Hi All, I was looking for a folding bike the other day with no real budget in mind except with two competing philosophies in my mind - either to buy a particularly expensive folding bicycle that will last me forever, or an extremely cheap bicycle that will last me long enough to decide whether or not I actually want a folding bicycle.

The first bicycle I found was a Schwinn Loop 7 for $200.

So I ordered that without much thought, since $200 was a good price for an aluminum frame, as I was convinced by the reviews.

Unboxing and First Ride


The box arrived on my doorstep and when unboxing the bike, I found it was already mostly finished minus one pedal. I immediately assembled it and went for a short ride. It was not a fun ride. The original seatpost was strangely glossy and hard to tighten, the brakes rubbed all over, and the rear hub was packed too tightly. Also, the stock chainring was something around 32T which was laboriously hard to pedal at speed. I found the stock handlebars a bit tall for me and it was very heavy and bulky. Based on the reviews here, that sounds about right and after a few minor adjustments it did ride okay, although not particularly the way I like it. (The handlebars were too tall and I had to pedal like mad to get any kind of speed.)

However, the hinge seems to be of good quality, it rotates smoothly and is stiff when locked. Also, the frame appears to be made of aluminum, since no magnets stick to it. It uses a threaded headset and I believe the bottom bracket is a standard 68mm.

Customization

I decided that there was no going back so I went to my tools and did the following things:

I went and repacked the bearings, they were in a bearing cage with some translucent grease lightly applied. I didn't take particular note of the freewheel, but it had 13T on the smallest cog and I removed it with the Park Tool FR-1.2 without much effort, I guess because of having not ridden it much.

The wheels were heavy, but seemed to be sturdy. They appear to be 406mm BMX rims, and the tires mine came with were hybrid slicks, 20x1.75. I broke off the fenders while trying to remove the wheels.

The brakes were rubbing, but they were standard V-brakes, although I have no idea what brand, they work fine. It is difficult to replace the brake cable in the rear brake since it is an extremely long route down the "loop" and around into the v-brake, so that is something to keep in mind. In the photo you'll see there is some slack near the hinge, this is necessary to ensure folding is smooth.

The stock chainring was tiny so I removed the crankset and replaced it with a generic Chinese crankset with 52T. I feel this was a mistake on my part, as I had to completely replace the chain with a single speed chain. I also had to file off some material off of the rear derailleur to make the new chain fit properly. The shifting works fine, albeit not as smooth. The stock bottom bracket is a standard square taper.

The handlebars were replaced with drops and a standard quill stem instead of the folding one. As such I had to replace all the brake handles and cables, and broke the shifter trying to slide it on the handlebar. I replaced it with a Shimano Acera and hot glued it to the bar after filing off some material to make it fit. I didn't need the handlebars to fold since I only planned on taking it on the bus and the rule was that as long as the frame folded there was no issue.

I admit the colors look terrible, but it survived the work I put it through and I'll make it look better when I have time (maybe). I replaced the pedals with some clipless pedals and the seat post with a lighter one.

Conclusion

I've ridden the bicycle in it's current iteration for about 300 or so miles in the last 3 months, and I have to say it's replaced all my other bicycles out of sheer convenience, and it is pretty comfortable. My longest ride is about 26 miles and it was a mix of packed dirt roads and bad worn asphalt and there was no discomfort, but I am 5' 7" with no history of back problems or neck problems. The wide BMX tires were helpful in offsetting the small wheel size.

In conclusion, was the Schwinn Loop 7 worth it? At stock, with no changes, for $200, it feels like you get what you pay for. Yes, you get a bicycle that folds, it fits in your car, and it is definitely more convenient than walking. Is it comparable to a more expensive bike? Probably not. More importantly, it still requires considerable adjustment to be rideable, so that should also factor into the cost if you take it to a local bike store. The maximum distance I would ride this bike in the default stock configuration is probably around 6 miles.

On the other hand, because it uses mostly standard parts, it's easy to modify and play around with, so if that's your thing, then I certainly say it's worth it for that reason alone. (As far I can tell, only Bike Friday builds frames that doesn't use custom specifications?)

I've uploaded some photos, but I am not a professional bike builder so I understand this bicycle looks disfigured at best, and dangerous at worst. I've included mostly pictures of the hinge too since I feel like that's the most important part of the bike. And no, I don't like the purple either.

Also, has anyone else owned a Schwinn Loop 7 and customized it?