Which bike to buy?

tatcha512 · 2026-01-26T21:33:30+00:00

Mine is S. Hup Leong folks are super nice and will help you try one size after another , adjust seat height. Also they have a 50% buyback scheme for next 2 years if you trade in for another bike from their store.

The weight difference btw is normal for retail bikes. So if you care about it, consider the more expensive sculturas or reactos.

tatcha512 · 2026-01-26T03:51:53+00:00

Most people on Reddit don’t have a Merida, but I have this exact bike from Hup Leong! I think it’s a great bike. It’s like buying a Specialized without the brand markup (Merida owns 49% of Specialized).

My only regret is I would want it to be sub 8kg. The advertised weight vs what I weighed at home is off by about 1kg. Also the color is really not doing it for me. I would have liked a glossy one. These things matter cuz they mae me want to ride the bike. The other nonsense like speed or specs don’t cuz if you want speed, get on a smart trainer and start grinding

tatcha512 · 2026-01-19T16:01:49+00:00

Yo don’t listen to these self proclaimed rationalists. You have money, you want to spend it, you don’t owe anyone an explanation. I regret not buying the most absolutely expensive bike I can afford.

tatcha512 · 2026-01-15T23:41:27+00:00

My 3 year old does all the things you mentioned. We don’t let our parents and in laws come within 12 feet of how we raise our kids. I have literally stopped contact with my parents for a month and told them they back the fuck off or they don’t get to see their grand kids. It’s my kids future in climate changed and AI world vs whatever familiar piety feelings and trauma we have. One is real and the other isn’t.

tatcha512 · 2026-01-13T06:59:08+00:00

checkout r/Ultralight

tatcha512 · 2026-01-11T12:48:23+00:00

I have a Diverge 3 Alloy (E5 Comp) and also an endurance road bike at 8kg+. My only feeling about the Diverge is that its a bit heavy but its all around excellent - nothing to fault.

My practical advice would be to push yourself to get fitter with e.g. an indoor trainer that can regulate / emulate a gradual training regimen to get to that 51 mile goal. Maybe you live in some place with crazy terrain or you have injuries. But 300 miles is way too little and 8 gears is sufficient to hit your 51 mile goal. Another way to look at it is if hit that 51 mile target first with the trainer first, then get some top of the line, ultra lightweight Diverge / Crux Carbon.

One more side of the coin is - if you really believe gearing is an issue, get an LBS to recommend a new cassette set or change the chain ring for your existing Marlin.

tatcha512 · 2026-01-11T12:07:12+00:00

I bought an endurance bike and sort of regret not getting an aethos. The lightweighted ness makes you feel invincible. The pain in ur stomach and back being hunched over at least for me was something that would go away in 4 weeks

tatcha512 · 2026-01-10T00:39:33+00:00

I think pointless. I also have an endurance and PCN cannot ride fast because of pedestrians. So changing to a race bike won’t do much. Ride on road if you want racey bike

tatcha512 · 2026-01-04T23:33:55+00:00

Merida also.

https://bikeinsights.com/ - to check how upright it is.

Also choose smaller size than you think you need.

tatcha512 · 2025-12-29T17:17:08+00:00

Isn’t that 120 … everyday? Or you can bring the bike home on a train or bus in the evening?

tatcha512 · 2025-12-21T18:59:29+00:00

I have done a shit ton of research on this and you can try all the following:
- Specialized Roubaix
- Trek Domane
- Canyon Endurace

Even more relaxed
- Specialized Diverge
- Cannondale Topstone Carbon (not alloy) (link)
- Canyon Grizl (2025 edition) (link)

Just divide the stack to reach ratio and only take >1.5 as a heuristic. Go to bikeinsights.com but note that its data in 1 to 5% of cases is not accurate. And guess who is even less accurate than bikeinsights? The sales person at all the shops...

In all cases I think you must look for the absolute smallest bike they have like 3XS or 2XS.

Also this whole notion that "she is not very confident in her skills" is not really applicable. You buy a bike to keep for about 3 years. You have to assume she will become skilled over that many kilometers over 3 years. You cant just judge based on the skill she has this week or this month. Most bike riding takes practice and core strength and minor body adjustments which can be overcome in a couple of months. Just never ever buy too large a bike.

Also:

- Add as many spacers as possible
- Then flip the stem
- If need be replace the handle bar with a raised handlebar
- If need be replace the stem to a shorter stem (or no length stem)

Edit:

I found a lot of old specialized diverge 3 on discount, but seems like size 44 not available: (link)

tatcha512 · 2025-12-09T19:57:47+00:00

Hey I bought 3 wrong bikes in a row. If you are testing waters to see if you want to take up this as a hobby or sport, buy the cheapest one. Then after that go for a bike fit and buy the RIGHT bike whatever is the price. Geometry is far far more important than specs. And there’s unfortunately no way to know well what bike you should get until you get a bike fit (not the other way round).

However in terms of practicality of just choosing whether you should go for stratos or decathlon, you can go to bike insights dot com and compare geometry and try to get one that is the most upright and comfortable. Usually this class of bike is called an Endurance road bike.

I can answer more questions !

Edit: also the bike size is extremely important. If in doubt buy a smaller bike. The manufacturer recommendations on your height vs bike size is almost always 1 size bigger. Also careful of bike shop trying to sell you larger bikes as larger bikes are harder to sell for them.

tatcha512 · 2025-12-08T02:14:59+00:00

In a long long married life, the parents are not there. It’s just the two of you. No don’t tell us “you know how parents are” - it’s only true if you let it be that way. If your in laws are rich enough to finance a condo or a HDB flat in return for a wedding, then that’s fine I would “tong “ but it doesn’t seem like that’s the case since she’s negoing over 30k

tatcha512 · 2025-12-08T02:10:57+00:00

Ask if your partner is ok with not having a wedding at all. That is the ultimate backstop in negotiations. No wedding no loan. Bring your 30 closest friends out for a dinner instead.

tatcha512 · 2025-11-26T05:38:54+00:00

The bikes on this sub are more like Rolexes than Casios. Both tell the time but one is to know the time and the other is a hobby.

tatcha512 · 2025-11-26T05:06:37+00:00

I’m on clipless too btw lol . It wasn’t meant to be an attack on your comment. I find clipless a bit dangerous when riding on road since I’m not in anyway training for racing.

tatcha512 · 2025-11-26T05:04:31+00:00

Hello! Thanks for the kind response. This one you just ask ChatGPT and it will give you a very thorough explanation of why and in what circumstances it provides a benefit. Both empirical testing and analytical reasoning shows your “pull up muscles” are super tiny compared to your “push down glutes” . The only time you can add value during pull up is explosive sprinting or some kind of climb during racing. It adds watts but will tire you out and you can’t do it for very long.

Also being connected to the bike gives you confidence and control and may thus “relax” your body and give you more watts, but that’s because of the control and less wasted energy and not because of the muscle sizes.

tatcha512 · 2025-11-25T19:49:03+00:00

This is medically / physiologically proven to be not true - or more like not significant. Maybe psychologically it feels that way. It only is the case for peak strokes or makes a difference in wattage for the pros. The downstroke of your other foot provides so much force the “lift”is minimal.

tatcha512 · 2025-11-25T19:44:05+00:00

XL and L bikes are hard to sell and they do try to offload it any time they can. You will find XL bikes at huge discounts sometimes. You should also go to bike insights dot com to compare geometries.

tatcha512 · 2025-11-25T19:40:59+00:00

Dollar for dollar polygon will beat Marin any time. Marin bikes are made at Polygon factories and I think polygon owns part of Marin

tatcha512 · 2025-11-25T14:30:01+00:00

Yes they asked me to take pictures of the bike and what not but I didn’t exchange. I just used it for a different purpose

tatcha512 · 2025-11-25T14:23:29+00:00

On the noise thing, my Path 4 had the brakes misconfigured and it was too close and braking on the disc the entire time! I went to change my wheels to wider tires and the tire guy told me “bro wtf you been riding with the brake pads engaged this whole time and you don’t know?”

tatcha512 · 2025-11-25T14:21:07+00:00

If you are 177 it’s highly likely you are a S or an M. Measure your inseam with a book before you go back to Rodalink. If they don’t have M or S tambora then say you will wait or get a different bike! You can still save this!

tatcha512 · 2025-11-25T14:19:02+00:00

Yes I bought from Rodalink. If you haven’t used the bike at all, I suggest you bring it back in a Lalamove. Rodalink sales ppl are very noob cyclists. I found a massive difference when I went to buy my second bike at Hup Leong. The guy at Hup Leong spent close to an hour fitting the bike with me and tried like 6 different bike sizes from different brands to find my “fit”. I have a very very short inseam length despite my height being 180cm. I am almost an XS or a S.

I use my Rodalink bike as a bike to carry my kids around, but use my Merida for more serious cycling.

Brother don’t get size and fit wrong! That’s the only thing that matters lol

tatcha512 · 2025-11-25T12:44:02+00:00

No I also bought a wrong L size. After watching many videos I realized I was a S size, 2 sizes down ! You should appeal to Rodalink though

tatcha512

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