Our new address is http://getsetsports.wordpress.com/

Content moving is underprogress and will take apporximately 3-4 days…

So till then, stay tuned!!!

Our very 1st offering!!

VERY limited edition T-shirt.

Color: White/Black and Black/White

Motiff: cyclist

To order, please email us at bernard@getset.sg or chris@getset.sg or leave your details in the comments column

Note: ALL SOLD OUT

So here I was bringing my bike and frame (picture cycling on 1 bike, with the frame <handlebars n forks all attached> slung across my back. Wasn’t pretty…) to Soon Seng to swap the parts over. And horror of all horrors, the mechanic told me that my front derailleur bracket that was attached to the carbon frame was a braze-on version, while the 0ne coming off my Merida was a clamp on version. So it can’t be done without me getting a new braze on front Derailleur, and he didn’t have any. So I had to cycle home (again, not pretty) thoroughly defeated and disheartened by the experience… Was super damn sad, but my never-say-die attitude kicked in..

This time, I decided to send my bike into another bike shop… Rodalink in the east. Rodalink is the distributor of Shimano parts… so I figured that if they didn’t have the ability to get the part, who did? So happily (this time I used my car and bike rack) I drove down to Rodalink to get a 2nd opinion…

Basically, the 2nd opinion was the same as the 1st. Cept that these guys could actually order the part in… which could take anything from a week to 3 months. On its own, a braze-on derailleur doesn’t seem hard to find, but I needed a braze-on derailleur for a TRIPLE crankset. Now, THAT is hard to get… By this time, I had almost given up hope and so just agreed to leave my frame (Got confirmation from the Rodalink mechanic who was V experienced in frame from the 90s that my carbon frame’s actually a Trek carbon from ’95… woohoo…) at the shop and wait for the parts.

So now I’m going to play the waiting game and wait for the part to come in while cycling on my heavy assed Merida bike for now…. Its the *grumble* engine that counts anyway…*grumble grumble*

*New update: I’m gonna call up all the major shops in Singapore to check for the part. Finger’s crossed for the part 4!!! Hopefully I can wrap this one up by then!!

*Anyone out there with a kind heart and a good soul that has a Braze-on Front Derailleur for a Triple Crankset to donate?? Please?? Leave your contact details in the comments section if you have anything at all…

This is looking to be quite an epic topic…

Your wide eyed cyclist again here. As you know would know from reading Carbonize my Ride!!! that I’ve started a project to basically, well, carbonize my ride. I’m essentially putting my previously damaged (by CY) carbon Trek frame on my Merida bike. Then again, maybe it’s considered transferring my Merida’s components over to my carbon frame. Either way,  I’ll end up with a sweet assed carbon bike, and a Merida alu frame with carbon forks to sell!!

Got a couple of things done to my bikes since the last post. Most notably, I’ve managed to straighten the bent dropout (considered impossible by a reputable bike shop in the Jurong area. God knows why…) AND I’ve fused the crack with an aluminium weld. Nice workmanship on the dropout by my welder I must say, considering the proximity of the crack to the derailleur mounting threads. Total job cost me coffee $$ of 10 bucks. Good deal considering that some mechanic told me that it was impossible to bend the dropout and save the frame. Here are some pics of the finished job.

I must admit that it’s not exactly elegant, but it serves its purpose, while preserving your piggy bank, and seriously, who actually looks behind and under your rear derailleur? (If you want the contact of the aluminium worker/company, drop me a comment/message with your contact info)

So now that the carbon frame has been fixed, I’ve gone shopping at bike shops for the cost of transferring components and parts from 1 bike to another. So here’s a mini report on prices in the Katong region and slightly beyond…

• JOFI (Roxy square) $60 for swap. $40 for tune up with new cables.
• Hong Soon Seng (Joo Chiat Rd) $60 for swap and tune up. $32 for 4 new cables.
• Rodalink (East side) $55 for swap and tune up. $32+ for 4 new cables.
• T3 (Siglap rd) $80 for swap and tune up.

Looks like I’ll be sending the bike in to a bike shop soon enough, so stay tuned for the before/after pictures!!

This merida that I’m going to upgrade is actually my 3rd bike. The 1st being a monstrous 16kg road/cyclocross (it even had disc brakes) bike I bought new for about SGD240 on eBay during my days in australia.

My 1st Ride. Heavy!!!

Needless to say, I suffered alot while cutting my teeth on this one. Its colossal 16kgs in weight was actually the least of its problems. The disc brakes on this ones were the cheap non-hydraulic types (which carry their own set of problems) and never stayed true… Even with continual adjustments, I was constantly grinding my brakes while pedaling.  Love-HATE relationship with this 1st one (I think everyone loves their 1st bike the most… something like all your 1st gfs/bfs.. I just hated this one the most as well). Needless to say, I wanted a new one, fast… so I started on my 2nd bike after just half a year.

My 2nd bike I made from scratch. I bought the parts individually online (yeah, I STILL have not learnt my lesson about online bikes). Decided to up the ante on this one as I would work on it as a project over a planned 3 months, which allowed me a better budget. Put together Mavic Aksiums  (new), full Ultegra grouppo (2nd hand), Trek madone frame (2nd hand 90s model, full carbon, took 3 months to arrive from Europe. 3 months.), Look carbon fork (2nd hand), Selle SMP saddle (new and oh-so-comfortable). Spent SGD 1300 for this one. Worth every penny spent. Just riding it over my 1st bike allowed me to pull for the whole ride at a faster than usual speed instead of constantly being pulled by my cycle buddies in Australia. Sweet ride. Fell in love with this one and dumped the previous bike… It was painful, but the relationship had to end…

Now, my 3rd bike, the one I’m currently looking to upgrade. Got it because I was trying to get my woman (CY) interested in road cycling. Obviously, I needed an extra bike to ride with her so I passed my 2nd (read: most beloved built-from-scratch full carbon bike) to her as she was just about as tall as me, and the bike would fit her somewhat well. So I bought the Merida from a cycling buddy who was converting back to MTBs (why would anyone even do that? :P ) after coming back to Singapore. Merida S3 entry level alu. Tiagra grouppo, upgraded with carbon fork. Got it at 300 bucks which was a steal considering that the bike was only about 1 year old, and hadn’t done many miles.

Now, why the upgrade? Cause CY crashed during a group ride when the newbie in front of her jammed his brakes with her riding 2 inches behind him. She escaped with only minor bruises, which I’m truly thankful for, but the dropout on the carbon trek got bent… Sent it to the bike shop, and was told that there was also a hairline fracture and that they’d be nervous about bending the dropout straight again… Personally, I’m okay with riding with a restraightened dropout with a hairline fracture (esp since this particular frame was my carbon frame that I waited 3 months for and fell in love with after…), but I wouldn’t let her do it as she was much less of a “bike whisperer”… So she bought herself a new carbon Wilier Montirolo (which is another story in itself) at a discount from the same bike shop that was nervous about straightening the dropouts (hmm….). So now I have a slightly defective carbon frame and fork sitting around my house. While the idea of riding with a dropout that has a hairline fracture may border on downright dangerous, I think I have found a way round it. I’ll get the fracture welded shut. I’ve been riding it with a hairline fracture for the longest of time with no problems in australia anyway, and while the recent crash may have excerbated (it grew SLIGHTY longer I think), I think its pretty safe to say that the dropout won’t fall apart. To further ensure this, I’m going to get the fracture welded shut (I know an aluminum worker). What do you think? Maybe you think I’m crazy, but I can’t bear to throw my carbon frame that’s otherwise perfect away… So I think I’m gonna do it!!

I’ll be updating you on my progress with before-during-after pictures and periodic updates… So stay tuned!!!