It’s time to update this post to explain that I am nowadays a happy user of Chedech :-)
It was not easy to purchase it though. I got it via a friendly Spanish guy who is a contributor to Chedech as designer. This bike of mine is a Chedech Drogon, which I believe never went into the stores, so this is more like a prototype. And I got a good price for it, to be honest.
Of course, there are pros and cons with this bike, I will give you my insights here after. I will also try to link you to some pictures.
The bike is super light, 8,4 Kg. including a couple of Reelight ligths and a rear rack for panniers that I appended. As we all know, most of it is made of carbon, even the rims of the wheels. All in this bike is about lightness and speed, even the tyres, Schwalbe Kojak with no treads at all.
In a way, when I ride this bike I feel this is a toy, but this is no different from riding a Brompton, in my opinion (I have tested the B only occasionally). At the same time, you do not feel it might break easily or that it flexes a lot. Yes, it flexes a bit because this is carbon made, but the sense is of solidity. And the rear elastomer gives you extra comfort.
The internal hub gear is a Sturmey Archer 5v. This is a bit noisy and it does not really cover my needs (I come from a Tern Link P9, i.e. with 9 gears). When I received the bike and tried it for the first time, I had the feeling I could not use the full range of 5 speeds. Fortunately, I have found a mechanic which seems to have made a good work on it and now the full range is working as normal, even though he believes this hub could not ever work perfectly well due to the geometry of the frame, as the cable needs to have more span in the final part (he mentioned 5 inches needed at the last part as per the vendor requirements, which is not accomplished).
Anyway, in the near future I would try to replace this hub with a Shimano Alfine 8s. This would add some extra weight and it would be hard work as the whole wheel (spokes and all) should have to be rebuilt, but it would be worth the change I guess.
The folding is just amazing although I probably miss the safety catch Brompton added to avoid folding the rear wheel by just lifting the saddle. The hinges are quicker to close and release than those of the B, so Chedech is superior in this matter in my humble opinion.
The rear rack deserves a special comment. The Chedech comes with a rear mudguard but I chose to replace it by a rear rack (sadly, the two cannot coexist). I should remind you the reason why I did not purchase a Chedech initially several years ago (by the time I initiated this thread) was the lack of this rear rack. As soon as I discovered there was one available, I went for this bike.
I agree that, as previously discussed, this bike is not intended to be used as a cargo. Still, I believed I could use my Ortlieb panniers (officially the front panniers, smaller than the rear ones) just the way I used them with my nice old Tern. My weight is 70 Kg, let’s say I add up to 5-10 Kg in one or two panniers. This should be good, do you agree?
The problem is the geometry of the rear rack. This is too short so even if you place the panniers all the way back you cannot pedal normally as your heels hit the pannier. This is really annoying and there is more: by mounting this rack you get four small wheels for transportation when folded (which works like a charm on the other hand) but I also tend to hit the front two wheels with the inner part of my heels when pedalling (what I also experience when riding a Brompton, one of the reasons why I do not like B so much).
All in all, I’m happy with this beautiful bike and I hope I will eventually solve the problems with the gear hub (change to Alfine?) and with the rear rack (I will talk to Chedech guys for them to try to improve its design).
Ah, there are nice pictures of this particular bike in the Instagram of Chedech Europe:
You could even find a picture of mine with my bike if you search carefully ;-)
Last edited by pericleto; 05-23-21 at 02:01 PM.
Reason: Correctly insert the link to a picture