The Alite

Early 2004

2003 seemed to be a KHS year. While in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia I spotted a gleaming MTB frame in the rafters of Bike Pro Cycles that was priced much lower than the same thing in Singapore. Ironically the stock in KL was sourced from the Singapore importer. I was staring at a significant US$200 difference. With a frame weight of just 3 lbs for an aluminium frame, this was close to the smaller ti frame I had since 94.

What’s another bike going to hurt ? It was pretty cheap to build up a 23 lb off road bike, rear touring racks included. With the Alite 4000, I made many trips north to Thailand and Laos, as well as Bali and Bromo in East Java. The Marzocchi Bomber fork was added for off road trips and the rigid Kona’s went on when there were more miles to cover in Indochina. I suspect the Konas will outlive the Bomber which has some corrosion and oxidisation on the fork stanchions. The frames off white colour is also turning a bit yellowish in the hard to clean areas of the BB and rear dropouts. If not for it’s ‘mountain biki-ness’ this would be my ultimate light weight tourer.