pinholecam

Thanks for the invaluable info.


I try to get some linseed oil or see what's available in the local hardware shop over the weekends.


Will there be any issues if the seatpost tube is also oiled? - as in slippage?

12boy

I would find out from Tyrell if this is a problem as it certainly is with Bromptons, but you still can do the rest of the frame. The lube based ones dry to a hard, gummy finish and are not really greasy nor oily. Try coating a piece of metal, letting it dry and see what you think. It is important to use quite a bit and put the frame in different positions so it coats everything.

Azreal911

I wouldn't oil the seatpost at all. looking at the design of all folding bikes you'll end up with a seatpost slipping down alot if you down that.

invisiblehand

I wouldn't bother. Any well used folding bike is going to result in incidental scratches and stuff. It's a losing battle.

I think it will slip.

pinholecam

Thanks again for the inputs.


I'll give some further impressions after tomorrow's ride.

12boy

Don't know what it is with Bromptons, perhaps the sleeve in the seat post. I have always used grease or anti-seize compound in seat tubes to avoid stuck seat posts on maybe 30 bikes and never had slippage. Aluminum and steel can actually be a real issue, but even steel on steel can be bad if rust is involved.

smallwheeler

before you take any action i think you should contact tyrell and find out if they have done any frame preservation as part of their fabrication process. given their evident attention to detail, i would be more surprised if they didn't than if they did.

pinholecam

Here is a short update after another total 130km (70km+60km)on the IVE.
One being a regular weekend ride (though shorter this week ) with ride buddies and the other a bit of an extended commute.

Saddle - I think the stock saddle, while well made is too aggressive. Think Arione Tri but harder and more angular.
I don't consider myself high mileage, but I'm no fresh rider either, and even so, I feel that the saddle is rather harsh.
Imagining that a buyer of a IVE would span quite a range of user levels, I'm rather surprised by the choice of saddle. (though it does look good)
Changed it out to a Selle Royal (gel something) and it feels far better now.
As with most contact points YMMV.

Gearing - Chainring is 53T and the rear cog is 11-30T. I have mixed feelings regarding the gear choices.
I am mostly on the 2nd last gear if I am with a roadie group trying to hang on to the peleton (28-32kph) or its the 3rd last gear and a 'cruising' speed of about 25kph if I go easy and solo (eg. commute).
Last gear (11T) will get used only to chase up in a group ride or where some downslope is involved. It tends to spin out on slightly steeper downslopes.
The easier gears are not used much at all and I am left wondering if I should go for a 56T chainring and move my 'cruising' gear more to the middle of the selection.
That said, this is Singapore which is very flat and I'm yet to see if the gearing makes more sense out of country.
So still contemplating the change.

Speed - If there is an imaginary duplicate of myself riding a road bike, that clone would be faster.
I'm certainly behind my usual ride buddies (no quarters given) by a few seconds while on my road bike, I'm within the group.
On a slower 28-32kph group, the IVE is certainly able to stay with the group, so its certainly capable of going to good speeds.
This bike as it is now, is not optimized for speedy rides at all, so I must say that its already exceeded expectations.
Lighter tires (eg. Kojaks), a more racy wheelset, some sort of road bar for riding in the drops and removing fenders and rack would help, but I got this bike as a tour bike, so all these are not part of my intended purpose.
The bike folds easily, to a very small size ('Brompton like' ), speedy for what it is (for 18" wheels).... I can't complain.

Rear Rack (separate purchase) - The original one is the only one available at time of writing.
I think its a bit more on style and less on a bit of practicality.
It sits a bit too low for bicycle bands/hooks to loop through easily and more time is wasted threading the bands through the gap between the rear wheel and rack.
Lack of options for bicycle hooks/bands to hook on.
I'd need to improvise something to make securing and releasing stuff on the rear rack faster.
Again, not that its bad, its very well made and secures well to proper mounting points on the bike, but I think it can be better.



Thats all for now.

BassNotBass

The Tyrell shows some really nice attention to detail and engineering.

Incidentally, pinholecam, beautiful photos.

dynaryder

Sweet bike,but 85kg limit sucks. I make it in clothes,but wouldn't be able to carry anything. They really need to get it up over 200lbs.

Paul Kong

Hi Pinholecam,

Nice review on Tyrell IVE. I've been reading up on review of this bike and yours are the most comprehensive.
I'm considering getting this bike as recreational. Not so much of going in and of of public transport. Is it suitable?

pinholecam

Thanks for the support.

For recreational needs, there are many more choices imho.
My $400 (after minor upgrades) Raleigh MV8 mini velo is certainly lighter, cheaper and faster for example.
But it does not fold.

I like the Dahon Dash Altena a lot and this would have been my choice if I did not need to go on public transport and fly (w/o too much disassembly) .
The Dahon Dash Altena is more like my Raleigh with the plus point that it folds (but not a very small fold).
The strength of the IVE is that is the best in-between of a speedy ride with a very good compact fold.



For your non-public transport needs, there are plenty others like the Dahon/Tern foldies, Tyrell FX (which folds but not as small), even the Moulton, etc

Paul Kong

Hi,
I think you have explain quite well in Tyrell@sg too. Though I do not travel much by public transport, I do need to fold it to be able to put in my car. At times, I need to carry 4 folding bike for my wife and 2 son.Therefore, a compact fold is desirable.
Btw, I own a Dahon dash, it's real fast and good bike but the head stem not so good as it is prone to movement. If change to fixed stem, it's difficult to fold the bike.

Abu Mahendra

Litepro 58T 130BCD ring will run you SGD60...

Paul Kong

Good morning!
I have bought this little pocket rocket IVE. It's really fast for a 18" wheel and it really feel solid when riding.
I've just done 20km this morning and it certainly live up to my expectation.

Just on the side note, how do you post up photo? I don't see any link that I can up load photo

Regards

Paul Kong

pinholecam

Thanks, thats a good price.




Congrats on the IVE.
Its a great bike with a compact fold while being a good ride too.

pinholecam

Updates after an Audax (235km)

I wanted to see how the bike would fare under a more extreme full bike type touring condition (as opposed to a multi modal touring).

The Singapore terrain is really quite flat and unless one specifically goes to some spots on the island for some short climbing work, there isn't much for a general ride.
Add to this, the many traffic lights to break up the cycling, built up areas that shelter against strong headwinds, and shade provided by roadside trees or buildings, its just not the best place to simulate the conditions one can encounter elsewhere on an all ride bike tour.

An Audax into Malaysia became a perfect opportunity to test out the bike.

Knowing that this was not going to be my regular mileage with unknown ride conditions and climbs (and on a 53T > 11/30), I opted for a simple strategy.
"Let the legs be the guide"
So I'd just spin and not go at an effort that will cause much muscle strain or lactic build up.
Most likely, that meant about 25kph cycling speed that averaged down to 20kph after factoring climbs, meals, rests, etc.

Audax distance was 220km, with a qualifying time of 13h30min.


Pineapple (Pekan Nanas) by jenkwang, on Flickr
Small Town of Pekan Nanas in Malaysia (they have large Pineapple plantations here)

So here are some further impressions after the long ride.
1. Gearing (of the stock bike) - I talked about thinking of changing the front to a 60T to center the gearing selection and add some speed in the original review.
However, now, I think the stock gearing makes far more sense if the ride involves some climbs.
So I'm keeping the gearing the way it is.

2. Handlebar and grips - A flat bar certainly leaves no option for hand positions, but I was fine throughout.
I had thought of changing the grips to Ergon type grips, but looks like the stock ones are fine with the cycling gloves on.
Varying the holding method between relaxed, gripping, gripping with some fingers off, etc does help of course.
The suffering part was the lack of another riding position with the flat bar.
I'm used to riding in more aggressive positions on road and tribikes, and there was no option for that with the current config.
Furthermore, no escape of headwinds or just changing ride postures just to relieve the butt or use emphasize other muscles on the legs.
I'd have to see what options are out there w/o affecting too much of the compact bike fold if I want to do this with this bike in future.


3. Small wheels - 18" wheels certainly decelerate when coasting down slight gradients, which I'd have to keep pedaling while other riders on 700c wheels would take advantage of the opportunity to coast (and rest the legs).
Across bumps, it will be harsher, but one can usually avoid them anyway.
This does not apply to poor portions (minor cracks) of the road though, which can stretch for a distance, though these aren't too big a deal to me and as far as I can tell, the larger bike folks felt the same.
The wider tires (1.5") came with benefits, being less likely to be caught in gutter grills or cracks that are in line with the wheels.

4. Comfort - This is subjective since I am not heavy.
Comfort was good really, after the saddle change out to the Selle Royal (gel something - can't recall what it is since I threw the packaging)
No aches and pains after the ride at all (except for sore legs).


Quick lunch at Pekan Nanas by jenkwang, on Flickr
A quick lunch at midday


5. The Ride - the bike is certainly heavier for this purpose than a dedicated road/tri bike.
However, I was only going for completion, so no issues with that for me.
I'm only 55kg, so a 12-13kg bike after loadup is a big deal to me (its ~1/4 my weight).
This, together with 18" wheels, does mean it takes a bit more effort than if I was on my tri-bike.
However, I think it works out fine since my intention was a more cruising speed at 25kph.
Climbs were ok, though the bike could not make full use of rolling terrain to speed up on a down slope to aid the assent of an up slope.


Completed the ride in 12.30h (with rest and meals in between)
Total distance : 235.7km (added a 15km from home to start point)
Total climbed : 1888m
Ride time : 10h12min
Ave : 23kph.



A nice meal after the Audax by jenkwang, on Flickr
How hard is it for a guy to get 3 stamps on a white card?

The best part of it?

After the nice post ride meal, while everyone was fussing over the details of going home, I just folded up the IVE and boarded the train home.

Paul Kong

Nice review on long distance ride 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Paul Kong

Hi Pinholecam,

You have done such a good review and I agree with you.
I'm just going to add a little here and there about the bike.
The frame two screw holder are for hand pump, it's not meant for water bottle, that's why it won't fit 😂😂😂
When I lift up my bike when it folded, the front wheel will come out from the hook and the bike shop told me it's normal and advice me to tie up the two wheels so it won't come out. After fiddling with the bike for few days, I realize there's a screw that you can adjust so when you lift up the bike, the frame lock and the front wheels will not come out of the hook. The screw is at the bottom cage of the seat post tube.
That's all for now

Azreal911

I have to give you a Thumbs up too! Riding a small wheeled bike with those distances are awesome and you took up quite the challenge!

those are beautiful pics of the bike and must have been a super hot day in Singapore/Malaysia 18" wheels are ok it seems since you have a pretty good gearing range of 30 GI for the low and around 82GI at the top end. it's good enough for the speed you are aiming for since it's not a road bike. Any faster and you would have to change the handlebars to drops or bull horns to reduce some air resistance.

pinholecam

Its good that you are putting in more information of the bike here as well.
This thread is probably the only 3rd party (non shop affiliated) review/impressions out there that is in English.


Thanks.
Yes, I think the gear range is good.
Any difficulty on the hills, I felt was my own under conditioning (lack of hill training) than the gear ratios.
On the 53>30, I don't think I want to go any slower up the hill anyway.

pinholecam

I can add to this a bit.

Thats the stopper shown here :
Stopper which contacts the retracted saddle post so that one can lift the bike w/o the rear portion dropping to the floor.

20160126-DSC09745 by jenkwang, on Flickr

Yes, its best to get the stopper to be as flush to the lowered seat post tube as possible to prevent the front wheel from dropping out.
I'd wish they provided a longer screw for this because its at the risk of unscrewing off from the vibrations of riding.
I tried to put another nut on the other end to secure it just as a guard against this from happening, but that would mean not having the stopper being flush with the seat post (and hence that front wheel tends to fall out of the catch when folded and the bike lifted).

When I have some time, I'd probably get a longer screw, tape it up or glue on the screw head to make it softer/non-abrasive as well as use the other nut to secure the other end.

Paul Kong

Thanks Pinholecam, your explanation are so much better. I've been riding for few times, each consist about 20km.
For a 18" wheel, it did absorb potholes quite well, in fact better than my Dahon dash. Most probably due to thicker tyre. But I think the cromoly frame and the rear rubber dampener help a lot too.
What I like most is the well spread of the gearing. It seems 11-30 give a well balance gear spacing that's needed to maintain the avg speed of the bike.
Fold wise, I got no complain as it fold easy after you practice a few times and you will find the best way of folding and unfolding.
My style of unfolding are
1) unfold the handle, lock it
2) raise the seat post
3) unhook the front wheel ( no need to unfold the front wheel )
4) by holding the handle and the saddle, raise the bike. The front wheel and back wheel will unfold into place.
5) lock the front wheel.
Folding up is much the same as in most tutorial.
Rolling the bike when folded are not easy as it is not stable and you can't control the direction. What I do is just fold the back wheel and lock the wheels by lowering the seat post. You need to raise the back triangle to be able to lower the seat post. Once it's in this setting, the bike can be push easily and can steer by the front wheel.
That's all for now.

bhkyte

Re rolling when folded.
I wounder if you would be better adding some larger rollerblade wheels and only using the rear rack wheels to roll it like a Mezzo.
You also may be able to add a handle to the front mounting bag section to help pull it along as you can racked Birdies.?
If you look at the front rack on this it can be Behind you using the pivoting front rack easier than any folding bike I know of. My touring birdie is now my go to bike for shops or cafes due to its ease of wheeling folded.

pinholecam

Good suggestions.

I have the rack installed and it does help the stability when folded/semi-folded and also the pushing.
Nothing is free though and the downside is that its become harder to simply 'flip' the rear in for folding (not that big a deal actually unless I'm a salesman for Tyrell )
I'd like to get caster wheels and/or rollerblade wheel replacements in the future.



The other thing about racks is that the stuff on it will have be to taken down before the fold.
This reason was why I was initially so hopeful for the Dahon Qix (which I tried quite a bit at a store), though in the end I passed on it for the Tyrell due to folding ease/size/rolling when folded of the latter.