Cycling a rapidly growing recreation
I REFER to “First Mat Rempit, now Mat Sikal” (The Star, May 16), which labels those cyclists as Mat Sikal. This is simply not fair to cyclists in general. It could also mislead the public.
I’m not defending the antics of those cyclists featured in the report but they are a miniscule fraction of regular cyclists in this country and, as such, putting a label on them could naturally lead to all cyclists being negatively branded as Mat Sikals.
As it is, cycling is a rapidly growing recreational as well as sports activity in this country. The enthusiasts are made up of Malaysians from almost all walks of life. And they are not of certain ethnic groups.
I regularly go cycling (on and off-road) with school children, university students, low-to-high-income people, professionals, millionaires, pensioners – males and females.
Malays, Chinese, Indians, Eurasians, Orang Asli, tourists and expats all regularly go cycling with my friends and I.
Judging from the photo in the report, those cyclists are commonly referred to as “fixies”– a shortened term for the type of bicycles they ride, fixed-gear bicycles.
Fixed-gear bicycles are rapidly becoming popular in Malaysia due to a handful of reasons, including elements of minimalism plus popularity in the US, Europe and other countries.
In Malaysia, we have one extra reason for its growing popularity. Our athlete, Mohd Azizulhasni Awang is currently the World No. 1 track cyclist!
We can see “fixies” on public roads nowadays. But in spite of that, the majority do not use brakes but rely on their pedals to slow down.
Unlike those cyclists who ride mountain bikes and road bikes on public roads, these “fixies” do not wear helmets, and some of them don’t even use headlights when riding at night. Worse, some of them don’t even have taillights!
It is these “fixies” that give the cycling community and cycling a bad name.
Along with many other cyclists, I often use the public roads to do a bit of workout, train for our next weekend cycling event or simply meet up with other cyclists for a teh tarik session.
No, we don’t race on public roads, let alone illegally organise races.
We don’t want irresponsible, suicidal and inconsiderate people tarnishing the image of cycling. We hope all cyclists (including “fixies”) out there use their common sense and not put cycling in a bad light.
Observe all traffic rules; wear basic safety gear and above all, do not race with each other. We don’t want to be labelled Mat Sikal or anything close to it. We are simply cyclists.
By the way, I find it very hard to believe that those boys in the photo can reach “about 50kph” on their fixed-gear bicycles, unless they were going downhill.
People like Mohd Azizulhasni can do that, but in the velodrome, of course.
AZLAN RAMLI, Shah Alam.
YOUR report “First Mat Rempit, now Mat Sikal” (The Star, May 16) has irked me as I am now officially know as “Mat Sikal”.These so-called “cyclists” are giving the legitimate people who love the sport a bad name.Firstly, no (real) cyclist will ride without a helmet. Secondly, no cyclist will ride a bicycle without brakes.Thirdly, no cyclist will ride a bicycle without shoes!What these boys are riding is called a “fixie”.A “fixie” is a term for a bike on fixed gear. It has rear cogs that do not have freewheels (meaning the wheel will stop spinning if the rider stops pedalling).To stop the bike, the rider must stop pedalling.Now, imagine that they ride at 50kph, as claimed, and a car comes out of a junction, how do they stop? Will they stop in time? Will they end up as news the next day?What they are doing are giving us a bad name and motorists will see us as a nuisance in their daily commute.If the parents really care about their hobby, they should educate them to at least wear proper cycling helmets and learn to respect other road users.Please gear up and ride with your helmet on.To these self proclaimed “fixie” gang, please get yourself a real bike and pick up the hobby in a proper way! Respect the sport!TRISTUPE,
Petaling Jaya.
As annoying as Mat Rempits are, there is a new team who calls themselves “Mat Sikal”.
The news was published today, and we wonder if the emergence of this group will help encourage more people to cycle, or give us more problems?!
You see,
WELL – If the sport is growing healthily, we will be lucky to see the cycling group in Malacca grow – Maybe ignite a different cycling passion. *doubts*
If the sport is getting bad responses from the public, or worse, injure someone – Things may turn bad for all road cyclists in Malaysia.
1. If this group doesn’t behave the way they should, and in the event tarnish the good reputation of road cyclists, hence resulting the government imposing stricter regulations: They will bring to us more trouble and affect the Malaysian cycling industry as a whole.
2.Once the government requires all road cyclists to own a license, it is only a matter of time when bicycles will be treated as life-threatening vehicles, albeit not motor-powered. These little actions will gradually alter the perception of the Malaysian public towards cycling, and this will deter acceptance of cycling as a sport.
Cycling is supposed to be healthy, green and safe.
From the looks of it… Not so anymore!
*taken from http://www.baikbike.com/what-next-mat-sikal/
MALACCA: They are young, ride 50kph on souped-up bicycles in groups and sometimes take part in races around the city on weekends for fun.
Taking a leaf from their more destructive cousins' the Mat Rempit, these teenage boys call themselves Mat Sikal.
A check by The Star yesterday showed that about 20 boys, with nicknames like Harges, KL Ties and Homage, were showing off their cycling skills in Jalan Penghulu Abas near the Malacca Court Complex in Ayer Keroh, Batu Berendam and Jonker Street.
Their antics caught the attention of many as they cycled at high speed on their altered racing bicycles with LED lights.
Some had loud horns to alert oncoming vehicles and pedestrians.
Riding for a fall?: A group of midnight cyclists riding around Kota Laksamana in Malacca on Saturday night.One member of the midnight cyclists, who wanted to be known only as Rahman, said most of them were still in school.
“We usually gather on weekends as we can stay up until the early hours of the morning.
“We cycle around the city in groups and sometimes we organise races among ourselves,” he said, adding that unlike Mat Rempit, they were not into criminal activities.
Rahman said most of the group members altered their bicycles by changing to lighter frames.
He said the drop handlebars were also positioned lower than the saddles so as to give the riders an aerodynamic posture.
“The wheels are changed, using smaller tyres to give the bike easy handling and to enable the rider to pedal at his optimum strength,” he said.
Rahman said the modified bicycles could attain a speed of about 50kph.
Members, he said, would save up on their pocket money to finance their hobby.
He said the races were organised between groups from different areas like Batu Berendam, Klebang and Semabok.
“We do it for fun,” said Rahman. “There are no prizes.”
Rahman admitted there were a few who aped Mat Rempit stunts such as the wheelie' and superman' during races.
He said the boys were mostly well-behaved and avoided being a public nuisance.
“Our parents don't mind when we stay up late as we are not involved in any criminal activity.”
* taken from http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/16/nation/8689116&sec=nation
posted Apr 29th 2011 9:06AM
