Review of the Triban RC 520 by Decathlon - A 2,000km Review

Greetings folks, it's been so long since I last posted here, more than a year ago now where I last spoke of getting my 2B license. I had a short love affair with motorcycles, but after a few scares, some of my own and others from watching motorcycle accident videos, I sold off my motorcycles four months into the hobby, deciding I was happier off living my life without such risks.

Y'know I can't just sit still, trying new things out and getting into new hobbies is in my blood. So late into 2021 (November), shortly after selling off my Honda CBF150, I started reading up on bicycles. Alas, another expensive hobby, and after seven and a half months and thousands spent on this hobby later, I'd like to share with you my thoughts on the Triban RC 520 road bike that is sold by Decathlon.

First off, as we always do at The Watch Post, the specs:

- 6061-T6 aluminium frame, 1,830g in size M, with mounting points for mudguards, racks
- Aluminium fork with carbon blades, tire clearance up to 36mm
- Shimano 105 shifters, front and rear derailleurs, RS510 50/34 crankset, KMC X series chain
- Microshift 11 speed 11-32 cassette
- TRP HY/RD post mounted cable actuated hydraulic brakes w/ Jagwire compressionless brake housing
- In-house Triban handlebars, seatpost, saddle
- In-house Triban 700c aluminium wheelset (tubeless ready) weighing 2kg total, 28 spokes front/rear, quick release
- 10.6kg total weight in size M
- Lifetime warranty on frame, handlebar, stem
- Two years warranty on fork and peripheral components

All of the above costed me a grand total of 970 SGD (~713 USD), which is an incredible price considering a full 105 groupset (with rim brakes) costs around 657 SGD (~472 USD) alone on BIKE24 which is one of the cheaper online retailers. So for an additional 313 SGD, Decathlon manages to throw in a frame with fork and carbon blades, hybrid disc braking, a wheelset, tires and just about everything else that makes up a bicycle. Of course, Decathlon isn't paying 657 SGD for a Shimano 105 groupset, they probably get it for a much lower price due to their massive economy of scale and relationship with bicycle component suppliers, but it is still impressive as hell the value for money you get with the Triban RC 520.

The tradeoff for this insane price to value ratio is the scarcity and difficulty of attaining this bike. This bike is hardly ever in stock, at least in Singapore. I was extremely lucky when I first read about it online back in Nov '21, and messaged Decathlon Singapore on Facebook. It just so happened they had a small batch, I rushed down to Joo Koon on the very same night I messaged them, and that is the story of how I didn't have to wait a single day to get my hands on an RC 520. I've seen people on the Decathlon Facebook page who have had to wait for months, even up to half a year in order to get their hands on one.

The entire supply situation is further exacerbated by Covid-19. No reminders are needed in remembering the lockdowns that happened when Covid-19 first broke out en masse, and global travel pretty much screeched to a halt. My own mental health took a beating in 2020 and 2021, but I digress. People were raring for things to do domestically since travel was pretty much out of question in the last two years, and bicycling was one of these things. The sudden demand for bicycles and components led to shortages and price increases globally.

The selling price of the Triban RC 520 also increased from 970 SGD to 1,100 SGD, starting back in Jan '22. At 1,100 SGD, the Triban RC 520 is still a good deal frankly, a far better value than anything than you will get from Specialized, Trek or any of the high-end brands. You'd probably only get a Shimano Claris with a budget of 1,100 SGD at Specialized. That said, the Triban RC 520 was a steal at 970 SGD. At 1,100 SGD, it's become just a good value. People are still snapping up the Triban RC 520 at 1,100 SGD though, so I let the results speak for themselves.

With that out of the way, let's get into the bike itself, how does it do besides sounding impressive on the spec sheet? This review is going to be way too long if I go by paragraphs of description, so I'll list my likes, dislikes, and overall impressions to wrap up:

Likes

Groupset - The modern 105 groupset performs really nicely, with excellent shifting performance even when my drivetrain was absolutely filthy. It performed without a hitch even after I had a stationary fall on the drivetrain side, with gears changing into place precisely. Decathlon has selected the crankset of 50/34 and 11/32 for the cassette very thoughtfully, as this caters well to beginner road riders and allows for easier climbing of steep gradients. The medium cage rear derailleur means you can go even bigger than 11/32 (11/34 or maybe even 11/36) gives plenty of options. I never experienced an issue with the cassette being a Microshift instead of being a Shimano, I think the only penalty here is the weight.

Wheelset - The wheels fall into both likes and dislikes, so I'm going to start with what I like about the stock wheels. The sealed cartridge bearings on these wheels perform really nicely, and the front wheel can roll for minutes if you give the front wheel a spin while suspended. They are also are little overbuilt, with 28 spokes front and rear, but at least you know they're bombproof like that. You could easily take these wheels for a gravel adventure and abuse them, they're built solid.

Mounting points - There's a chock load of mounting points on this bike, allowing you to fit a rear rack, mudguards and a front rack if you so wish. I have myself fitted 45mm SKS Bluemels mudguards onto my Triban RC 520 and I really enjoy having no skid marks on my shirt and dry feet when riding on wet roads. Mudguards are pretty much a must for me on any bike after having installed them onto the Triban RC 520.

For touring and bikepacking, the mounting points make the Triban RC 520 a great option, which coupled with it's relaxed geometry makes for a really ideal bikepacking bike.

Tire clearance - There is room to fit up to 36mm officially, but there are people on the Interwebs who have even fit up to 40mm x 700c tires. You could potentially go even bigger if you changed to 650b wheels. Again, the versatility of the RC 520 shines here; you could convert this to a gravel bike if you wished. This makes the RC 520 an excellent bike for touring and bikepacking, just pop on some 36es if you're expecting more offroad, and when you're back from your trip go back to 28 slicks and it's back to being a road bike.

Saddle - It's said that saddles are very personal, you could buy the 600 USD Specialized Power Mirror saddle which in my opinion is a ridiculously overpriced piece of kit and still feel uncomfortable on your bicycle. On the other hand, the stock Decathlon saddle which comes with the bike (and costs just 15 SGD when bought separately) fits me great and I've done rides that are eight hours long on it.

Comfort - Overall, this is a bike with quite a relaxed geometry. The rider is in quite an upright position as compared to a race bike and it comes stock with five stem spacers. This is definitely an endurance bike and it shows in it's geometry, but it also makes for a comfortable ride which doesn't force you to bend down low while riding. I believe you could make it quite a bit more aggressive by removing all the stem spacers and increasing the saddle, along with shorter cranks, but I'm more of an endurance rider and am very comfortable and happy with the stock position it comes in.

Brakes - Love the TRP HY/RD's on the RC 520. Admittedly, I've only had rim brakes to compare it against, but damn I love the braking power of hydraulics. While these aren't true hydraulics, I've read online that the HY/RD's come pretty close when it is setup properly, while also having the disadvantages of both systems. Compared with other bicycles that I've used before though, the HY/RD's have lovely linear modulation and also a sufficiently strong bite without requiring me to jam down on the brake levers. I intend to change to fully metallic pads when the stock ones wear out, and perhaps a change in wheelset including some Ice-Tech rotors too to see if I can further improve the brake feel.

Smoothness - The bike rolls very nicely (and much nicer once you swap out for better tires), incredibly smoothly, which is a combination of all the parts like the drivetrain, wheelset and the sealed bearings, tires, and frame working together. Decathlon has put together a really nice road bike here and the feel of the road when you're rolling at 30km/h on tarmac is just great, a nice combination of feeling the buzz from the road but not overwhelming. They've nailed it with the rigidity of the frame, it falls in the sweet spot for me.

Value for money - Again, the incredible value you get, 970 SGD for a Shimano 105 (mostly) drivetrain, and all the things I like about the bike mentioned above, is truly the king of value in this price range. There is no other offering out there (short of a well maintained secondhand bicycle) that can offer this kind of value. It competes with offerings from other companies that are double or triple it's price.

This bike is pretty much the most value for money you get in entry level road bikes, short of an awesome secondhand find (or a secondhand RC 520 in pristine condition, for that matter). Canyon, Ribble, Merida don't even come close (though they offer better specs), and the only thing that may come a considerably distant second is Boardman.

Dislikes

Weight - Well, it can't all be good right? Designing an entry level bike is always an exercise in managing compromises. Straight up, this is a heavy bike, and by road bike standards, really heavy. The frame comes in at 1.83kg in size M, which is a full 1kg heavier than full carbon race bike frames. This will negatively affect your climbing experience although it can be negated by being fitter and to a lesser extent, performing component upgrades. On the flats, weight is usually less of an issue, but it does affect acceleration which brings us to the next point.

Somewhat sluggish, not the most responsive - It's not the ultra responsive, fast accelerating carbon race bike that weighs in exactly at the UCI mandated 6.8kg, in fact, after adding mounts, bottle cages and proper pedals, it's likely to weigh in closer to upwards of 12kg. This is evident when you handle the bike, it's requires more time to get into turns and also gets up to speed much slower than a "super bike". Even if it were 6.8kg, it would not be as responsive because the geometry of this bike is more upright and the rider is naturally in a less aero position. I considered before adding this point in the dislikes section, because I understand that after all it was meant as a endurance road bike and not a race bike. However I still do think that some weight could be shed from the stock wheels at least so that they could spin up more quickly, and to also have an easier time when climbing.
 
Alignment of disc brakes and quick release - This is my biggest dislike with the RC 520, disc brakes and quick release are simply a terrible combination. With quick release, you can never quite put the wheels in the exact same position whenever you mount them onto the bike. You'd have to remember how many turns you did if you wanted to, and who would remember such a thing when you remove the wheels only occasionally? With disc brakes, this is a problem because the tolerances are tight. The result is that you rather frequently get disc rub which is terribly annoying. At best, you have an irritating sound every revolution, and it eats away at your power just ever so slightly. At worst, the rub is full on dragging, and you're losing immense power due to a constant braking effect. It feels like you're riding uphill wherever you go.

The irritating part is the frequency of needing to adjust for disc rub, and how difficult it can sometimes be when the simple method of grabbing the brakes and then tightening the calipers don't work. By far, this is my biggest gripe of the RC 520 and I wish they charged 60 bucks more and went with thru axles.

Inconsistent build quality - Story time, I actually owned two RC 520s before. I bought the first one, crashed it, and didn't want to bother with the replacement of handlebars and saddle to make it look new again, so I bought another one secondhand, in a different size. An issue with the first one was that I couldn't fit my front mudguard onto it, because the front hole for the screw wasn't threaded all the way through. I have no experience with tapping nor do I have a screw tap, so I simply didn't bother to mount the front mudguard which always felt like a waste since the front half was just sitting there. The second frame however, very thankfully was properly threaded and I could fit my front mudguard on. I love the look of the RC 520 with long mudguards in place, it looks like it's ready to take on the wettest roads.

Wheelset - So the positives of this wheelset has been covered above, but here come the negatives. First, it is a very weighty set of wheels, coming in at 2kg for the pair. This probably contributes a large part of the sluggish acceleration on this bike, and although it does contribute to maintaining speed better, for my use case where I have to constantly stop and then roll, I'd prefer something with a lighter weight and therefore snappier acceleration. Second, these tires, which are tubeless ready (again, incredible value for the price) means that the rims are somewhat bigger. It is a massive pain to fit on tires which are themselves known to be tight (e.g. Continental GP5000 clinchers). Until I got myself a bead jack tool, it was impossible to fit on the GP5000 myself, and I had to get local bike shops to do it for me at considerable cost. I'd rather they weren't tubeless ready if this is the price that needs to be paid, as I won't always have my bead jack tool on me when I'm riding outside. Having the ease of mind that you can fit on tires with your bare hands is always reassuring.

External cabling - my last con is but a little niggle; the wires are fully externally routed, not even partially internally routed which can be found in other bikes around this price range (~1,000 SGD). This is both a boon and a bane, the boon being that maintenance is far easier like that, but the bane is the look (and perhaps some aero disadvantage) and the cables getting in the way of larger lights mounted in the out front mount. Overall, this is just a small issue for me.

Overall

Decathlon has knocked it out of the park with this offering. I didn't want to spend too much to get into the sport when I first picked up road cycling, yet spend too little and you will find yourself quickly feeling deficiencies in your bike. Therefore, the smart choice is to go with the most value you can get for your money. In this regard, Decathlon is king, not just for bicycles, but for their sporting goods in general. Most of their items are excellent value and will cover you well into intermediate level of proficiency in a huge range of sports, and bicycles are no exception.

The Triban RC 520 represents one of the best (maybe even the best) value for an midrange road bike. After having ridden it for close to 2,000km, it performs superbly as a road bike, with excellent gear shifting, rolling, braking and otherwise performance in general. The choice of crank and cassette is excellent for beginner riders and the whole package is solid, with little holes to poke at.

The only major gripe I have with it are the use of quick release being paired with disc brakes, which gives a high chance of brake rub whenever the wheels are taken out and remounted, and the somewhat heavy wheelset which makes the bike feel a little sluggish. Wheelsets can be changed though, so that is somewhat ameleoriated.

Overall, this bike punches well above it's weight, competing with offerings that are twice or even thrice it's price. Decathlon has done a great job on the Triban RC 520 and I could not recommend it more to someone looking for a decent midrange road bike to get started on road cycling.

2B License: At Long Last!

This blog is about to have some radically new content, guess why? It's because I've finally unlocked the ultimate hobby; attaining a motorcycle license. In Singapore, getting a motorcycle license is a relatively arduous process, and considering that I am not very inclined to motor vehicles in general (my Class 3 license took me three tries), getting my Class 2B license was a pretty big deal for me.

Oh yea, it's sweet to see the tick in the "Passed" box

So this post will be about me recounting my experience in getting my 2B license at ComfortDelgro Driving Centre (CDC), my motivations for getting a motorcycle license, and what I intend to do with it.

Motivation for Taking Class 2B

The motivation has been there since I was in my early 20s; I thought that motorcycles were a really cool form of transport and it allowed for such a raw experience of being on the road. It's basically the ultimate vehicle to do exploration in since you could go where cars couldn't. Also, being a gearhead, motorcycles naturally appeal to me. There's a thousand different ways to pimp your motorcycle and get it to look the way you want, not to mention all the protective gear, navigation gear and all sorts of other gizmos that this hobby entails. In my early 20s though, all these were very much just thoughts.

It wouldn't be until 2019 when I was on vacation in Sabah to climb Mt. Kinabalu, where I really wished I could bike around the city on our rest day. Hence I signed up for motorcycle lessons once I was back from that trip.

My experience at CDC

I am quite pleased with the experience of the 2B course at CDC. The instructors are really doing their jobs out of passion; they're exposed to the elements everyday (including Sundays) and motorcycle lessons start from 8.30am all the way to 10.40pm. While I'm sure they have a schedule and are not working through all of those hours, the instructors are really there to help you attain your license.

Understandably, some lessons (especially the early ones where learners haven't quite figured out how to work the clutch and throttle), the instructors can get pretty fierce with learners. Remember though, motorcycling is a high stakes activity, there are certain things that need to be done correctly and if instructors shout at you when you're doing something wrong, that same mistake could be something life threatening outside of the driving school. I'd much rather get a dressing-down in the school and learn from it than to learn to ride haphazardly. 

The instructors are happy to clarify doubts that learners may have most of the time, and considering the price learners are paying, I'm more than glad with the level of service. I would sum up the experience of taking the 2B course at CDC as a positive one!

I shall not recount my experience with all the stages of practical lessons in this post, that will be reserved for another post.

The TP

The Traffic Police Test (commonly just abbreviated to TP) is pretty nerve-wracking. Personally, it took me five (yes you read that right, five!) attempts to get my 2B license.

So, you've got to reach CDC at 7am, in order to take attendance, collect your number tags and attend the warm-up. Number tags are given in order of residential status, then seniority (foreigners will go first, thereafter Singaporeans are sorted according to age, the younger you are the more behind you will be). Make sure to bring your booklet, NRIC and PDL (e-copy will do). If for some reason you don't want to do the warm-up, coming at 7.45am or so will be fine, but make sure to collect your number tag upon reaching CDC, whether warm-up or not!

The instructors will allow for up to two rounds of warm-up in the circuit, and by about 8am, all warm-ups will stop and everyone will be seated (either at the training shed or the motorcycle reporting counter). Testers will waltz in to where you are seated at about 8.15am to check everyone's NRIC, where you will have to recite your own name and IC number while they are holding your NRIC.

Afterwards, instructors will push out in groups of 4-5 people to mount onto the motorcycles. You will have some choice in what bike you want to use, so remember the bike numbers which you like! The earlier groups will have less choice since the bikes are arranged in rows of five, so they have to pick from the front row as anything from the rows behind will be blocked from moving off by the bikes in the front row.

For the testees who are assigned a larger number tag, you will have more freedom in choosing your bike for the test since there will be more space between the available choices left and you can choose something in the middle of the pack and still have space to maneuver your way out.

Circuit Evaluation
At this point, the usual test route of the circuit will commence. Here are some things I found that have helped me immensely during the TP:

- Make sure to eat something!

 You probably won't have much appetite since you may not have slept at all (but try your best, a good night's sleep will make all the difference in your performance), and probably had to wake up at 6am to reach CDC on time. Combine this with the test anxiety and it's easy to just forgo eating anything. You really need to though, the TP is a very lengthy process with lots of waiting in between and you will need the energy.

- Manage your emotional state

TP is undoubtedly nerve-wracking. Even having been through other stressful situations (job interviews, presentations at work, public speaking experiences), the TP still ranks up there as one of the most nerve-wracking. Do box breathing, and remember that if you're already able to book the TP, then you already have it in you! In truth, the TP is no harder than lesson 8 if not for nerves, so manage your emotional state and you'll be able to perform.

- Show your intentions clearly

Show clearly what are your intentions through actions, whether it's wanting to change lanes or checking your blindspot. Make sure to turn on your signal lights, or turn your head visibly. Intentions should never be implied, as the testers are looking for you to physically perform the action as an indicator of your intent.

After you're done with the circuit evaluation, you'll end it by parking your bikes back in the nursery on the main stand and a long wait will commence. You will be given till about 10.15am to have a break, before being seated back at the training shed or counter. The testers will now announce the numbers that will not be able to progress to the road evaluation. Thank your lucky stars if your number isn't called out, you get to progress to the second part of the TP. From what I've heard, it's about a 90% passing rate for those who go on to take the road evaluation so you're that much closer to getting your 2B license! Save the congratulations for later though because it is still very much possible to fail the road component.

Road Evaluation

Again, as with the circuit evaluation, you will head out for the road component based on your tag number. There are resources online to show you the critical areas where the testers are located. Again, some tips I have for the road evaluation are:

- Ride at a decent speed

You're no longer in the circuit, 30km/h won't cut it, and driving too slowly demonstrates a lack of confidence. Go anywhere from 40-50km/h, that will be a comfortable speed for the road evaluation.

- Independence of mind

Do not blindly follow the rider in front of you and do whatever he's doing. Often, there is a desire to follow whatever the rider is doing ahead so that you can lessen your cognitive load. Do NOT do that, every rider is in his own unique situation and you need to assess for yourself the situation you are in. The rider in front may have enough time to pass a green arrow and turn right, but do you? If you try to rush a traffic light so that you can remain as a 'follower', you may just cross an amber or red light. Don't do that to yourself, especially at this point where you're so close to your license already.

The ride back to CDC is the home stretch and honestly one of the best feelings ever. It's a huge moment of relief so ride back smoothly and park your bike in the nursery. Thereafter, proceed to the 3rd level of CDC and enjoy your one hour long wait as the testers decide who will get their 2B license and who will not. You will have taken off your number tags at this point so remember what it is mentally. If your number is called out during this one hour, unfortunately you didn't make it. After the agonizing wait, the tester will come into the classroom and announce that if you're still seated in the room, then it means you've passed. Congratulations!

Quickly book your Expressway Familiarization Ride (EFR), which is a free lesson that has two slots, 12.45 pm and 2.35pm. You will for the first time ride on expressways and it's a world of a difference to be riding at 90km/h outside, as compared to riding in the circuit or road revisions. Afterwards, all that's left is to create your driver's license (if you don't already have it), or send for it to be updated with a sticker if you already have a license for another class of vehicles.

 

2020 So Far: An Interest in Prepping

We're nine months into 2020 already, and I think we can all agree what a year it has been so far. Everyday lives across the globe have been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic which is still spreading amongst us this very moment. Global supply chains have been disrupted, bilateral relations have turned sour, politicians have tried doing everything to deny the existence when COVID-19 was still not present in their own countries, and several high profile politicians and actors have even caught the virus.

The lockdown eventually came, when countries realized they had to do something before the entire population of their countries caught the virus. Hoarding behaviors sprang up first in Asia, while westerners derided the survival mindset of Asian countries. Before long, the very same behavior was observed in western countries where the most severe wave of the virus was seen. For awhile, the whole world was trying to get used to the life of lockdown; shops and malls were closed across the world, as people ate and worked from home. Things were starting to stabilize. 'No', said the powers that be, we're not ready for peace yet. And thus, after an act of police brutality, protests and riots began USA. Fueled by the pent-up frustration of having to stay home for the last three months, social unrest got to an all-time high and riots spread to the streets across the country, as were looters looking to cash in on the chaos. That wasn't the only thing that was at an all-time high though; stock markets around the world recovered from what must have been the shortest bear market. Whether it was the immense stimulus packages around the world that was artificially propping up asset prices or not is god's guess. As if economic outlook does not matter anymore, stock indices rose to record highs leaving behind their footing in reality, and behave as if they had a mind of their own.

Meanwhile back in reality, the economic engine has had a spanner thrown into the works and the aviation and tourism industry is basically left in limbo while they're burning cash to pay off fixed costs and expenses every day while barely generating any revenues. A good chunk of employees in these sectors have been forced to severely reduce spending in fear of getting their jobs cut anytime, which is a process that is well underway as employers in aviation, tourism and F&B are declaring bankruptcy left and right and choosing to close for good. This in turn leads to less consumer spending as the reduced spending from people in all these affected sectors mean less earnings for someone else. The economic engine is being shaken to its very roots. At this point, it's hard to say what might come next, but if I had to I'd bet heavily on the effects of climate change. The consequences of mankind's actions for the last 100+ years is fast catching up with us.

 Eventually though, you get used to whatever is happening. Mass gatherings now seem to be a thing of the past. Sporting events, concerts are now a relic from the past. I'm glad to have attended some of these events and if this is really how things will be until a vaccine is developed and distributed widely to the whole world, then these coming few years are going to be dark days for the entertainment industry, or anything where a live audience used to be the best way to view an event.

Looking back at how 2020 has passed so far, it seems ridiculous that the year has went by like that. Back in early March when the virus was starting to soar, life was relatively normal and I was in fact about to head to Vietnam. Nine days later, flying back to Singapore, I avoided stay-home notice by a single day. And that was it, one week back to work, my company embarked on a work from home arrangement. <To be continued>

Review of Garmin Forerunner 945 - My First Smartwatch (of Sorts)

We're six months into 2020 already, and I think we can all agree what a year it has been so far. Everyday lives across the globe have been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic which is still spreading amongst us this very moment. Global supply chains have been disrupted, bilateral relations have turned sour, politicians have tried doing everything to deny the existence when COVID-19 was still not present in their own countries, and several high profile politicians and actors have even caught the virus.

The lockdown eventually came, when countries realized they had to do something before the entire population of their countries caught the virus. Hoarding behaviors sprang up first in Asia, while westerners derided the survival mindset of Asian countries. Before long, the very same behavior was observed in western countries where the most severe wave of the virus was seen. For awhile, everyone was trying to get used to the life of lockdown; shops and malls were closed across the world, as people ate and worked from home. Things were starting to stabilize. 'No', said the powers that be, we're not ready for peace yet. And thus, after an act of police brutality, protests and riots began USA. Fueled by the pent-up frustration of having to stay home for the last three months, social unrest got to an all-time high and riots spread to the streets across the country, as were looters looking to cash in on the chaos. That wasn't the only thing that was at an all-time high though; stock markets around the world recovered from what must have been the shortest bear market. Whether it was the immense stimulus packages around the world that was artificially propping up asset prices or not is god's guess. As if economic outlook does not matter anymore, stock indices rose to record highs leaving behind their footing in reality, and behave as if they had a mind of their own.

Meanwhile back in reality, the economic engine has had a spanner thrown into the works and the aviation and tourism industry is basically left in limbo while they're burning cash to pay off fixed costs and expenses every day while barely generating any revenues. A good chunk of employees in these sectors have been forced to severely reduce spending in fear of getting their jobs cut anytime, which is a process that is well underway as employers in aviation, tourism and F&B are declaring bankruptcy left and right and choosing to close for good. This in turn leads to less consumer spending as the reduced spending from people in all these affected sectors mean less earnings for someone else. The economic engine is being shaken to its very roots. At this point, it's hard to say what might come next, but if I had to I'd bet heavily on the effects of climate change. The consequences of mankind's actions for the last 100+ years is fast catching up with us.

What to do in tumultuous times like these? If you were thinking that it's about keeping your head down, working hard to retain your job, learning new skills, you'd be somewhat correct. More obviously though, it's to buy a new watch. Don't forget that this is The Watch Post, after all (please note that I'm not advocating you spend your money frivolously, I am fortunate enough to be in an OK position financially, and I managed to score a good deal on a used piece). With so much being said, let's introduce my most recent acquisition.

(pic on Garmin against yellow background)

I've always held out against the idea of a smartwatch, given that the average digital Casio lasts two years on a button cell battery. Two years? Yea, that's as good as a mechanical for me. I reckoned that this level of maintenance should be what is expected of a watch, and that having to charge a smartwatch like the Apple Watch daily was far too much hassle for a timekeeping device. During this lockdown though, I've been running more than I have ever been. For the past three months, running is one of the few activities that I can legally leave my house for, and I've been taking advantage of it since almost all forms of activities are now pretty much prohibited. I thought it'd be nice to have a fitness tracker which could keep track of my runs during this period. If there's one thing a traditional digital/mechanical watch can't do, it's tracking a run (or actually anything besides telling the time).

So with that, I was now in the market for a smartwatch. Most smartwatches these days can fulfill the role of tracking a run as long as it has GPS, and the range spans from a $150 Amazfit watch to the $500 Apple Watch to the Garmin MARQs which run over $1,000. I decided I wanted a watch more oriented towards fitness tracking, and not a general purpose smartwatch. The nice thing about fitness oriented smartwatches (Suunto, Polar, Garmin) is that they typically have longer battery lives up to two or so weeks as they use transflective displays (sort of like e-reader screens which consume far less battery than LCD/OLED screens) and also are easily readable under the sun. I suppose I could live with charging once a week. Other nice things to have would be maps for navigation so I could use them when I travel (whenever that will be) and wanted to navigate and explore the area. Of course, I eventually realized that only the flagship products of Garmin have offline maps available. That meant that I had to go for the highest end product, which is met with the highest end of prices too. I finally caved when I saw that Amazon had the Fenix 6 Pro for about $800 for Father's Day and went ahead with it.

Ten minutes after placing my order, I cancelled it. It really didn't feel right to be spending 800 bucks on a watch when the global economy was in a free fall. I was prepared to give up this venture of getting a smartwatch at that point, it's not worth feeling that I've done something so wrong just to have a new piece of shiny kit on my wrist; that money could instead have been given to my parents as allowance or I could've spent it on household items which my family could benefit from instead. As luck would have it, I then came across a used Forerunner 945 and the price was much more palatable than the price for the Fenix 6. Maps? Check. Battery life? Check. Price? Check. It was time to go ahead with it.

The Forerunner 945 is a watch with so many functions I don't think I could cover them all if I tried. It's a watch meant for triathletes and avid sportsmen. I'm just an average run-of-the-mill runner who has an interest in watches. With that, I shall try my best to review this watch including the functions that I don't use and how it has benefited me as a whole.

The Forerunner 945 comes in at 47mm in diameter, which may sound very big but given I was pleased to find out that it didn't hang over my wrists which are relatively small. <To be continued>

Review of Garmin Fenix 6

The year is almost coming to a close, nothing will stop the ticking forward of time, even the year 2020. I think no one is in disagreement on what a year 2020 has been. It has upended normal life as we know it, with the entire tourism and aviation industry being upended with no end in sight for their troubles. Even with a vaccine in sight now, the logistical undertaking to administer the vaccine widely will mean that COVID-19 will linger among us for a long time.

Being in tiny Singapore, we have been fortunate to have handled the situation effectively besides during April and May. What COVID-19 has instead done is to show that Singapore needs the world to be open, our very survival depends on it. Without an influx of tourists, many businesses have become unviable overnight, and hotels, hostels and tour operators are pretty much bleeding money trying to survive until the tourists come back again. I don't see this happening anytime soon, not with all the social unrest that has been unearthed by COVID-19. Travel and regular leisure activities will be in the back of people's minds for at least a few years to come.

Meanwhile, being stuck in such a tiny country has also presented a set of challenges that everyone living here faces. There just isn't very much to do in this country, not least with many activities being restricted in some form due to 'social distancing' or otherwise outright disallowed. So, I took to a particular activity that is both cheap (or not) and good for health; walking. Since April when we started having lockdowns in my country, I've been going on long, long walks to pass time and also preserve my sanity. One should never underestimate the effect of not having anything to do on the days off work. A mind cooped up at home makes for an irritable person.

This is where the Garmin Fenix 6 comes in. After walking for about 2 months and using my phone to track my walks, I wanted something that would allow me to look at my surroundings more and my smartphone less, and down the rabbit hole I went. I settled on a used Garmin Forerunner 945 initially, and it did serve me very well indeed. The topo maps on the Garmin are a delight to use, letting you know with turn-by-turn directions how to get to your destination. I have taken walks anywhere from 10km to nearly 40km and the topo maps are an excellent guide.

But once you're in the rabbit hole, it only goes deeper and deeper. Come November, I was no longer pleased with the Forerunner 945. It performed well, but physically was not what I expected out of a watch. It was really light since it was completely constructed of plastic, and that was really good when going out for a run since I don't feel the weight on my wrist, but it didn't feel like a quality watch. So what's the really expensive solution to add some weight to your wrist? I still very much liked the implementation of maps by Garmin, as well as the battery life a Garmin offers. No other smart watch using an OLED will have a two week battery life, so it was going to be a Garmin again. At the time, the Descent Mk2i was already available but it costs something like SGD2,300, enough to buy an iPad and the Fenix 6, so that was out of the question. I had always liked the Descent line of watches since I think I will one day use the diving features. The price tag though was something I could not bear, especially not for a smart watch that will be obsolete in three years.

Ah, as luck would have it.. 11.11 sales came soon enough and the Garmin official store on Shopee was having the Fenix 6 on sale for SGD 838. After further rebates from my credit card, I could have the Fenix 6 for about close to SGD 800. Still a mighty high price for a smart watch, but also based on the resale value that I saw Fenix 6 was capable of, I felt comfortable making the purchase.

I will not go too much into the details and specifications of the watch itself, but share more on my experience in using the Fenix 6. First, what's the difference from the Forerunner 945 and second, what value does a Garmin smart watch add to my life? Truth is, if you already have a Forerunner 945, the Fenix 6 is almost identical functionally. Everything you can do with the Fenix 6, you also can with the Forerunner 945. You have topo maps, music and NFC payments on both (albeit reduced music storage on the 945), and the Forerunner 945 will do it for a significant lower cost. The real difference is in the construction of the watches themselves. The 945 is unapologetically plastic, this is part of the draw of the 945, so that the weight is kept down and isn't a hindrance in a triathlon. The Fenix 6 is composed of a steel bezel and a steel caseback, which sandwiches the middle part which is made of plastic.

Essentially, the price difference between a Fenix 6 and 945 is entirely down to the physical construction of the watch, and the Forerunner 945 at about SGD 700 and the Fenix 6 at about SGD 900, I do feel that asking an extra SGD 200 is a lot for simply making the bezel and caseback steel instead of plastic. It is what it is, Garmin still makes a killing with their smart watches and this is how their price structure is, but they've certainly been going upwards in price which I do not like one bit.

 So what does owning a Garmin do for you? Well, I got into the habit of taking long walks especially during the lockdown period in April where people weren't allowed to gather in groups and shops deemed non-essential were closed for a full two months. In that period, it truly was a challenge finding ways to spend leisure time and I took up a cheap and healthy activity of taking walks of upwards of 10km. I thought it would be good to have topo maps so that I didn't have to take out my phone at every turn (really an expensive solution to a first world problem) and in this regard, the Garmin did very well. The screen on the Fenix 6 is large enough to make it useful in knowing how far ahead to go before a turn is needed. Besides that, I tracked all my walks and it does give a certain sense of satisfaction to see your history especially when I went on longer walks (my furthest walk was about 38km).

 I've also been running much more since COVID and I use my Garmin to track all these runs too. It's nice to be able to see your heart rate, pace, and other metrics that the Garmin tracks. Of course, there are much cheaper solutions to seeing such basic run info, your smartphone would be good enough if you just wanted to track pace. Rather, it's the complete package of having a watch that tracks everything, and does topo maps and also has some basic smartwatch functions that makes it such a fancy gadget that I felt like owning one. Well, in this regard, I am totally a gear junkie and I do read up on gear to acquire. I felt the Garmin is pretty much the most 'do-it-all' watch available. The maps would be especially helpful oversees if I didn't want to keep taking my phone out (and of course 2020 happened, smashing any hopes of travel). Most smartwatches will be able to do GPS maps, but I didn't want to be charging my phone all the time. <To be continued>

Review of Casio Pro Trek PRW-3500-1: The Be-All and End-All?

After the last post some three weeks back, I finally took delivery of the Pro Trek PRW-3500-1 (from hereon referred to as PRW-3500). Shipping took painfully long (almost a month to get from USA to Singapore), but it finally came and I have many things to say about it. Without further ado, let's get started with the review.

(pic of watch against yellow background)

The PRW-3500 has a spec list longer than that of a car. This was partly my motivation in acquiring this piece; I wanted to see what a high-end digital watch is capable of these days. The Pro Trek line of watches are often passed in favor of the G-Shock series, but they are actually solid contenders that often provide more digital complications for a lower price.

(picture of thick manual) caption: a 100 page thick manual covers the functions of the watch

·        Case / bezel material: Resin / Stainless steel

·        Resin Band

·        Mineral Glass

·        Bi-directional bezel

·        200-meter water resistance

·        LED backlight (Super Illuminator)

·        Full auto LED light, selectable illumination duration, afterglow

·        Solar powered

·        Low-temperature resistant (–10°C/14°F)

·        Time calibration signal reception

·        Auto receive

o   up to six* times a day (remaining auto receives canceled as soon as one is successful)

o   *5 times a day for the Chinese calibration signal

·        Manual receive

      Triple Sensor Version 3

·        Digital compass

o   Measures and displays direction as one of 16 points

o   Measuring range: 0 to 359°

o   Measuring unit: 1°

o   60 seconds continuous measurement

o   Graphic direction pointer

o   Bidirectional calibration

o   Magnetic declination correction

o   Bearing memory

·        Altimeter

o   Measuring range: –700 to 10,000 m (–2,300 to 32,800 ft.)

o   Measuring unit: 1 m (5 ft.)

o   Manual memory measurements (up to 30 records, each including altitude, date, time)

o   Auto log data (High/low altitudes, auto cumulative ascent and descent)

o   Trek log data (up to 14 records of high/low altitudes, auto cumulative ascent and descent of particular treks)

o   Others: Relative altitude readings (–3,000 to 3,000 m), Selectable measurement interval: 5 seconds or 2 minutes

o   *1 second for first 3 minutes only

o   *Changeover between meters (m) and feet (ft)

·        Barometer

o   Display range: 260 to 1,100 hPa (7.65 to 32.45 inHg)

o   Display unit: 1 hPa (0.05 inHg)

o   Atmospheric pressure tendency graph(past 42 hours of readings)

o   Atmospheric pressure differential graphic

o   Barometric pressure tendency information alarm (beep and arrow indicates significant changes in pressure)

o   *Changeover between hPa and inHg

·        Thermometer

o   Display range: –10 to 60°C (14 to 140°F)

o   Display unit: 0.1°C (0.2°F)

o   *Changeover between Celsius (°C) and Fahrenheit (°F)

·        World time

o   31 time zones (48 cities + coordinated universal time), daylight saving on/off

·        Sunrise, sunset time display

o   Sunrise time and sunset time for specific date, daylight pointers

·        1/10-second stopwatch

o   Measuring capacity: 999:59'59.9''

o   Measuring modes: Elapsed time, split time, 1st-2nd place times

·        Countdown timer

o   Measuring unit: 1 second

o   Countdown range: 24 hours

o   Countdown start time setting range: 1 minute to 24 hours (1-minute increments and 1-hour increments)

·        5 daily alarms (with 1 snooze alarm)

·        Hourly time signal

·        Battery level indicator

·        Power Saving (display goes blank to save power when the watch is left in the dark)

·        Full auto-calendar (to year 2099)

·        12/24-hour format

·        Button operation tone on/off

·        Regular timekeeping: Hour, minute, second, pm, year, month, date, day

·        Accuracy: ±15 seconds per month (with no signal calibration)

·        Approx battery operating time:

o   7 months on rechargeable battery (operation period with normal use without exposure to light after charge)

o   23 months on rechargeable battery (operation period when stored in total darkness with the power save function on after full charge)

(Picture of G-Shock Rangeman and its small display)

At 46mm in diameter (at the bezel) and 88g (on the stock strap), the PRW-3500 is a beast and has real presence. I personally find it to be aesthetically pleasing. I particularly like the three buttons on the right side, which is balanced by the v3 sensor module on the left side of the watch. At the lugs, an exposed screwbar is used to attach the straps to the watch, further contributing to its blockiness. The chunky aesthetic makes it right at home on the manliest of wrists.

The PRW-3500 features a case constructed from Casio's signature resin, which is extensively used from G-Shocks to F-91Ws. Stylistically, the Pro Treks have their own distinct DNA in the form of big displays. Initially deciding between the G-Shock Rangeman GW-9400 and the PRW-3500, the size of the display was the decisive factors in going for the Pro Trek. The positive display is highly legible and you need merely glance at it to see the time. This display is nothing short of fantastic, I think everyone will truly appreciate what a difference it makes in viewing the time when you have a display this big.

The PRW-3500 will hold its own against any G-Shock with a solid 200m of water resistance too. There are many other Pro Treks that have 100m of resistance, but the PRW-3500 seems to be one of their flagship offerings and thus, it comes with an additional 100m.

Lighting up the large display is a dual LED backlight Super Illuminator, which is activated by a large knurled button on the bottom of the watch. The backlight which is white in color is bright enough to light up the area in pitch-black conditions and makes the display highly legible in low light situations. The Super Illuminator function alone has quite a few settings that you can adjust; 1.5 or 3 seconds of activation and also automatic activation at the flick of a wrist. An interesting thing to note is that the backlight cuts out if you press a button to change modes, however if you turn off button press sounds, it will remain on when you press any buttons. A smart thing to do since you may not know what mode you are in when button press sounds are disabled, hence checking it visually is the only way to know.

Covering the display is a mineral display, but the PRW-3500 does come with a sapphire crystal in the PRW-3510 update, which will cost you a considerable markup. The scratch resistance of sapphire is nice but mineral crystals are fine for a outdoor watch for me. The next thing that catches the eye is the stainless steel bi-directional bezel marked with directional bearings that flanks the display. It isn't ratcheting, which is the kind of bezel you would find on dive watches, but remains pleasantly firm to operate and is a pretty good implementation of a bezel. The bezel is marker with north, south, east, west, and a bearing in degrees increasing in steps of 30. You can use the compass, find your target bearing, and use the bezel to store your bearing.

Flipping it over, there is impressive construction quality going on here. The caseback, which is emblazoned with a Pro Trek mountain logo, looks like the caseback from monocoque watches such as the Seiko Marine Master 300. It's a very nice caseback which wouldn't look out of place on a much more expensive piece.

On the back of the watch, we can also see the 'wrist guards' that come with the default strap. These grey pieces of plastic flare out from the lugs and function as a threshold for how much the straps can move around freely. I'm not completely sure but my guess is that Casio added these so that the straps don't flop around and maintain their angle to preserve the aesthetic when it is worn on the wrist, especially a person with small wrists.

The default straps that come with the PRW-3500 are made of the same resin as the watch case and are surprisingly nice. The upper and lower straps are printed with manly words; 'TRIPLE SENSOR' on the top and 'TOUGH SOLAR' on the bottom piece. Near the top of the wrist, there are vents that help keeps things ventilated and the back of the straps are serrated so that the keeper can lock into place firmly. There is a nice brushed buckle with a skeletonized tang to wrap it off. The strap smells faintly of vanilla too, similar to caoutchouc rubber straps. All in all, I think Casio did a great job on the strap here, I'd be most happy to keep it on the stock strap till I get bored of the aesthetic.

Now we come to the functions, which I won't go into so much detail. If I did, this article would be a lot longer than I want it to be, and also partly I'm not able to verify the accuracy of all the altitude, barometer and compass (ABC) functions given my limited knowledge in this area.

Out of the multitude of functions that this watch has, let me comment so some of the ones that I did use. I compared the accuracy of the compass against a Suunto MB-6 magnetic compass and the PRW-3500 was slightly off in its reading. I'd say it could be used as a backup navigational tool but you wouldn't want to rely on it for serious hikes where a few degrees of deviation can cause you to deviate by hundreds of meters given enough distance.

I tried out the altimeter climbing Mount Kinabalu recently and sadly, I must say that the altimeter performed appallingly. The Timpohon gate, where hikers start their ascent of Kinabalu, is 1,866m high. The PRW-3500 gave me a reading of about 1,450m. If you're doing any activity where knowing your altitude is important, you will need something else to measure your altitude. I didn't mess with zeroing the altimeter however, so you may get very different results from what I did.

I don't know much about barometers so I can't say too much about the performance of the one on the PRW-3500. There is a barometer alert function which will give a visual indication when there are sudden increases/decreases in barometric pressure. A lower barometric reading is indicative of good weather, and a high reading suggests that a storm or rainy weather might be approaching.

The sunrise/sunset feature is great, where you can key in your latitude and longitude and get local sunrise/sunset timings, or you can get timings on the fly for a given latitude/longitude. You can also get timings for a different day on the fly, scrolling through the days with the various buttons. The world time feature is also great, where you can choose a local city to stick with (most major cities included) and also check the local time for a given time zone on the fly.

Per every other Casio watch, it comes standard with the countdown, stopwatch and alarm functions. These functions are enhanced in the PRW-3500, with additions such as five alarms, and easy split lap functions due to the number of buttons available on the Pro Trek. Every function is souped up from the basic F-91W or basic G-Shocks simply because the guys at Casio could do so. I'm not entirely impressed with the volume of the alarm or the countdown timer. The best alarm would of course be a vibrate alarm, but since that is a rare feature in Casio watches, we can only rely on the sound-based alarm, which is actually quite soft. In this regard, I feel like you'd need some other tool to really wake you up at a given time and wish that the PRW-3500 had a more effective alarm in waking a person up.

No worries regarding charging as this watch features Casios's Tough Solar, which is a fancy name for solar charging. All you have to do is wear this bad boy out in the sun and it will juice itself up. The battery can last for 11 months after a full charge, and 23 months if power saving mode is turned on. Power saving mode will turn the display off when the watch has not been exposed to any light source after a certain amount of time. It's a great feature as these batteries can die if they're left on a low charge for a long amount of time, and the power saving mode can reduce the chances of that happening. You will need to make a trip down to a watchmaker if the battery inside ever dies and fails to hold a charge.

Charging the watch up to full power and having it show 'H' on the battery reserve indicator is no easy feat though. Since receiving the watch almost a month ago, I have never got it to the maximum charge and its been showing 'M' since the day I got it. You pretty much have to leave it at a window sill for a good two to three days with strong sunlight in order to get it to show 'H' at the battery reserve indicator, based on what I've read from other owners.

That said, you never have to worry about battery on the PRW-3500, it's a grab and go piece, which is exactly what I want out of a digital watch. Not having to set the time after leaving it unused for months, not having to charge it every night on a dock like a smartwatch needs to be. This is hassle-free and I've really come to appreciate it when I started work, when my mind could be thinking of trying to get to work on time, I don't want something that needs to be adjusted to the right date and time and wound up so that it can last the day.

The Pro Trek PRW-3500 is a serious contender for the best digital watch that I've come across yet. Aside from an alarm function that could've been louder, and questionable accuracy of the altimeter, it has all the functions one could possibly squeeze in a digital watch that doesn't have to be charged every week, has the water resistance of G-Shocks and looks great in my opinion. It doesn't come cheap for a digital watch at about 190 USD, which puts it on par with the Rangeman line of G-Shocks, but given a choice between the two, the Casio Pro Trek PRW-3500 is a clear winner to me.