Lalato

£75 is roughly $150. Shipping, handling and any fees might be in the $150 range. So that's maybe $300 to get a used bike on ebay from the UK. At that price, you would be better off getting a new Breezer i3 for $399.

--sam

noob_island

$300?!?! Forget experimenting on a "cheap" folder.

bhkyte

I have some picture of the upgraded genie I ended up buying. Thanks for the input.

It has a Scram or sach 3x7 dual drive rear hub set up, and a beam saddle and post. The bars are non standard I think and a quick release stem has been added.

The bike has had little use yet, but I have a few early impressions.

for ;

1) solid bike, rides well , I like the way the folding rear frame pivot is slightly stiff and locks in firmly
2) Folds and stands more securely on the rack than any bike I have ever owned
3) rear suspension feels nice and progressive,smooth ride.
4) Brakes work strongly, prievous owner converted the front V brake back to a caliper as he found it too strong!!!
5)Dual drive is great (wish it was newer 9 x3 instead though)
6)The quick release handle bar stem can be adjusted to fit children.
7) I think for light off road I will prefer this to my former Merc and Brompton.

against;

1) Folded package is large, rather clumsly, and does not lock together, rather like my NS8 Downtube, but the Downtube ride much faster and better.
2) longer seat post still not long enough for me. I think because the BB clearence is so high.

3) the handle bar quick release does not hold bars completely securely yet, I will check out little pixels threads

The extra weight does not bother me , I would much sooner have enough range of gears like this has got.

my personal conclusion

The bike has the advantage over my previous Merc for family use. In this form the bars can adapt to suit better for children. The gear range is also better for them as I found running twin chainrings to accommodate on a merc a pain. The chain came off and the tensioner could not cope with the extremes of a 42 - 53 set up. (I suppose I could have gone for a a twin rear set up)

I have had many folding bike and all have them have done one thing better than others. This bike has my prefered standard 135 mm rear axle, and the way it does not need a chain tensioner I thought may be a boom over previous Brompton and Merc set ups. The problem is that the Genie rear fold only achives the bike standing up securely. It does not reduce its size. The smaller footprint over a Mezzo or Brompton might mean I can get it in to the same luggage compartment on a train.But in a car it will take up alot more space. It does not ride anywhere as well as my Downtube, but it is a simular folded size.I need to try it on the train to see if it is a better commuting package than the Downtube.I have added a photo compairing it tt a Merc(Brompton clone),from this its smaller footprint can be seen.

My old Dawoe was good for messing about and doing tricks,The downtube handle well and is stiff enought to carry a passenger on the rear rack ! My Diblasi had the best "folding" . The brompton the smallest.

The Genie does not seem to be the best at anything nor is it the overall best package that my upgraded Mezzo represents for my preferences. I would not recommend this bike for any particular reason, but I am not convinced that it might suit a purpose well. I will sit on the fence for now!
I really bought the bike for the value of the dual drive hub.

I love dual drive hubs and will keep the rear wheel to go on another project if this bike is sold. Here I go again!!!

Lalato

Thanks for the write-up. It will help people thinking about this bike.

Sounds like a bike that wants to be a cheap alternative to Brompton. Sounds like they achieve some of that goal. Perhaps Oyama will find a way to improve on this design in the future.

--sam

BruceMetras

Nice job with your bike!! I like the setup ... I see you are running my preferred saddle setup (SDG I-beam) did you need to modify the bike to take a 34mm post? I am curious about your preference statement .. as I have both SRAM and Sachs DualDrive setups, why do wish for the newer model? I would think the Sachs unit without the clickbox to get knocked around might be a better choice for a folder with a folding rear triangle.

bhkyte

The beam post fits striaght in without a shim.It was bought like this from the seller, it is not modifed.

I am just greedy I guess about the 3x9 dual drive! The 3x9 is worth more money !!


I have a mezzo with the 3x9 setup. I certianly intend to try the older 3x7 as the mezzo folds towards the clickbox. Therefore the 3 x7 set up may be more durable than the 3x9 currently on my mezzo. The Genie folds away from the rear mech so the click box is less of an issue. So I may end up swopping it around inline with your comments. Now I have the luxury of trying both set ups. Very happy!

bhkyte

Suggestions about longer seatposts?

I make the internal diametre of the Genie seatpost tube 34.2mm. The former owner kept his Zorin seat post, in the end I fitted a Mezzo seatpost(£40) and cut the shimm down this worked quite well.
With this seatpost the bike would be suitable for someone up to 5 11 ish, or about the same as a standard Brompton seatpost on a brompton

Are their any user of the Ridgeback bike that folding in the same way?
(That bike would be an improvement in quality and weight.)

I like the fold as it is stiff and holds together carrying down steps even without using the rear frame clip. I also like the fact that a rack bag can be lift on it when folding. Good bike for shopping on.

bhkyte

sitting on the fence no more!

conclusion

I feel this bike has few niches that it furfills well. I prefer it to a standard Brompton to ride, but this is a relatively highly upgraded bike. For commuting a simular priced Dahon would be easier and better quality. I cant see any advantagers over a dual drive Dahon impluse.

I was disappointed with the commuting aspect for the following reason. I tried a small rack bag on the rack, wanting to be able to wheel the bike folded without taking the bag off. This was possible but not easy due to the difficulty of scuffing the bag. I was able to do this my former ridulously easy Diblasi. For shopping the space genie would be a good bike if you could set up a quick release bag and left the bike rather than wheeled it. I have enjoyed this bike in the dual drive form, but it has now been sold and the upgrades kept!

thanks for the input

So good if cheap, else**********???

bhkyte

I sold the bike with 7speed set up for £120
sold the Brompton dynamo for £ 5
Postage damage compensation that I was able to use fix with existing spares £ 35
sold beam saddle and post £ 20
subTotal £180
added panniers to sold bike -17
net cost of experimenting £37 (plus some spares)

however I also kept the following spares: dual drive rear wheel (sold the space genie with a Mezzo 9 speed wheel fitted with 7 speed cassette), kept one set of bar ends, also kept the mezzo 9 speed cassette, mileometre.
To get a 3x7 dual drive wheel build up would cost Hub cost +£30 for rim,and £50 for the wheel build. Well over £100.

So this has worked out quite well, but I did wounder at the time !

Downhillwuss

I bought a mk1 version of this off ebay last year, intending to commute to and from the station on my journey to and from work. then I decided it was just easier to ride the whole way on a road bike, so it sat in the garage for nearly 8 months.
Looking at the picture, mine has a much lower bb and no fancy suspension at the rear. I think it also has 14in wheels rather than 16in you suggest. I suppose that is just because it is mk1?

Now I have signed up to ride from London to Paris with the British Heart Foundation Folding Bike Challenge. It sounded a bit of a laugh.. until I remembered the failings of the Space Genie. So, now I am in the process of upgrading, and seeing your post raised a few questions.

I'm 6 ft 2in and need a lonnnng seatpost. There are suggestions that a Brompton telescopic would fit. Is this right, do you think?

I find the gears incredibly small such that I am spinning out on the slightest descent. (And as you can tell from my moniker, I'm no hero when the road goes down!) So, I think I will have to change the chainring.

(What is this 'dual drive' stuff'? Would I have to buy a new rear wheel? The current set up has a five speed block and single chainsets. I guess it would be easy enough to add a front mech? Or would it foul up the folding mechanism?)

Finally, I find the handlebar set up a bit 'soft'. There seems to be a fair bit of play in there that is not due to anything loose. Is there anything I can do to upgrade it? Perhaps straighten out the bars from their current 'U' shape?

All in all, it feels like 'great frame, but the rest needs some work'.

chagzuki

resurrecting an old thread here; I was in central london today and I saw one of these chained to a bike rack. It struck me as quite a nice-looking bike and perhaps I'd pick one up if I saw it going cheap on ebay. I'm wondering: are the stock seatpost and handlebars steel or alloy? I'm wondering if a few component swaps could get this down to around 12kg.

bhkyte

All steel bars plus seat post, so definitely weight saving potential. Not sure about getting down to 12KG.possibly.

You need a longer seat post if over 5foot 6-8 approx.

chagzuki

I've got a spare Dahon I-Beam seat post which I gather from the thread would fit, plus a spare crankset and handlebars. Could work out quite nicely.

bhkyte

I beam fits at a real push or a whack. But it is too tight to lower regularly for a folding bike. Mezzo seatpost (£40) fits with a shim.

bhkyte

Thought i would just add to this. ( several years later!!!)....


You are basing the dimensions of a newer Diblasi bike. My older model Diblasi is narrower folded, (but longer) than the model you got dimesion from the internet to compair. ie its an older R4 model ,without folding forks that increase the folded width on a newer R22 models and simular.