catalancyclist

Hi there!

It has been about 10 days since I received my Montague Paratrooper Pro 2016 (20" frame) per post, as the offically recommended dealers were just too far away from me.

I just wanted to share my experience so far and see whether anybody has had a similar one. I addressed Montague with some of the issues below 10 days ago through the contact form in their webpage, but haven't heard from them since. Hence my need to reach out and see if I am the only one or whether I just had bad luck.

1. Ordering
   
   Easy peasy via telephone. Good commercial agents, answered all my questions and cleared a number of my doubts.
   
   
2. Shipping
   
   My bike was shipped with "FedEx Ground Shipping Services", which was a bit unfortunate, as it was shipped from near Seattle all the way to the east coast of the USA, taking ~7 days altogether. Well, not ideal, but also not that catastrophic. Shipping was $70.
   
   
3. Assembly and adjustment
   
   In their user manual, page 21, they claim that the bike "was assembled and tuned in the factory and then partially disassembled for shipping", which is why I didn't really mind ordering per post.
   
   However, the story was different once I opened the box:
   
   
   - The front disk-brake calipers were closed so tight together that I was not able to mount the front wheel without loosening them (leading to posterior adjustment).
   
   - The front fork was mounted backwards, as one can tell from the fact that the fender was at the wrong side of the fork and that the front disk brake is at the wrong side:
   
   

   

   
   Made for a few laughs at the local bike shop I brought the bike to.
   
   - Initially, the chain was scratching the front derrailleur at a number of gears.
   
   - The back disk brakes calipers were very tight: you could hear a periodic friction if you spun the back wheel.
   
   
   I managed to correct some of the issues above (except for the frame), but ended up bringing it in to a local bike shop and having it checked. Also put a handle-bar-stem extender which gave me a slightly higher position for a more comfortable ride.
   
   
4. Component quality
   
   Back in Europe I rode a KTM Ultra Fun, which was half the price of the Paratrooper Pro and had what felt like superior-quality components, in particular the disk brakes and the Shimano gear shifts.
   
   Today, after just 9-10 days of riding the bike, the front fender has decided to start jumping off at each bump, landing on the front tire and causing friction, noise, inconvenience, etc. Made me seriously consider the "military technology" selling argument
   
   I am gradually convincing myself that, at least in terms of bikes, "Made in Taiwan" (Montague) vs "Made in Austria" (KTM) does make a very substantial difference.
   
   
5. Value for money
   
   I get it that I am paying for a foldable bike (which is what I was looking for), but had I known that this comes at the price of lower quality of service/components/adjustments I would have not bought it. Maybe I just had too high expectations after my KTM (which I insist was only half the price), but the experience has brought me dangerously close to the point of regret, I am only gradually moving away from it as I ride the bike and start enjoying it.
   

Anyway, let me know if you have faced any of these issues. I may have just had bad luck, but in any event I was not expecting any of the above in a $1000 bike. I hope I will not have any further issues with it, as I intend to keep the bike. It's very sturdy, surprisingly light for what I expected, foldable, has awesome looks, and the ride is great (except the front fender issue...).

Thanks for any feedback/experience you can contribute!

Cheers!