Pedal power to the fore

Business Times 14 Aug 09;

Colourful spandex and fast bikes are now a common sight on Singapore roads as the cycling community blossoms, reports ONG BOON KIAT

'I'M a speed maniac,' concedes Tan Yen Yen, who by day is the Singapore managing director of Hewlett-Packard but, come weekends, trades in her power suit and Lexus for cycling tights and an Italian bike.

The 44-year-old ardent triathlon competitor and mother of four's idea of fun is to take two-hour bike rides on weekend mornings across half of Singapore. 'When you are out there on your own and cruising at over 40kph, there is a feeling that you own the world and it is just you and your bike conquering the roads ahead.'

The thrill of going very fast on two wheels, not to mention the camaraderie of group cycling and - she quips - 'stopping for nice breakfasts', is why she is part of a growing contingent of serious cyclists in Singapore.

Donning colourful spandex jerseys, skinny foam helmets and riding on exotic - and expensive - bikes, they are a diverse mix of professional executives, government officers, expatriates, retirees and students.

Favourite haunts include Changi Coastal Road, West Coast Road, Upper Thomson Road near the Longhouse foodcourt, East Coast Park Service Road, and also the hills of Mount Faber, Selarang Park and Bukit Perepok.

Growing numbers

There are no official statistics, but anecdotally it seems cycling as a serious sporting pursuit has taken off here - driven by the government's call to Singaporeans to live a healthy lifestyle. By one estimate, there could be over 10,000 cyclists in Singapore with sports bikes that cost over $500 and who cycle regularly. This is not including the tens of thousands more who commute to work and MRT stations by bikes daily.

Membership of three-year-old local cycling club JoyRiders has ballooned to over 600, due to people wanting to lead a more sporty lifestyle, says club spokeswoman Joyce Leong.

'Having a group to ride with also attracted more people to join,' says the 53-year-old retiree, who rides six days a week and logs a leg-numbing 410km weekly.

Local online cycling forum and website Togoparts now boasts 150,000 unique visitors a month - 10 times more than numbers clocked during its first year of operation seven years ago.

Founder Lee Zi Shin is not surprised cycling has taken off in highly-strung Singapore. 'As the pace of life becomes faster, more people are looking to get fit - and cycling is one viable option as it provides thrills together with exercise,' he says.

Andi Hari Wahyudi, who owns high-end bike shop Swissvalley at River Valley Road and rides regularly at the Changi Coastal Road, reckons there are easily over 300 cyclists thronging that stretch every weekend. When he first started cycling in Singapore in 2002, only a handful of hardcore cyclists would show up regularly.

Talk about serious cycling and inevitably the subject of seriously expensive bikes comes up. In the world of high-end bikes, $10,000 machines are commonplace. These employ the same cutting-edge technologies and material science found in Formula One racing cars and Nasa spacecraft. And big-ticket bikes have been selling well here, according to bike shops.

'$5,000 bikes used to be considered very expensive, but they have become very common these days,' says one shopowner.

But why are these flimsy-looking bikes so expensive and what drives enthusiasts to splurge large sums on them?

'For many people, it is difficult to understand why we are paying so much for a bike, which can cost even more than some motorbikes,' says Casey Kwan, director at Abacus Capital, who rides with a group of cycling friends on both weekdays and weekends, and regularly logs over 100km per week.

The 46-year-old owns a $15,000 bike made by Italian bike maker Pinarello. The bike is called the Prince and boasts features like artsy talon-like carbon fibre tubes that makes the bike look fast even when at rest. It is believed that more than 100 of these coveted bikes were sold in Singapore last year.

The secret edge in high-end bikes like the Pinarello Prince lies in their carbon fibre frame, the best of which are said to be many times stronger than steel. Spend more and you also get expensive wind tunnel-tested aerodynamic niceties and top-end parts. 'What you are paying for is cutting-edge technology that helps you ride faster, and also gives you confidence. When you are descending a hill at 80kph, you want to know your bike is not going to break up - that's what you are paying for,' Mr Kwan explains.

Clement Goh, managing director of Equinix Singapore, rides a $10,000 Italian-designed Colnago CLX carbon fibre bike decked with top-end components from Japan. While he admits that the performance differences between a budget and high-end bike could be more psychological than real, he is nonetheless glad to have shelled out for his investment.

'If you join a gym, say, over a three year period, you will end up spending about the same amount of money. And because I have spent so much on my bike, I actually force myself to get on the bike more, which means I get to exercise more,' says the 40-year-old who picked up the sport only two years ago but now rides round-island treks with a regular cycling group on weekends.

The allure of high-tech and big-ticket bikes has seen the high-end bike industry blossom in Singapore in the past decade. From a handful of specialist shops in the 1990s, there are now well over 100 bike shops, with more expected to sprout despite the dour economy. Swissvalley, for one, is planning a second shop in the next 12 months.

Sporty lifestyle

Treknology Bikes 3, one of Singapore's biggest bike stores, is also expanding. This longstanding chain, which operates at Tanglin Place and Holland Grove Road, is now putting the finishing touches to its mega 30,000 sq ft five-storey bike superstore and distribution hub at Jalan Kilang Barat before year-end.

Cycling has blossomed in Singapore 'because the government has promoted a more sporty lifestyle to its citizens', Mr Wahyudi says. The government has also paved the way for many sporting events like triathlons in recent years, which boosted the sport, as well as stoked demand for high-end bikes.

Haresh Balani, owner of Treknology, agrees. He also points to Singapore's sprawling park connector network as a key spark for the sport. 'Suddenly, we saw a surge of sales in hybrid bikes, which many people have used for this type of cycling,' he says.

Singapore's park connector network is a project that has connected major parks here with jogging, rollerblading and cycling pathways. Although many serious cyclists stay off park connectors because they can't ride as fast there as they can on roads, this network has been a key instigator for many to pick up the sport. 'A lot of people were initially afraid to ride bikes because of the traffic on the road, and there were limited areas where they could enjoy a bike without fear of being run down by vehicles. This is where the park connectors have really helped,' Mr Balani says.

'The URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority) is also coming up with the linking of the east and west of Singapore, which will encourage even more bike sales,' he adds.

But while it is heartening that more is being done to make cycling more widespread and enjoyable here, one aspect remains a bugbear for many road cyclists: impatient drivers.

Cyclist-unfriendly

Ms Tan is blunt in her assessment of riding safety on roads here. 'Singapore roads are just not friendly for cyclists, full stop,' she says.

Less than pleasant encounters previously have led her to believe that 'many motorists feel that since cyclists don't pay road tax, that maybe we shouldn't be on the road'. She looks at bike-friendly countries like Holland and hopes that the kind of extensive cycling lanes seen there can become a reality for Singapore in the future.

Cyclists are sometimes put in dangerous situations by drivers on the road because the latter underestimate how fast cyclists are going, says Mr Kwan. 'I think there should be more done to educate drivers. Of course, cyclists also need to make themselves more visible and they shouldn't abuse the road.' For instance, cyclists shouldn't ride two abreast on a single-lane road like the East Coast Park Service Road.

'The frustration of riding in Singapore is sharing the road with other road users. If only the drivers understand how vulnerable cyclists are and learn to give way,' says Ms Leong. And the JoyRider is suggesting a somewhat draconian solution to inculcate road ethics: make drivers go through cycling training before they can get their driving licence.

'Teaching bus drivers and taxi drivers to respect cyclists, and teaching cyclists how to ride safely are equally important,' she says.