Tyrell Ive - a first impressions review
 

Hi,

New here, but been a visitor to the forums every now and then.
I've benefited from the pool of knowledge here so I think its time for me to give something in return. :)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1573/...4f037554_b.jpg
20160122-DSC09317 by jenkwang, on Flickr


Since I tried to find info regarding the Tyrell Ive when buying one and could not find much.
I have decided to give a first impressions review after a 30km and 90km ride with it.



Background
I've been a cyclist for about 10yrs, on road and tribikes.
About 3yrs ago, I thought of adding a hassle free small bike that could be used for commute while at the same time getting some form of training for the effort.
Ended up with a Raleigh Mv8 mini velo which I have been very happy with.

Around the end of last year, with a bit more time on my hands, I decided to do some bike touring.
As such, I needed a bike that could be loaded up a plane, train, coach or bus.
Criteria
====
1. Folds small
2. Preferably can be pushed and stays stable when folded
3. Enough gears if speed is needed to cover dull areas of a bike tour
4. Decent low gears for some small climbs
5. Preferably about $1000 or lower.

Hence I started looking around.


Tyrell Ive
I looked at the various options out there and tried most of them.
The Brompton, Ori M9, Birdy, Qix, EEzz, Dahon Dash, conventional fold Tern/Dahon/clones.

In the end, I chanced upon the Tyrell Ive, which was not in my radar all this while.
The brand was perceived as above my budget (with the Tyrell Fx being the one I knew about before noticing the Ive)

After trying it out at the shop, I decided to bite the bullet and pay a bit more than my original budget for one.


Good service from My Bike Shop here in Singapore help too, and I am grateful for their patience from my repeated visits (and not buying) as well as letting me try out the bikes.


About the bike
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1700/...55e938ff_b.jpg
20160122-DSC09319 by jenkwang, on Flickr

The frame is steel, and about 11-12kg.
What strikes me immediately is its build quality.
Very well powder coated and welded, with little to fuss over the components for the price.

There are plenty of nice attention to detail in the design.
The downtube for example has cut outs that properly avoid contact with the folding parts for the bike.
Not only this, some of these contact points are pasted with clear protective tape to further protect from scratching.
Cables are nicely routed and any dangling bits secured with cable tie, no chance of them dragging on the floor in folded mode or pinched as far as I can see.
The chainring guard is even sized at 58T so that the owner can upgrade from the stock 53T to a 56T and still use the guard.

I find that the parts given for the price is good.
No feeling of being short changed.
Sora trigger shifter and deraileur
9 speed cassette
Tektro brakes which are on the better end of their range
Nice looking BB and chainring (probably in the Sora or Tiagra range though it has Tyrell labeled on it)
Good looking, shiny double walled wheels that looks and feels well made
Schwalbe Marathon Racer tires
Nice aggressive looking saddle which does not immedately speak generic 'Velo'.
Metal fenders already given
Brakes and shifter also comes with adjusters (a nice small touch... again)



Edit (21Feb2016) - Added more info after a long 200+km Audax.
http://www.bikeforums.net/folding-bi...l#post18552938

The fold

Folding is a quick and easy affair.
The lowest (or at least one of the lowest ) learning curve of the folders I tried out.

1. Remove the locking pin for the fork
2. Loosen the knob securing the fork
3. Depress the lever on the handle bar which latches the bike rear and swing the rear to tuck underneath the frame.
4. At the same time, roll the front wheel to tuck beside the bike frame.
5. Unlatch the handlebar post and fold it down.

Any of the Youtube videos would be better to show the ease of fold than trying to put it in words.
So do check those out.


Impressions after 30km and 90km ride

I wanted to get a good idea of how the bike performs so I joined one of the usual group of road bike cyclists on their usual Sat ride.
This is 90km (or a bit more) and the more relaxed group goes at about 28kph with certain stretches going faster, drafting is loose.
I have no illusions of challenging roadies for speed and all that, but I wanted to benefit from the morale that one gets when riding in a group.


Stability is surprising for 18" wheels.
There was a feeling that I could even ride it with my hands off the bar.
Of course risking other riders and looking silly if I fell prevented me from doing so. :D
Upon reaching home, I compared the wheel base to my 20" mini velo and was rather surprised that the Ive had a longer wheel base which perhaps explained the stable ride.


The bike fit seems catered to smaller riders.
I'm only 1.6m and even for me, I get a feeling that the space to handlebar is 'just right' after adjusting the seat to its rear most.
Of course a taller rider may have a higher seat post and that may change this.


The bike certainly feels stiff. (YMMV, since I'm only about 55kg)
I don't think there was any stretch where I need to pick up some speed that the frame had any flex or weird noise.
Some stretches, were straight runs of 33-35kph for between 10-20mins and the Ive certainly managed to stay in the pack.


Conclusion and some additional thoughts

After the longer ride, I am convinced that the Ive is a great choice for a folder.
Fair priced, decent enough components, good fold that seems like a modern interpretation of the Brompton, standard parts can be used for upgrading, good riding qualities and very well made.

If there are 3 things to note for now, its :
1. The locking pin can fall to the ground and be damaged, so any buyer should try to secure it to the bike using some form of wire/chain/string. (Tyrell should look into a more robust pin as well)
2. The water bottle boss on the downtube is kinda odd as a bottle in the position interferes with the fold and needs to be removed first. I opted to use a saddle mount bottle cage I had lying around. (Tyrell should consider placing the bottle boss elsewhere)
3. There are still some areas that the user will have to 'tape up' to prevent scuffing.

This is a GREAT review, well done. Good read which held me to the end.

Very nice review and it's an interesting looking bike of which I hadn't heard before.

Where are you located? And how much for the bike?

Again, very interesting!

Singapore. SGD1,900 or about $1,325. Google My Bike Store SG.

Tyrell is perhaps the top echelon of folding and mini velo bikes in Asia Pacific. They are made in Japan, not China or Taiwan, with prices to match.

It's made in Japan.

******************************???TYRELL********************? ??? **********?

Thanks for the support on the review.




Tyrell is a small Japanese based bike maker.
In fact, the owner had no initial intention to sell the bikes abroad.

Even now, the bikes are mainly sold/popular in certain SEA countries, namely Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan and Indonesia.
Kagawa company's folding bicycles grow in popularity overseas - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun



There is certainly a 'boutique workshop' feel to the thought/design/build of the bikes.
Priced to match too, but not really very exorbitant imho unless one is going for the special editions or exotic material bikes.

nice review. could you possibly take a few pics of the the folding mechanisms? it would be informative to see exactly how the rear triangle swing arm and the cotter pin fork lock actually function.

as many times as this bike has been discussed in this sub-forum i find your claim hard to believe.

Wahhhhhhhhhhh!!! My fat @$$ is too heavy for this bike,...:cry:

Nice review, it folds like a Birdy, looks like a moulton, nice bike.

Agreed great review and NICE bike!

Thanks,
Yan

Which Moulton is that? Nothing like a Moulton, not a spaceframe or an F Frame lookalike?

I came across this one while searching Tyrell Ive:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ugOq2utmJQ

Yes but thats not the one above, even that has only a passing resemblance to the modern bikes, no suspension either.

As opposed to the 'mass produced in a factory' feel of the Anemos Zippy. ;)

Managed to take some picts before getting to the office today.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1492/...1b3d63d3_b.jpg
20160126-DSC09739 by jenkwang, on Flickr



Front fork folding/locking mechanism. (more or less Brompton, Anemos Zippy like )
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1465/...a7baa9a6_b.jpg
20160126-DSC09741 by jenkwang, on Flickr


The rear folding area.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1531/...a6194944_b.jpg
20160126-DSC09742 by jenkwang, on Flickr
This is where it latches.
The black potion is a very hard plastic but I don't think it serves as an elastomer suspension.
There is a metal catch on the inside that is flush with the hard plastic.

Here's the latch on the other end
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1656/...4f8646c5_b.jpg
20160126-DSC09746 by jenkwang, on Flickr
This is released by a lever (via cable) on the handlebar.


Folding hinge for the rear
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1462/...b7886b3e_b.jpg
20160126-DSC09744 by jenkwang, on Flickr


Catch for the front wheel when it is folded (Anemos Zippy has rather similar mechanism too)
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1508/...2143cac3_b.jpg
20160126-DSC09743 by jenkwang, on Flickr


Stopper which contacts the retracted saddle post so that one can lift the bike w/o the rear portion dropping to the floor.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1697/...32ed654f_b.jpg
20160126-DSC09745 by jenkwang, on Flickr

I tried to look for a seller of this bike here but could not find one.
One that would sell at a reasonable price that is.
Apparently some shop had become 'disto' and wanted more than what previous sellers or Taobao was asking for.
Based on the 'old' (2+yr ago ) price, its half the cost of the IVE.


I did speak with a friend who tried the Anemos Zippy.
He wasn't impressed.
Comments being that the concept was good but still unrefined.
The bike was less stable when folded and tended to tilt and fall.
Finish was less than ideal.

Personally, I had some doubts regarding the carbon looking card that held the bike in place as well as a suspicion of rear suspensions (esp. with the lack of 3rd party or OEM support for various spring tensions)
I have a old 10+yr old folder that had a rear elastomer suspension and while it was a joy to use on flats, it killed off too much power on any incline. (which is why I am wary of rear suspensions to this day)

I have a friend in Japan, he told me Tyrell has a reputation for having a great fork, and a clumsy bike. I think the Ive will change that conception, it looks like a great bike. I'm glad to see new innovations.

Thanks,
Yan

these are the best pictures of this bike anywhere on the internet. thanks and well done.

Yes, and the bike is also the cleanest of any bike on the internet. Completely clean. Like it's been living in a satellite construction cleanroom.

Already a few scratches here and there due to my own poor handling. :(
I had to buy nail glass to paint over them.


In fact, I want to ask about steel bike care.
I have only had alu and titanium bikes before this one.
Is spraying the inside with an anti rust a good idea?
I looked into the inside of the seatpost area and its black (maybe anodised)

I have a steel frame Fnhon, and it's been though more than one year of commuting rain or shine, and never thought of rust proof and I can't see any problem. Modern frames should have been treated to rust proof to some level.

There are a number of commercial products designed to create a waterproof coating on the inside of your frame Weigle Framesaver is one, and I have also heard of using boiled linseed oil, Boeshield and WD40 for this purpose. I myself have used both Boeshield and WD40. the idea is to spray the inside of the frame using pinholes and other larger holes like bottom bracket, seat post etc and rotate the bike around giving the liquid a chance to coat the inside. In a couple days it will have dried and be a hard gummy surface on the inside of the frame. Boeshield is a spray lube apparently invented by the Boeing people. No way this can hurt your frame excepting you should never do this to a Brompton seat tube. Once convinced it is dry you can also plug the little holes in the chainstays, seat stays and fork with beeswax if you like. Once warmed in your fingers it is malleable and doesn't come out.

Go to a general cart parts dealer, we have these chain stores in Australia like Autobarn or Repco, they have stuff based on fish oil, stinks a lot unfortunately, but there are others too, meant for cars to spray inside the hollow body/frame chambers and tubes. I got one not based on fish oil, it is more like a sticky wax, that gets sprayed inside the tubes and there it sets, forming a coating.