Originally Posted by v1nce

Cool Bike!! :-)

Thanks!

@ There, Thanks a lot for the pictures. But: They are huge and many rather blurry, any chance for other/improved ones? Plus the video looks very promising but i don't see any bike in it! Just the staircase...?

---I will take some more better quality pictures today. The video seems to work here. I make another one aswell.

Perhaps Downtube could even more good pictures too, i think it would really help interest and sales.

For the rest: a most impressive bike for the money for sure! Personally i think:

The Pedals, brake levers look so so, as does the front chainring and suspension. Then again that is just an opinion and i have never even seen one, so i am not even very informed either.

---The pedals (plastic) seem to "give" a little. When standing out of the seat and going up hill the pedals seem just a tad flexy. This is true on my Dahon as well. I'm used to riding bikes (mostly BMX style) with steel or alm pedals. Does anyone have a recomendation for a wide folding metal pedal ( I have big feet, size 13 ).

---The chainring seems to do it's job well, even though it is plastic.

Maybe it is just a prejudice/taste but personally i would go for the non-suspended version i think and buy a sprung Brooks saddle. I find that cheap suspension systems tend to add a lot of complexity, weight and lack of reliability to a bike, plus a lot of the cheap suspension systems soak up a lot of your pedalling energy. Still if you are not so so concerned about efficiency this is the best deal you can get on a full suspension folder bar none! I will be very curious to see next years incarnation and whether the price will remain the same!

---For me anyway the suspension is great! I live in Manhattan and on the street I was getting beat up from the bumps on the road on my Dahon, the downtube is a HUGE improvemnt. As for soaking up energy I only notice it when climing a huge hill standing out of the saddle. On flat land it seems fine.

I wonder is it possible to order just a frame or custom Downtube? I for one would love to have a frame and then maybe select the parts that most appealed to me.

---Call up the designer, I have talked to him on AIM. Seems like a great guy. I'll give you his number if you can't find it. (his AIM name is DowntubeY)


Anybody have an informed opinion about the (drivetrain) components and wheelset, i know they are more obscure than the "big brands" stuff but are they good? I actually like that Downtube is not using Shimano and such, i am not a fan of big business.

--- I believe mine needs adjusting. Sometimes it will jump off the biggest gearing on the rear wheel, and on the smallest gear in the rear is seems to have a "clicking" in the chain and crank when pedaling. I have not adjusted anything yet so the issues is most likely mine.

I love the construction, solid welds and simple but distintive logo/font! Great product guys! Also i find the philosophy "Overall, we are very excited about our bikes, in our first month we sold about 150 and sales are increasing. We are able to sell our bikes for less than our competition for several reasons. We design/import/distribute/retail our bikes. This allows for phenominal cost savings which we pass on to our customers. We feel many quality products are overpriced, our goal is assist in making a more efficient market." great.

---The wheels seem awesome. I have really beat them so far and they are still true. If anyone in Manhattan would like to test ride mine just let me know.

That is exactly the philosphy i hold/appreciate.

"Kronan" bikes had the same bizz practice and filosophy in the Netherlands for the first few years. As a result they went from a tiny company to selling lots and lots of bikes... Of course then they kinda sold out after a few years and abandoned their filosophy and i think merged/became a regualr company using regular distribution and such. The result was that prices became much higher.

I hope Downtube will never go this way!

If you Downtube guys need a contact or advocate in the Netherlands i am game! The folder market seems to be exploding here.

As for the Aluminium frame, i think that is a pity, i prefer steel, the reasons being durability and that it is easier to fix. Other people explain better than i can in recent thread why from a certain perspective (despite being slightly heavier) steel is preferable for some..

Lastly i think that downtube could maybe look at the Xootr Swifts, their dropout design in particular is worth checking. The fact that i allows many drivetrains (fixed gear, derallieur, hub gear) means that it makes an interesting bike for many types of buyers which means more potential buyers.

Keep up the great work!