Tom Bombadil

I have obeyed N+1 for the 3rd time in '08 ... although the plan is to perform an N-1 soon.

I've been sometimes using a Trek 820 at work, having stored it in an outside rack on campus for almost 2 years now. And it is suffering for it. I've performed some maintenance on it this summer and it is working well, but it isn't a perfect solution. I think I'll get rid of it, for $25 or maybe for free.

I decided to pick up a folder. I've been watching CL and ads for a while and up popped a good deal on a brand new Sun Cayne Rambler 3. It suffered minor shipping damages and the receiving LBS refused to accept it. I was able to buy it at 1/3rd of list price (not 1/3rd off of list, it was 2/3rds off of list).

Upon opening it, I found that while the shipping box was beat up, the bike was in near perfect condition. There's a small ding on the shifter and some tiny scratches on the frame. The scratches are so inconsequential that they might have been there from the factory.

So today I put it together, which was an interesting exercise for a neophyte wrench. The assembly instructions were poor, with almost no illustrations. I went out and found a picture of the bike on the web and let that be my guide. Took it out for a test ride and everything worked perfectly.

The bike is a decent little folder. 20" wheels, I didn't want one with 16". It has a Shimano Nexus 3-speed hub, which sells as a part for more than what I paid for the entire bike. Nice easy rider. Wouldn't want to do any significant mileage on it, but it's a comfy about town bike. And easy to take somewhere.

It has fenders, a nice rack, folds in the middle of the frame, the handlebar folds down, even the pedals fold up flat against the frame. Only thing I don't like about it is that it has a coaster brake. I might regret that when I slam into a pedestrian.

I plan on keeping it in my office, folded up in the corner. This should be much lower maintenance than keeping a bike outside.

cranky old dude

Congrats on you new acquisition! Oh, and thanks for the contribution
to our ailing economy. Every little bit helps.

I met a gentleman on the MUP near my house last year who owns
several folders, in fact folders is all he owns. We spoke for a while and he
was so enthusiastic about his bikes that I've had an interest in them
ever since. I've been kind of looking on and off on CL myself for one but haven't
seen anything that lit my fire yet. I'll be eagerly looking foreward to
reading about your impressions of the bike after you've gotten some
miles on it.

Happy Trails

RoMad

Congratulations on your new bike and on getting a good deal. I too have thought about a folder and even took a test ride on one. For what you are planning on doing it should be perfect.

Tom Bombadil

This was a case of being familiar with what I was buying. I have test ridden a grand total of 1 folder before this. It was while I was in St. Augustine this past January. Thought about buying one to stick at my mother's house, but decided I wouldn't get much use out of it. As luck would have it, that folder was also a Cayne Rambler 3. What are the odds?

Yen

Congratulations! That's a cutie. I've actually considered one (when does this madness end....) for riding to/from the vanpool. I could fold it up and put it in the back of the van. Let us know how you like it!

Tom Bombadil

The 3 gears do give it some versatility. I believe the gear inches calculate out to 32, 44, and 60.

These are roughly equivalent to being in the middle ring and on 5th in the back, middle & 2nd in the back, and on your small ring and 10th (your lowest gear) in the back, if you have a road bike with 700c tires, a 52/39/30 triple and a 10 speed 12-25 cassette.

So I should be able to take it up steep slopes in low gear. And with a cadence of 90 in top gear, I would be doing almost 16 mph.

TruF 

Congratulations, Tom! What fun!!

BengeBoy 

Congrats -- I've test ridden a couple of folders, too (Bike Fridays). Have been watching them on eBay but they sell for a lot...I need to look at something more reasonable.

Let us know how you like it..

Tom Bombadil

I looked at the Bike Fridays too. Decided that my usage didn't merit dropping that much cash. Now if I was going to travel & take the bike to many locations, then they make more sense.

Tom Bombadil

I've taken a couple of short rides. If all of a sudden you never hear from me again, you can assume that I was killed in a wreck on it, due to not stopping. Hadn't noticed it while riding, but apparently I move my feet to where my left foot is in the 6 o'clock position and my right foot is at 12 o'clock, while applying my hand brakes.

I'm still doing that as I prepare to brake on the Rambler. But these are not the optimal foot positions for using a coaster brake! I get up right to where I want to stop, and then I find that I can't apply the brake!

It has a mount for a front V-brake. I'm thinking about installing one.

waldowales

I like riding my cute little Dahon three speed folder. It has hand brakes, though. It goes too fast for a coaster brake, in my opinion.

roccobike

Great find Tom at a great price. Gotta love those bargains.

Tom Bombadil

It stops plenty fast enough, if I think to get my feet into the 3 & 9 o'clock positions.

I've already had a couple of panic stops. Put my feet at 6 & 12, start to squeeze brake levers, notice there are no brake levels, attempt to engage coaster brake, feet in wrong position, move feet, engage brake. One can travel well past where they intend to stop doing all of this.

Robert Foster

Looking at the folding bike forums they seem like some of the friendliest people I have ever read about. I also have thought about getting a folder but I am not sure I would have a use for one just yet. Before I got my Revive I was thinking about a folder but I never take the train or a bus where I can benefit from having one. So I ended up with 20-inch wheels and 21 gears but it doesn’t fold. However I have been considering a Hybrid with 700c rims. I know someone that is trying to get rid of a Trek 7 series I am guessing a 7.2FX that has maybe 40 miles on it. They bought it and promptly left it in their garage. So N+1 is alive and well.