Originally Posted by
rubber2405
Hello there.
I recently purchased a folding Downtube VIII FS (full suspension) with 20" wheels and I have to say it is excellent.
It has 8 spd gears on a twist grip changer (easy to use and convenient), it folds in around 14 seconds for me, comes with it's own carry bag with a bell and reflectors and is quick for the type of bike it is.
I have only done about 40 miles on it so far, but it is great.
It rides like a normal bike with next to no noise. It turns many heads, as I have not yet seen another one of these bikes in Leeds, where i live in the UK.
It fits easily in the back of my car (Ford Focus Estate), with room for a pushchair and my child's bicycle, with no need to put the back seats down.
The bike is well built and the welds on the Aluminium frame are perfectly neat and appear robust.
You would have to pay in excess of £400-500 for an equivalent quality Dahon.
I paid £200 for last year's model, from Downtube itself, via e-bay. I like it that much I am buying the 16" minis for my wife and child (if i can get them at a reasonable price - £288 inc VAT and UK Rip off excise inc is the cheapest so far).
The bike I have already was from stock that Downtube have in the UK, but they don't seem to have the Mini in the UK yet, so around £135 is for shipping and excise from the US to the UK (the bike itself costs the equivalent of £147 in the uk when converted from US dollars).
If you are in the states, you're sorted, cos you don't have to pay the rip off costs of excise i have to.
This bike is Highly recommended.
1)There is a carry handle come bike protector welded to the bottom bracket, which was bent towards the left hand side pedal shaft when i got it. It was brand new and well packaged when i got it, so i can only think it's just a QA mishap when being produced. It was rectified by being carefully bent out of the way and is now spot on (although some paint came off at the stress points, the welds and area it was bent). I intend to touch it up with some car paint.
2) I can't get the gears to shift cleanly to the smallest sprocket, although the rest shift quickly and smoothly (a delay of a couple of secs with some clicking noises made).
I will take it to a bike mechanic to see if they can tweak it, as this is likely to be my error rather than the bike.
3) The paint chips easily when you fold it where the forks come into contact with the front of the frame (Yan, could these bikes be powder coated and laquered instead?).
I am gonna touch this up too and I have bought some translucent gaffer tape which i will cut into some neat squares to put on the vulnerable areas.
That's it!
Rubber2405
Sorry, got carried away with the bike.
1st off - Lights: you want to packlight and there are some good led lights from Cateye out there.
I have bought a Euro brand of LED lights for the front and back for my folding bike, whick I paid about £25 per pair, but for my MTB i have a set of Madison Electrons, with a 5 and 10w halogens housed in machined aluminium cases. The lights are compact and the rechargeable battery is the size and shape of a small water bottle and sits in the bottle cage.
The lights are good enough for off-road mountain biking with both lamps illuminated, but for commuting the 5w lamp is ample. You can have one or the other or both lamps illuminated, with the 10w having a handle bar mounted control button which secures with a velcro strap.
The battery last about 5 hrs before requiring a charge on the 5w lamp, around 2.5 hrs with the 10w lamp only and about 1h 35 mins with both illuminated (only really required for off-road night time riding).
I bought them from the web and I can't remember where from, but I paid £65 for them in the UK.
The lights are branded as: Electron Lighting Systems. Their website is
www.ultimatepursuits.co.uk
Things to carry with you:
1)A good multitool with allen key attachments (at least 6, 8 and 10mm), I have a "Wiggly", which is the size of a medium sized penknife and has a phillips (posidrive) and flat head screwdriver built in. You must have a puncture repair kit and a set of plastic / nylon compact tyre levers.
Also carry at least one spare inner tube, just in case you can't repair a puncture at the roadside and you can just swap the innertube over.
2) A decent quality minipump. Don't scrimp on this as you get what you pay for and a cheapo plastic affair may well leave you high and dry when you need to re-inflate a tyre. I have 2, both made by "Topeak". I have the master blaster (about 9-10" long and 1.5" thick) which is great and will get you decent pressure in any bike tyre and is of aluminium and toughened nylon construction (costs about £20).
I also have a Pocket rocket, also by Topeak which is very compact (about 6" long and 1" thick), and is okay to pump the tyre to "Get you home" pressures, but is hard work. It costs about £16 in the UK.
3) A mobile phone, that is charged up and has credit on it! (Need i say anymore?)
4) A decent cable lock to help you keep your pride and joy out of the mitts of scum sucking thieves. I have a Squire combination cable lock. It would be cut by some medium sized bolt croppers, is 1.8m long and not too heavy to carry. The combination lock you can set yourself to your own 4 digit code and it's not the type that can be cracked by "looking for the gaps" (if you don't know what i mean by this, no worries. I won't spell it out in case any thieving scum are reading this). I paid £10 for my cable lock in the UK. It's only good enough for leaving your bike temporarily whilst you nip in the shop or cafe, in a place that's well lit and populated. Leave it with one of these locks on somewhere a thief can work on it undisturbed and you will lose your bike.
What to wear:
1) Padded cycling shorts of some description. If you are a man and you have the average bike seat (not the large ones with springs underneath) padded cycling shorts will mean the difference between a slight ache in your backside when you get to work after your bike commute or feeling like you have been violated by an elephant. I am told it can cause prostate problems in later life if you don't wear cycling shorts, although I'm not a Doctor, so who knows. What i do know is that i still have vivid memories of cycling in my early twenties to work without padded cycling shorts. It hurts...I soon bought some.
2) High viz jacket / Bib. There are loads out there at all prices to suit all budgets. I have a Madison Dri-tex which cost me about £60 in the UK, is fully waterproof, windproof and lined and has loads of pockets. It looks ok too.
3) Suitable footwear. I ride with SPD pedals, so I have some Shimano cleated sole shoes. They are water proof, comfy enough to walk around in as normal shoes, look ok and i got a deal on them when i bought the shoes and pedals together for £80. (I saved a tenner).
4) Shades / Sunglasses. I have some cheap ones made by Sunwise. They have 3 sets of interchangeable polycarbonate lenses, dark UV400 for sunlight, orange lenses (don't know what these do!) and some yellow lenses (anti-glare). The yellow lenses are ideal for overcast weather or darkness, to stop stuff getting in your eyes, but at night they enhance night vision by reducing glare from headlights and seem to brighten things up a bit. The lenses take about 10-20 seconds to change and the glasses came with a hard case to protect them. All for £20.
5) Decent riding gloves. Should give weather protection but must allow dexterity so you can use your brakes and gears properly. There are loads out there. I got some cheap ones for £15 from my local bike shop. They are made from neoprene (same stuff they make wetsuits from).
Well...the last point...How should i wash up at work? Did your parents not teach you any personal hygiene? Get a shower if you can, or get a wash if you can. I used to work with a guy who cycled to work in his work clothes, sweated all over them and then worked in the same clothes all day and cycles home in them again. He used to smell offensive, he was the butt of many jokes due his body odour.
If you can't get washed or showered and changed into clean clothes / different clothes, at least take some wet wipes and wipe yourself down, then spray your pits with some deodorant.
Ignore this last piece of advice at your peril. I have never met a woman / man yet (or a gay man / woman) that thinks stale sweaty body odour is attractive or sexy.
Good luck.