Comments please: My new Giant MTN in Taiwan

Michael J. Klein said:

I picked up a Giant model A-3840 at a local bike shop for
NT$7,950, or roughly US$236.

Since I know basically nothing about modern bicycles, I
would like to list the stuff on it and have some
experienced comments. Please cut me some slack as I have
already admitted that I just do not know what the heck I am
talking about, lol.

I features a 19" hardtail frame, Suntour suspension front
fork, quick-release front wheel, Michelin tires on Hoopster
26 x 1.5 rims, Tekro linear pull brakes, Shimano front and
rear drive systems and Shimano shifters which have "V-
Brake" on the body, and "CI-Deck Plus" stickers. The front
derailleur says "Altus" and the rear says "Acera." The bike
is 24 speed (3 x 8).

Many would consider your derailleurs to be "low end
Shimano", but they should last for years.

Quoted message said:

I sure would like some insight from experienced riders who
can tell me something about this rig and perhaps some cool
mods/adjustments. I rode it home in heavy Taiwanese traffic
and it seemed to ride very well. It bears mentioning that
I'm 48 years old and have not ridden a bike since right
after HS, so the 5km the ride home was pretty cool. I had a
great time and overall the bike felt good. I do think that
the handlebar needs to come up a bit. I need to ride it a
few more times before I bring it back to the dealer for
adjustments.

Your dealer is very supportive, or so it sounds. That's a
fine thing. Brand new bikes always ride pretty great,
don't they? 🙂

Quoted message said:

The dealer gave me a water bottle, front and rear lights
and 2 locks for free, and also promised support with
adjustments at no charge. His English wasn't too bad
actually. I addressed him in Chinese at first and we talked
entirely in Chinese for the first 15 mins or so until he
used a convenient English phrase, and said it well enough
to convice me that he could converse in either lauguage.
Clever, those Giant dealers!

You'll likely get lots of good use out of your bike. I own
a Giant Sedona, which I think is similar with maybe better
components. It's a pretty nice bike. It was a gift, so I
won't complain about the shocks (they work fine, just
don't need them on the street). Anyway, on the plus side,
it is a very comfortable ride in the city and on bike
paths. It is a very nice hill climber too in my opinion.
If you pay attention to the fit and keep in touch with
your bike shop, you will likely enjoy this bike very much.
Keep riding! Bernie

On Thu, 17 Jun 2004 19:36:42 -0700, Bernie <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Michael J. Klein said:

I picked up a Giant model A-3840 at a local bike shop for
NT$7,950, or roughly US$236.

Since I know basically nothing about modern bicycles, I
would like to list the stuff on it and have some
experienced comments. Please cut me some slack as I have
already admitted that I just do not know what the heck I
am talking about, lol.

I features a 19" hardtail frame, Suntour suspension front
fork, quick-release front wheel, Michelin tires on
Hoopster 26 x 1.5 rims, Tekro linear pull brakes, Shimano
front and rear drive systems and Shimano shifters which
have "V-Brake" on the body, and "CI-Deck Plus" stickers.
The front derailleur says "Altus" and the rear says
"Acera." The bike is 24 speed (3 x 8).

Many would consider your derailleurs to be "low end
Shimano", but they should last for years.

Bernie, dumb me neglected to post that this is a Yukon
model. duh!

From what I understand, even the low end Shimano stuff isn't
all that bad.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I sure would like some insight from experienced riders who
can tell me something about this rig and perhaps some cool
mods/adjustments. I rode it home in heavy Taiwanese
traffic and it seemed to ride very well. It bears
mentioning that I'm 48 years old and have not ridden a
bike since right after HS, so the 5km the ride home was
pretty cool. I had a great time and overall the bike felt
good. I do think that the handlebar needs to come up a
bit. I need to ride it a few more times before I bring it
back to the dealer for adjustments.

Your dealer is very supportive, or so it sounds. That's a
fine thing. Brand new bikes always ride pretty great,
don't they? 🙂

ha! its been like 40+ years since I had a brand new bike
- I don't remember! lol This is is ok, but there are
some problems shifting between a couple of gears. I'm
going to read the book and see if I feel like making
adjustments myself.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The dealer gave me a water bottle, front and rear lights
and 2 locks for free, and also promised support with
adjustments at no charge. His English wasn't too bad
actually. I addressed him in Chinese at first and we
talked entirely in Chinese for the first 15 mins or so
until he used a convenient English phrase, and said it
well enough to convice me that he could converse in either
lauguage. Clever, those Giant dealers!

You'll likely get lots of good use out of your bike. I own
a Giant Sedona, which I think is similar with maybe better
components. It's a pretty nice bike. It was a gift, so I
won't complain about the shocks (they work fine, just
don't need them on the street). Anyway, on the plus side,
it is a very comfortable ride in the city and on bike
paths. It is a very nice hill climber too in my opinion.
If you pay attention to the fit and keep in touch with
your bike shop, you will likely enjoy this bike very much.
Keep riding! Bernie

I'm going to enjoy the fitness benefits. I can feel
the difference in my body from yesterday's workout,
and its good.

Michael J. Klein [email hidden] Dasi Jen, Taoyuan
Hsien, Taiwan, ROC Please replace mousepotato with
asiancastings
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[email hidden] [email hidden] [email hidden]

"Michael J. Klein" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Thu, 17 Jun 2004 19:36:42 -0700, Bernie <bmcilvan@mouse-
potato.com>

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Bernie, dumb me neglected to post that this is a Yukon
model. duh!

From what I understand, even the low end Shimano stuff
isn't all that bad.

She's a nice bike and she'll last you for years. Congrats.

<snip>

Quoted message said:

ha! its been like 40+ years since I had a brand new bike
- I don't remember! lol This is is ok, but there are
some problems shifting between a couple of gears. I'm
going to read the book and see if I feel like making
adjustments myself.

Read this book:

tinyurl.com3bedrOpen ↗

Print it out if you can (c:

C.Q.C.

Michael J. Klein said:

Bernie, dumb me neglected to post that this is a Yukon
model. duh!

From what I understand, even the low end Shimano stuff
isn't all that bad.

That's been my experience too. Durable as all get out, as
long as you are not an "extreme" rider. This one new-new-Open ↗
townbike.com/site/itemdetails.cfm?ID=675&Catalog=39&sort=3r-
dcharacter Looks pretty nice. It has disk brakes and fatter
tires, tho. Neither needed in street riding in my
experience.

Quoted message said:

ha! its been like 40+ years since I had a brand new bike
- I don't remember! lol This is is ok, but there are
some problems shifting between a couple of gears. I'm
going to read the book and see if I feel like making
adjustments myself.

Those are adjustments the dealer will likely do any time for
you, and normal with a brand new bike - there's a settling
in period when the cables seat themselves, etc.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The dealer gave me a water bottle, front and rear lights
and 2 locks for free, and also promised support with
adjustments at no charge. His English wasn't too bad
actually. I addressed him in Chinese at first and we
talked entirely in Chinese for the first 15 mins or so
until he used a convenient English phrase, and said it
well enough to convice me that he could converse in
either lauguage. Clever, those Giant dealers!

Sounds like a decent bike shop guy!

Quoted message said:

I'm going to enjoy the fitness benefits.

You surely will.

Quoted message said:

I can feel the difference in my body from yesterday's
workout, and its good.

Getting fitter takes time, but it does pay off in many ways.

What is the order of Shimano mtb equipment? It goes something like: Acera, Altus, Alivio, Deore, Deore XT, LX... right?

keydates said:

What is the order of Shimano mtb equipment? It goes
something like: Acera, Altus, Alivio, Deore, Deore XT,
LX... right?

You can look at the Shimano website and get what they
consider the order:

bike.shimano.comindex.aspOpen ↗

bike.shimano.comindex.aspOpen ↗

Going back, a site like the following lists groups in
descending order:

datenbanken.freepage.decgiOpen ↗
bin/feets/freepage_ext/41030x030A/rewrite/traut/SHIMANO.html

What others have said about the lowest Shimano parts being
very good parts is pretty true. I've had Acera and Altus
parts that have worked well for a decade or more.

On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 18:25:30 -0700, Bernie <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Michael J. Klein said:

Bernie, dumb me neglected to post that this is a Yukon
model. duh!

From what I understand, even the low end Shimano stuff
isn't all that bad.

That's been my experience too. Durable as all get out, as
long as you are not an "extreme" rider. This one ne-ne-Open ↗
wtownbike.com/site/itemdetails.cfm?ID=675&Catalog=39&sort=-
3rdcharacter Looks pretty nice. It has disk brakes and
fatter tires, tho. Neither needed in street riding in my
experience.

That is the higher end version of the model I own. I'm gonna
take some pics of it because its a pretty nice looking rig
actually. The powder coating is awesome.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

ha! its been like 40+ years since I had a brand new bike
- I don't remember! lol This is is ok, but there are
some problems shifting between a couple of gears. I'm
going to read the book and see if I feel like making
adjustments myself.

Those are adjustments the dealer will likely do any time
for you, and normal with a brand new bike - there's a
settling in period when the cables seat themselves, etc.

I'm going to bring it back sometime next week and see if
there is anything which needs tweaking.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>The dealer gave me a water bottle, front and rear lights
>and 2 locks for free, and also promised support with
>adjustments at no charge. His English wasn't too bad
>actually. I addressed him in Chinese at first and we
>talked entirely in Chinese for the first 15 mins or so
>until he used a convenient English phrase, and said it
>well enough to convice me that he could converse in
>either lauguage. Clever, those Giant dealers!
>

Sounds like a decent bike shop guy!

In general, Taiwanese people are very decent people to
deal with.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'm going to enjoy the fitness benefits.

You surely will.

I used to be an engineer at Cybex, but you can't tell by
looking at me now! lol

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I can feel the difference in my body from yesterday's
workout, and its good.

Getting fitter takes time, but it does pay off in
many ways.

You are so right about that Bernie. The health benefits are
immeasurable. The good thing about me is that I have a
background in fitness (in my youth) so even in my old age I
respond quickly. Its amazing how fast one can see positive
benefits of exercise.

Michael J. Klein [email hidden] Dasi Jen, Taoyuan
Hsien, Taiwan, ROC Please replace mousepotato with
asiancastings
---------------------------------------------
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[email hidden] [email hidden]
[email hidden] [email hidden]
[email hidden] [email hidden]
[email hidden] [email hidden] jackson@sonet-
tw.net.tw [email hidden] www.goto-info.com
[email hidden] [email hidden] [email hidden]

Dan Daniel said:

keydates usenet- said:

What is the order of Shimano mtb equipment? It goes
something like: Acera, Altus, Alivio, Deore, Deore XT,
LX... right?

You can look at the Shimano website and get what they
consider the order:

bike.shimano.comindex.aspOpen ↗

bike.shimano.comindex.aspOpen ↗

I love this line about Acera: Delivers the responsive
feeling of a real mountain bike to casual riders and entry
level cyclists.

Man, that is me, lol.

Quoted message said:

Going back, a site like the following lists groups in
descending order:

datenbanken.freepage.decgiOpen ↗
bin/feets/freepage_ext/41030x030A/rewrite/traut/SHIMANO.ht-
ml

Good information - thanks for the URLs.

Quoted message said:

What others have said about the lowest Shimano parts being
very good parts is pretty true. I've had Acera and Altus
parts that have worked well for a decade or more.

That speaks very highly of their quality.

I was in Kyoto Japan less than a month ago, and I saw
Shimano stuff all over the place. There were tons of bikes
in use. One of my hosts was a very attractive Japanese woman
who is in excellent physical condition and I can tell you
why. She owns a car, but every time I met her she was rode a
bike to meet me, with a single exception. I took quite a few
shots of multitudes of bicycles parked on the streets. I met
one of the English teachers there and he had a pretty
tricked out MTB with all Shimano hardware.

Michael J. Klein [email hidden] Dasi Jen, Taoyuan
Hsien, Taiwan, ROC Please replace mousepotato with
asiancastings
---------------------------------------------
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