tds101 

Check out BJ's,... They have a contract with Zizzo.

GeezyRider 

The Zizzo web site is offering 10% off until 9/30/22.

Schwinnsta

The big savings are on their refurbished models. Same guarantee. Returns, and blemished. I bought my Liberte a year ago for $320 shipped. I could find nothing wrong with it, It's a new bike.

GeezyRider 

That's the way I would go also. The current 10% discount is storewide so it should apply to new bikes, refurbished bikes, parts and accessories.

SteveKB

I would love to save money on a refurbished ZiZZO, but unfortunately they do not directly sell to Canadians.
I had to go through Amazon.ca, and there were only 2 available, so I bit the bullet, and clicked Buy.

Should be here this afternoon, if tracking is to be believed.
edit: Tracking was accurate, bike arrived this afternoon.


ZiZZO Liberté

GeezyRider 

Looks great! I hope you get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

SteveKB

I've a few mods in mind, but first of all was a set of Schwalbe Marathon Plus 20x1.75 tires. All contact points are going to be changed: saddle, handlbar & grips.


ZiZZO Liberté on the stand

momoman

Rather than start a new thread I’ll revive this thread. I bought a Liberte from Costco in 2019 in the $3xx range. It was an impulse buy. My son and daughter have now moved 100’s of miles away and when I visit them I take my Liberte in the back of the car or SUV so I can ride to explore and stay in shape.

These are the mods I’ve made so far, with more to come.



Brooks C13 Cambium Carbon saddle, Ergon GP5 grips, Litepro S42 Aero aluminum wheels with Schwalbe One tan wall tires. May switch to bullhorn bars in the future. The bike weighs about 20-21 lbs. I’m trying to get it to sub-20 lbs without spending too much more.

edit: I originally mistaken the grips to be GP3, but they are the Ergon GP5 model.

The Ergonomic grips are heavy and I can’t position them too far up from the brake levers or the bike won’t fold properly. I’m contemplating bullhorn bars with a trigger shifter. I like the water bottle higher up on the bike so I have a Velcro mounted cage that swings out of the way when I fold the bike.

The Litepro 406 S42 Aero aluminum wheels are 19mm external and 13.2mm internal. I wished they were wider but I like the look for the price ($85/set) during the Aliexpress 11/11 Singles Day Sales.

The 406 size wheels swapped in without requiring any brake pad adjustments so I can swap between these and the stock wheels easily. The rims are narrower than the stock but adjusting the barrel adjusters get the brakes to work good enough.

I installed 25g Ridenow TPU inner tubes. They are ultra thin and ultra light.

The Schwalbe One tires measure 26mm wide on the Litepro rims. I would prefer 28mm but the 26mm are good for smooth trails and streets. The bike definitely feels like it accelerates faster with the lighter wheels and narrower tires at 100 psi. These wheels with Ridenow TPU 25g inner tubes weight almost 1-1/2 lbs lighter than the stock wheels.

Some other parts I ordered from Aliexpress. Slightly lighter weight V brakes in silver, silver Bolany crank arms with 52t Litepro chainring (stock is 48t), red aluminum jockey wheel. I ordered silver and black aluminum folding pedals which are arriving soon. Thinking about future upgrades like replacing the 8-sp setup with a 9 or 10 sp setup with a trigger shifter instead of the grip shifter. I’ll replace the kickstand with a lighter weight version.

Aliexpress sells titanium and carbon handlebars, seat posts, and a carbon fork that’ll fit but those are expensive and don’t save much weight over the aluminum parts.

SteveKB

Nice mods on your Liberté!

Right now mine is in winter riding mode, with fenders & a rack.
Current mods are a Selle San Marco SKN saddle, alloy folding pedals, Schwalbe Marathon Plus 20 x 1.75" tires, and a temporary wider riser bar (to be replaced by a carbon one).

I do have a set of Litepro lighter wheels, a 50 tooth wide/narrow chainring as well as a carbon handlebar & one-piece folding stem for once the weather gets better. On order is a one-pice folding stem.


ZiZZO Liberté

BobbyG

A couple of years ago during a period of economic uncertainty for me I bought a 2007 Dahon Boardwalk off FB Marketplace for $100. I wanted a steel folder since I had bike commuted for 28 years and I was worried about the durability of an aluminum folder.

I had been enjoying the Dahon which kitted out weighs about the same as my dedicated 700C commuter, and much lighter than my 90s MTB winter/utility/commuter. Then late spring this year I ran across a fairly new Zizzo Liberte at a pawn shop for only $135.

The Liberte felt crazy light, the shifting and drivetrain were terrific, the gearing was wider and better suited for hilly Colorado than the how the Boardwalk came (since modified), and the brakes were excellent! I could have bought it on the spot, but in the financial situation I was in, the responsible thing was to pass.

However, in the next week or so a new job opened up, one a good bike-commuting distance. I could have put down a deposit on the bike, but again, I wanted to be responsible and not count my chickens before they were hatched.

And then I got the job!

So I went back to the pawn shop and took another extended ride on the Zizzo and decided to pass on it for two reasons. One is that while it was 10-pounds lighter than the Boardwalk, the riding dynamics were not different enough...the geometry and feel were surprisingly similar to the Boardwalk...and especially now since I have replaced the gears and derailleur on the Boardwalk (used components, negligible cost).

The second reason was the question of the durability of aluminum. But I turned 60 years old this year, and for the first time I wondered "how durable do my bikes have to be?"

In the end I celebrated the new job by buying a super-light 2006 700c Felt F-65 2x10, which is different enough from my other bikes to have made it a worthwhile purchase.

After 4 months at the new job, I went to see if the Zizzo Liberte was still there...it was not.

If both the Dahon Boardwalk and Zizzo were available at the same time last year, I think I may have gone with the Zizzo Liberte. The gearing was wider, the bike was lighter, and I didn't know if I would have a regular bike commute in my future. The sturdier (in theory) steel Boardwalk with its rack is better for carrying my heavy-ish be-prepared for everything commute bag, and for errands, but for the light Felt-65 I worked-up a 2nd, lighter commuter bag that depends on better weather planning, and I would have no-doubt decided to do the same thing for the Zizzo Liberte, if I had the opportunity to decide between it and the Boardwalk last year.

TL/DR:

I somewhat regret not buying a lightly-used Zizzo Liberte for $135 when I had the chance last year.

momoman

Thank you!


Why’d you decide to switch to a one-piece folding stem? Are you sure it’s gonna allow your bike to fold? For the stock two-piece stem it’s necessary to fully extend the stem so the handlebar will clear the left front fork dropout to allow the bike to fold.



The two-piece folding stem is fully extended so it can clear the front fork dropout. My right Ergo grip just touches the floor. A bullhorn bar should clear everything to allow the bike to fold. Drop bars will not allow the bike to fold.

A rear view of my folded bike with the Ergo GP5 grips. The right handlebar clears the front left dropout only if the two-piece stem is fully extended.

edit: the grips are the Ergon GP5 model and not the GP3.

The Right Ergo GP5 grip just touches the floor. My seat post isn’t fully inserted because the saddle bag strap is preventing the full insertion, but it goes in far enough for my right grip to touch the ground and help stabilize the bike when it’s completely folded.

edit: the grips are the Ergon GP5 model and not the GP3.

SteveKB

I very seldom need to fold it completely down, and eliminating moving parts by going to a fixed length stem (based on where I want my bar position) should help save weight.

I figure I can easily pop the front wheel off if, for some reason, I need to fold it down to minimum.

BikeLite

Those ergon grips are gp5, not gp3.

momoman

Thank you for the correction. My old eyes aren’t what they used to be and the 5 looked like a 3 when I tried to read the name from the grip. 🤪

tds101 

I prefer one piece stems myself. It tends to have less flex when needing to grind a bit. Plus, to the amusement of some here, my one piece folds to the outside.

SteveKB

^Agreed on seeking less flex, mine is an Inside Fold though.

Fentuz

I ordered a set of litepro aero and I am now looking for inner tubes. What are the inner tube options? Most 20" tubes have 40mm valves which should be to short however, I found some Bontrager 20" with a 48mm presta valves. are there longer options or will I need valve extenders?


or can the rim be set as a tubeless setup (much easier to find)?

Thanks

momoman

Fentuz Idk if the Litepro Aero wheels can be set up with tubeless. I have 48mm valvle length Ridenow TPU inner tubes installed and was able to pump them up with my floor pump at home. I haven't testing my bike frame pump or the CO2 head on the wheel yet but I think the 48mm valve extends far enough to allow the pump heads to fit. I did buy some valve extenders but don't think I will need them. I am also looking for 60mm valves for the 406 size tubes but haven't found any yet.

Fentuz

I found the bontrager in 406 with 48mm valves. They might a little thick with 28mm tires but OK with 30/32/35.

if the inner rim has ribs, i might try a "ghetto" tubeless setup. if it "pops", I'll put some sealant.

The wheels were shipped from China today

jdogg111

great info. Do u by any chance know the dimensions of the original wheels? I was wondering what the biggest tire I can run on my liberte. I've heard 2.125 but don't know if that's correct or not. I want something larger than the 1 5 tho.

Schwinnsta

The largest in front is 2.125 and in rear is 2.00 inch with fenders..

momoman

The stock rim’s internal width is listed as 13mm. Here’s some info from the Zizzo site with a chart showing tire size compatibility, but it doesn’t appear to indicate wider tires are compatible. Visually, it looks like 2.125” tires will clear the brake arms and the frame, however, the tires may have the lightbulb shape on the narrow rims. I’m actually looking into installing 2” or 2.125” tires on the stock wheels and rims for occasional rides in National parks or other sites with some dirt trails.

https://www.zizzobike.com/forum/tech...idth-only-13mm

jdogg111

I ordered some kenda contact 20 x 1 .95 because other folding bike riders seem to swear by them. Good price on Amazon also. We shall see, good luck and thanks

Nyah

Inside-folding, one-piece handlepost:

jdogg111

so i ened up with the 1.95 kendas. put a homemade 480 mm handlebar on. with trigger shifter, larger rear cassette, plusher seat.