Sweet - can you still play it, can we buy mandolins here, and do you teach?

Nah, Aussies are too vulgar to be able to parse a sentence in which 'lute' is the principal sexual focus.

Mind you, Bernadette/clarinet seems the best that the US had done recently.

And back on track;-)
Anyone have experience of this model
Giant Snap



Couldn't find much online apart from a YouTube review in Russian

And here's the spec sheet

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-in/bik ... ifications

The drivetrain is shimano tourney, so you won't be blasting through traffic and coping with the stop go of rush hour too comfortably. Do you intend to ride like a courier or high school teenage girl? If you are a cyclist, I think you'd regret not dropping a bit more cash on a sturdier bike. That said, I've never seen a Snap. I used to own a Revel, but that's a bit more than you want to spend.

I bought a second hand, 2014 Giant Revel. Relatively light and drivetrain is so so. I'm used to riding a 5k giant being a prior roadie and all so this was hard for me. Now, I love it and it only set me back $220. I bought it at a place near Ouressey Market in a street parallel to Monivong. Let me know if you want more specifics.

I'm using a hire bike at the moment, standard jap commuter bike with broken gear change so stuck in one gear but i'm jumping up on pavements at traffic lights, going wrong way down the street, and can beat most things away from the lights if i put my mind to it. So not flat out crazy courier speeds more don't stop, take the straight line between a-b. And of course have lots of fun overtaking motorbikes and big expensive SUV's in traffic. I could get a better quality bike second-hand but i'm always concerned about how much use & abuse it's had. Friend of mine bought a mid-high spec specialized from a fellow courier, he was really happy for a few weeks until the frame cracked! I haven't been cycling regularly for years so even something an enthusiast might look down their nose at would probably be fine for me. The best thing would be to have a good test ride of some bikes at the Giant shop, if it feels fine after 20 mins it's probably ok, i guess a passport or cash would keep them happy.

@Jacobincambodia
Sok Hok St yeah? i had a quick look the other day, saw a few ratty $100-150 MTB's but definitely worth checking it out on a regular basis

Bottom line is i want a basic/decent MTB for commuting (which is obviously highly subjective) anything too fancy would be lost on me as it'll probably never leave the urban environment
There's no mad rush i'm having fun on the crappy commuter bike

I took it for a test spin. I'm pretty sure I got lucky. It was in the back and I had to deal a bit. I looked everything over real good! A good thing about buying a Giant here is that there are two giant shops in town so they will take care of you.

In my yooth i was quite happy stripping bikes down so if i put my mind to it ( google what to check second-hand bikes ) that and a test drive will tell you if drive chain, bearings are fooked, frame bent etc. Last time i was cycling suspension was a really exotic oddity. So good chance just the basic build quality improvements in the last 10-15 years will impress me

I'm kinda curious if suspension is a plus or not. While it might be more comfortable, I'm not convinced it would hold up to the rough dirt roads I'd be on some of the time.

Mr Curious wrote:I'm kinda curious if suspension is a plus or not. While it might be more comfortable, I'm not convinced it would hold up to the rough dirt roads I'd be on some of the time.

Depends on the quality of the bike something like this Giant Trance would be pretty bomb proof (edit just swapped bike pic to something available here)



Gives you an idea of the type of punishment a decent bike can take! (warning tasteless music )

Nice vid
Don't think i'll be doing those sorts of acrobatics in PP! Though would be good to have ramps to jump like that over major traffic junctions. At $4K i'd expect superb components and build quality from the Giant Trance. I'm still undecided about what to get, sensible bit of brain says cheap disposable $40 jap commuter, impulsive narcissistic bit says brand new shiny $2-300 MTB