there's a few ppl out there like me, tight on budget..

long story short i want a light road bike.. leisure riding, getting to places.

i read the other threads thorough and i have come to know that only these brands are okok and have cheap aluminium bikes.

they are Monotine, Urata, Tahara & Hasa.

ok my qn is, which of the four brands named above is more reliable, well-known, and just.... generally better??

also, if u know a good bike model from any of the brands named above please tell me too!

million thanks.

U want a road bike or mountain bike?

i will pick Hasa for mountain bike. :rolleyes: Out of the four . . . My 1st mountain bike was Hasa Comp 1.0 cost is about 100+ :towelcheer: Cheap and look good enough to get around until it got stolen :( . . . .

Urata may be cheaper look quite good(looks abit TK(Tiong Kok(China)) to mi) also about 100+ abit . . .

If u wan to spend all 400 u can consider wheeler/giant (more Branded ba). :blink:

The four brands...
Monotine, Urata, Tahara & Hasa are
all very affordable bikes for commuting.

However you are looking for a reliable light roadbike go for either
Urata CB-10 or the straightbar Monotine FR series. If you are willing
to pay more, go for the Hasa.

The Monotine FR series is the lightest but the compononts from Urata
and Hasa are of better quality, all offering seven speeds. Good buy thought
for any beginners who don't want to spend too much.

;)

I'm looking for a road bike.. so Hasa is out then...

hey wlkp, why do u say that Urata uses better quality parts? which parts?
Also i don't understand the 'speed' term. many advertisiment says 18spd or 21spd... what do they indicate?

Well Hasa has roadbike with drop bar too.

The parts I am referring to are the rear deraileurs and the shifters.
The rear deraileur is the part where your rear wheel is while the
shifter is the part on your handle bar where you use it to shift the gears.

In the CB10 Urata there are two sets of brakes while the Hasa and the
Monotine has only one set. The Urata has a better quality SIS Shimano
rear deraileur than the Monotine. The Monotine has got just a normal lower
quality Shimano rear deraileur. I do not know the model of the rear deraileur
of both bikes as it it not stated on the parts.

As for speed, the seven speed means the bike has a seven gears casssette at
the rear wheel. Some bikes has six, others have even eight, nine or ten.

In the area where the pedals are, you will find the crank. Some bikes have a two
gears crank while most mountain bikes have three. So a bike is known to have
18 speed when it has three gears in front and six gears at the back. For the 21
speed the bike will have three gears in front and seven gears at the back.

Happy finding out the right bike for you.

Cheers.

;)

ok thanks for typing the whole load.. just called monotine in bencoolen st.. they have a sale on the FR700C cost $330.

but from what u said the Urata seems really better.

now what.

The Monotine FR700C, should be having a chrome frame.
There is a white frame which I saw in their shop at Bencoolen St.
The white frame looks amazing and is lighter than the CB-10 but has
a straight handle bar with Swiss Army shifters.

The Urata has a drop bar with SIS shifters on the handle bar and is
a little bit heavier. Both are having 14 speeds and Velo seat. The cassette
of the Urata is of a better quality than the Monotine. The CB-10 cost around
S$300.

exactly how much heavier is the CB-10?

what colors are availble for the CB-10?

Really do not know the exact different in their weight.
A rough guess is about a kilo. If you are not using the bike
for racing, commuting daily with it is a pleasure.

Later when you are ready to enjoy cycling, upgrade with a
lighter and smaller nine speed cassette. If you still want to go
lighter, change to a lighter saddle and seat post too. Aha, remember
making the bike to go lighter will cost you money.

Just get the bike and concentrate on riding and ask your favourite
LBS to tune it for a smoother ride. The bike is value for money.

I am not sure what colours they have for that model. But have
seen other riders using a black CB-10. The Tahara has very
refreshing and attractive colours using silver and red combination.
Another Tahara model comes with blue and maroon combination.
Take your time to shop around.

;)

after all u said i'm rather inclined towards the CB-10 now.. because as u said it has quality components

btw, where can i find a wide selection of Urata bikes? which shop?

Perhaps you should find out the truth about the meaning of quality components.
I did not say that Urata has quality components overall. It's just that the rear derailuer
and the cassette is of a better built than the one found in the Monotine. However
the Monotine is lighter in weight and thus easier to carry it up the stairs etc.

You should also look at the wheelset and see if it has skewers. The monotine
lack this feature. So you cannot remove the wheels while you can put the
CB-10 into a bag after detaching the wheels and bring it into the train for easier
transportation when necessary.

When you are at the LBS, find out the price of the rear deraileur from Sora,
Decore, 105, etc. The price of these components will shock you as it may cost
more than the whole bike. Example, the 105 group set costs more than a
thousand dollars when I made enquiries at one of the LBS in Joo Chiat.

I do not know which shop has a wide selection of Urata bikes.
It is wise to use the phone and make enquiries.

There are other brands like:
Monoki
Dura
Sonic
Raleigh
Wheeler etc

All the above brands are affordable especially for the beginner.
I rode a heavy Raleigh to and from school during the 1960s (from
Queentown to Newton). Today the Raleigh are of better design and
is much lighter. I would like to get my hand on one to experience
the feel of the bike when the opportunity comes.

Just take a look at the new roadbike riden by Nicole Cooke
www.raleighbikes.com

Enjoy!
;)

lol from the website the Raleigh bikes cost a bomb!!

is the CB-10 frame also 100% aluminium?

Not sure about that. The frame seems to be stronger and I assume the
reason for the heavier stage of having one kilo more than the Monotine.
It should be a combination of steel and aluminium.

Anyone with more information on the CB-10?
Have you found out which LBS has more varities of Urata bike?

Not sure if it has been done before, but very nice retro style on Cooke's bike! Raleigh went back to the same colour scheme and style as their Tour De France winning bike :

The colour of her bike blow me off. I just crazy about the design of the
seat post, the crank set and the colour of her helmet.

Mine, at her age, she already won the World Cup twice in 2003 and 2006.
Releigh should be making a come back with her victories and lady cyclists
would be selling their old bikes soon.

;)

when down to benccolen st today... the Monotine looks not bad i just hate the linkages of the frame.. the part where the solder is all very un-neat.

before i decide, i need to find a bloody shop which sells CB-10 !!!

The last time I hunted for a cheap commuting road bike, I considered the CB10 too. You can probably find it at the older neighbourhood LBS. I definitely saw it at these 2 shops the last time:


Song Seng Chan
434-436 Joo Chiat Rd S(427648)

Eng Hua Tdg
Blk 307, Ang Mo Kio Ave 1, #01-1195 S(560307)

geez thanks.

btw, do u remember whether they come in black? (my idea colour) or the rough price?

I don't think the CB-10 comes in many colour choices. If I remember correctly the only one colour I saw was mostly silver, with red and black patterns around it. Hope my memory didn't fail me.. :lol:

As for price, it should be within the range of $300 +/- $50.

ic.. hey do u happen to have the tel no of the amk shop u mentioned earlier?

This may be an old number but you try: 6452-6737

Also, forgot to mention the address I posted is outdated.. the block was demolished already. They moved to block 316A (or B not sure), near teck ghee neighbourhood police post, which is just down the road from their old block.

ic.. thanks again.

I remember getting the cateye wireless meter from Song Seng Chan in Joo Chiat Rd
about a year ago. Found an old school road bike (aluminium) with a seven speed
and drop bar for around two hundred fifty. The compononts are inferior compared
to the CB-10.

They also have mid-range roadbikes for around a thousand dollars. You should
take your time, drop by the shop to take a look. Along Joo Chiat Road there are two
other bike shops that you can browse.

Joo Chiat Road too damn far. i live in tpy lol..

i'd like an old school steel frame + fork combo with horizontal dropouts

Do look around those neighbourhood old bike shops in your area first, because the CB10 seems to be quite commonly seen, and you can probably get very good prices from them..

Personally Eng Hua offered me the best price, since the owner remembers I bought my very first MTB from him many years back.

But in the end I went for a 2nd hand classic steel road bike instead.

And remember to post pics when you get the bike! B)

haha ya sure thing.. i'll be walking around the entire toa payoh tmr to find bicycle shops. gd luck to myself

walked 2/3 of the entire tpy... only can find ONE lbs!!

Please be kind enough to share your find so that your
efforts are not wasted.

the only lbs in tpy i could find is near the tpy library.. across the road where macdonald's is and a little further down..

Did you find any CB-10 there?
Is there any other similiar road bike with affordable price
in the same premises? Care to share?

nope i didnt find the CB-10 there.. extremely sad.

I did found a Hasa road bike there though.. cost $450.... has drop bars, yellow frame.. red/yellow theme... uses shimano parts.. but as u can see, with that price, it's not worth it.

Just joined, and just read this thread. Thanks for all the advice. I started another thread also asking for bike advice, and these points seem useful. I'm not familiar with terms, so I'd like to ask, does 'road bike' here mean something like a 'racer'? I ride on the road but I use a MTB; I suppose that doesn't make it a road bike?

You can use any bike to ride on the road. In general bicycles are classified
under the following:

http://www.whycycle.co.uk/whatbike.htm

So a road bike is also known as a city bike.
But when a road bike with very thin wheels combined with a drop handle bar it
is known as a racer.

While for a more comfortable ride the same bike can be equipped with a straight
bar and then it is known as a street bike or a city bike. In general, a road bike
is meant to be equipped with very thin wheels and very comfortable for street
commuting.

Cycle more and you will want to tell others why they must cycle.
In my own experience, cycling with a lighter bike is a joy especially with
a good suitable hub that can roll the wheels very smoothly.

Enjoy and Cheers to the world of cycling.

:cheers:

"While for a more comfortable ride the same bike can be equipped with a straight
bar and then it is known as a street bike or a city bike. In general, a road bike
is meant to be equipped with very thin wheels and very comfortable for street
commuting."

Thanks. Sounds exciting. I definitely want to look at road bikes now. Mainly for my wife tho I would be tempted to get one for myself too.

I was riding a heavy Raleigh during school days in the 1960s and
then a Raleigh chopper that comes with a carrying bag on the rear
rack in the 80s.

I bought my first mountain bike just four years ago and it was a
hard tail and rode it for two years before it was stolen. The bike theft
gang just come round to your block and cut your thin cable lock easily
with their tools.

Later I decided to get a street bike that is lighter in weight and has thin
wheels. That change my habit towards cycling. Before it was like so
difficult to pedal and so tough to get the bike moving faster. The thin
wheels of the street bike was like magic and is bigger than the 26" MTB.
It just get me to go places faster and because the bike is lighter, pedalling
is easier. With that experience hanging in my mind, I went for the road bike
with the drop bar and wow, this one could go even faster especially on downhill.
You just put your head lower and your hands on the lower portion of the bar
and keeping pedalling.

Well, try to get as much experience as possible in bike riding. Take your time
to select your road bike. You can be sure you will enjoy riding your new roadbike.

Here is some guidelines on bike balancing and stability:

BICYCLE STABILITY AND STEERING
http://www.johnforester.com/Articles/BicycleEng/dahon.htm

The Physics of Bicycling
http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~fajans/Talks...g/Bicycling.htm

;) :)