Why do bike messengers ride fixies rather than bikes with gears?

The story I heard about the history of fixies when I first started the bike business is that to save time, bicycle messengers often threw their bicycles on the ground on arrival, brake levers on their bicycles soon get broken. If these were never replaced why should they consider getting geared bike which will be more costly to replace and add weight to their load, affecting their speed?

Here is a story that most of you may not be aware of. Messengers speeding on their bicycle without brakes for courier companies look cool to young Asians and that is an American culture that they want to adopt.

Young cyclists deliberately removed the brakes levers and cables on their own bicycle so that they could do 360 degrees twists and turns on their bicycle too. So, manufacturers in China started making fixed gear bicycles with the front brake cable inserted through a hole in the centre of stem and it comes out from the base of the steerer tube to be attached to the brake calipers, as shown in this photo.



This 20" fixed gear bike comes with alloy sport rims installed is suitable for child of six and above.  Due to its designer look, children should be able to ride it till their adulthood just by changing the handlebar.

Do we need an expensive bike light?

Do you need an expensive bike light? That depends on how often you ride at night and how bright you need it to be if there are no street lights where you ride. The higher the lumens (brightness) the more expensive it is going to cost. Just make sure that the lumens of the light you are getting are within the limit acceptable in your own country.

This 300 Lumens front light is USB rechargeable and water resistant.

Then there is the front light and the rear light. Some brands sell them packaged together which tend to be cheaper than if you buy each separately. There are some rear lights that can also shoot laser beams right on the road you cycle. There are also front lights that can beam the contour of the surface you are cycling on.

Older models are cheaper, especially those with PVC casings. They can be a hassle to unscrew the cap or open up to replace AA cells. They usually have on, off and flashing light functions. The brightness depends on the number of batteries required to run it.

The later and better models run on led light and are usually USB rechargeable with its brightness indicated in lumens.

They have more light setting functions, some as many as 6. They tend to be lighter in weight with alloy casing or with silicon covers. Some brands even sell silicon covers in many colours so that you can interchange them. They are usually easier to install and remove.

So, now that you know what is available in the market, it will be easier for you to decide what you are willing to pay for after checking it brightness, the weight, the functions that go with it and its ease to install. If brand name is important to you, then you have to pay for that too.

There is another option for bicycle light that most cyclists missed checking out on. Do you have a mini lightweight torchlight at home or in your car? If you can mount it on a bicycle light holder that you can find in the market, you may prefer to use that over the regular bicycle light. There are torchlight that are supplied with a regular battery and a rechargeable AA battery. They also come with a charger that you can use to recharge other rechargeable AA batteries that you have in your home. One of the functions I like about such torchlight is that you can reduce the size of the light or have it narrowed down to a pinpoint mode so that it shines more brightly in dark corners.

Am I done on this topic? No. If you are talking about making yourself visible with light while you are cycling, there are headlights,…

…lights on wheels that you can change its design digitally for a signature look.

There are lights that you can strap on your body or bag.

There are lights that run on dynamo if you are an eco-hero.

There are lights that you can attach to your handlebar to indicate right or left turn. Lights that can be mounted to the front of your helmet…

…or permanently attached to the rear of your helmet.

The right question to ask is how safe you want to be while out cycling in the dark. The safer you want to be the more expensive it will cost you should you consider installing every gizmo there are in the market to brighten your ride.

Should I do mountain biking, BMX biking, or road biking?

If you love nature, mountain biking is a good choice. 



If you enjoy speeding and bending forward to ride to reduce aerodynamic drag, road biking will be the better choice. 



If you enjoy fully utilising your optimal strength and putting on a show doing twists and turns, a no gear bike like BMX is for you.


This is a video of one of my customers, doing his stuff on his BMX. He is paid to perform at local events.




The best way to choose, if you have not bought any of the above bicycles to experiment with is to watch videos of cyclists doing their stuff on their bike. Do you envision yourself doing the same and enjoying it as much?

How thrilling do you want your ride to be? 

Can you see yourself doing that?  Is fatbike a bicycle that you will now consider?

What are the most bicycle-friendly countries?

Here is a list of "75 Most Bike Friendly Cities In The World".  Read it to discover why each city was chosen as being bicycle friendly in their country.

You can also check out the top 20 cities, listed by COPENHAGENIZE DESIGN COMPANY, a design consultancy based in Copenhagen. They also provide information on what changes can be made for improvement.

Your rear wheel wobbles when you cycle? Here's why.

One of the questions often asked by cyclists when they noticed this wobbling is, if it will affect the gearing system. No, it does not.



The ball bearings retainer will have to be changed if it is damaged.  If it is still in good condition, the worn out or missing ball bearings can be replaced.

The wobble has to do with the machining on the hub shell. If a hub that is machined off centre is installed on rear wheel the wobble is more obvious when there is a cassette or freewheel on it. This videos explains the reason for wobbling very clearly.

What is the best way to lock up your bicycle?

Are you frustrated that the bicycle you kept locked in your house still gets stolen?  Even so, we shouldn't make it easy for someone to take away what we paid for and own!

The first thing that a thief will do when they steal a bike is to make changes to the bicycle so that it is not easily recognized by the owner or his friends. Changing the colour of the body is the easiest way.

So, make it difficult for the thief to make changes to your bicycle should it get stolen. Add stickers that are difficult to remove or make markings on part of the bicycle that is obvious for all to see even if painted over. A thief will be deterred from stealing your bicycle if there is too much work involved because of the lock installed or if it will be a hassle changing its look.

So, if you plan to park your bicycle, especially without a lock installed, make sure that it is within your sight. Make it stands out so that it can be seen from a distance away. You can do that by adding decorations on your bicycle that makes it uniquely yours. Eg, adding strips of self-adhesive reflective tapes in different colours to the rim. That way, if your bicycle is park with many others in a row, you can recognise it right away.

Go to YouTube and do a search for “How To Lock Your Bike” and you will find many videos showing mistakes that one can make when they use locks on their bicycle. Here is one I found that can rectify those mistakes.

At Jom Johan you can find many different types of lock ranging from RM5.00 to RM38.00.  You may not even have to pay for the lock because of the gift voucher you will be getting when you purchase a bicycle from us.

Here is another way to deter thieves from targeting your bicycle. Put this note on your bicycle where it can be seen by any thief; “Reporting Once Stolen at Bike registry”. So saying, make sure that you take down the serial numbers on your bicycle and take enough photo of the bicycle and proceed to register online if it gets stolen.

What can we do with old tyre and punctured tubes?

I have lots of worn out tyres from my bike shop.  I can’t leave them outside for too long because mosquito could breed in them should water accumulate inside its hollow space because of the rain.

I was inspired by a photo I saw on Pinterest and manged to tie some up to create a chair.  This is how it turned out.

Raffia strings don’t hold them together too well and after some time, they fell apart.  What will you consider using to tie them up together so that they can last longer?

If the stains on your chair cannot be cleaned, you can cover it up with punctured tyre tubes this way. It can also cover small cracks on chairs so that you fanny will not get pinched.

I also like to consider using punctured tubes as material to explore my creativity.  Here are some of my creations.

This is made with gear cable and tube.

Would the guys wear this?

Here are some tips if you need inspiration to create with waste material you have collected from your bicycles.