YTX Bicycle & Bicycle Product | COMP OYAMA MALAYSIA

Nicky Hayden (image taken from ultimatemotorcycling.com)

You are about to go for a long-haul ride. You put on every safety gear necessary for a professional cyclist. This includes the indispensable cyclist's helmet, body gear, and reflectors on your road bike, among others. Everything is there. You check your bike thoroughly to make sure that it will run its course. You even strap on a pannier/saddle bag to carry tools etc so that if your bike breaks down in the middle of nowhere, you can fix it, not to mention provisions because, after all, it is a long ride and you might not find any food stalls along the way to satisfy your thirst or hunger. But, how sure are you that you will be safe on the road?

Recently, former MotoGP champion Nicky Hayden was involved in an accident while cycling on the Rimini coastline in Italy. He suffered from serious injuries to his brain.

According to motorsport.com, the cycling accident took place on 17 May 2017. On 22 May 2017, Hayden succumbed to his injuries at the age of 35.

What really happened? None of the news outlets mentioned in detail how the accident took place. But, it goes to show that no matter how prepared you are in terms of safety, you can never ensure that you would be 100% safe on the road while cycling. Let the story of Nicky Hayden, a beloved MotoGP pro, be a lesson to all of us that even though one can never be too careful, one can never avoid death.

Albert Einstein riding a bicycle decal on the side of a building
(Shared on Flickr by Michael Goghlan)

Hmm, you're wondering now, what has cycling got to do with Albert Einstein? You know, E=mc2? No? Aah, thank goodness for the wonderful World Wide Web, or if you must, the Internet. You can always Google 'Theory of Relativity' or E=mc2.

If you're not familiar with the Theory of Relativity or E=mc2, at least you must know or have heard of Albert Einstein. Apparently, he came up with the Theory of Relativity while riding a bicycle. If you do a Google search on this, you'd find various sources that imply that Einstein came up with that famous theory while riding a bicycle.

The point of us telling you this is that unlike other modes of transportation, cycling in the great outdoors can give inspiration to almost everyone. Sure, you can ride a train and have a moment of epiphany. "Eureka! I've thought of an idea on how to curb climate change!" Good for you, but please don't shout it in the train. We don't want people to stare at you. But unlike the train, riding on a bicycle gives you a complete sense of freedom, especially if you ride on a long road surrounded by the glorious bounty of nature.

So, go ahead, take that YTX Comp or Schwin or Oyama folding bike to a nice and quiet place with scenic views. You'll never know when inspiration could strike you, just as it did for Albert Einstein. And guess what? You can shout whatever idea comes to your head because there is practically no one to hear it except yourself :)

YTX Oyama water bottle (750ml). Now at RM24
Water bottle cage: Now at RM8.60

Source: roadcyclinguk.com

1. Tools

This include an inner tube (or preferably two), tyre levers and a pump. You'll never know if and when you get a puncture on the journey, which is the most common mishap to happen for cyclists on long rides. roadcyclinguk.com lists other tools that are considered essentials, but if you happen to be a newbie, tools such as a selection of Allen keys, Torx bit, chain link extractor, spare chain links and gear cables may be beyond your level of expertise. Hopefully you will run into a bicycle repair shop on your long ride if, God forbid, your bicycle's chain is broken. So, lesson to be learned here is either know how to fix a broken chain, or plan your journey well.

2. Clothing

Find out about weather conditions prior to your ride. Cycling on a long ride in a tropical country such as Malaysia can be unpredictable, so the most important clothing item you'll need is a lightweight, rain jacket. Of course you will need to wear either a short- or long-sleeved jersey and bib shorts. We're not asking you to ride naked. JOKE!

3. Helmet

roadcyclinguk.com recommends a bicycle helmet that has absorbent pads, a tactile adjustment dial to tighten or loosen the cradle that holds the helmet to your head, and easily adjustable straps.

4. Water bottle and cage

Basically, all you need is a water bottle that holds at least 500ml water and any device that can securely attach it to your bicycle. Don't ever think you can survive with no water in the kind of hot and humid climate that is Malaysia.

5. Cycling shoes & clipless pedals

If you are aiming for pedal efficiency, particularly if the route you have chosen has hilly parts, invest in cycling shoes with cleats and clipless pedals.

Check out YTX's bicycle accessories at our e-store on Dinasou.com.

This rather funny-looking wrench is known as the Allen key/wrench. However, this name is trademarked, so the generic name for this wrench is hex key. Watch the video carefully and see what this handy wrench does. If you can't figure it out from the video, the hex key is used to properly align the bike's front wheel with the handlebar grip that's attached to the head tube.

Shared on Flickr by Tejvan Pettinger

Source: adventure.howstuffworks.com

1. When did the term "bicycle" first entered into popular usage? In the 1860s in where else but France.

2. The smallest bicycle ever created for adults used silver dollars for wheels.

3. The longest "tandem" bicycle ever built could seat 35 and was almost 67 feet long.

4. A Japanese man by the name of Tsugonobu Mitsuishi stayed stationary on a bicycle for 5 hours and 25 minutes in 1965, making it the world's slow cycling record.

5. The fastest cycling record was achieved by American Olympic cyclist and Ironman triathlon competitor John Howard in 1985, when he reached 152.2 mph.

6. The number of bicycles that can be parked in a single car parking space in a paved lot ranges from 6 to 20.

adventure.howstuffworks.com credits bikewebsite.com, trivia-library.com and DidYouKnow.org for the above trivia.

YTX folding bike collection

We at YTX thought of sharing something different this time. This is a story of a Zen monk and his five young disciples taken from bikeboom.info.

"A Zen teacher saw five of his students returning from the market, riding their bicycles. When they arrived at the monastery and had dismounted, the teacher asked the students, "Why are you riding your bicycles?"

The first student replied, "The bicycle is carrying this sack of potatoes. I am glad that I do not have to carry them on my back!" The teacher praised the first student. "You are a smart boy! When you grow old, you will not walk hunched over like I do."

The second student replied, "I love to watch the trees and fields pass by as I roll down the path!" The teacher commended the second student, "Your eyes are open, and you see the world."

The third student replied, "When I ride my bicycle, I am content to chant nam myoho renge kyo." The teacher gave his praise to the third student, "Your mind will roll with the ease of a newly trued wheel."

The fourth student replied, "Riding my bicycle, I live in harmony with all sentient beings." The teacher was pleased and said to the fourth student, "You are riding on the golden path of non-harming."

The fifth student replied, "I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle." The teacher sat at the feet of the fifth student and said, "I am your student.""

Moral of this proverb: Ride the bicycle for what it is, not for what it could do for you.

YTX ANSWERS:

The best in the YTX line of folding bikes is the Oyama series. You can use an Oyama folding bike for a long distance ride of between 60 and 109km. The Oyama Skyline Pro CR16 20" folding bike is suitable for speeding over longer distances, thus making it the best performance-wise.

Oyama Skyline Pro CR16 20"
>> SEE MORE

YTX's Comp series is also good for long distance rides of 100km. However, the Schwin series are more suitable for recreational rides rather than performance rides as they have steel frames, which not many people use for long distance rides.

However, if you're not satisfied with our answer, we did a little digging online and found this answer on quora.com. According to the managing director of Pacifica Europa Ltd, Juan Marquez, 20" wheels hold the world speed record for an upright sitting bicycle due to lower drag and stiffer wheels. Marquez added that the reason folding bikes are not allowed in cycling tournaments is because Cycling Federations see smaller wheels as a possible advantage.

So, this hopefully will quench your curiosity as to whether a folding bike can be used to ride long distance or not.

Check out YTX Bicycle on our Brand Street page at Dinasou.com