nuraqua

Hi all!

Thanks for letting newbies post (and sorry for repeating questions you've seen before), I had a Tern and a vintage folding bike but they've all been stolen, so looking for a new folding.

I'm thinking of a Zizzo Via, Urbano, or Liberte (refurbished ones for the price) or Dahon (Dream D6, SUV 6, Hit Pandemic Special). I'll share some of my criteria and welcome any advice

1) Wider tires: I prefer wider tires because I'm a timid biker and live where there are a bunch of potholes
2) Adjustable handlebars and seat
3) Feels stable when holding stuff (rear rack and bags for groceries, etc). I'll ride around 10 miles a day, some days more. I like a bike to feel solid and not wobbly and I'll use the bike for grocery shopping. I read the Dahon Mariner is a good solid feel but I can't afford that one.I couldn't tell if the Zizzo trunk bag could hold a lot of groceries, or if Dahon has panniers for their bikes.
4) Easy to fold (I found my tern a little rough to fold) and carry up stairs
5) Gears-at least 6
Also, if you can tell, even though I ride bikes I don't really know anything about them. These criteria might be super basic. So, I'd appreciate anything any of you have to share <3

Nyah

I don't know anything about the bicycles you're interested in, but, I'll try to give you some general help.


Trunk bags probably won't hold a lot. I have one by Banjo Brothers that has fold-out "panniers". A lot of space in the bag is wasted by these so-called "panniers" when they're in folded mode. They're also not large when unfolded, either. Thus I would probably recommend a trunk bag that just has basically a large capacity without the promise of anything fancy to achieve it.


Actual panniers might not be possible. They need to be mounted far enough back that your heels won't hit them while pedaling. The chainstays of most folding bicycles might be too short to allow that. I haven't tried to fit panniers on my bicycle. However, a large basket on the back would probably work.


On my Dahon Speed, I have a Tern Loader 2 rear rack and a wire basket fastened to it by velcro wrap-straps. I also recently put on a front rack and basket fastened in the same manner. This front rack is of unknown make but is ubiquitous on Ebay, Aliexpress, Taobao, etc, for folding bicycles with 20" wheels. It has bars pointing forward on the bottom to accommodate panniers. Don't know if any panniers will actually fit on this rack, though. In each basket, I can fit a typical bag of groceries. I could probably fit a basket twice that big on the rear rack though. Wald makes wire baskets in a variety of sizes.


Another large rear rack is the Tern Cargo Rack. It has more adjustability for accommodating a larger variety of bicycles than the Loader 2 rack does.


With all of those baskets, it's not convenient to fold the bicycle. I keep the bicycle with me while shopping and consider it to be my shopping cart. If you don't feel ready for that, Wald makes a basket system that attaches to the handlebars and facilitates quickly removing the basket.


My Dahon Speed, a side-folding bicycle with hinge in the middle and the fold secured by a magnet, is easy to fold and carry up/down stairs. The front/back baskets will decide if you can fold it or not. I can carry it unfolded up/down stairs fairly easily. I wouldn't try to do that plus the groceries in one go though.


I recommend tires that are at least 50mm wide. That is the minimum that I would have on a bicycle with 20" wheels. I can't say that potholes will be overcome by that tire, but, the less noticeable stuff usually is.


All folding bicycles should come with quick-release adjustable saddle height, Lowering the saddle is usually part of the folding process. Also, many, if not most, should have adjustable handlebar height. You'll have to just get verification on that, if the retailer doesn't mention it.

Nyah

Does anyone with 20"-folding-bicycle pannier-experience have anything to say about it?

badrad

Does anyone with 20"-folding-bicycle pannier-experience have anything to say about it?

Back when I was still full time at my office, I commuted daily with my Dahon SL, and I installed the Axiom Streamliner (slim profile) rear rack, and only used the right (derailleur) side on days I knew I might have to fold it up to get onto transit. With the slim profile rack there was no space to put on a trunk bag or anything (it was only about 2 inches wide at the top), but it did seem to make the fold narrower with the pannier mounted, so I rarely had to remove the bag. On days that I double pannier, if I needed to fold the bike I had to remove the left bag from the folded side, as the bag interfered with the magnetic clip.
The majority of rear racks are designed for larger wheels and I fabricated a longer bracket to attached the top of the rack to the mounting. A side benefit, because the back of the rack was just as long as the edge of the rear tire, and so it provided me with a sort of tripod support for the folded up bike when I leaned it upward.

Antifriction

I use a rear pannier on a Dahon, on a customized Axiom Journey 2429 adjustable rack. The rack is designed for 24"-29" wheels, with telescoping struts. To fit 20" wheels, I pulled out the strut extensions and cut off the bottom inch of the strut tubes; with the rack at 22", a pair of what had been adjustment holes on the inside of the strut tubes are at the right height for screws into the threaded holes on the dropouts, so I drilled through the outer sides of the tubes to turn them into through holes. The pannier has KlickFix hooks, which are very adjustable - pushing the bag all the way back gives heel clearance.

birdmove

I am pretty sure I'm going to order either a Campo or Via soon. This largely due to the YouTube videos I've watched on them. Nice bikes for the $$.

kayakindude

Other option is adding a brompton block adapter to the front. It holds a lot and makes for a stable ride. I have the Via (daughters), beautiful bike. Also the Mariner (wifes), again great bike I bought used..to me no different than the Via or Forte (sons), so save the money and go with a new Zizzo.

Pahana

Personally I'd save up for the Dahon Mariner but from what I've heard the Zizzo Forte seems like the sturdier of the Zizzo line. It's also the heaviest model but you can ride it with large tires. Nothing like big fat tires underneath you on a small wheel bicycle. I'm still waiting for my Big Apple Brompton but that's a dream for my next life. It's not my business but why were your previous bikes stolen? As far as carrying my bikes up stairs I never fold them and carry the weight of the bike with the saddle on my shoulder and hand on the frame. They do make shoulder straps that attach to the frame for carrying but saddle on shoulder works for me. You can get a good idea of which bike to choose from watching I bike unfolded on u tube. Brian's got one of almost every folding bike with extensive reviews. Check it out.

tds101 

The Zizzo Forte is a solid bike, but it'll need a new derailleur. I'd also upgrade the bottom bracket.

jfouellette

Do you need the screw attachements to be able to do this? My 2007 Dahon Speed doesn’t have the necessary holes.

Schwinnsta

Check the dimensions in the litepro ad on aliexpress and see if it works for you.

kwantani

For Zizzo you need something like this and there're issues when mounting all the pieces together, but can be worked around:
[LitePro Carrier Block] Height?