panabos
05-27-06, 11:57 PM
KHS Cappuccino – folding bike review
Hi everyone,
After test riding pretty much all of the folding bikes in my city I decided to buy a KHS Cappuccino. At the recommendation of one of the other forum members, here is a review of my two week old bike.
First, I want to say, I’m a bike newb. My only other experiences with bikes were; owning a children’s bike when I was little, owning a generic mountain bike in my teens and owning a cheap folding bike for a week, which I returned due to the many problems I had with it and the inexperienced people running the shop. After that last ordeal I decided “you really do get what you pay for” and I made the decision to invest more money in a better quality bike from a more reputable bike shop.
Enter the KHS Cappuccino………….
The specs:
The bike has a full chromoly frame with rear suspension and 18” tires. Included with the bike were front and rear fenders, pannier rack, kickstand, reflectors, a bell, and an underframe stand (a u-shaped piece of metal that the bike rests on when folded). Also, the rear rack is designed so the bike can stand up on its end, to minimize the space it takes up without having to fold it. It has a 7-speed drivetrain with Sram MRX-7 shifters. More info here: http://www.khsbicycles.com/10_cappuccino.htm . Contrary to what this website says, the handlebars are not adjustable, but they were the perfect height for me.
The colour is tricky to describe. It’s a brushed metal that looks like metallic grey with a drop of olive green and gold thrown in. Very cool whatever it is. The fenders are also a neat colour, grey with almost a lavender tone. The cost of the bike was $700 CND.
The good:
First off, I LOOOOOVE this bike. It isn’t perfect by any means, but it’s by far the best bike I’ve ever ridden. It’s fun, it’s fast, it’s light (I carry it up three flights of stairs to my classes), it’s responsive, and it looks so cute. There’s hardly a day that goes by that I don’t get a comment about the bike. The remarks are usually something like, “cool bike”, “sweet ride”, “nice bike”, “it looks perfect for you”, “what’s the deal with that bike?”, “is that one of those electric thingys?”, etc. This is the first bike that I really feel in control of, rather than it controlling me. It also came with a lot of features that would have been extras on other bikes (the fenders, rear rack, bell, etc). Other great qualities about the bike are common to all folders. I love how little space it takes up in my apartment and I love that that when folded, it looks so neat that it’s almost like having an industrial art piece displayed in my home.
The bad:
There are some things I think the company could really improve upon. The first is the locking mechanism for the frame. There’s no safety. What's up with that? Right now the latch feels good and stiff when it’s locked but if something should lift that latch out of place I’d be in baaaaad doodoo. I really think a safety should be a standard feature, especially considering there’s one for the handlebar latch. Also, the folding latches on the handlebars and the frame both fit into a piece of plastic. I could see these one day getting busted, especially on the frame where there’s more force being applied to the latch. When folded, the bike doesn’t balance well unless the front wheel is angled so that you’re making a slight V with the wheels. I’m not sure why this is the case since none of the other folding bikes I tested had this problem. The pedals don’t fold but they’re small and compact enough that I haven’t felt the need to switch them out. Also, the suspension feature could pretty much not be there for all that I notice it. I think there’s a way to soften it up, I’ll have to look into that. Last but not least, I dislike the gear shifting mechanism. I have to slide my hand over from the handle to grip the gear every time I want to shift. I wish I had one of those thumb shifters. Also, sometimes the gear feels really sticky and it takes a lot of arm power to shift and other times it’s easy. Not sure what’s causing that but struggling with my gears is not very fun.
Changes:
Right away, I wanted the seat changed. The original saddle was small and uncomfortable. The people at the LBS I bought the bike from said it was probably made for a guy but I don’t think many of you men would find it very comfy. The owner of the shop was really nice and swapped it out for a softer Velo saddle for free. After riding the bike for a couple of weeks I found I was mainly using gears 1, 2, & 3. Guess I have weak legs. I’m not a fast rider and I almost never want to go down a hill faster than the coasting speed of the bike so I had my LBS switch the 52 tooth chain ring to a Blackspire 42 tooth chain ring. I also ordered a spare tire since they don't regularly stock 18” tires in the store. The mechanic suggested I have the spare put on since it is of better quality then the original. Now I have a Schwalbe Marathon puncture resistant tire on the back. Whoo hoo! I also added front and rear flashing lights and some reflective decals.
Overall:
I’m very happy with this purchase. I’ve ridden it almost every day since I bought it. I use it mostly for commuting (biking only, no bus or train), running errands, and the occasional weekend trail. I often look for excuses just to ride the bike because it feels so fun. I would highly recommend this bike for small riders like myself, I’m 5’2”, 100 Lbs., but I could see how a larger person might find this bike too small, especially with the fixed handlebar height. I honestly never expected to love this bike or biking as much as I do. It has become my new obsession. I hope this review is helpful to people. Let me know if you have any questions.
Here are pictures of my bike with all the modifications.
http://www3.telus.net/public/dgecko/bike1.jpg
http://www3.telus.net/public/dgecko/bike2.jpg
http://www3.telus.net/public/dgecko/bike3.jpg
Hi everyone,
After test riding pretty much all of the folding bikes in my city I decided to buy a KHS Cappuccino. At the recommendation of one of the other forum members, here is a review of my two week old bike.
First, I want to say, I’m a bike newb. My only other experiences with bikes were; owning a children’s bike when I was little, owning a generic mountain bike in my teens and owning a cheap folding bike for a week, which I returned due to the many problems I had with it and the inexperienced people running the shop. After that last ordeal I decided “you really do get what you pay for” and I made the decision to invest more money in a better quality bike from a more reputable bike shop.
Enter the KHS Cappuccino………….
The specs:
The bike has a full chromoly frame with rear suspension and 18” tires. Included with the bike were front and rear fenders, pannier rack, kickstand, reflectors, a bell, and an underframe stand (a u-shaped piece of metal that the bike rests on when folded). Also, the rear rack is designed so the bike can stand up on its end, to minimize the space it takes up without having to fold it. It has a 7-speed drivetrain with Sram MRX-7 shifters. More info here: http://www.khsbicycles.com/10_cappuccino.htm . Contrary to what this website says, the handlebars are not adjustable, but they were the perfect height for me.
The colour is tricky to describe. It’s a brushed metal that looks like metallic grey with a drop of olive green and gold thrown in. Very cool whatever it is. The fenders are also a neat colour, grey with almost a lavender tone. The cost of the bike was $700 CND.
The good:
First off, I LOOOOOVE this bike. It isn’t perfect by any means, but it’s by far the best bike I’ve ever ridden. It’s fun, it’s fast, it’s light (I carry it up three flights of stairs to my classes), it’s responsive, and it looks so cute. There’s hardly a day that goes by that I don’t get a comment about the bike. The remarks are usually something like, “cool bike”, “sweet ride”, “nice bike”, “it looks perfect for you”, “what’s the deal with that bike?”, “is that one of those electric thingys?”, etc. This is the first bike that I really feel in control of, rather than it controlling me. It also came with a lot of features that would have been extras on other bikes (the fenders, rear rack, bell, etc). Other great qualities about the bike are common to all folders. I love how little space it takes up in my apartment and I love that that when folded, it looks so neat that it’s almost like having an industrial art piece displayed in my home.
The bad:
There are some things I think the company could really improve upon. The first is the locking mechanism for the frame. There’s no safety. What's up with that? Right now the latch feels good and stiff when it’s locked but if something should lift that latch out of place I’d be in baaaaad doodoo. I really think a safety should be a standard feature, especially considering there’s one for the handlebar latch. Also, the folding latches on the handlebars and the frame both fit into a piece of plastic. I could see these one day getting busted, especially on the frame where there’s more force being applied to the latch. When folded, the bike doesn’t balance well unless the front wheel is angled so that you’re making a slight V with the wheels. I’m not sure why this is the case since none of the other folding bikes I tested had this problem. The pedals don’t fold but they’re small and compact enough that I haven’t felt the need to switch them out. Also, the suspension feature could pretty much not be there for all that I notice it. I think there’s a way to soften it up, I’ll have to look into that. Last but not least, I dislike the gear shifting mechanism. I have to slide my hand over from the handle to grip the gear every time I want to shift. I wish I had one of those thumb shifters. Also, sometimes the gear feels really sticky and it takes a lot of arm power to shift and other times it’s easy. Not sure what’s causing that but struggling with my gears is not very fun.
Changes:
Right away, I wanted the seat changed. The original saddle was small and uncomfortable. The people at the LBS I bought the bike from said it was probably made for a guy but I don’t think many of you men would find it very comfy. The owner of the shop was really nice and swapped it out for a softer Velo saddle for free. After riding the bike for a couple of weeks I found I was mainly using gears 1, 2, & 3. Guess I have weak legs. I’m not a fast rider and I almost never want to go down a hill faster than the coasting speed of the bike so I had my LBS switch the 52 tooth chain ring to a Blackspire 42 tooth chain ring. I also ordered a spare tire since they don't regularly stock 18” tires in the store. The mechanic suggested I have the spare put on since it is of better quality then the original. Now I have a Schwalbe Marathon puncture resistant tire on the back. Whoo hoo! I also added front and rear flashing lights and some reflective decals.
Overall:
I’m very happy with this purchase. I’ve ridden it almost every day since I bought it. I use it mostly for commuting (biking only, no bus or train), running errands, and the occasional weekend trail. I often look for excuses just to ride the bike because it feels so fun. I would highly recommend this bike for small riders like myself, I’m 5’2”, 100 Lbs., but I could see how a larger person might find this bike too small, especially with the fixed handlebar height. I honestly never expected to love this bike or biking as much as I do. It has become my new obsession. I hope this review is helpful to people. Let me know if you have any questions.
Here are pictures of my bike with all the modifications.
http://www3.telus.net/public/dgecko/bike1.jpg
http://www3.telus.net/public/dgecko/bike2.jpg
http://www3.telus.net/public/dgecko/bike3.jpg