leenkeeper

Dose anybody use the Pacific Reach? it performance well or not?

I really don't know weather it belong folding bike or not, because it not just fold, but should add over wheels.

It looks that the frame was very strong, seems much stronger than my Dahon speed 8.

if anybody had use that bike, give me some suggestions.

I appreciate.

pm124

Ni hao leenkeeper shensheng. Na ge zhe shin cheh hen guay! Zai Jong Guo ni you hen duo de pinyi zhe shin cheh. Ni yao zai nar mai? Oh god, my Pinying sucks.

Looks to be a great bike, but very expensive. The Swift makes a lot more sense to me unless you need suspension. Are you getting it from Taiwan? Which model? Road?

In English, "Reach for the Road" doesn't translate so well. It sounds like you are about to bite the big one.

leenkeeper

Chinese pinyin, great. you know the pronounce, that you can speak, and welcome to China. we can make bike trip together, and I can be your guide.


yes, it was very expensive, maybe I will buy it from the mainland.

may be choose REACH Trekking and upgrade it to be a Road

mpchi

Don't have experience with this one, but it sort of reminds me on the Kuwahara Gaap, which has a very similar fold. Taking the front wheel off and swing the back to the front fork. Be prepared to have a very inconvinient folding though, as I had a folder that needs to take off the front wheel as well. Very clunky as you can't really stand it too well while the wheel is off and attempting to fold. Unlike the Dahon you have that has both wheel as well as the lowered seatpost to stand on its own. But if you don't mind all that and the 29.3 lbs heavy weight, it does look like its a very nice bike with good performance.

leenkeeper

yeah, some of my friend told me that it perform well, but not very convenience(because not easy fold)


and I got a picture about the riding position compare with the road race.

Karlgw

Picked up a Reach (Road version) last week from Avon Valley Cyclery in Bath. I want it for a 22-mile commute so I specified mudguards and a rack. I bought it under the UK government's Cyclescheme, thus saving the tax and effectively getting 12 months interest-free credit. I also considered and test rode the Airnimal Chameleon (Performance Sport) and Joey (Explore), as well as the Pashley-Moulton TSR 27 and the Birdy Touring.

The Moulton gave the best ride, but was not easy to separate/bag.

The Birdy was the best folder, but I did not like the ride (the sub-20" wheels resulted in a very twitchy ride).

The Chameleon was almost as good to ride as the Moulton, and the fold was pretty good as well. Similarly, the Joey gave a surprisingly good ride, especially considering that, unlike the other bikes tested, it was unsuspended.

The Reach also gave a very nice ride. It had suspension, like the Chameleon, but was priced at a similar point to the Joey. The deciding factor for me though was that, unlike the Airnimals, there is a rack available for the Reach that is compatible with folding. I also bought the bespoke bag for the Reach, which turns out to be useless as you can't simply fold the bike and bag it - you have to completely disassemble it and even then it a very tight fit. As I want the bike for commuting I also specified front and rear mudguards. Unfortunately I found out after buying it that the front mudguard isn't compatible with folding so I have had to remove it.

My impressions of the bike so far are very favorable on the whole.

Strengths include a very plush ride thanks to front and rear suspension, lively yet stable feel, a good range of gears (30-120" on the Road version), generally good quality equipment, and reasonably good fold (though no Brompton of course).

Weaknesses include inability to fold with front mudguard in place; inability to easily store in the bespoke bag; necessity to remove the front wheel to fold and nowhere to attach it to the folded bike.

Possibly because the manufacturer expects riders to choose their own saddle and pedals, those fitted are functional but rather cheap and nasty. The pedals are unnamed platform pedals and the saddle is a very basic 'Velo Plush'. I have replaced pedals with MKS AR-2s fitted with PowerGrips, and the saddle with the amazingly comfortable and yet also very inexpensive (if rather tacky-looking) Rido saddle.

jur

You might be able to fold it with the front mudguard if you turned the front back-to-front after removing the wheel?

Pine Cone

I have the Reach Offroad/Trail model, 27-speed with flat bars. I really like it. I have about 600km on mine now since I got it earlier this spring. Very nice riding bike!

This is a performance bike that happens to fold. It feels very solid, rides very well, and feels very stable going at speeds over 55 kph.

If I had to fold the bike two or four times a day I'd go with my Downtube Mini, but if I had to ride longer distances (25-200 km) I'd go with the Reach.

Do a search here for Pacific Reach. Those of us who own them really like them, and most of us have more than enough other bikes to have an educated opinion.

jwlunt

Where did you get yours from? Did you need to use any services from the shop or manufacturer?

I thought really hard about a Reach but didn't feel comfortable enough with the distribution or number in circulation. I had similar feelings about the Airnimal and a few others. If more manufacturers offered a "try it risk free for 30 days" option as per Swift I probably would have taken a different route.

J.

Pine Cone

I bought mine from Black Dog Bicycles here in Washington, a semi-local shop. https://blackdogbicycles.com/thereachfoldingbike.html

I worked in bicycle shops from 1972 through 1977 so I had no worries about needing much help from the shop. The only problem I have had was a bent derailleur cable which I got when experimenting with folds. The new frame designs should eliminate that problem, but on the older frames the cables are pretty exposed.

I wish it was easier to find folders to test ride, but the reality is that in most areas the choices are very limited. I also like tandems which are also very hard to test ride, but at least you can go to a tandem rally and have the chance to try out all sorts of them.

I like the trend here for people to organize folder rallys. It can be a great way for people to get together and have a chance to see and ride some other folders, but it is pretty much up to the people on this forum to make it happen.

Even with the increase in gas prices media attention seems focused on hybrid cars and public transportation as the only viable options to cars. As someone who rode around the gas lines in the early 1970s on a bicycle I am disappointed at the lack of media interest in getting people back onto bicycles. More and more it seems like most cyclists on the roads are under 10 or over 40 years old. Folding bikes combined with public transportation are a viable option for commuting, but only if the public transportation is bike friendly and runs often enough to be useful.

jwlunt

Great response and oh-so-true. I wish the media on both sides of the atlantic would push cycling more. When you think that it helps resolve two of the largest social issues we have today (ie consumption of scarce natural resources and obesity) it amazes me that more is not reported. That said, I see Chicago (where I am currently living) as taking major strides forwards. I see bikes everywhere, a reasonable set of cycle lanes and new laws to protect cyclists. 'Timeout Chicago' just ran a cycle theme last week: things are definitely picking up, but not fast enough IMO.

jur

Can you provide some details about the laws that protect cyclists? We deperately need something like that over here in Oz.

jwlunt

Sure - news blog here: https://chicagobikelaw.blogspot.com/2...inois-law.html

Of course, it's a different matter getting the motorists to adhere to the laws, but it is a step in the right direction.

jur

Just had a quick read of that.

Seems we are in paradise here in Oz. We already have that and then some.

Sorry guys. You must really be struggling.