Categories
Food & Drinks

KDD Old School Packaging is Back!

Back in 2011 KDD dropped the old school names and packaging for some of their ice creams and replaced them with the generic Blitz name and packaging. But, it looks like KDD is bringing back the original names and designs again. The KDD app is now showing Failaka, Burgan and Columbia again as well as some other new items like lolly sticks.

I don’t know if this a temporary marketing thing or not but I hope it stays. I also hope they’re not gonna kill off the lolly pyramids and replace them with these new sticks. Also KDD, why did you close down the KDD store near my place in Salmiya??

via @inspirededibles




Categories
Fitness Information

Home Gym Build: Part 2 – The Equipment

If you missed my Part 1 post on my home gym build, you can check that post here. For the second part, I wanted to talk about some of the equipment I got, where I got it from, and what options you have for getting the same as well. The pandemic started this home gym craze which has left the market bare of decent gym equipment, and when you do find any available, they tend to be overpriced. The quality of some of the equipment being sold is also questionable with lots of clones and overpriced poor quality hardware being imported by people who are looking to make a quick buck.

For my gym needs all I really needed was weight plates, an Olympic bar, a curl bar, and dumbbells. I managed to get everything except for dumbbells. Not sure what pre-corona prices were for dumbbells, but right now they seem incredibly expensive, at least to me. I can’t just get one set of dumbbells either, I’d have to get a whole range since depending on the exercise I might need anything from 10KG up to 36KG. So for now, I’ve put the thought of getting dumbbells aside unless I want to spend over 700KD which I’m not gonna do.

Weight plates aren’t that difficult to find, but finding a whole set of weights is. I was originally planning to get my plates from ProSports, but they had certain weights out of stock when I first checked which meant for example I could get 20KG plates but couldn’t find maybe 5KG or 10KG. I then decided to get bumper plates from Nomad, but they were out of stock. Gym Doctor? Also out of stock. Nobody had a full set of weight plates and I didn’t want to mix and match different brands or looks since my OCD wouldn’t be able to deal with it. I also needed them to be in KG not Lbs since I’ve only ever used KGs at my gym and didn’t want to change that. At one point I found all the weights I needed on the ProSports website but they were out of stock on the 7ft Olympic bar. I decided to wait until they got the bar in stock, but by then some of the weights were out of stock. Waiting until everything you want is available to order isn’t gonna work.

Eventually, while going through my Instagram explore page I noticed Sports World were selling a Torque brand package that included a full set of colored bumper plates (5KG, 10KG, 15KG, 20KG), a 7ft black Olympic bar and 2 collars all for 392KD. They also had a Torque adjustable bench for 220KD. I also bought extra 2.5KG plates from them. It was around 10PM at night, maybe later and the owner quick responded to my questions on Instagram and I managed to place the order and pay for my items all through Instagram DM. It was an impulse buy but it had to be if I wanted to make sure I got what I wanted before they sold out. The prices might sound expensive, but they’re actually acceptable for what you’re getting. For example, the bumper plate package retail cost is around KD340 in the US (pre-corona) so we’re only paying a slight premium here. What I’ve actually noticed is that the no-brand Chinese stuff is being sold for a pretty high price while the premium brands which have proper dealers in Kuwait kept their prices fairly stable.

So the difference in price between the no-brand clones and premium brand items has narrowed to the point you might as well pay a bit more and just get the premium brands. This price discrepancy is more obvious with things like the adjustable bench. At 220KD I think the bench I got is a steal compared to other benches in the market that cost 150-200KD. The Torque bench is commercial grade and pretty much bombproof and so is gonna withstand all the abuse I give it. But I’ve seen no-brand benches sold for just slightly less that look like they’re gonna start wobbling a week into use. The only thing left that I needed to get was a curl bar and Sports World didn’t have any in stock. I saw one on the Wawan website but they were selling it for 50KD which sounded overpriced. I eventually found one for sale on an Instagram account called @gym__home123 (can it get any more generic?) for 30KD and the guy delivered it the same day so not bad.

I really love the stuff I got, the colorful bumper plates look great and so does the black zinc coated Olympic bar. Since these items were going to be mine and used by me hopefully for a very long time, I wanted to get a proper set of gym equipment and so I’m glad I found these by Torque. I also ended up getting a squat rack to use with all the above but I’m leaving that for the final third post since there is a lot to talk about with that. For now I’ll leave you with a bunch of links below to where you could try and find stuff you need for your own home gym:

Sports World
ProSports
Nomad Strength Co.
Beyond Equipment
Gym Doctor
Perform Athletics
Sports Group
Wawan
@gym__home123

Update: Thanks to a reader ended up finding dumbbells that were priced extremely well, a set from 10KG up to 25KG in 2.5KG increments for just 225KD! Got them from @gymequipmentskwt




Categories
Activities Sports

Learn to Kiteboard

Around 7 or 8 years ago I learned how to kiteboard and I’m pretty sure I posted about it but can’t seem to find my old post. In any case, the person I learned with left Kuwait ages ago and so I wanted to post about another place you could learn to kiteboard. Q8 Kite Boarding is a local website that sells kiteboarding gear while also offering lessons. They carry a bunch of brands including Cabrinha, Core, Crazyfly, and Reedin.

Full Program Zero 2 Hero
12 lessons
Lesson duration is 60-75 minutes
Cost: KD280 (KD480 if you don’t have the gear)

Individual lessons are KD25 (45KD if you don’t have the gear)

Since the weather has cooled down, it’s probably a great time to learn to kiteboard. Kiteboarding is also an individual sport so social distancing should be fairly easy. For contact information, visit their website Q8kiteboarding.com

Update: Their Instagram account is @Q8Kiteboarding. Also found out that they were previously called DMBoarding which is the company I learned with. They just renamed now to Q8 Kite Boarding.




Categories
Music

The Cuban Khaleeji Music Project

Ghazi Al-Mulaifi is a Kuwaiti musician whose brother is Tareq Al-Mulaifi of Cobra Club whom I’ve posted about a few times. Both brothers are super talented and have completely different music styles (like opposites) which is amazing to see. While Tareq is into 80s inspired cinematic synth-pop music, Ghazi on the other hand is interested in Kuwaiti pearl diving music and global jazz. He formed the ensemble Boom Diwan where he and traditional Kuwaiti musicians combine Kuwaiti bahri (sea) music with global jazz for the purpose of creating new Kuwaiti music that revives a musical tradition of dialog and exchange. It’s a bizarre combination but going through their Instagram account it actually seems to work really well.

In the fall of 2018, Ghazi was approached by Bill Bragin who is the executive artistic director at the Arts Center at NYUAD. He was inquiring about six-time grammy award winner Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (Arturo is the son of the late and famed Chico O’Farill). Arturo was looking for musical ties between Afro-Cuba and the Afro-Khaleej and he and Bill visited Kuwait and stayed with Ghazi for a few days. Ghazi invited the members of his ensemble over and that meeting resulted in two Cuban-Khaleeji Project concerts, the first took place in 2019 (video above) while the second took place virtually a few days ago (video below).

It’s all pretty fascinating and I love the fact they’re looking for ways to keep the traditional Kuwaiti pearl diving music alive. If you want to listen to more of Ghazi’s music or if you’re just curious to explore all this further, here are some links:

GhaziMusic.com
KhaleejiMusicAlliance.com
@Boom.Diwan
NYU Abu Dhabi introduces new course on Khaleeji music




Categories
Fitness Information

Home Gym Build: Part 1 – The Floor

When gyms reopened a couple of weeks back I was still undecided if I’d go back to mine or I’d continue to workout at home. Well, the choice was made easy when I found out my gym was sold to another gym. At first, I considered signing up to Inspire since all my friends go there, but their Bida’a location was closed for renovation and their second location was just too far away. So I decided I might as well just workout from home.

For the past few months I had been working out at home using some basic gym equipment I had rented. I was really limited with my workouts due to the equipment I had on hand, but I was still disciplined enough to work out 3 times a week keeping with my previous gym schedule. So I decided I’d just put together a proper home gym and continue to work out from home. Due to the high demand for gym equipment because of the pandemic, finding everything I needed for a gym and at a reasonable price was going to be a difficult task. Thats why I decided I would detail my process in three parts. I’m going to mention where I got what from along with the prices I paid so that anybody else looking to set up a home gym can follow my steps if they want to. In this first part I’m going to be talking about the easiest part of this home gym, the floor.

Back in April I posted about a company called Green Rub that used recycled tires to make rubber fitness tiles. The tiles come in 1x1meter sizes and in two thicknesses, 2cm and 4cm. The 2cm thick tiles weigh 16kg while the 4cm tiles weigh 32kg. Going by the photos on their account I had difficulty deciding on the thickness of the tiles. Green Rub had recommended 4cm if I was planning on dropping weights from a height and since I never drop my weights I went with the 2cm. I’m glad I did because after having the tiles installed I realized they were more than enough.

The price of the tiles is 6KD per square meter and the minimum they sell you is 6 meters. I measured my space and ordered 8 meters which turned out to be perfect. Installation is easy, there is no sticking and it’s not permanent, they just lay the tiles on the floor for you wherever you want. In my case since I was covering a whole section of the floor in one of my rooms, I needed the pieces to be cut to fit perfectly edge to edge. They were able to do that for me at no extra cost and the whole thing cost me 48KD.

The end result turned out great and the tiles feel premium like they belong in a proper commercial gym. The gym floor isn’t a necessity but it does help me mentally to feel like I’ve got a proper gym. When I work out I’ll be in this newly defined gym zone which should put me in a gym mode whenever I’m in it with an added benefit of not having to worry about setting my weights down gently on my parquet floor. If you want to get this flooring for your place, here is a link to their website.

Update: I noticed they’ve now increased their price from 6KD per square meter to 7KD.




Categories
Fashion

Local Thrift Shops

A user on Reddit a few days was asking about a local vintage clothing store which in places like the States and Europe is generally a store that sells second-hand clothing. Although I’m not aware of any vintage clothing store in that sense we do have a couple of thrift shops that sell second-hand clothes:

Odettes Closette – They’re located inside 8 Mall in Salmiya.

Thrifty M.E. – An Instagram only based account.

Both places also accept donated clothes and accessories but if you prefer your stuff to go to a better cause, below is a charitable organization which also accepts your second-hand clothes:

Basta – 80-90% of the items donated to them go to low-income community members. The rest of the items get sold with the money going towards funding student tuitions. Other than clothes you can also donate toys, books, and gadgets.

If you know of any other thrift shops let me know in the comments below.




Categories
Reviews

iRobot Braava Jet 240 (RoboMop)

Back in May I posted a review of my Eufy RoboVac which performed beyond my expectations. Because my experience with the RoboVac was so great I decided to also get a RoboMop. I ended up ordering the iRobot Braava Jet 240 off of Amazon which is iRobots most affordable RoboMop.

In case you didn’t get it from the name, the RoboMop is like the robot vacuum except it mops the floor with water. I have tiles covering my lower floor and hardwood on my top floor and although the RoboVac does a great job of removing the dust, it doesn’t clean up smudges or stains. I mostly have an issue in my kitchen where I have black tiles and so when after washing dishes or cooking, I end up with water stains/smudges on the floor from where I dripped water. The RoboMop I ended up getting is slightly smarter as well as dumber than my RoboVac. My RoboVac for example cleans a room by moving around randomly while the RoboMop I got moves around the room in a smarter, much more organized up and down motion. But while my RoboVac can connect to Wifi and be set to start at certain hours, the RoboMop doesn’t connect online and requires you to manually start it.

I’ve only tried the RoboMop in small areas and it’s performed pretty well. You fill up the RoboMop with water (no soap) and then place it where you want and press the clean button. I got some sprayable floor cleaner and I just spray a bit of it in the area I want to be cleaned and I let the RoboMop do its thing. Because I have black tiles its easy to see water streaks and I was getting that at one point but I solved it by reducing the amount of water the RoboMop sprays on the floor. I’m also experimenting with different cleaning pads, the unit came with disposable ones but I also ordered some more practical reusable ones which can be washed.

The RoboMop is smart enough to recognize carpet and avoid it which is great cuz I do have carpets on my tiles. Once the RoboMop finishes cleaning the floor it goes back to where it started from and turns off. So although I do wish it did have an auto start option I do like the fact I can turn it on before I leave the house and then come back to find my floors mopped and the RoboMop back in its spot.

At just 55KD the RoboMop isn’t that big of an investment in the robot cleaning world. Even shipping to Kuwait didn’t cost much since the unit is fairly light. There are smarter RoboMops available and even some RoboVac/Mop combos, but I didn’t really want to pay much more than this and really I mostly got this for my kitchen and so didn’t need anything smarter. I couldn’t find the RoboMop locally which is why I ordered it off Amazon. If you’re interested in getting one, here is the Amazon link.




Categories
Food & Drinks

BBT New Location

BBT, one of my favorite burger places recently moved to a new much larger location. They were previously located in a small hole in the wall (literally) in Daiha but now moved to a new space in Shamiya.

The new location now has indoor seating as well as seating outside the restaurant and in the tiny park right next door. They don’t have drive-thru but they do have a car service which is composed of dedicated parking spots where waiters come and take your order. The whole process is very smooth and for those of you not wanting to dine out yet then this is a good alternative.

The opening time right now is 12:00pm to 11:00pm and here is their new location on Google Maps. They’re also on Instagram @bbtkw




Categories
Interesting Videos

My Favorite Local TikTok Accounts

A lot of people dislike TikTok and I think it’s because they associate it with just videos of people dancing to cheesy music. I actually love TikTok to the point I avoid it because once I start watching videos I don’t stop until I start running out of battery. It’s pretty addictive, fun, and can also be informative. During the Mahboula lockdown for example I started following a few low-income workers who were living there and they basically were providing me with their point of view on how life was there during the lockdown. During the US riots recently TikTok was providing me with on the ground footage of what was happening there. But I also follow some completely stupid shit but that’s what makes TikTok so great, it’s whatever you want it to be.

My account is just filled with so much random (not even curated) stuff from various people living around Kuwait it’s become super entertaining especially now that TikTok knows what I like and so shows me more of the same. I tried to put together a list of some interesting accounts I follow and below are a few of them:

@sadiqleader – An employee at Jawad AlSaffar. It’s exactly what I’d expect their TikTok to be except it’s his personal account and it’s in Indian.

@fahad9881 – A firefighter, posts videos of various fires he’s fighting as well as cute animal rescue videos.

@in_ga_me – A Ukrainian female motorbiker living in Kuwait. The account is of her and her Honda CBR cruising up and down the Gulf Road.

@kuwaitrescueteam1 – Account of a local rescue team and it’s mostly videos of them getting cars unstuck from sand.

@_7xvo – The account of a Al Qabas newspaper journalist, was pretty useful during the lockdown.

@gooshbaker – Guy posts videos of interesting places around Kuwait. Kinda like a blog but tiktok.

@x_dexter_x1 – This is an account of a Syria guy living in Kuwait who re-engineers everyday appliances or electronics but using random bits and pieces of scrap. Kinda like science projects.

@alsarheed82 – Account of a shawarma place owner, he posts videos of his shawarma.

@shahibwtayb – A odd old guy with a super long white beard who drives a bright green Camero and never wears the same sunglasses or hats twice.

@ismayeelrana – This guy is an employee at Alsarraf Motors and posts videos of the cars they have as well as of him driving them around like they’re his.

@amorsisilin – Probably the most popular account I follow and also the most tiktokish. Belongs to a 24-year-old Kuwaiti hybrid and the videos originally were mostly of her dancing to music around my neighborhood, but now it’s mostly just dancing with her friends in different places.

@venudancer..kuwait – Lots of super cheesy skits, so cheesy and lame to the point they become good. Stuff that’s so bad you save the video to show your friends. It’s in Indian (I think) with lots of terrible acting. It’s great.

If you have interesting/weird/fun local TikTok accounts I should follow, let me know in the comments.




Categories
Coronavirus Travel

Kuwait Airport Experience Right Now

So earlier this week I took my mum to the airport since she was leaving for the States and the experience felt really strange. I think being at the airport after so much time away and seeing it basically deserted felt a bit eerie. The long term park for example was completely empty which I’ve never seen before and Emirates which used to have flights every few hours now has only one a day and it’s barely filled.

For those of you planning to travel out of Kuwait, here are a few things that I noticed are different:

  • No more porters. Don’t know why we needed so many porters in the first place but just by them not being there it made the airport feel a lot emptier. You now have to get your own cart and push it around yourself #firstworldproblem

  • You’ll have your temperature taken as you enter the airport.

  • Before arriving to the check-in desks there is a checkpoint where they scan your Kuwait Mosafer QR Code. I was accompanying my mum who had a QR code but I didn’t have one and it wasn’t an issue. I also saw some other people pass through without having to show a QR code either.

  • The same checkpoint also checks your PCR test results. In my mums case the guy also called a number to confirm the result of the test, I guess that’s to stop people who are using fake test results.

  • I read that you aren’t allowed into the airport unless you’re traveling or accompanying someone elderly. I never got asked why I was in the airport but not sure if that’s because I was with my mum or if it was because the rule wasn’t being enforced.

  • My mum traveled with Emirates and the check-in area wasn’t busy at all. There were clear markings on the floor to show the distance you need to keep between other travelers in line and that spacing was being enforced.

  • While at the check-in counter about to finish up with my mum’s check-in, some airport guy came up to us and was like we both can’t be standing next to each other. I tried to explain she was my mum and we came to the airport together and I’m helping her check-in, but he insisted we social distance. That was very bizarre and I would have gladly continued arguing with him to find out the point but by then we had already finished up with Emirates so didn’t bother.

  • Waiting area seatings after passport control now have dividers.

  • Kuwait Airport isn’t allowing carry-ons, neither is Emirates supposedly, so to my mum’s dismay I forced her to pack a small backpack (which according to the guy I spoke to on the phone was allowed). Once my mum boarded the plane the first thing she did was send me pictures of people who had a carry-ons and I’m now no longer her son.

  • Restaurants inside the airport are open and adhering to social distancing rules. (update: supposedly just Shake Shack and Starbucks)

Hope the above was helpful, I might have missed something so if you want to add anything to the above just leave it in the comments below.




Categories
Coronavirus Information

Getting a PCR Test in Kuwait

Getting a PCR test for COVID-19 is much more accessible now then it was just a few months ago. My mum needed to get one since she was traveling and my followers on twitter recommended different places to go. One place that caught my attention was Wara Hospital since they offered a drive-thru service. I read a lot of stories about long lines or crowded clinics with people waiting to get tested so a drive-thru option sounded like the most convenient.

Then the following day I had a bit of a scare, I’m barely seeing any of my friends but one guy I had seen over the weekend messaged me to tell me someone at his office had tested positive for the virus and he was going to take a PCR test to be safe and wanted me to know. I was really appreciative that he told me, it’s an awkward situation to tell someone you might have gotten them infected but you need to do it. In my case when I got the message the first thing I did was also inform the people I work with on the situation and that I was going to leave to work from home till my friend’s results came out. But the next morning I decided to just get tested myself at Wara since I can also then write about my experience.

I called up Wara to see if I needed an appointment and you don’t, you just need to drive up to the back door of the hospital anytime between 7AM and 12PM and there will be a team there waiting. When I got there I was the fourth car in line and the whole process took around 20 minutes. You never leave your car, and you only interact with three people, the first nurse provides you with forms to fill, the second further down the line takes the sample and the third person is for payment. LifeProTip: Bring your own pen and a clipboard or a hardcover book so you can fill out the forms on it.

In my case, I got the results in 48 hours but when my mum had hers done she got the results in 24 hours. They WhatsApp you a photo of the result and also SMS you. It’s certified for travel and so if you need a printed copy of the result you could pick it up from their laboratory. The price of the test is 38KD which isn’t the cheapest, I think 27KD is the cheapest price I’ve seen for a PCR test but the convenience factor makes up for it. My friend’s test came out negative and so did mine which was a relief. I was so excited with the result I sent it to everyone I work with so they could also be relieved. If I had Tinder I would 100% have had my negative test result as one of my profile pictures or something. It feels like an achievement not getting the virus with it being everywhere basically.

Anyway, if you want more information on the Wara Hospital drive-thru PCR test, they have some posts and videos on their Instagram account @warahospital




Categories
50s to 90s Food & Drinks

Arby’s Salmiya, 1991

For some odd reason, it’s actually pretty difficult to find a picture of the original Arby’s that opened up in Kuwait back in the 80s. But a follower on twitter managed to find one taken by a US soldier back in 1991 called Keith O’Brien. According to Keith, this photo was taken right after the war. He was assigned as a driver/bodyguard of a Brigade Commander and he wanted to see Kuwait City. Up till then, they had only been in Saudi, Iraq, and Bahrain so they drove around and he took some photos of various places which you can see here.

Two of the most memorable things about this Arby’s for me was the touch screen ordering system which was super way ahead of its time, and the arcade machines in the basement.

Thanks @Alblogy




Categories
Coronavirus Food & Drinks

Restaurants Reopen Today

Just like gyms, restaurants and coffee shops are reopening today but with social distancing rules in place as well as some new safety measures. For example, restaurants can only use disposable cutlery and are required to have a 2 meters gap between tables (amongst other rules).

I’m really curious to see how this plays out because unlike gyms where you’re meant to keep your mask on the whole time, you’re not expected to keep your mask on while eating.

But with all the concerns I have, I’ll probably be dining out, but maybe once the initial rush subsides since I’m expecting the first couple of weeks to be super busy.




Categories
Automotive

Kuwait Motorsports – All Female Car Club

There are loads of car clubs in Kuwait but all the ones I’ve seen are male dominant which can be intimidating for women to join. This is why I like the idea of Kuwait Motorsports, an all-female car club.

The aim of Kuwait Motorsports is to give women a safe environment where they can meet up, show off cars, hold drag races, and even take part in different workshops. It’s similar in idea to RoadRush, except instead of just being a female-only racing event, it’s a community with all-year-round activities. Joining the club is 100% free and there are perks which include discounts from various brands. The club just recently opened so the more members they get, the more perks and offers they’ll get from brands.

I do wish they had a less generic name than Kuwait Motorsports, but generic name aside, if you’re female and over 18 years of age and want to sign up, visit their website kuwaitmotorsports.com




Categories
Reviews Shopping

Canyon Roadlite CF 8.0

The last time I bought a bicycle was just over 10 years ago. It was a full-suspension mountain bike meaning it had shocks both in the front and in the rear which you’d need if you were doing some crazy ass downhill mountain riding. Since I wasn’t riding down any mountain, I quickly realized over the years that although the bike looked good, the full-suspension setup was overkill for my needs. My favorite bike path is from Corniche Club all the way up to the Kuwait Towers and back so I really didn’t need any sort of mountain bike frankly.

One night during the lockdown, I came across a video on YouTube called “Reasons you only need a gravel bike“. That caught my interest since I was curious to know what a gravel bike was and so over the next 6 days I watched 196 videos on bicycles (I counted them). By the time I was done I had decided that it was time for me to get a new bike and I wanted one from the brand Canyon. What differentiates Canyon from other bike manufacturers is that they sell directly to consumers, no middle man, and so there are no shops that carry their bikes, it’s just you buying directly from their website which means you get a lot more for your money and it also means it’s perfect for us in Kuwait. Since their business model revolves around online orders, then they can easily ship a bike to Kuwait and the package you get includes everything you need to get your bike set up since all their customers have to do it worldwide because there are no local dealers.

I ended up ordering their Roadlite CF 8.0 bike, they had different versions of the bike to choose from but I decided to splurge and buy their higher-end model since I was buying a bike just once every 10 years. The top of the range model was the Roadlite CF 9.0 but I ended up going for the CF 8.0 instead which was specced out with Ultegra components, DT Swiss wheels, carbon fiber handlebar and seatpost, and a bunch of other great components. The 9.0 came with the Dura-ace components instead of Ultegra but that would have been a waste of money for my needs (even Ultegra honestly is a waste of money for my needs). For those of you who don’t know, bicycles are made up of different components from different manufacturers. So brands like Canyon, Trek, Scott, Santa Cruz etc.. design a bike frame and then fit wheels, handlebars, drive terrains, brakes and shocks from other manufacturers who specialize in these components. The performance, weight, quality, and price of those components vary greatly which is you can have a bike costing $1,500 but the same frame with higher-end components costing $6,000. The reason I went with their Roadlite series and not another model was because of my requirements so what works for me might not work for you.

Canyon ship directly to Kuwait via UPS and shipping cost me around 100KD. It arrived well packaged with a step by step manual and all the tools needed to put it together. If you’ve never put together a bike don’t worry, neither had I and turns out it’s not that complicated. You only need to connect the handlebar, seat post, pedals and the wheels to the bike which are all very easy to do especially if you’re good at following instructions. Canyon sell a lot of accessories and gear on their website as well so I had ordered other items with my bike like a bell, a bottle cage, water bottle, rear LED light, some Canyon stickers and probably my best purchase of the year, the CLUG bike rack. Seriously the CLUG is incredible, so simple and yet has made storing my bicycle so practical.

I’ve now had the bike for over a month and been riding it around 3-4 times a week and loving it. One of my favorite things about the bike is that it weighs just 8.3kg. That’s so light I could literally lift the bike with one finger (I actually tried it). My previous mountain bike really wasn’t considered that heavy at around 14.3kg, but the difference in weight between my old bike and the new one is night and day. I notice it mostly when I’m carrying my bike around but also while riding in a headwind or jumping off curbs or raised bits of the road. The bike is so light that when I fit my two water bottles in my bottle cages, the bike ends up feeling considerably heavier.

I didn’t really have a budget when I initially started looking at bikes but I assumed I would pay somewhere in the range of 300-400KD. In the end, I ended up paying 700KD including the 100KD for shipping. It was way more than I ever expected to pay for a bicycle but the odd thing is, it’s not even that expensive compared to some other models. Maybe I’m out of the loop in the bike world or something, but top-end mountain bikes are in the 1,500-2,500KD range with most basic ones starting somewhere around 400KD. So yeah, it all depends on your mindset and how deep your pockets are more than anything else really. In my case, I’m having a lot of fun riding again so that’s made the bike worth it for me.

If you’ve been thinking about getting a bike and didn’t like the locally available options then you should really check out Canyon. Their customer service has been pretty great as well, I’ve had to get in touch with them about some technical questions and they’ve been very quick in getting back to me. Here is a link to their website.