I'm certainly not a pro at biking or maintenance or anything like that. I've owned a Schwinn Rocket 2 mountain bike for a year. In the last year I've fallen in love with the idea of a folding bike and after much research, I bought an orange 2005 FS Downtube on Ebay. I've had it less than a week, and already love it. I've been reading through the posts in this forum for the last few weeks and have a few questions.

Many have talked about replacing the "BB" in their bike. Can someone tell me what that is? I know a little about bikes, but I guess not as much as I thought.

Also, are there other folder owners who have had problems specific to these bikes that they've found solutions to that would help a newbie like me to know what to expect?

I'm sure I will have many silly questions in the future, and appreciate any helps anyone offers.

Thank you!

I didn't mean to post twice! My computer is being funny. Sorry!

Hi CyclingLindy! Welcome to the forums. Glad you like the Downtuba (aka DT on the forums). A lot of us have them here. The President of the company, Yan, is quite responsive to any issues. I have the same color as you as well as a white one too.

To answer your question the BB is the bottom bracket which is the bearing that holds the crank (where your pedals are attached). Hopefully that helps.

Hi CL. I'm new also, and have been looking up a lot of terms that I'm not familiar with, and picked up on the fact that Sheldon Brown's website gets pointed out to a lot of newcomers as a good source of information. It's so good that I have it bookmarked now:

https://sheldonbrown.com/

In particular, his bike glossary is a great source of information on bicycles, both mechanical and historical. Pretty much any term that you're not familiar with, check it out here:
https://sheldonbrown.com/glossary.html

Hi Cyclinglindy - To give you a little more information, several people have replaced the bottom bracket on their Downtube because the one that comes with the bike is unsealed - meaning it will require occasional maintenance. You can get a sealed cartridge variety that will not need to be cleaned and relubed.

ok dont panic ..... we have some hardcore folks here who actually LIKE to replace things ,, even if not necessary...

Most likely it will not be necessary to replace the bottom bracket on your bike. When its new it might be a little rough ... it will wear and seat much better.... maintenace can be fun and some people like to putz around with their bikes, but USUALLY you do not have to do anything at least for a year ...

if it runs rough , and doesnt seat in a pretty short time, you should open the lockwasher on the left side, unscrew the bearing cup and clean as good as you can ( leave the right side fixed ) you can get in there and clean it pretty alright. get some axle grease and stuff it in there, so the bearings are nicely covered. A little too much wont hurt nuttin. reassemble and you should be good to go...

but again do it only if you have problems.... I bet its not necessary to work on it. just give it another week or so

thor