Folding Bikes - Update on my Yellow Citizen Tokyo - AWESOME ride.....

hi all,

just a quick update on my yellow citizen tokyo. for the past couple of days, the weather in sf bay area had been sunny so i was able to take my yellow tokyo for a spin around the block (first time) and i can say that this is a REALLY NICE bike for the price i paid ($100). the ride is solid and it feels like i am riding on an expensive bike (maybe not but...). just imagine what the ride will be on the dahon, carry me or birdy. i wish i had enough to buy them as now i got the folding bike bug. i guess i sure miss the fun i would have had if i had jumped on it much earlier. now everytime i have the chance i will jump on my bike and take a spin around the block. my wife is grinning ear to ear everytime she sees me as this is my only exercise (that's what she said). oh well a happy rider here with citizen bike. now if i can only fix the unshifting 6th gear then it will be a perfect purchase for me. on another thing - i may need to change the seat as this feels hard on me. any reco ? other than those 2 things - it's an AWESOME bike........... thanks for listening......

a citizen bike rider in san francisco bay area,
vic

Glad you are happy vmaniqui with your Citizen's folding bike. Don't worry about no dang Dahon or any other more expensive bike. Just enjoy your low cost folder since it works for you. My wife and I both ride Miami Citizens and are as happy as can be. I do want a Swift, but the time is just not right yet. We took our folders to the beach recently and had a great time. Great for riding the boardwalk by the beach.

wish I could try one out. At 6'4", I fit well enough on a Curve that I've been saving for one for my bike/train commute to my teaching job, but by the time I have the cash, it'll be nearly summer and the school year will be over. The Citizens would be tempting, but the handlebars come up straight off the fork rather than canting forward as with the Dahons, so I doubt the Tokyo or even the Miami would fit.

You're probably right.

I'm so happy you finally got a chance to ride your Citizen. See, I told you it was a great little bike for the price. :thumb:

For me, I've recently found the steering a little wobbly. Weird. I started noticing that I have to concentrate to keep the wheel straight. I think it was like this from the beginning but I didn't ride it enough to seriously take note of it. Well, I've been doing 16-24 miles (round trip) on it and it's really noticeable now.

I'm thinking it has something to do with the handlebar stem and the groove where you put in the handle bar. I think it might be off center...

Any thoughts or clues on how to fix it?

wish I could try one out. At 6'4", I fit well enough on a Curve that I've been saving for one for my bike/train commute to my teaching job, but by the time I have the cash, it'll be nearly summer and the school year will be over. The Citizens would be tempting, but the handlebars come up straight off the fork rather than canting forward as with the Dahons, so I doubt the Tokyo or even the Miami would fit.

The Gotham & Miami bikes both state a "suggested" height of 4'8" - 6'3" and a max weight of 220 lbs. That's just an inch shorter than you. (I don't know how much you weight.) You should definitely give the folks at Citizen a call (they are very friendly and helpful) and ask them about sizing: (800) 682-9579 or email them.

http://citizenbike.com/

I bit the bullet and ordered a black Citizen Tokyo last night. Hope I like it as much as KitN and vic like theirs. I would have gone with a Downtube Mini or a Dahon Curve if I could justify twice the price. I may eventually save up and upgrade - IF this isn't just a mid-life crisis, an attempt to recapture my carefree college days, when I rode all over town on a Sears 5 speed.

I bit the bullet and ordered a black Citizen Tokyo last night. Hope I like it as much as KitN and vic like theirs. I would have gone with a Downtube Mini or a Dahon Curve if I could justify twice the price. I may eventually save up and upgrade - IF this isn't just a mid-life crisis, an attempt to recapture my carefree college days, when I rode all over town on a Sears 5 speed.

Congrats! I'd love to see pictures of your black Tokyo when you get it! :love:

I was considering the DT Mini and the Dahon Curve but my previous folder had just been stolen (the day after Xmas) and I needed a bike BADLY! I might upgrade to a Dahon or even a Brompton or Tikit but that will have to wait until I've outgrown this bike and saved a good deal of cash for the purchase. :)

Please keep us updated on your Tokyo. I look forward to finding out how you like it.

I was considering the DT Mini and the Dahon Curve but my previous folder had just been stolen (the day after Xmas) and I needed a bike BADLY! I might upgrade to a Dahon or even a Brompton or Tikit but that will have to wait until I've outgrown this bike and saved a good deal of cash for the purchase. :)

Why? Given the reviews of the citizen if my Downtube ever gets stolen I'd totally downgrade.

However, that derailleur will have to go. They're pointless for city riding, especially cheap ones. People like to knock the Sturmey Archer 8-speed, but even from the start it shifted better than a derailleur and the more mine gets broken in the smoother it gets.

I'm so happy you finally got a chance to ride your Citizen. See, I told you it was a great little bike for the price. :thumb:

For me, I've recently found the steering a little wobbly. Weird. I started noticing that I have to concentrate to keep the wheel straight. I think it was like this from the beginning but I didn't ride it enough to seriously take note of it. Well, I've been doing 16-24 miles (round trip) on it and it's really noticeable now.

I'm thinking it has something to do with the handlebar stem and the groove where you put in the handle bar. I think it might be off center...

Any thoughts or clues on how to fix it?


kitn,
when the handle bar post is dropped there is a hex screw, loosen this and you can freely move the handle post. another place you might concentrate is the nut between the fork and the handle post. this one is big that you might need a wrench. let me know if that works.

yes. our tokyo is worth it's price. too bad that there is this one lady who is selling hers including the bag for only $100. new as in ridden just 5 times.

I bit the bullet and ordered a black Citizen Tokyo last night. Hope I like it as much as KitN and vic like theirs. I would have gone with a Downtube Mini or a Dahon Curve if I could justify twice the price. I may eventually save up and upgrade - IF this isn't just a mid-life crisis, an attempt to recapture my carefree college days, when I rode all over town on a Sears 5 speed.

congrats. let us know how it goes. and send pics too....

Great. Post pics as soon as you can. Don't get discouraged if you have to do a little fine tuning to the bike when you get it in. I took both of ours to a local shop as soon as I got them in and haven't regreted spending the $30 for one minute. Both ride like fine clockwork. However, maybe yours will come in perfect.
Enjoy
Terry

i guess i might need to bite the bullet too and have my citizen tokyo fix by my LBS. since i bought it used i had this gear issue. although they are charging me $35 i think i might as well do it. i had tried everything in fixing this issue and yet it won't go to sixth gear. i called citizen and they can't help me as they need the receipt for the bike. oh well - that's the case in buying used ones....

vic

Adjusting gears is rather simple but needs to be learned... see parktool.com.

Adjusting gears is rather simple but needs to be learned... see parktool.com.

thanks a lot jur. i will try that and if still doesn't work i will let you know....

vic

Here is what was waiting for me when I got home from work this evening. Haven't had time to unpack it yet.

nice...pls send pics of assembled bike and let us know how the ride goes for you. hopefully you'll have fun...

Nice, JCFlack! I can't wait to see pictures of it fully assembled! :)

... People like to knock the Sturmey Archer 8-speed, but even from the start it shifted better than a derailleur and the more mine gets broken in the smoother it gets.

Well, I know I complain about it, but not because I enjoy complaining! I much prefer the SA-8 to a Nexus-8; the evenly spaced gears allow for much more efficient (and pleasant) pedaling, and the overdrive gearing is perfect for 16" wheels. So the hub has issues; it was right to discuss them (and how to deal with them); and I hope they've been fixed by now. If I get a Tokyo, I'll slap a SA-8 on it pdq, probably before even riding it.

Hurry up JCFlack!

Hurry up JCFlack!

+1

I can't wait to see the pics! :D

hmmm. i wonder what's keeping JCFlack....we're eagerly awaiting for your pics and updates on the ride...

Wednesday is choir night, so I didn't start assembly and set up until this afternoon. Had a few problems - it has been a while since I've worked on a bike. The biggest problem was that the pin that holds the bike unfolded at the hinge was sticking. Hard to get it to fall into the hole that locks the bike in unfolded position, and if you did, it took a light tap with a hammer to get it unlocked. After fooling with it for a half hour, I finally figured out that the upper socket that holds the pin was crooked. I took a small monkey wrench and very carefully bent it a little until the pin went up and down freely like it is supposed to. Problem solved.

Minor problem - the bell was missing the screw that holds it on the handlebars, Wonder what size screw I need. Never mind - I have a light that I plan to put on the bike (we bought it for one of our two sons years ago - never got put on the bike - still in the box) and it has a horn,

So I got everything unpacked and - no bike ride today - I don't have the right tool to tighten the hand brakes in position. Looks like it needs a hex headed screwdriver-like tool, Anybody know what it is called, and what size? Also, the front wheel is rubbing the front brake a little on every revolution. I either have to adjust the brake a bit or the wheel spokes - not sure which, If the spokes, I need a spoke wrench. I WAS going to take it to the LBS for a pre-ride tuneup, but after calling for some prices, I decided to try to get it in riding condition myself. I am obviously going to have to invest in some tools.

I'll post some photos later this evening.

Wednesday is choir night, so I didn't start assembly and set up until this afternoon. Had a few problems - it has been a while since I've worked on a bike. The biggest problem was that the pin that holds the bike unfolded at the hinge was sticking. Hard to get it to fall into the hole that locks the bike in unfolded position, and if you did, it took a light tap with a hammer to get it unlocked. After fooling with it for a half hour, I finally figured out that the upper socket that holds the pin was crooked. I took a small monkey wrench and very carefully bent it a little until the pin went up and down freely like it is supposed to. Problem solved.

glad you were able to fix this one. i had the same issue and after going thru a lot of guessing games we were able to figure out the solution - you need to make sure that when you unfold the handle post it should be facing the front. maybe yours is different and bent.

Minor problem - the bell was missing the screw that holds it on the handlebars, Wonder what size screw I need. Never mind - I have a light that I plan to put on the bike (we bought it for one of our two sons years ago - never got put on the bike - still in the box) and it has a horn,

how come mine didn't come with the horn. i should have asked the previous owner. anyway i also installed a Cateye head light on mine so maybe no need for a horn.

So I got everything unpacked and - no bike ride today - I don't have the right tool to tighten the hand brakes in position. Looks like it needs a hex headed screwdriver-like tool, Anybody know what it is called, and what size? Also, the front wheel is rubbing the front brake a little on every revolution. I either have to adjust the brake a bit or the wheel spokes - not sure which, If the spokes, I need a spoke wrench. I WAS going to take it to the LBS for a pre-ride tuneup, but after calling for some prices, I decided to try to get it in riding condition myself. I am obviously going to have to invest in some tools.

I'll post some photos later this evening.

you're keeping us in suspense mode. same thing with my bike. my LBS is charging me about $35 for a tune up, so i decided to try it myself. by the way we're still waiting for your pics....

thanks,
vic

hi all,

quick update. i was planning on taking a 15 minute spin with my citizen tokyo and ended up with more than an hour of back ride around the block. weather was so nice (sunny with some breeze) that i totally forgot the time. would have gone further but need to do some stuff inside the house. anyway as a new update - I was able to fix my 6th gear issue. now it's going to all the gears (1-6 gears). i kept on shifting and shifting to make sure that it is really fixed. maybe that's the reason why i had so much fun riding it today. the issue with the gear was one of the 2 screws that lock the position of the chain was fixed at 5th gear. so i just have to re-adjust it so the chain when shifted will go to the 6th gear. small issue but it took me awhile to figure it out. now if i can just get a new seat as this one is killing my b....t. seat is so uncomfortable for long hours of ride. anyone had a good recommendation for a comfortable seat ???

thanks again,
vic

glad you were able to fix this one. i had the same issue and after going thru a lot of guessing games we were able to figure out the solution - you need to make sure that when you unfold the handle post it should be facing the front. maybe yours is different and bent.
Your problem, as I recall, was with the handlebar stempost. Mine was with the closure on the main hinge on the downtube.

how come mine didn't come with the horn. i should have asked the previous owner. anyway i also installed a Cateye head light on mine so maybe no need for a horn.
No, mine came with a bell, not a horn, and it is the bell that was missing a screw. The horn is on the headlight that I had lying around.

Gang, sorry to fail to deliver on a promise. I took a few pictures with a cheap (and I mean CHEAP) digital camera we had in a drawer. Imported them onto my PC, so said the software that came with the camera. But when I looked for them to upload - couldn't find them. I think I'll borrow my spouse's good camera - the one I used for the first pictures - and try again tomorrow.

In my experience the best way to get pictures off a camera is to take the CD that came with it, place it on the desk, and then carefully rest your coffee on it. Then, plug the camera in with the USB cable, go to Start -> Computer and find the new external drive, which is your camera. Explore it in the normal way, copy and paste, whatever.

JCFLack, the suspense is killing me. ;)

Vic, I'm glad you finally got the 6th gear thing worked out. The LBS would have found that issue within seconds but they charge $35, you said? Holy moly that's steep for just an adjustment of a tiny screw on the derailleur! :mad:

Well, anyway, now that the gears are fixed isn't the Tokyo a fun and neat little ride? I like mine very much. :love:

JCFLack, the suspense is killing me. ;)

Vic, I'm glad you finally got the 6th gear thing worked out. The LBS would have found that issue within seconds but they charge $35, you said? Holy moly that's steep for just an adjustment of a tiny screw on the derailleur! :mad:

Well, anyway, now that the gears are fixed isn't the Tokyo a fun and neat little ride? I like mine very much. :love:

kitn,
yes. you said it right. yesterday my 15 min. ride went up to more than an hour ride. it's such a fun bike for the price.....i only need to change the seat as it's so hard.

kitn,
yes. you said it right. yesterday my 15 min. ride went up to more than an hour ride. it's such a fun bike for the price.....i only need to change the seat as it's so hard.

I'm so glad you are enjoying it as much as I am. :)

You are correct: The seat is kinda hard but they say it will "give" with time. My backside, unfortunately, begs to differ so I put the "spring loaded" (and heavier) saddle from my stolen bike on the Tokyo (luckily, I took the seat post with the saddle attached to it inside so when they stole my bike I still had the seat). The spring saddle is so-so. I'll definitely need a better saddle and soon.

Please let me know if you find a good saddle. :)

So I got everything unpacked and - no bike ride today - I don't have the right tool to tighten the hand brakes in position. Looks like it needs a hex headed screwdriver-like tool, Anybody know what it is called, and what size? Also, the front wheel is rubbing the front brake a little on every revolution. I either have to adjust the brake a bit or the wheel spokes - not sure which, If the spokes, I need a spoke wrench.
If I'm going to try to do simple maintenance myself, I'm going to have to acquire some new vocabulary. The tool I needed is an Allen wrench. Bought one and a spoke wrench this afternoon - the Allen wrench is a swiss army knife-like set, so I know I'll have the right size. The mechanic at the LBS said that the spoke wrench he sold me should be the right one for a standard 16" wheel - hope he's right. I don't have a stand either. When I had bikes in my youth, I used to turn them upside down to work on them. Hope that works for a few simple tasks.
Anyway, here are some pictures. Taken with the lousy camera - I'll borrow a good camera soon.

If you don't turn the steer backwards when folding, the wheels will end up neatly next to each other with the stempost in between.

awesome. great pics. first time i've seen a black tokyo and it looks great. black with silver look mean....it looks like your bike is saying " watch out, here i come ".....and it seems your bike is ready for you to take it for a spin......

JCFlack, thanks for the pics! You Tokyo looks great! Is the paint job matte black or a glossy black? Does the paint job look like it will easily scratch or peel off?

When I looked at the (bad) pictures of the black Tokyo on Citizen's website, the black paint job looked matte black and cheap. I'd love your opinion on it. TIA. :)

JCFlack, thanks for the pics! You Tokyo looks great! Is the paint job matte black or a glossy black? Does the paint job look like it will easily scratch or peel off?

When I looked at the (bad) pictures of the black Tokyo on Citizen's website, the black paint job looked matte black and cheap. I'd love your opinion on it. TIA. :)

The paint is not high gloss, so I guess I'd say matte, but there is a little bit of shine. I'm no expert on paint durability, but it doesn't feel like it will scratch off easily.

Rain is expected later today, but I got in my first ride this morning. I had fun, but found out that I'm not in as good shape as I thought, despite regular work outs on elliptical machines and treadmills at the local rec center. Guess it is an entirely different set of muscles. Bike worked great, and I had even managed to correct the slight wheel contact with the front brake. Two problems: Like you, KitN, I found myself having to raise the seat every so often, despite the fact that I cleaned the seat post with alcohol before I put it on the bike. I'll work on that - try some of the other suggestions I've read here.

Problem two is a bit dicier- 6th gear isn't high enough - the bike is a bit slow on straightaways and down hills and there is no way to add energy without raising my RPMs beyond my comfort level. As I improve my fitness level, I may be able to increase my cadence, but there is probably a limit.

By the way, upshifting worked great, but in downshifting, the chain didn't always seat itself properly. It helped to squeeze the shift lever just slightly below the desired gear, then relax it back up to the gear - like when going from 4th to 3rd, I'd move the lever just short of 2nd, then back up to 3rd. It's a little annoying, but not bad once I figured out the trick.

If you don't turn the steer backwards when folding, the wheels will end up neatly next to each other with the stempost in between.

I tried it both ways and for now I like it the way I have it in the pictures because the handbrakes were getting caught in the spokes. However, that was before I got the Allen wrench and tightened the handbrakes into my preferred riding position, so maybe I should try it your way again.

By the way, upshifting worked great, but in downshifting, the chain didn't always seat itself properly. It helped to squeeze the shift lever just slightly below the desired gear, then relax it back up to the gear - like when going from 4th to 3rd, I'd move the lever just short of 2nd, then back up to 3rd. It's a little annoying, but not bad once I figured out the trick.

i think this is inherent to the gear shifting of our tokyo's. i had the same issue as you with downshifting and had to to exactly what you mentioned. but upshifting works fine. glad that you are having fun too. with me it's the same scenario - grasping for breathe for lack of exercise. remember that i just jumped into the bike scene after almost 16 years of bike inactivity. now i am hooked. i haven;t gotten that far though, just going around the blocks. but doing it for about more than an hour a day. i still need to get myself a good helmet before i go any further with my new toy.....

thanks,
vic

JCFlack & Vic, I don't have any problems with shifting anymore since I took it to my LBS. They literally took 45 seconds, twisted the cable "nut" going to the derailleur and,BAM, problem solved. Cost? $5! So I highly suggest both of you just pop into a LBS. They'll have the problem solved in a jiffy.

If your LBS is too expensive then you can try tinkering with the gears/derailleur yourselves, but if you don't know exactly what you are doing you can wind up making the problem worse. If you want to try the "do-it-yourself" way, then you'll definitely want to at least check out some videos on Youtube about this sort of thing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPhcOskjsDs&feature=PlayList&p=6D92917CBA8A90DC&index=12

^ Gear tuning is a skill that is a great asset to have - gears need adjustment from time to time, and going to the LBS each time may not be possible. So I would encourage you to visit parktool.com and learn how to adjust them.