Is this bike real or some sort of scam?
 

I recently saw a youtube video with a 14" wheel size folding bike.I'm a bit skeptical you can reach that sort of speed to be honest with just pedaling.What do you guys think?
here's the link : youtube(dot)com/watch?v=ClEWxaJUJ3w&t=2s

That's not a valid link,...please remove it.

And yes, it's a real bike. Is it as good as claimed? Who knows. No one here has ever stated they've tried it out.

Good luck finding tires when you need them. I have a Bickerton with a 14 inch front wheel and have never found a spare tire for it. Luckily Bickertons are some of the worst riding bikes ever made so I do not ride it often. Roger

The website that was selling the Hermosa Star folding bike doesn't even exist any longer. It's a dead product.

It says reaching up to 35 MPH on the page...
But, I have to wonder if 35 KPH would be a much more reasonable goal (just over 20 MPH).

The video shows the cyclist passing bike commuters. A few hybrid riders, etc. It is hard to judge speed, but it just doesn't seem to be going that fast. Just choosing slower riders for the video (paid to ride slowly?)

Folding bikes are often plagued by low gearing, especially the more compact folders. So, perhaps one would calculate that the gears would otherwise allow fast speeds.

Also, one assumes a speed rating is on the flat. But, it doesn't take much hill to get the speeds up there.

formosastars(dot)com works just fine, has nothing to do with "hermosa". And of course i couldn't post the link correctly,I need more posts to be able to do it.
youtube(dot)com/watch?v=kgCJjYjGGkI shows more "credible" "evidence",but yeah,I'm still not sure. Also it's supposed to have some patent for easier pedaling while in high gear,don't know if that's true or just marketing.

He says Hermosa, you say Formosa, let's call the whole thing off. The link is dead, the site is gone.

The op asks if its possible to a 14 inch wheel bike can go 35mph(miles per hour)
im my opinion its impossible. So lets go to a moree plausible 35kph(kilometers per hour).

just need do the math...if he had 60t front and 9t sprocket...at 90rpm he would be at 36kph...
seems possible but very unlikely for a single speed gearing...
as hes bike runs monofork...i highly doubt he is using gear hubs...
he could be using botton bracket hub to archieve desired ratio...

I can't see the rear hub well. A derailleur would hang awfully low.

However, there are definitely 3 wires coming from the handlebars. So, likely a shifter somewhere. Oh, and a twist shifter is shown at time 2:00. :) Still can't tell the number of speeds.

I'd probably build it with a 3 or 5 speed rear-end, with say a 1.5 to 1 gearing for the high gear, and a small rear sprocket, and large chainring.

Let's see... Circumference = πD. So,a 14" wheel will have about half the circumference of a 28" wheel.

One could probably get high enough gearing to get a reasonable speed with say a 11T or 12T rear sprocket, 1.5 to 1 hub, and a 60T chainring.

35 MPH is high. 35 KPH is within reason.

Yeah,...it's works so well that it brings you to a dead site, asking if you'd like to purchase a domain. And going down a hill I can hit crazy fast speeds as well. And 45kph = 27mph,...that's actually kinda slow.

I made a booboo,...sleepy is as sleepy does. :p

It expired recently. it worked 3 weeks ago when I first visited it.
here's a link that works: ronsui(dot)com/product-inner.php?id=55

this link is a closer look at the bike. youtube(dot)com/watch?v=e2XFWP72UTE

That's the maintenance video,...shows the bike's parts nicely.


My suggestion, since you're so interested in this bike, is to buy it and review it. Otherwise you're asking for advice that no one else can provide. Originally I had wanted this bike,...I passed on it. No info, no warranty for me, PASS.

The above is actually a very well done video showing the bike's features. I now remember this bike from 5+ years ago and still think its cool. I love the wacky if not dirty/dangerous external drivetrain. If you can buy a recently made one it might be safe to assume that it won't fall apart since this is an old design.

Yes, Bickerton European size 14 tires are extremely rare. Buy this Formosa star doesn't have that size, it's a China size 14, much more common.

dont lie to us pinocchio!

It's true haha. Look it up. European size 14s are slightly bigger than Asian/American size 14. Just like European size 16s (349mm) are bigger than Asian /American (305mm).

Don't lie Pinocchio!!!:roflmao:

A gear on a bike is chainring Tooth count F, rotates the rear hub wheel R, so many times ..
F:R x D
With a smaller wheel D the chainring is bigger,
so the tire rotates more frequently to achieve the velocity.

Mean while the air in the atmosphere pushes back.

In the USA at least, the ISO254/14" size is widely available from many retailers including the ubiquitous Walmart from brands Duro, Goodyear and Kenda among others.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7bae19aca.jpeg
On the basis of that, I'm inclined to think Pinocchio is a real boy.

Those do not fit a Bickerton. 14 x 1 3/8 tires for a Bickerton. Roger

Well, good luck ever possibly finding such an oddball size tire for your Bickerton. An owner of the Formosa discussed in this thread won't have that problem, since as you have learned this bike uses a different and much more common 14" size.

:thumb:

...the Bickerton has 298, the 288 is still an usual size for kid bikes and wheel chairs.

Well good on them for going with a mono-blade fork AND a mono-chainstay.

This might end up folding very small. Easy to swap inner tubes too.