hanno wrote: ↑Thu Aug 02, 2018 6:03 am

explorer wrote: ↑Thu Aug 02, 2018 5:55 am

hanno wrote: ↑Thu Aug 02, 2018 5:51 am I would not trust putting my 90 kg on a $150 bike....

If something does break, repairs are very cheap.

If something breaks whilst I am hammering down a steep hill, cheap repairs would be my smallest problem.

explorer wrote: ↑Thu Aug 02, 2018 6:07 am I have never had a bicycle failure which has resulted in an accident, in many thousands of km of cycling, including many steep downhill tracks.

I am tall, and part of the challenge for me is getting a bike tall enough.

In addition to having large bones, I am fat challenged.

When I arrived in Cambodia last year I was 117 kg. I lost a little weight cycling, but when I went back to Australia, I put it back on. So I arrived back in Cambodia this year at 117 kg.

To all fat challenged people, I encourage you to make an effort to lose weight. I have also lost weight previously. If I did not make an effort to lose weight, I may be over 130kg by now. I dont have scales available, and when I come across them, they are not very accurate, but I am probably somewhere near 110 kg now.

Most of the bicycles I have owned in Australia have been bikes other people have thrown away. Mostly inexpensive mountain bikes.

In recent years, I have lived near a place with mountain trails (not really high mountains).

Where there are smooth downhill tracks, which just level out at the bottom, I often fly down them. With the steep rocky downhill downhill sections, I take it carefully.

We can all have punctures from time to time. On one day I had a flat front tire and didnt want to spend hours walking home. I took the tire and tube off the rim, and up over the handlebars, and rode home on the rim. This is noisy, and attracts too much attention, but saved hours of walking. I had spare wheels at home.

When an overweight person rides a cheap bike on rough tracks, the most common thing to break is a spoke in the back wheel. It normally takes at least 2 years before a spoke breaks. It is normally several days before a second spoke breaks. I have always been able to ride home, and replace the wheel.

I have no fear of riding a cheap mountain bike in Cambodia, even if I need to have new spokes put in the back wheel, or a new wheel, every 2 years. This is only an issue when overweight people ride on rough tracks. Others should not be concerned.

Heng Heng Heng wrote: ↑Thu Aug 02, 2018 8:53 am HENG'S FAST FACTS

Did you know that ....'

Currently Cambodia is the second largest exporter of bicycles to the European Union after Taiwan.

https://www.bike-eu.com/sales-trends/ni ... 533174519

Are any bicycles made in Cambodia actually sold in Cambodia, or are they all just for export?

explorer wrote: ↑Thu Aug 02, 2018 4:50 am In my opinion, cycling is safer than walking, in places where you have to walk on the road.

I'm actually with you on this, though it seems counter-intuitive. Seems like in congested areas you can stay in front of the traffic pretty much so only have to worry about what's in front. I hate walking when you get p"pincered"by someone coming at you and from behind. Think the first and most important rule I learnt when first cycling here was to stay left when someone was approaching me on the inside-instinct I think was to veer towards the curb.
Have had the safety of bicycle argument vs motor a few times. Maybe if I had written a motorcycle for 35 years the moto would be a beter idea but I think plenty of tourists/expats come a cropper learning to ride here.
And another advantage of a bike- the tuk-tuks generally leave you alone

Cycling is a great way of getting around PP. I cycle every day since downgrading from a moto about a year ago. PP is beautifully flat and it's almost no effort at all to glide along at a casual speed. It might be slower than a moto along a flat road with no traffic, but I can go for several kilometres where the same people overtake me along the road only for me to catch up and get ahead of them again at the next lights. In general, it's no slower than any other form of transport.

As for safety, I feel a lot safer than I did on a moto. Because you're generally going at a slower speed, both you and the other motorist have more time to react in a potential collision. I've had a few close shaves, but so far no actual contact. Can't guarantee I'd say the same had I been on a moto going at a faster speed.

As for respect from other motorists, I've cycled in many countries and PP is no different. Cyclists aren't respected anywhere. You are at the bottom of the pecking order, but as long as you're aware of this, you accept it and you're able to avoid crusades to 'educate' other road users on their lack of respect and poor driving skills, you shouldn't have a problem.

It saddens me that more people don't cycle. Not just in PP but all around the world. Cities, and just life in general, would be so much more pleasant for everyone if more people cycled.