racetrack everywhere I looked! :lol:

Thanks for your kind words, I feel better about the purchase :) I'm not entirely sure how to describe the rear cogs as I'm a noob... here's a picture if it helps.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=316761

As for link, there's no spec list but the website has some info about it in Korea.
http://misobike.co.kr/
At the top under product you can click the link to 3rd generation ('13 models) and it will be there, probably useless though lol.

Sure, you can still use the phone through the plastic cover which is awesome. I can fire off text messages using Swift Key's version of swype with one finger no problem. It even doubles as a wallet and clips off easily which is huge for me since I hate carrying a bag. I also found that by mounting it backwards I can use my phone as a camera, one that's just a mount without the enclosed casing would be much better for that as the sound will be clearer, but then it won't be water proof which is no good IMO. In Korea there's tons of different smartphone mounts to choose from. Having a GPS and instant ride stats on board, as well as easy access to the music selection is a big plus.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=316763

lol then nothing has changed. I try to stick to the bike paths whenever possible, but people in Seoul are just clueless or inconsiderate. People PREFER to walk in marked bike paths instead of the sidewalk here, probably cause it's wider and has a nicer surface... then they fire off dirty looks when you ring your bell to let them know you're coming. I've also had idiots dart across the bike paths on the Han River numerous times without even looking.

Yesterday I went for a 5 hour spin at night and today I couldn't use my fingers at all... they're just super weak. Couldn't even open up a ketchup packet. I probably had a death grip for too long (I'm careful about my posture and to keep my elbows bent and have a natural wrist angle at the handle bars, but this was twice as long as I've ever biked before)... beginner mistake I guess. From what I read this could take over a week to recover from? Sucks... it also made changing my new grips super painful and difficult, but I couldn't resist... they look nice, but gonna have to wait till my digits are functional before even thinking about riding.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=316769

Hopefully these new grips will help, it will be nice having a 3rd position to get into (second being one or no hands for a rest).

my palms get numb after about 2 hours on the bike. I need to invest in some ergo grips and bar ends to change up my grip. Right now I just ride with no hands when they get numb, which isn't the safest option.

would you say it is similar to something like this? http://www.ebay.ca/itm/New-Type-Bicy...ht_3607wt_1397

I like your plastic cover in that it is directly on the handle bar so I won't have to tilt my head down as much to read the screen.

I'm not sure they're that similar, mine attaches to the handle bars which means I barely have to look down to see it, the one you posted seems to be much lower and would be more awkward to use while riding I would think. Still at $4.99 it might be worth trying, no big loss if you don't like it.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Bike-Smartpho...ht_2074wt_1110

This is more similar to mine but I think you'd have to run your headphones out of the top which might be annoying. Also this one is for smaller phones which may or may not be what you need. You could probably stash your ID, bank card and some bills in behind the phone. I like how mine has proper wallet compartments. I noticed most of the ones similar to mine on ebay are from South Korea (which has a 90%+ smartphone adoption rate) which means you will get killed on shipping costs :(

If I were you I'd buy the $5 one and see how it works out.

8 spd, triple, deep wheels, looks nice.............. I think you got a lot of bike for the money!