Originally Posted by
Plainsman
I’m contemplating my first folding bike and I already know I’m not the ideal budget folding bike prospect (I ride large road frames and I probably need 39 inches from saddle to pedal). So to get started I’m looking at a more basic used folder, and adding a telescoping seat post and a handlebar extension. I see plenty of options in the sub $300 range, and I’ve found post options and handlebar extensions for about $100 combined. This won’t be my primary bike, just something to keep at work for lunch spins, and take when I travel. But I know little about folding bikes - are these mods horrible ideas? For what it’s worth, I’m looking at a used Zizzo Liberte right now. TIA!
Zizzo Liberte is not bad from what others have said, far above what used to be a budget bike.
I have what used to be a low-range folder, a Dahon Speed, and have modded significantly, not in size (fits me perfect), but in capability; 2X crank for wider gearing for serious hills, front and rear racks and panniers as townie and eventually touring, aero bars, bar ends, etc. Sounds like you just want to keep your bike light and foldy. So, to better help you...
What's the reason for a folder? To fit in a car trunk? Or under a desk at work? Train travel? Or air travel? Just on the flats, or mild hills, or steeper coastal hills or mountains? What's the furthest you may bike on it?
A telescoping seatpost may give you the height you need, but also increase the bending moment at the frame seat tube, and many folders are sensitive to breaking there from metal fatigue under cyclic stress.
Handlebar extensions can be tricky on some folders; Mine, for example, has a 360 degree clamp that is welded integral to the stem riser, and the riser is tapered, so I can't fit a clamped or quill stem to it. I can swap the handlebars, with a lot of effort to remove everything, as the clamp is not a clamshell style, it doesn't open up. Cheaper folders have the handlebar welded to the riser, no changes at all. But the aftermarket has vastly increased for things like different handlepost risers and stems, so mods are a lot easier.
In general, bikes like mine where the handlepost and seatpost are not parallel, but diverge, means a longer "effective top-tube length" as both go up. But again, my handlebar position is fixed; Having the ability to swap different stem lengths would be good. That is Bike Friday's approach, posts are parallel, but the handlepost uses standard clamped-style stems.
I started with a folding bike, as a folder, but now it's my 100% daily bike. Granted, I don't MTB, and it doesn't have the speed or elegance of my old road race bike, but it's far more capable than typical folders. Basically, same capabilities as a Bike Friday New World Tourist, but at a tiny fraction of the price.
