Originally Posted by jasong
I think a few questions that have to be asked of all the folders out there are:
How high can you get the seat top above the BB? Where will handlebars be in the position?
Folding difficulty? Parts are off the shelf style or proprietary?
For odd sized tires, where do you get replacements?
Gear ratio range?
Warranty.
Max rider weight?
(Others?)
The folded dimensions look great. Curiously, the 14" bike folds smaller than the 12".
The 20" doesn't seem competitive with something like the DOwntube, which sells for a similar price.
These are some great questions, and once I get mine and have a chance to ride it, look at the components, and measure the geometry I'll try to answer some of them. Frankly, for $175 my expectations aren't too high; I hope I'm pleasantly surprised. I don't plan to compete in centuries on this thing; I just want it to get me from small airports into town and back.
Steve sent me a PM in which he forwarded some user comments from another website. The guy likes the way the TST1403A 3-speed rides, but thinks the gearing of all three speeds is too low. He says he keeps it in top gear all the time. If it has a rear derailleur as it appears to from the photo, and the cluster or cassette is standard, it shouldn't be too difficult to change the gearing.
I guess I'll just have to stay in suspense until next Friday.
