A bike fit for Bangkok
At last, a two-wheeler designed specifically to cope with the obstacles that urban cyclists have to surmount every day
- Published: 28 Jan 2013 at 00.00
- Newspaper section: Life
Bangkok poses a special set of challenges to those brave souls who choose to travel on two wheels. The mixture of narrow streets, typically choked with heavy traffic, and broad, multi-lane avenues that cover large expanses, but which can be hazardous because of speeding motorists, makes this ever-expanding metropolis of ours a very difficult place to negotiate with a single-purpose bicycle.
A folding bike is most suitable for Bangkok commuters because it allows them to make the best use of Skytrain and underground options. A city or mini bike is best for getting through areas clogged with traffic. A road bike is ideal for sprints on those long-distance, multi-lane routes, but sometimes the road surface is so bumpy that a mountain bike is what is really required for the job. So, for a smooth, minimally stressful ride across Bangkok, a cyclist would need several different sets of wheels.
Frustrated with the mismatch between Bangkok's street topography and the selection of specialised bicycles available on the market, long-time cyclist Phongsathorn La-iad-on has come up with his own version, the Angl, a bike that combines several functions, can assume various forms and which was designed specifically with the Bangkok cyclist in mind.
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