tds101 

I wouldn't recommend storing any bike on a NYC balcony, especially a folder. I know most NYC micro apt dwellers do it, but it will destroy the bike. The folding mechs will be constantly exposed to the elements, and this will cause premature corrosion, and the bike will be unsafe to ride IMO.

john m flores 

Welcome to the Zizzo family! Sorry to hear that one was damaged. They are double-boxes but I guess problems still happen. Storing outside isn't ideal, but I'd imagine that some kind of bike cover would mitigate rust/corrosion issues.

iBugz

Thank you, that's good to know, that's what I thought.
And my other question was: in addition to instructions manual, there was a piece of paper with a diagram of Prowheel parts. Are those just FYI? It didn't look like I needed to do anything with the crankset out of the box.

tds101 

I have no idea,... Is there something wrong with any of the parts? Then there's really nothing to do.

john m flores 

I haven't done anything with the crankset and have ridden around 20 miles so far.

tubesocksFred

Any one of you guys with the Liberte tried to ride it with no hands? I tried on mine and it veers quite quickly to the right. I first had to shift my weight to the left side of the seat in order to do it, then I mounted my front wheel so that it tilts as much as it can in the direction of the veering and now I can ride straight. I was told by the mfg that this is normal.

liamsword

Looking to get my first folder too and curious to see if you're still happy with the Liberte. If you could do it again, would it still be your first or would you get something else?

john m flores 

Yes with an asterisk. It's been a lot of fun and very reliable. Did a 30 miler around DC and it was great. I like the light weight too.

The asterisk is that I've had to adjust the headset twice in 9 months. Simple procedure and they even sent instructions.

liamsword

Thanks. It's between the Liberte or Origami Gazelle for me and probably would've already pulled trigger on Liberte if Costco was still running the $300 deal. The joys of a tight budget and a watchful wife.

M1ch

Hi! I have a couple of questions.

Is the bike easily customizable ? Like can i buy tires, seats and rear racks from other sellers? i haven’t gotten mine but I’m thinking of it.

thanks!

jkolade936

Hey! I'm looking into getting one of these, and was wondering if you would still recommend it.
I'm particularly curious about the tires. I plan to ride on some light trails (flat but gravel-y) as well as asphalt. I've been cautioned about tire width, and would like to know if the 1.5" stock tires would be sufficient, or if you can fit wider tires on the wheels.
Thanks!!

john m flores 

I can still recommend this bike - mine is still working great. I think it would be fine on light gravel - I'd be more concerned about the 20" wheels falling into potholes than the width of the tires.

sslonkosky

There is a comparison between the Liberty and Urbano at
That guy says the frames are identical, but that Liberte has a few upgrades. He said he found the saddle on the Liberte uncomfortable, so he replaced it with one he had lying around. He preferred the wider tires of the Urbano. Of course you cou,led replace the tires. For example, thorusa.com sells the 2” wide Schwalbe Big Apples for $32 each plus shipping, so $74 total.

Had I known about the Costco deal a year ago, I might have purchased one. Instead I purchased a downtube.com Nova. It has a Microshift drivetrain with a trigger shifter, while the Zizzo bikes have a Shimano Altus. I had a 2013 Dahon Speed D7 and the grip shifter went bad after about a year. I replaced it with a trigger shifter, which I prefer. I like the fact that the Zizzo has the magnet to hold the wheels together when it is folded, something Downtube bikes don’t have.

MoWheels

I bought a Liberte from Costco in January. I'm satisfied with my purchase. It is my first folder and I've enjoyed the riding I've done on it - about 500 miles so far. I've made several modifications to mainly achieve the ergos and gearing that I wanted. As received, the front and rear hub bearing cones were a little over-tightened. I inspected them to make sure there was adequate grease (there was) and adjusted the cones to give a smoother rotation. They probably would have loosened up a bit with use. Once I'm allowed, I'll post pics and list the mods I've made. I think the Zizzo is a good buy and I'd make the same decision again.

sslonkosky

Here’s another review. The only things he doesn’t like are having quick release hubs and not having disk brakes. In another of his videos, he shows him riding on icy roads with 2.1” wide tires he bought for that.

tubesocksFred

Any long term issues with the bike? I got a Liberte last july which did not track straight, then eventually got one that tracked perfectly in Aug. The wife rode around 20-30 miles a day until around Nov, and this year, I rode around 1500 miles on it.


One issue I always had was the chain jumping over the plastic chain guide, no matter how little gap I gave between the guide and chainring cover, i think the chain forces its way through the small gap, deforming the plastic guide on its way. It required me to always have a screwdriver on hand. I also recently started to have some creaking going on with the folding part of the stem, I tighten here and there until the creaking is gone, at the cost of extremely high locking effort.


I've been riding almost exclusively on the 11 and 13 cog, and now the 11 cog seems to 'slip' when I stand on the pedals, either on a hill or sprinting. I adjust the derailleur along with its b-screw without much success. The probably usually goes away the 1st 10 or 15 miles after I wax my chain, but comes back soon after that. Although my last more thorough adjustment of the derailleur seem to have made a difference, but I recently started riding another bike so I haven't really put my adjustments to a long term test. Anyway, one solution is to go with a bigger chainring, which would allow me to use the 13 and 15 more. Anyone tried doing that? Would I have to lengthen the chain?

MoWheels

I've had my Liberte since January. I changed the gearing to a 54 tooth chainring with narrow/wide teeth, the derailleur to an old Ultegra 9 speed I had in my spares, Ultegra 12-27 9 speed cassette, KMC 9 speed chain and Altus 9 speed trigger shifter. The narrow/wide chainring eliminated the need for the plastic chain guide and guard - I've had no problem with the chain jumping the chainring. Going to a larger chainring doesn't let you use the smaller chainring cover anyway. Shifting has been smooth and I like the range of gearing I have - I ride mostly in my middle cassette cog (17 teeth, I think). I have experienced some creaking in the stem as well, but it's not too bad.

I bought the chainring on AliExpress - delivery took about 3 weeks to the US. This is the description (I can't post a link yet): VXM Road Bicycle Narrow Wide Chainring 130BCD 54T 7075 Aluminum Alloy Ultralight Chainwheel. Current price is about $17.

The stock chain should work with up to a 54t chainring.

Hope this helps.

tubesocksFred

Thanks, that 54t chainring looks interesting. It pretty much pushes every existing gear one gear higher. I probably will still have to pull the chain tighter on the chainring to see if I can get a slack of 6 links. Although I rarely ride this bike now and the wife hasn't touched it since the gym re-opened, it might become a lower priority. I use the folder mostly to pick up takeout dinner since with my body position on the road bike, much of the food will leak out while in my backpack (it might be the case for the position I ride the folder too, but I can always raise the handlebar on the fly).

Schwinnsta

Can anyone compare the ride of the Liberte to the Xootr Swift in terms of stiffness?

BikeLite

With that front handlebar stem, I'd wager it is nowhere near the stiffness of a zootr swift.

Schwinnsta

[QUOTE=BikeLite;22324994]With that front handlebar stem, I'd wager it is nowhere near the stiffness of a zootr swift.[/QUOTE

The stem on Swift is very stiff. It has no hinge. It is relatively thick tube that clamps on the steerer with a quick release.

Cincysinner

Is the Liberte too big for someone 5'2? I am looking for a folding bike in the $400 range or less, but for some reason I fear the Liberte would be too large for me.

sslonkosky

The web site says 4’8” to 6’3”. See https://zizzo.bike/products/zizzo-folding-bike-liberte

The price has gone up to $480. Costco currently sells it for $420. Bed, Bath and Bryond sells it for $430.

EVlove

Hi, new to the forum. My wife and I just received our refurbished Liberté today. This thread, and some very favorable YouTube reviews, was a big part of our decision, so thanks for keeping it going!

We paid $330 shipped and we couldn't be more impressed with the condition and the quality. It seems brand new except for one tiny nick in the paint. There were plenty more available. Seasonal effect, I suppose.

By the way, my wife is 5'4" and adjusted her seat with plenty of the post still showing so 5'2" should be absolutely fine.

SteveKB

Bumping this as I'd done insufficient research, and bought a 2019 ZiZZO Campo last year from BookFace Market Place.
The guy selling it had it listed as aLiberté, and I didn't know enough about the models to notice (plus it was raining & cold out).
After I had a good chance to inspect it, I noticed it was a Campo, and my heart sank the more I learned about it, pretty much bottom of the line.

Anyhow, after just storing it for a year or so, I listed on BookFace with the correct name & features.
Quite a few time-wasters & scammers tried to deal, but finally someone who was serious responded & he just drove away with the Campo.

I checked Amazon, saw they had a few Libertés in stock, and just clicked Buy.



Now the waiting starts...