Nine Years with My Mountain Bike

I’ve had this mountain bike for quite some years now. I got it around 2015 - a Merida Duke 600, cost 2500 CNY with a lock included. I’m still riding it today.

Here I’ll summarize the accessories I’ve purchased and my thoughts on the bike/brand

Accessories

Here are the ones I commonly use:

1. Folding combination lock

2. Xiaomi portable air pump

3. Half-finger/full-finger gloves

4. Tire valve caps

   The valve caps will get damaged over time, so you can buy these third-party ones - they’re good quality and look better too

5. Bicycle chain lubricant

6. Seat cover

7. Bell

Companion Apps

Cycling often needs apps to make it more interesting.

1. Route tracking: I still recommend Xingzhe, although I’ve stopped using it myself due to ads and bloat, and now just use Apple Watch Workout directly.
2. Daily navigation: Gaode Maps, of course

Brand/Bike Quality

After riding for 9 years, the quality is indeed quite good. Apart from changing tires, I haven’t done any repairs. However, I will consider switching to other brands in the future for two reasons:

1. There are too few brand stores in Beijing - at least none near me, which makes bike maintenance inconvenient. Many shops only service their own brands.

   Of course, for minor issues, I still recommend tinkering with it yourself to exercise your hands-on skills

2. Official accessories are not abundant

Common Problems

1. Wheel falling off

   Quick-release lever loosened and not properly tightened

Final Thoughts

1. When the weather warms up, I’ll continue cycling to and from work…

Related Links

• https://github.com/alanhe421/others-note/issues/522