Special Custom Cruiser

To commemorate our company's new office in Millennia Tower, I commissioned a custom cruiser from Boon Siong and Derrick at Customaxxx.

This is a twin-plated frame precision crafted from 6061-T6 aluminium and powder coated in midnight black.

One sits low, long and wide on this baby and she rolls on the widest wheels in the bicycle industry, all 24” by 100 mm wide.

Transmission is via a Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub with retro-style hand shifter mounted on the top tube.

I wanted a belt drive system but the chain stay length was too long at 890 mm. So the resourceful guys specially imported a Schlumpf Belt Drive System with Gates belt and customised it to the frame.

They completed the bike with a special art design that reflected NetApp's "visual language" along the top tube.

How cool is that!

Corporate Go Karting

Our company organised a customer and partner appreciation event at the Kartright Speedway in Jurong, Singapore. The go kart circuit is 750-metre-long and quite technically challenging.

The fleet of rental karts came with 6.5 bhp engines, but don't sniff at this as they can reach speeds of up to 50 km/h. With no power steering and sitting very close to the tarmac, the g-forces can really strain one's back and hands.

The initial few laps had our fair share of spins and accidents as the track was wet from the rain.

However as the track dried up, tyres warmed up and the confidence increased, everyone increased their average speeds. Some of us timed and entered wide at the corners and hardly used the brakes at all, hence the g-forces.

Clocking the fastest lap with 49.687 seconds is Regis Ehrhardt from Daimler who won the top honours. 2nd and 3rd places went to Markus Langgartner from Siltronic Samsung Wafer and David Ekins from Carlson Wagonlit respectively.