YBike and Strider - Impressions

My boy received a Ybike for his second birthday, and my nephew has a Strider, so I had this opportunity to make some comparisons.

The Ybike

 

The first thing about the Ybike is that it is a fixed design - there will be no adjustments made on this bike, whether it's the handles or the seat.

The child also sits quite low and there is some distance from the seat to the handles. A smaller child will need to reach forward quite a bit.

The bike is also rather wide, which you will see in subsequent photos. During initial rides, my son's heel will often clip the plastic frame, but he has automatically adjusted his movement to counter for that.

You can see the width of the bike in this photo, and how my son adopts a wider stance. You can also see my wife who is 36 weeks pregnant and rocking the LCSG shirt.

Back to business: In only three proper rides (meaning, in the park or playground, where there is some space), he has progressed tremendously and shows development of confidence and balance.

In terms of sizing, i feel that this bike is suitable for children who are at least 0.8 m tall. Here you see my nephew who is around that height. My boy is approaching 0.9m.

 The Strider

From the photo above, you can probably tell that the Strider is designed more like a regular bike. The key differences between the Strider and the Ybike would be the frame geometry, wheels and adjustable seatpost.

In this respect, I feel that it will be easier for a child to start out on the Ybike due to the broader wheels. However, the design of the Strider also lends itself to familiarising the child with the feel of a 'regular' bike.

I found my boy transferring his 'skills' to the Strider with no problem, as you can see here, happily going down a slope.

 
In conclusion, I feel that either bike will help your child to develop his / her sense of balance. It is up to you to provide the situation for that to happen: practice makes perfect. Overall, I feel that the Strider will be a better investment due to its adjustability, and its form which is much closer to a regular bike.

My 4 yr old nephew - downslope

A friendly race

Video Rig Test

Testing my video rig. Cut short due to impending rain, but more to come, with details.

Meantime, enjoy!

Childhood Neighbourhood - Photo Essay

The weather was fantastic today so I got on the Dahon to visit the neighbourhod where I grew up.

En route from Tampines central

Our first family flat. Stayed here during my Kindergarten and Primary School Days

The Econ Minimart is now a bike shop.

No more sand at the playground. After playing, we used to buy ice lollies from the makcik on the third floor.

We used to play table-tennis here, but the tables are gone. We didn't have paddles all the time, so we used anything we could, even Tat Sing slippers!

Even the Mama Shop is gone.

The NTUC is still here, but now open 24 hrs.

A pinoy store? Integrated!

The video rental store is now half its size. And can handle your laundry.

I used to walk this long stretch many times, most of the time to buy our favourite chicken rice. The stall has long disappeared.

My primary school. Looks so grand now.

No more Dragon playground, but I guess the kids can now play when it's raining.

On the way back, grabbed some chicken rice from Afghanistan, one of the oldest and most popular food joints in Tampines.

Much has changed, some remain.

LCSG Sunday Ride 30102011

This was my second ride with LovecyclingSG, and another good one! The ride was led by Boo, and the planned route was ECP - Changi Village - Monster Gun! - Changi Chapel - Tampines / Simei / ECP.

For a few of the members, it was their first anniversary ride. On a sad note, we also observed a minute's silence for fellow rider Henry who has been called to God.

Sunrise at ECP

You can check out Taiwoon's account of the ride here, and also his photoset.

For this ride, I had chosen to go on the Dahon, and what a good decision it was! This is also the first long-ish ride for the Dahon, and I wanted to put it to the test.

At Changi Boardwalk

This Dahon is an 8-speed bike, and proved to be really useful when tackling the seemingly endless Changi Coastal Road, and also the killer slope up to Old Changi Hospital. I would have suffered a lot more on my 2-speed Brompton.

The Dahon developed some worrying creaking when going up slope once we hit Changi and I couldn't really figure out where it was coming from, but definitely around the stem / front fork area. On a more positive note, after dismantling the wheels / mudguard / chains and giving it a good clean, the creaking seems to have disappeared. Will continue to monitor in the time being.

The highlight for me though, was this:

LCSG rider Israwi Eshak - photo by Woon Taiwoon

Our friend Israwi came for the ride on his handbuilt cargo bike! It is still in the works, now only single-speed, but very promising and impressive! Really looking forward to see how it develops.

If you are interested in cycling, do join the Sunday rides. As you can see, all bikes are welcome!

Family Cycling

One of the most important things about cycling is that I get to do it as a family. After trawling the Internet, I came to the conclusion that fellow local cyclist Matt Chia has found a reasonable solution. I first read it on an older post but he has an updated one you can check out here.

Fixing up is easy and quick, 5 mins max. All you need is an allen key. This is how / where you attach the clamp to the seatpost.

Then you slot in the seat rails.

My wife rides the Brompton, me and son on the Dahon.

Making bubbles in the park.

The child seat is a Bellelli which I purchased from My Bike Shop. It is rated to carry a child up to 22 kg.

First LCSG Ride

This marks my first ride with LovecyclingSG.

Even before reaching the meeting point at Vivo, I'd already made some friends at Seah Im carpark. It's quite simple really; you see someone with a bike, and give a knowing smile or nod. Turns out it was their first ride too.

Meeting point at Vivo, ready to roll.

I was warmly greeted by Taiwoon, and walked around the group, checked out the variety of bicycles and had some small chats.

After a safety brief, we went off towards Keppel Bay. It was a first for me, riding in such a big group. There were probably 40 or so cyclists, age ranging from primary school children to retirees (my estimation) and all sorts of bicycles - road, foldies, mountain, recumbent, market...

Keppel Bay

Keppel Bay

It was really interesting going to places which I would probably never experience, and to places that I haven't been to in a long, long time.

Labrador Park - photographer's finger cameo appearance

My Ride went to Hell and back, unscathed

We went from Vivo - Keppel Bay - Labrador Park - Telok Blangah (breakfast) - Hort Park (plus killer slope!) - Haw Par Villa - Vivo. Something like that.

I didn't take many pictures as I was simply focusing on enjoying the ride, but photography is definitely in the plan for future rides. Did I say future? Yes, I will definitely join this group for more rides for a variety of reasons:

Inclusivity - anyone with any type of ride is welcome. There are fast rider groups and slow rider groups. Pick yours.

Fun - the group is not too serious. There are bike experts and there are noobs like me and all sorts in between. It's ok.

Food - do I need explain?

Adventure - How much of Singapore have you seen? You cannot say there's nothing to do and nowhere to go in Singapore.

If you want to find out more about the group you can check out the forum or facebook group.

Brompton and Dahon Folded View Comparison

Brompton LH

Brompton RH

As you can see, the folded package is very neat, with minimal protruding parts. Most importantly, the chain is not exposed on either side, which I feel adds to the friendliness of this bike should you carry it in public transport. There is little risk of another commuter getting grease from the bike.

Dahon LH

Dahon RH

The fold of the Dahon is not as elegant, and you have to be mindful of the exposed chain. Another thing to note is that I found the Brompton to be more stable in its folded state than the Dahon - when in a moving vehicle such as the MRT.