I’ve been wanting to document bicycles that have passed through my life, ones that I loved, those that I hated, and why I keep changing bikes.

My very first bike was back in Sheringham, Norfolk, England. All my friends had bikes and I wanted one too because it gave me the freedom to go places. But, I had to work a variety of jobs to save up money to buy piece by piece, so I was washing cars & cutting grass for a rich family, and washing dishes in a restaurant.

My brother was in charge of assembling my first bike because he is more able than me when it comes to putting things together, I’m the reverse engineering type, I only know how to dismantle everything and don’t know how to put it back together again 🙂

I don’t recall the wheel size exactly, but I only remember that the front wheel was larger than the rear wheel, probably a 26″ and a 24″ mix, the world’s very first Mullet Bike! The reason why it was built like that, was because it was all I could scavenge back then. Secondly, there was only the rear brake, cuz the front wheel was larger than it was supposed to be.

That was my first bike, and I loved it so much, up until I crashed, and then my dad banned me from riding a bike again, WTF.

1ST BIKE
Actually not the first bike per se, but the first bike when I moved to Thailand, unfortunately, this one slipped my mind totally, I just can’t remember what it was, or where and how I bought it…. sorry.

TREK – MOUNTAIN TRACK 800
After many years of being away from cycling, I decided to buy two Trek 800, one for my wife and one for myself, by that time I was in my late 20s and had been working in various careers already. I guess my life was missing out on something, even though I had taken up 4×4 and camping, which was great. I figured having a bicycle would complement that lifestyle.

The Trek 800 was one heavy steel bike, but it was the main steed that got me back into serious cycling again, I would load it on the back of the SUV whenever we traveled. A jeep can take you virtually everywhere, but to really explore hidden lanes, alleys, paths, whatever or to stop and chat to locals, nothing can beat a bicycle.

JAMIS – DRAGON TEAM – ANNIVERSARY
I needed an upgrade, something lighter, faster, more expensive 🙂 I bought the Jamis Dragon as a frameset from Nakhon Thai Bike and had them assemble it, my very first time custom build bike, a lot of money was spent on that project, but I was extremely pleased with the result. I loved this bike so much, it was smooth, fast, and a gem because it was an “anniversary” frame.

The Jamis Dragon took me further and further, including many centuries and double centuries, I was basically unstoppable, scaled hills like a champ too.

Eventually it came to that point where I wanted to move on, so I sold it to an expat English teacher, but it was a decision I regretted until this day.

DAHON – SPEED PRO
There are two versions of this bike, a Chromoly and an Aluminium version, I purchased the former, actually, you will notice I’m old school and prefer Chromoly over other frame materials. This was one of those compulsive buys, I wanted a bike I could throw in the back of my car to take to the office and use on my lunch break.

This particular model was “limited”, and had the potential to turn fellow cyclist’s heads and they would give a nod of approval, it made me feel like I was in another league. But the good looks aside the bike had some nagging flaws, brakes was one major issue, I rear-ended cars so many times on this bike it is embarrassing. And the seat post insert vs the seat tube itself caused this weird creaking sound which echoed through the frame, and I’m very conscious of noises on my bike, in my car, etc. ….. so that was good reason to bid farewell.

BIANCHI – NIRONE
Bianchi had a following in Thailand, because the dealer here at the time TCA, was especially good at pushing the brand with group rides, and elevating it above other bike brands, you felt you were part of a team. I’m sure some of their bikes were good, but the one I bought, was crap.

I thought I wanted to convert to road bikes, by the way also my first aluminum bike, the Bianchi brand appealed to me, you know those marketing gurus know how to push products in your face. But after returning home with my brand new bike I took it for a spin around the block, the first thing that struck me was how the bike vibrated, front and rear, it was super uncomfortable. I sold the bike within a week of purchase, come and gone so fast my wife didn’t even know it disappeared 🙂

GOGO BIKE – SONATA
This is a Chinese brand I purchased through Alibaba as a “demo bike”, I had told the manufacturer I wanted to test their bikes for as I was potentially interested in importing it for the Thai market. I paid for them, they weren’t free. The company sent me 3 demo bikes of different styles, 2 mini velos of which didn’t pass the quality check (frame wasn’t aligned), god knows why they even shipped it, but the 3rd one was the Sonata, a mini roadie, which was hilariously fun to ride.

The bike is basically a copy of the Dahon mini velo frame, and even though this is an aluminum frame, it was super comfortable, the way the rear seat stays were designed was to absorb road vibrations, and it did a very good job even with slick tires. I remember I entered a couple of century rides with the Gogo Sonata, even one in the pouring rain and I still manage to complete it in good time.

One memory of this bike was riding with a friend through the streets of Bangkok after the Red Shirt protest was cleared by the military.

Reason I sold it? Got fed up, wanted to try something new.

PLANET X – KAFFENBECK
I must admit I like to be different, I don’t like to ride what everyone else is riding. I was researching another UK brand, Genesis, but since they didn’t offer shipping, or purchases, for buyers from overseas (still don’t even now), which is a damn shame because they make some beautiful bikes. So I ended up looking at Planet X website where I found the Kaffenbeck.

Basically, my criteria was a road bike with a Chromoly frame, which could fit wide tires, though Araya and Surly were available in Thailand I was never fond of these two bike companies. Anyway, I purchased a frameset from Planet X and it was shipped to Thailand, where I had it built by a “boutique” bike shop near my house ……. which charged me an arm and a leg.

I did a couple of epic journeys on the bicycle, and loved it to bits, but for the likes of me I don’t even know why I sold it…… but at least I know it is still in good hands, even today.

BROMPTON – M6L
I drooled over this bike for over a year, and finally, my wife told me as I was attending a bike show to just purchase it and get it over with. That’s what I did. Never listen to a woman when shopping, they are compulsive buyers hahahaha.

It has to be one of the worst god damn bikes I’ve ever owned, it rides like shit, heavy as hell, seat posts slip down a notch every time it goes over bumps, gears are awkward, handlebars were made out of a cheap-looking piece of aluminum, etc. etc. I could go on and on, it was just a nightmare, seriously, I was having sleepless nights because I spent so much money on a bike I hated.

I sold it within a month, at a great loss of course, but at the same time, what a relief.

REISE & MUELLER – BIRDY CLASSIC MKIII
A day after getting rid of the much-hyped folding heap of a bike made out of what looked like spare toilet plumbing pipes called the Brompton, I purchased the Reise & Muller Birdy…. oh my god what a difference a bike makes. I loved my R&M Birdy, I kept her folded in the back of my car, taking her out on lunch breaks for a spin in Lumpinee Park. We also made several train journeys together to distant provinces for rides from town to town. Even ventured off-road a couple of times ….. and that is probably what broke her eventually.

The full suspension was a joy to ride, it was as comfortable as a full-size bike, and it is a great touring bike, I had planned on purchasing front & rear racks to for a multi-day ride in the northeast of Thailand….. well that dream came to an end because of Covid-19 and also because the front fork cracked, that’s aluminum for yah.

ON ONE – 45650B
This is another frameset that I purchased, and of course, it has to be Chromoly, actually, this is the 2nd 45650B bike build I’ve owned, the first one was stolen from my house leaving me bikeless, what a sad moment that was.

Another British brand, and a very English mountain style bike, it’s not exactly something you would bomb down twisty trails with because of it’s high BB, not that I haven’t entered any racing events with it…. of course I have.

I’ve had this bike a couple of years now, and it’s gone through 3 color changes, now an electric blue, in addition, I’ve had a couple of parts upgrades, now with a 12×1 drive train. It’s a keeper as it still makes me smile.

Okay, that’s about it, I don’t think I left any out, these are the two bikes I currently own.