If you read my stuff you know how I go on and on about how bicycle friendly the city is. To be honest that isn't entirely true. When I say that it is "bicycle friendly" this definitely doesn't mean the city has gone out of their way to encourage bicycle travel. There are virtually no bicycle paths or bike lanes on the roads (none that are observed anyway - cars and motorbikes just kind of go where they can fit.) When I say it is "bicycle-friendly" i mean this only in the sense that there are so many cars that getting around on a bicycle can actually be faster than in a car.
source
bicycles can easily meander between gridlocked traffic
I have spoken quite a lot about how much I enjoy the bike sharing program called "Mobike" that is not only affordable but is a great way to track your exercise. However, since these bikes have only 1 gear (typically, there are a few that have 3 gears) they aren't really very good for any sort of long-distance. Tomorrow I will move around 10km outside of the city center to better accommodate my doge's desire for some open spaces and while 10km is not a huge distance, it is quite arduous on a 1 gear bike that is intentionally very heavy (for durability.)
So today i went bicycle shopping
I wasn't planning on breaking the bank with this purchase because I am not trying to win the Tour De France, I am just trying to get around a bit faster than by walking. I enjoy getting some exercise and would rather not participate in the rather hectic traffic situations that exists in one of Thailand's largest cities. I set a budget for under $300 and I was actually very happy with the selection of bikes that were available at this price point.
these were the two I narrowed my choice down to.... j/k
In the end I found a bike manufactured by a company that I have never heard of but that didn't much matter to me because the derailleur and the gears were manufactured by Shimano, which IS a company I have heard of. I know they aren't the creme de la creme, but what are you really expecting for $300?
In the end I got this thing
It has 24 gears, is big enough to accommodate the giant that is me, and even once I added on a ton of accessories such as USB chargeable safety lights, a rack for packages on the back (or a small doge kennel,) and a couple of other things. I walked out of the store $50 under my planned budget.
The thing about this store is that they had a wide selection of bikes but only one or two that would be considered "world-class." The store owners understand that generally speaking, Thai people and the local expat community can not afford $1000+ bicycles.
In the end i went for a hybrid bike rather than full mountain bike because there really aren't many "mountain bike" trails that i've noticed despite the fact that I live in the mountains. On my inaugural ride today I was absolutely hauling ass. The cars and motorbikes were barely going faster than me and to be honest it was a little bit scary. I ended up getting in front of the traffic at all stop-lights because i just cut up to the front. I think I am really going to enjoy this.
So, while I realize that this doesn't exactly apply to a tremendous amount of people in my feed or really anyone in the world, getting a quality bike in Asia is a relatively painless process. The lady spoke a bit of English and even though I don't like to reveal that I can speak Thai, we needed to do that. It was an enjoyable experience and I feel as though I got a great deal on a great bike that can get me around much faster than walking or even on the shared bikes.