REVIEW: JAVA X1-7S-D 14" Wheel Folding Bicycle

Manufacturer's Website: http://javabikes.com/en/product_detail.aspx?id=109

SPECIFICATIONS:

Model	JAVA X1-7S-D (7S = 7-Speed, D = Disc Brakes)
Unfolded size (mm)	L1160 X W520 X H950
Folded size (mm)	L650 X W350 X H560
Frame size (mm)	210
Weight	Approximately 10-11 KG
Frame materials	Aluminium
Rim materials	Aluminum quick release
Tire	CST City Comfort 14"
Hub	QUANDO quick release
Shifter	Shimano Revoshift(grip shift)
Gear Cassette	Shimano 11-28T
Derailleur	7 Speeds Shimano Tourney (SIS specifications)
Front wheel brakes	Disc brake
Rear wheel brakes	Disc brake

Crankset                52T, 165mm Crank Arm

FROM MANUFACTURER WEBSITE:

FRAME               ALUMINUM 6061 CITY FOLDING

WEIGHT             10.5KG

COLOR               WHITE/RED/BLACK/GEER/RED

WHEELSIZE              14

MAX RIDER WEIGHT  100kg

FOLDING TIME      15 SEC

CRANKSET            MPE 52T  *165MM

R/DERAILLEUR      SHIMANO RD 35

SPEED                 7

BRAKE ROTORS    SR PG 11-28T

CHAIN                 C 7S

BRAKES               SRAM AVID BB5 DISC

FOLDING SYSTEM JAVA SQC FOLDING

WHEELS              KT  14

TIRES                 CHAOYANG 14*1.5

SEAT POST         DECA 33.9*500

SADDLE              HG FOLDING

Introduction:
JAVA is a china based bicycle company who's designs are done in Italy... or so they claim. As a relatively new brand, they have some very high-spec bikes for quite reasonable prices. Workmanship and finish on all their products *looks* to be of good-ish quality. Welds, seams, paint, etc. are slightly below par compared to more well established big name brands (Fuji, Cannondale, Specialized, Giant, Trek, etc.). But it's probably a more fair to compare it with brands like Merida, XDS and DiamondBack as they are closer in price bracket for models with identical features. Warranties on the frames range between 3 and 5 years depending on the model.

Price:
I bought my pink one for RM1300 at the JAVA exclusive showroom in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This particular outlet is run by JBS Bikes, a well established chain of bicycle stores in Kuala Lumpur. Their stores are generally very simple, not very flashy or posh, and staffed by one casually dressed, friendly and approachable person. This single staff member is usually the same person who does any maintenance/servicing/repairs, so expect him to have some grease stained hands. I've seen these sell for as much as RM1600, so I was quite happy with the price I got. Generally JAVA's bikes sell for slightly less in Singapore compared to Malaysia.



WHAT I LOVE!

SO COMPACT! If you've done any research into folding bikes, you'd know that Brompton's are the most compact when folded. You'd also know that they are extremely expensive. The cheapest one starts at around 4 times the price of this JAVA. Other compact options are the ORI brand of bikes or imitation Brompton's (Sold under the brand name of Flamingo, MIT and others). The problem with any other 16" or 20" wheel folding bike is that they simply don't fold into a very compact package. They're still bulky and cumbersome to carry up and down stairs and they still take up enough space to make you look like a selfish, inconsiderate, douche on public transport and in lifts (elevators).

Solution? Go small... like 14" wheel small. At this price point, this is the smallest and most compact bicycle you can get. The main reason I bought it is to take it on the train and when I travel for holiday. I love that there are quick release levers for both wheels to make it easily pack into a normal sized suitcase.

GEARS! Other 14" wheel folding bikes I've seen are fixed gear models. Meaning, they won't be as easy to ride uphill. This one has 7 gears to choose from which is plenty more than enough for all the riding you'll do around the local vicinity of train stations. I do prefer trigger shifters, which are fitted as standard to some other folding bikes (even other JAVA models) but I can live with a grip shift. It is smooth and clicks into each gear setting without too much effort. I have sweaty hands and even then, it doesn't get difficult to operate. The small gear number indicator shows which gear you're in also which is a nice touch.

Handles nice! Smaller wheels and shorter wheelbase means a twitchier ride. I did find it a bit awkward at first but I got used to it very quickly. Actually it took me less than a minute of riding to get comfortable with the different feel.


WHAT I DON'T LOVE...

Uncomfortable for Taller Riders! I am 5'7" (170cm). For me, the maximum settings for the handlebar and seat are only JUST right. My leg is in the correct position when fully extended on the pedals, and the handle bar is at a relaxed position and easy to use. If I were any taller, it would start to get a little uncomfortable. Also, when I stand and pedal, my knee sometimes brushes against the handle bar. I can imagine taller riders may actually hit their knees on it.

Gear ratios too short! To me, this is probably the biggest gripe I have with the bike. I find that on all the riding I do, I only use the top 3 gears (5-7). Going any lower just feels like pedaling air. Also, when riding on 0 gradient or slight downhills, I always find myself wanting to shift up higher than gear 7. Two things can be done to fix this. 1. Change to a taller geared rear cassette, or 2. Change to a taller crank gear. Option 1 would be more expensive and require a bit more thought to ensure it's compatible with the derailleur. Option 2, would be my preference as it's more straight forward, and actually what I intend to do.

Seat is hard! Most new bicycles don't come with comfortable seats. However, all JAVA folding bikes come with a wide comfortable *looking* seat. I've only riden it for about 4 hours so far. It may just need some more breaking in. But generally, whenever you buy a new bike, expect to feel the need to upgrade the seat.

Careful going over sharp bumps! With my previous bike, a 26" wheel hardtail, Going over small steps was no issue. With the smaller wheel though, be very careful of bumps or crevices in the road. It's a lot easier for the wheel to get lodged and get yourself thrown over the handlebars. Also, the low height of the chain, especially at the rear means it will make contact with the edge of a small step if you ride over it. As for the chain/ derailleur touching the ground when you bank/lean in turns, that's no problem. The clearance is sufficient for the lean angles that I ride at.

SUMMARY
For ME, this is an IDEAL bike that does everything I need it to. I do plan to make a few improvements to it: namely a taller crank gear (60-68T?), and a more comfortable seat. Before deciding to buy this bike I was looking all over for reviews but couldn't find any. Hopefully this helps others with their purchasing decision.

Be sure to read my follow up review after 3 months of owning the bike:

REALITY of Living in Japan as a Foreigner: Pt 4

MUST HAVE Smartphone Applications for Gaijins in Japan

1. Midori - JPY1500 on iTunes
This app is only available for Apple iOS devices and can be purchased on iTunes for about $10-15, or JPY1000-1500. 
The BEST Japanese-English dictionary app in existence. Search any word in Japanese or English and it will give you the kanji, pronunciation in kana, definition, example sentences with English translations, and all the various conjugations for using it in various types of sentences. You can look up a word and actually know HOW to use it in a sentence. I haven't gone a single day without relying on this app in the year and a half I have been here. Best $15 dollars you will ever spend in Japan as a foreigner.

Other handy features are: 
1. You can insert an entire passage/paragraph to translate and it will break down every word for you so that you can see how the word is being used and learn to use it yourself. It isn't like google translate where it just translates sentence for sentence (sometimes inaccurately). 

2. You can draw kanji on your touch screen and search their meanings that way. It's good for if you are with a Japanese speaker who can write it in for you and speed up the search. Why would you want to do this instead of just search the word by typing it in? There are truckloads of homophones in Japanese. homophones are different unrelated words with completely different meanings and kanji's which have the same pronunciation. 

2. World Dictionary - JPY600 on iTunes

For most languages which have a phonetic script only, it's easy to just read a word and know its pronunciation to then look up the meaning. With Japanese and Chinese, each word has its own character! So if you don't know it, you won't even be able to read it - any unfamiliar character you come across is just a bunch of scribbles to you which may make for a really cool tattoo if you're into that sort of thing.

When I got here I couldn't even work my TV remote because they had Japanese kanji characters for everything! With this app, you can use your phone's camera to read and translate text on the fly!
It will show you the pronunciation of the word in hiragana, and the English translation. SUPER handy!

3. iKanji - JPY600 on iTunes
Excellent app that will teach you kanji in by order of JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) levels or school levels (as kids in Japan learn kanji at school). It can teach you and test you on everything you need to know about kanji and the lessons can be broken into lots of 20 characters at a time or more if you're up to it. Great app to use your commuting time on the train productively.

It teaches you the Kanji meaning in English, stroke order, various readings (pronunciations). And yes a single kanji character can have multiple readings that are completely different to eachother. You see, it wasn't painstakingly difficult enough having to remember thousands of different symbols and characters - one for every word. So the inventors of the language decided to confuse us even more by making us learn several different readings for each character with no consistent rule as to how and when each of the readings are to be used. 


4. Line - FREE
This is THE most popular social network in Japan besides facebook. Absolutely every living organism with a smartphone uses this app, except for the technologically challenged who shouldn't bother having a smartphone anyway. It's an instant messaging/chat application which runs entirely off your internet. It also has call and video call capability so if you're on an unlimited internet data plan, then that means free text, voice and video communication with anyone with a smartphone, anytime.

The internet speeds here are FAST. Even without connecting to a wifi network, you can do video calls with excellent call quality. You can even video call on skype (or Line if you manage to convert them) with your family and friends overseas.



5. Google Maps - FREE
Do I really need to explain why you need this? Your in a foreign country where you probably cannot read signs and where there are no visible building numbers anywhere nor any consistent pattern as to how buildings in an area are actually assigned numbers.

One very handy feature is it will also give you routes, cost and time schedules for taking public transport. Just type in where you want to go, from where and when. It plans out the entire journey for you.

Handy tip: if you search for something in English and it doesn't come up, try searching for it in Japanese. Even if the name of the location is non-japanese, often times they come up when you search them in katakana. 

REALITY of Living in Japan as a Foreigner: Pt 3

Getting a Mobile Phone in Japan

Facts to be aware of:

YOU WILL NOT be able to bring your phone from overseas and just get a SIM card. Phone companies just don't do it. SIM cards ALWAYS come with a phone. Yes, even prepaid.
If you go for a monthly payment plan at all (not prepaid), it's always a 24 month contract. You CAN break out of it but there are fees involved. The fees vary between companies and plans. From what I've heard, some of them can be quite reasonable.

What do you need?

• Alien Registration Card (ARC)
• Passport
• Japanese Bank Account Details
• A friend or co-worker who can translate between Japanese & English.

Get an iPhone!

Ok so I really mean to say get a smartphone... but out of the lot, I'd recommend the iPhone. Why? It's one of the few phones that can easily be set to work ENTIRELY in English. Also, getting apps for it is easy because you can buy prepaid iTunes cards in any convenience store in Japan. Buying apps for an android phone may require you to use a credit card - it's near impossible for a foreigner to get a credit card in Japan.
There are also plenty more apps available for the iPhone than for android phones. Look out for my next post where I discuss the top MUST HAVE apps for foreigners in Japan.

Second reason is this - it's great value for money. With a smartphone in general, you can get a plan with unlimited internet/data for a total all inclusive cost of around 5000-6000Yen per month. Usually any calls or messaging are charged separately in addition to your regular monthly payment. But with the unlimited data, you can use internet based apps like skype, facebook, line, whatsapp, viber to text and call, even video call for no extra cost.


Which Telco?

So for an iPhone, I could only choose between Softbank and AU. The other major provider is Docomo but they don't have iPhones. Softbank is about 1000Yen cheaper per month and also has more free wifi spots around (like in bars, restaurants, etc.).

I decided to go with AU because...

• I can use the iPhone overseas with another SIM card when I travel. The Softbank iPhone ONLY works with a Softbank SIM card. I'm sure it can be unlocked but I can't be bothered with all that.
• AU has a better network coverage around Japan.
• AU has a better insurance scheme for the phone. If somehow the phone becomes problematic, breaks or gets lost, I can get it replaced with a brand new phone up to 2 times over the 24month contract period. I think there is a small insurance claim fee but can't remember how much it was. With Softbank, they only cover 80% of the cost of either repairing or replacing the phone. Also because of where I live, the process of making an insurance claim is a bigger hassle with Softbank: the phone needs to be sent to their main office in Osaka.

REALITY of Living in Japan as a Foreigner: Pt 2

"I know hiragana and katakana, but not kanji." - BIG FRICKIN DEAL!

Knowing hiragana and katakana alone is a good start. But it's no achievement to feel proud of or to brag about. Learn 5 characters a day (15 mins a day) and you'll learn them all in about 1-2 months. You'll be able to read about 5-15% of everything you see. How much of it will you understand? About 5-10% at best, depending on how much Japanese you know. How much does that help? Not a whole lot.

EVERYTHING is in Japanese in Japan. EVERYTHING! Just to make sure I get my point across, let me say it again - EVERYTHING! That means KANJI! Any word that can be expressed in kanji WILL be so!

Just going to the supermarket to buy your usual groceries and maybe some personal care products will have you doing guess-work. You know all those highly technical English words that you'd think there is no Japanese translation for? Surprise surprise!

Pick up a cosmetic product and see if you can even figure out which part of it has the list of ingredients and chemicals. Pick up any packed food product and see if you can figure out what's in it or even what flavour it is. Go to a restaurant with no pictures in the menu and you're in trouble. Even navigating through a shop and figuring out which aisle to find things is all guess-work.

So what's my point? LEARN KANJI!!! In fact, just learning to recognise kanji and know the English meaning of the characters will be FAR MORE useful than just hiragana and katakana.

REALITY of Living in Japan as a Foreigner: Pt 1

Introduction

I just recently arrived in Japan (December 2012) and started work as an English teacher for a large private institution. I've been placed in a rural part of Kansai (about 2 hours by train from Osaka).

There are plenty blogs, forums, internet articles and Japanese lessons that try to help prepare aspiring "gaijins" for their move/visit to japan. NONE OF THEM adequately prepare you for the REAL everyday challenges that you will face.

Here's my attempt to do for others what I WISH others had done for me. I will be doing a series of short blog posts about the REAL everyday things that you need to be prepared for if you're planning a trip or visit to Japan.

Please feel free to comment or message. Please ask questions. Tell me what YOU want to know that isn't already spammed to bloody death on every other gaijin forum and blog.

Motorcycle Helmet Review: KBC VR2

Background

So in August 2011, I bought a 2000 Suzuki SV650 and some riding gear to go with it. All my purchasing decisions were heavily influenced by my tight budget. Got the bike simply because it was the best value bike I came across when shopping around and I'm very happy with it!

I used to ride a Honda CBR250RR with a KBC VR1 lid in 2006. The VR1 was a great full-faced helmet! Decent fit and finish, very comfortable, looked and felt like a quality product. Having personally crash tested it, I can fully recommend it.


Introducing the VR2

So this time, I bought the KBC VR2R in Matt Black: A new and improved version of the VR1 (supposedly), certified to meet SNELL, DOT, and AS1698 standards. For AU$280, the VR2 ticked all the boxes and was an excellent buy... or so it only seemed.

The KBC VR2 has been nothing but disappointment since the moment I unboxed it. Yes, it is certified to SNELL, DOT and AS1698 - meaning helmets of the same design have been tested and shown to provide satisfactory protection when subject to certain types of impact and stress. But that's about all it has going for it.


First impressions

The first thing I noticed when picking it up was it looked and felt CHEAP. The materials used look like they came out of a plastic recycle bin. The moulding of the plastic bits looks unprecise. The paintwork looks worse than a DIY rattle-can job. The fit and finish looks rushed and tacky. The VR1 and VR2 may as well have been made by two separate companies who have nothing to do with each other. The helmet screams a lot of things but "build quality" isn't one of them.



After 1 month

First thing I noticed when riding with it was that it is noisy. My SV650 is naked with no windshield. At speeds excess of 60kmph, the wind/air rushes into the helmet from underneath (passed my neck). This makes it extremely difficult to hear what's going on around me - all I hear is "woosh". I like to be able to hear other traffic around me as it helps my situational awareness when riding.

At most, the helmet would have seen 40 hours of riding time over the first month. In just 2 weeks, the helmet started to feel a little loose. When I first put it on, it felt a little tight (as it should) and I expected it to become nice and snug as it wore in. But instead, the helmet "wore out" in just a matter of weeks! If I wanted a loose and worn out helmet, I could just buy a second hand one for less than $200!


After 6 months

The helmet has spent the last 3 months just sitting in the garage while I was overseas. As you'd expect, I came back to it looking rather dusty. So when I tried to remove the face-shield to give it a clean, the release mechanism on the right side just broke apart! It was fine when I removed and replaced the face-shield just a week before going overseas, and a couple of times before that. In a way, I was not entirely surprised. It looks and feels like a poorly made product, so I sort of "half-expected" something to fail or break.

I lodged a warranty claim today. But even if it gets fixed, I'm still not going to be impressed. I am fully convinced that every aspect of its quality lives up my first impressions.


Recommended?

NO! DO NOT BUY! The helmet is certified to 3 well reputed safety standards so we know that it will protect your head in a crash. But that's all it will do. If all you want is a cheap and basic lid to protect your head, and you are willing to compromise on comfort, appearance and features, just get a second hand one that's in good condition. You'd be getting a better helmet for less money.

KBC once upon a time had my trust. But that trust has been shattered. It will take a LOT of coercing and persuasion for me to even consider a KBC product ever again.