The Switch to Dyna Sys

After more than 2 years, it was time for my old groupset to go and I made the switch to a Deore XT 10-speed Dyna Sys set which I got for a steal off Togoparts. It coincided with the Nusa Iskandar race and to avoid any potential teething problems, I put off installation till weeks after the ultimate painful experience.

Today, I finally put the groupset to test on the trails and I was quite surprised by the crisp shifting (an improvement over the 9-speed groupsets, due to the closer spaced cogs as well as chain rings up front). Also, the smaller differences between gear ratios allowed me to engage more appropriate gears in the corners but any justifiable improvements can only be quantified with time trial.

Coupled with the ZTR Crest wheels (Relic Prop hubs) which I acquired brand new a couple of months back, I thought the bike performed pretty well in terms of control. The worn tires were obviously a let-down but without factoring that aspect into the evaluation, I was really enjoying the ride and pushing my equipment to their limits.

Of course, there are downsides to every thing in life, and I immediately noticed the drivetrain imposed “speed limit” while cycling on the roads. A 44t chain ring had always provided me the capacity to reach higher speeds (which I do max out on many occasions anyway) and I suddenly found the 42t ring restrictive. True, it eased the “load” off my cadence but I was less enthusiastic to trade road speed with an easier cadence.

I learnt a lot on today’s ride to Bukit Timah and beyond. Bukit Timah has become almost a second home  - every nook and cranny is firmly etched in my memory. But I really enjoyed the company of others in group rides. Never mind the pace, it’s the “fun factor” that keeps my passion for the trails burning. I was quite excited to be able to clear the four flights of stairs (upwards, of course) at a certain section of Track 15 and repeated my first attempt to be sure. But my strength in producing sufficient torque to move the bike up the stairs failed me on my final two attempts. I felt breathless!

After such a long long time...

Team NTU on the way to Melaka...240km on 26 December 2011.

Burn, Burn, Burnt!

I was looking forward to getting away from the stress of school and what better way to start the recess week with a 180km ride through eastern Johor. Like the numerous trips I have done to Sungei Rengit via JB and Desaru, I expected to be home mid-afternoon. With two other pretty seasoned riders on this ride, what could possibly go wrong?

We met up at 4.30am but it was past 5am when we set off. Getting across the border by 5.30am, we set off for Kota Tinggi in the semi-darkness. We pulled into town at a pretty good pace, more than ready for breakfast, but not before Matthew's front tire ran a flat - nothing too surprising.

Kah Kiong preferred prata hence we visited my "favourite" coffee-shop, "favourite" defined as my most frequented prata haunt in the area, given my very limited knowledge. We spent a pretty long time there chilling and getting our feet to continue our journey proved difficult.

The sun was midway up as we pushed on to Bandar Penawar. The rolling hills appeared more daunting as our fatigue increased and I willed myself to push on, employing the most efficient climbing techniques in my arsenal to get the most out of my mountain bike.

This time round, I had pumped up the pressure of my rear RP2 to 200psi and left the rear link active (lock-out off). It was also my first long ride overseas with a fully active rear suspension and I was pretty apprehensive of the energy I would waste through pedal bob. Interestingly, at certain smooth cadences, pedal feedback was a minimum and from the ache in my butt, the bike was definitely feeling more like a hard-tail. However, beyond a certain cadence, the bike tended to bob more at high speed. I couldn't feel the power transmission from my legs to the drivetrain - something so typical in full suspension models.

In short, without the presence of a lock-out, the energy forfeited through pedal feedback still proved the biggest limitation to using a full suspension mountain bike for long road rides.

The sight of the all-too-familiar Petronas at Bandar Penawar was a welcome relief and we took the opportunity to inject ourselves with the fuel for cyclists - isotonic drinks. There were a few cyclists from Singapore and we had a friendly chat, especially with one of them who was acting as a safety vehicle for his convoy. We would run into him at the Desaru roundabout later. We decided to take the longer but more scenic and flatter route to Sungei Rengit via Batu Layar. it was a great route with few vehicles but this time round, the headwind was incredibly strong. Coupled with the intense heat from the afternoon sun, I think our pedalling efficiency decreased terribly.

The going got real tough after our scenic detour into the Batu Layar beach and village. Back on the main road, our progress was severely hampered by headwind and we were down to about 15km/h. I also lost sight of Kah Kiong and Matthew on my tail as they made several stops. It was past 1pm and I was feeling terribly hungry and weak. My fingers were trembling.

We finally reached Sungei Rengit at 2pm and lunch was the only thing I needed to keep me alive. We spent almost an hour at the restaurant - any food tastes great when you are on the brink of losing it - before heading for the jetty at a decent pace. In fact, we reached Tanjung Pengelih before 4pm but were told there were no more boats to Changi. Amazing. We were told to book a boat (RM110) or take the ferry (RM35 per pax one way excluding the cost of shipping the bikes). A group of Singaporeans had booked a boat but there wasn't sufficient space for us. Eventually, a boat "happened" to deposit passengers at Tanjung Pengelih and was returning home. We hopped on. The bumboat operator tried to get more from us but we couldn't pay him more than the exact cost (with all our S$ pooled together!). I wonder if it's a ploy the operators use to get their passengers to cough out more cash.

Back on familiar ground, we had a snack at the Changi Village hawker centre before heading home. Dusk fell swiftly and the batteries in my front lamp failed on me. We reached home much later than I had expected; nonetheless, it was another great ride to the countryside very much absent in the Singaporean landscape.

Total distance: 185km
Expenditure: RM47; S$13
Participants: LSH, Matthew, Kah Kiong

Restless Saturday Night

I couldn’t sit still and since I was pretty confident of clearing my work before the new week, I decided that a round island ride wouldn’t hurt. Dad was in serious need of some cycling anyway. We ended the 5.5hr ride at the Jalan Kayu branch of Selegie Beancurd.

Total distance: 95.7km
Expenditure: $4.60
Participants: LSH, Dad

NTU Sunday Leisure: The Prata Place

Today marks my 4th straight day of cycling and I think I shall take a break tomorrow. Out of the four rides, three were to NTU. We did Track 15 yesterday though and it was a very muddy but fairly short ride. Washing down the bike was a real chore but what made matters worse was the colony of ants that took my bike as their new home.

Bro found the trail of ants in the wee hours yesterday and by the time I cleaned up the living room, I was running pretty late for the off-road ride. And I had to forget Desmond’s shirt – in the end, I returned to grab the shirt. I guess the colony of ants got a nasty wake-up call when we went off-road and they were crawling all over my bike. I had to fumigate the frame =(

We had quite a bit of fun on our way to school this morning, though by the time we reached school, I was feeling a bit spent. Nonetheless, it was great training and a good social ride to The Prata Place.

Total distance: 63.8km (Sun); 28km (Sat); 58km (Fri); 57km (Thu)
Expenditure: $3
Participants: LSH, Kah Kiong, Jeffrey, Scott, Steven

NTU Sunday Leisure: Mount Faber

Yuva had the honour of sporting our very first jersey!

After our lung-busting ride to NTU, I was pretty much famished and lasted just a lap of Mount Faber. Gunung Pulai was taking its toll on my legs. Food was a welcome consolation =)

Total distance: 80.6km
Expenditure: $4
Participants: LSH, Kah Kiong, Jeffrey Ngiam, NTU Cycling

Pain Up Gunung Pulai

So here we go again – to challenge our limits up the mountain closest to home geographically. Still, it was a good 70km away, between Pekan Nanas and Kulai. We set off in the wee hours – I met Kah Kiong and Jan at Marsiling – and we linked up with William in JB.

Breakfast was a welcome relief when we pulled into Pekan Nanas. I had my “usual” wanton noodles =) We took the opportunity to visit the bike shop where William bought a pair of tights and I stood around admiring the array of bikes sold. Not the greatest range usually available at the major retailers but still enough to keep me happy.

Pretty soon we were at the foot of Gunung Pulai and I couldn’t help wondering how my third ascent would go. Previously, I managed to keep my gear range within the middle chain ring but I had to take more breaks at the flatter sections.

The hikers we met along the way were very friendly and it was a pleasure to meet a group of mountain bikers on their way down. We had a short chat before continuing on our agonizing climb. This time round, I took fewer pit-stops and the gradient was becoming to steep for me to pedal in the middle chain ring. My muscles were protesting and I was almost out of breath. Somehow my mental strength couldn’t bring me to the next flat section and I had to drop my gears to the smallest chain ring.

Despite some prior experiences climbing other mountains, I still found Gunung Pulai a challenge. In fact, every climb anywhere is a challenge. Even in NTU, I find myself out of breath and desperately trying to control my breathing.

We had a good mix of bikes. Jan was on his road bike, Kah Kiong on his hybrid, William on his hard-tail mountain bike and me on my full-suspension mountain bike. Comparing the gear ratios, Jan probably had the hardest time but he is a strong rider who can pull through very steep sections.

At the peak, we were so tired. I was looking forward to the ride down though – the advantage of having a full-suspension mountain bike to iron out the bumps and potholes!

We took more than an hour to get up Gunung Pulai but we were down in five minutes. Some of the hairpin curves were simply amazing. Pretty dangerous in wet weather though.

Jan and William left for their homes in JB while Kah Kiong and I pedaled further to Kulai where we raided the Tesco for their RM1 nasi lemak. Thereafter, we rode straight home, only stopping just before the CIQ to catch our breath. At the pace we were “speeding” home and the intense heat of the afternoon bearing down on us, I was amazed that we survived!

Total distance: 132km
Expenditure: RM7.50
Participants: LSH, Kah Kiong, Jan, William