Folding Bikes - Trek's new Folder

Did anyone notice that Trek has a new folder. It's called the F100 and it's a low budget model.
I like it but still prefer the F400. Has anyone noticed the F400 comes with the Sram Dual Drive yet it's still an 8 speed? Does that mean the F400 has 24 gears?


http://www2.trekbikes.com/Bikes/Specialty_Bikes/Folding/F_100/index.php

Wow. I had no idea they had a folder. I don't recall seeing their folder at Interbike either, so it must be low key or something?

I wouldn't call $500 low budget, though. That Dahan Boardwalk 7 is $299. Now THAT'S low budget!

Koffee

Wow. I had no idea they had a folder. I don't recall seeing their folder at Interbike either, so it must be low key or something?

I wouldn't call $500 low budget, though. That Dahan Boardwalk 7 is $299. Now THAT'S low budget!

Koffee

I didn't see the price but your're right. I've seen the Treks at the LBS and it's a nice folder. However, I don't know why these bikes were made with Alu when they weight about 26 lbs! The Dahon's (Speed 8) weights less and made with chromoly 4130 which is a better alloy for a folder considering the rougher ride.

I agree. Maybe Trek is just thinking they could successfully branch out, but they have to realize folders are lighter than what they're offering. Folding bikes are meant to be used and carried around, and I'm not all about lugging around 26 pounds of aluminum.

Koffee

See Trek's folder review here. http://www.australiancyclist.com.au/showarticle.php?s=4_

see also Folding Society review here: http://www.halffg.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/foldsoc/trekrep.html

See Trek's folder review here. http://www.australiancyclist.com.au/showarticle.php?s=4_

It could not believe the price of the Trek folder in Australia was $1,600.00 !!! That bike retails in the U.S. for less than $600.00!

600.00 US Dollar = 812.52 Austrailian Dollar.

Yeah, it's pricey. Australians are getting gouged. That price was way too high when you do the math. :(

Koffee

I have not seen either bike yet. But I do wonder how successful they will be with them. By that I mean a while back TREK tried to break in to the recumbent market. The bike they built was a total failure. It had numerous problems with it's design & TREK was competeing with all of the other recumbent companies out there who had been doing it for years, & all these other companies build are recumbents. So TREK dropped their recumbent bike & it went the way of the dodo bird.

Now TREK is trying to sell folding bikes when there are already companies who build them & that is all they do & they are very good at it. Probably better then TREK will ever be at designing this style of bike.

Why can't TREK quite trying to break in to the market of other types of bicycles & just stick to what they know best? And that is design & build some of the worlds best road & mtn bikes. Guess they'll never learn. Oh well at least if this newest venture of theirs fails they can always fall back on what they do best with their road & mtn bike line.

I saw the Trek F400 and F600 at a local bike shop. These bikes are way too heavy for the asking price (over $1,000 for the F600). Dahon's Helios SL and Speedpro are much better values. My Bike Friday cost $1,250 and only weighs 20 pounds. The Treks may have great components but people buy folding bikes for portability and convenience. No one is going to lug around a 26 or 29 pound bike when they go into a shop, the office, etc. These bikes are not commuter bikes and they aren't touring bikes like the Friday's. What market is Trek aiming for?

I was told it is a rebadged (remodeled?) Dahon. I'm sure Trek just offers it as a way for its loyal customers to stay with the Trek brand.

I too doubt that Trek is actually building the bikes. But they are working hard to be a 100% complete supplier to each of its dealers. That is you could open a bike shop, a Trek account and not need to work with any other vendor. They have built their dealer catalog to include helmets, tubes, tools and any other miscellany you may need.
The two precautions for any shop wishing to go "All Trek, All the Time" is simple, Trek could one day implode like Schwinn did leaving the dealer holding an empty bag (unlikely). The second is Trek puts no effort into marketing these 'niche' bikes in their portfolio. No adds for folders, tandems, etc. So they not adding any value to their dealers with these auxillary lines.
My two cents...

I've just seen confirmation on the Dahon site that Dahon designed this bike with Trek and it's actually made by Dahon. Does anyone have confirmation of the weight of the F600 as I've been offered one at a much cheaper price than an upmarket Dahon by the local importer? (1300 US dollars for the Trek compared with 1500 dollars for the Helios SL and 1950 for the Jetstream XP) I'm interested in the Bike Friday as well but it seems likely to cost over 3000 dollars with import costs to EU (Sweden)

Ha thats great, A folding bike with aerodynamic wheels. thats great

Well thanks for the useful info Mr Hi. Not

easy trigger ;)

I understood that Dahon makes the folders for Trek, so I assumed they would be good quality.

Having owned one of these (The Trek F400 model) for a while, I can say that its a pretty good (but not perfect) bike. It's very fast and efficient, I like the driving position, and the folding/unfolding process and all the controls are smooth, silky, and give a feeling of quality.

On the downside, you can't shift it like a mountain bike...you need to shift slowly with the chain not highly loaded nor while on a bumpy surface. If you try to shift 2 or 3 gears at once, the chain will come off. The seat is also a little hard. Pefect in biking shorts, but if you are using the bike for communting to work or something like that (I don't), then you might find it a bit unpleasant.

Overall, I recommend the bike, although if you are an agressive rider it might be worth going for the F600 which has a better drivetrain.

So buy a new saddle.I would recommend a saddle like a sprung brooks.

Having owned one of these (The Trek F400 model) for a while, I can say that its a pretty good (but not perfect) bike. It's very fast and efficient, I like the driving position, and the folding/unfolding process and all the controls are smooth, silky, and give a feeling of quality.

On the downside, you can't shift it like a mountain bike...you need to shift slowly with the chain not highly loaded nor while on a bumpy surface. If you try to shift 2 or 3 gears at once, the chain will come off. The seat is also a little hard. Pefect in biking shorts, but if you are using the bike for communting to work or something like that (I don't), then you might find it a bit unpleasant.

Overall, I recommend the bike, although if you are an agressive rider it might be worth going for the F600 which has a better drivetrain.

Good review.

I thought this thread died long ago but now I'll add my two cents.

The problem with the saddle is similar with ALL folding bikes where the geometry forces the rider to sit straight up. I had this problem with my Dahon Piccolo and Speed 8. The small 16/20 inch wheel provides a hard ride compared to a touring bike so you have to compensate with either a Brooks saddle or a quality suspension seat post.