bangkok

FOund this at a Taiwanese site ... shows the fold for the CarryMe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNVtBHjFHks

Weakling

Do you own one, is it a good bike? I am very interested in it.
I want to buy one. Maybe from London. I could go there on
holiday in spring 2008 or so. When the snow is gone.

I'm a bit heavy and tall. 194 cm and 95kg in weight. but within
the limits of the bike. it allow 100kg driver and baggage included
so if I don't use much baggage I will be on safe side and I need
to go down in weight so buying this bike could be a good thing.

When I first saw it I didn't like the look but the more I read about it
the more I like the simplicity of the design.

Is it the look or the price that hold people back from being interested
in it, do you think? Must be more pleasing to ride compared to A-bike.

Tell me more about your experiences using it.

Hope others will share their views about Carryme too.

Fred Weakling Sweden

DVC45

' hope this helps.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...hlight=carryme

Actual ridding vid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDaJf...eature=related

Weakling

Thanks for the links. Sure it helps but it is so much info to sift through. I wanted his own personal views just now. that was a while ago. I'm a kind of an impatient person. I am on the brink of just buying it even without knowing if I am even able to keep balance on it.

Compare with Strida. They are easy to buy here in Sweden. Carryme is only available to me from London in England. Very far away. Expensive too. Vat and Toll and Flight freight and middlehands and State want tax and such.

nothing like that with Strida. Only an hour away or delivered to nearest food store if I buy on line.

Carryme would be like a lottery. Could take a long time if it has to go by boat from Taiwan. Airplane would be incredibly expensive.


Now latest Strida maybe are easier to ride but the one I was able to test a year ago was almost impossible to ride for me. I never got balance on it. I fell and fell and fell, never got any balance.

The steering is hard cause it is friction and no ball bearings.

compare with Microbike. https://flickr.com/photos/8233858@N05...7600645923733/

That one I own and have used for some 5 or so years. I maybe bought it ten years ago but don't remember.

Strida difficulty to ride. 80%
Microbike difficulty to ride 10 to 20%

I guess there are some individuals that even could fail using a Microbike but very very few while Strida at least to me is almost impossible to ride.

Those who are satisfied reading Strida are good at balance. They have no clue on what it is like to be bad at balance. They don't notice how difficult it is cause they are very good at it. It is like dancing. Those good at have no sense of how difficult it really is. almost impossible for us who have no talent for moving fast and in step rhythm that way.

So I need someone who share my views on how difficult Strida is to ride to test Carryme and tell how different they are to each other.

Looking at the video it looks like it is difficult to ride. she wiggle around a bit. Not going straight. Maybe she just fools around? Take it carelessly not thinking about how it looks from someone not knowing her intentions? It could be interpreted as if Carryme is very hard to keep balance on?

But I hope she was just fooling around. Do you ride it yourself?

Simple Simon

Hi Vekling - I dont know about carryme, but I'm tall so anything with such small 8" wheels, no matter how well they are optimised, will make me look more like a 'circus monkey on a bike' than I do already on 16" wheels - Carry me is from Pacific so it is well made (like birdy).

If you are short, then no problems.

However, you must try a late model Strida3 or 5 for a fair comparison as they have been around for 20+ years, and there was a VAST change in strida3 (circa 2002) Strida 1>2>3, with better handling bearings everywhere etc etc. And then more recently the Strida5 has added even more improvements.

Weakling

Both Strida and Carryme has received reviews that the steering is "twitchy". I tested the first version of Strida, have had no chance to test the 3 or 5. I guess they sell them in the big city but i live a bit outside so I don't go there often. I will try it this summer together with Carryme in London. We don't have Carryme in Sweden. The market is too small.

Could you help me with the twitchy thing?

look at the bikes, they both have the handlebars kind of offset from the center of the stem.

All bikes I used so far has the handlebars parallel to the stem.

Could that offset be why I fail to keep balance on the oldest Strida? 50 years of being used to parallel could make one very insecure if it is an offset?

I hope it is the friction that made the Strida impossible to steer and keep balance on.

Vekling is Swedish for Weakling. Meaning not much muscles. Embarrassing I know but it could be part of why I failed. My balance is not on par with most riders of bikes so i think it is more about that.

But the video shows how she have problem going stright while a video on Mobiky show very straight course or path. Does he have better balance and she didn't care about it, maybe fooling around nervous cause he asked her to ride it. I want more independent info on how the bike behave.

My Microbike goes very straight despite people saying it is twitchy. Extremely short handlebar on that one. 32 cm and only 8 cm offset.

Simple Simon

Feel and twitchiness are very subjective - and most bikes , even ones with weird steering feel stable with practice (but its then other bikes that feel weird - maybe that explains how you get on with micro-bike ?). I find the most stable are 26" mountainbikes with big heavy tyres (ie guess this gives best giroscopic effect).

Again not sure about carry-me but i can ride a strida3 hands off, which is generally a sign of non-twitchy handling (I cant on a brompton). Older stridas, like you tried, seem to have no bearings for steering - I think they improved the handling on Strida3 with bearings and possibly improved geometry.

Weakling

Strida three on their own homepage say that they still are not normal in steering.
https://www.strida.co.uk/news/index.php?ContentID=217

They would never write like that about the Microbike. But maybe me biased.
But I should remember if I never learned to ride it. As I remember me had
no problem what so ever with the steering of the Microbike.

So I hope Carryme behave the same. Strida is very expensive in Sweden.

I could as well buy a Mobiky rather than a Strida. But I am more motivated
just no to get if a Carryme will be ok. Much less heavy than a Mobiky Genius.

BruceMetras

Hello Vekling, I haven't read all of your posts, but I gather you are a fairly large, heavy individual who has balance problems... why do you want a short wheelbase bike with wheels 8" or smaller? .. that would seem to stack the cards against you.... If ride quality and confidence while pedaling are important, why not be looking at 16" wheeled folders or even 20"... some fold small and are fairly light weight... did you happen to read this review from the Edinabike site?

"D-U-M
By Steve from St. Louis Park on 5/24/2007
Cons:
Bumpy, Twitchy, Unsafe
Best Uses:
Not one
Describe Yourself:
Commuter
Bottom Line:
No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I bought a Carry-Me to use for quick little rides in the neighborhood - to the market, coffee shop etc. This, however is a child's toy, not a bicycle. The micro wheels have trouble on a crack in the sidewalk!
What a disapointment."


The latest review on the same site seems to be by a large person with the complaint that it is a cramped ride... the middle review is by a person who I would guess is the same person who extolls the virtues of the Carryme on this site... if so, he is a small individual.... anyway, Vekling my friend, what is your reasoning for going to micro-wheeled bikes?

makeinu

Oh come on, Bruce. Isn't it obvious why someone would want a micro-wheeled bike? Contrary to your assertion, there are no 16" or 20" folders which have even remotely small folds or are even close to being light weight (to me even calling the Carryme "small and light" is a stretch). Although Vekling seems to be looking to replace his Microbike, he seems to like it and if I recall correctly the Microbike also has a short wheelbase and <16" wheels.

I also don't think it's necessarily fair to highlight that one negative review. It's the only negative one I've seen of the bike and the reviewer failed to articulate any specific problems. Reminds me of some of the things you'll hear people say in other subforums about Dahons and Bromptons. I remember before I had any folders when I went asking around the other subforums and many many people told me how folders were "toys" and that not buying a "real bike" with full sized wheels would be a "disappointing" "waste of money". In any case, maybe the Carryme was too small for the lone negative reviewer, but that's not what he said and I find it very unlikely that he actually found the build quality toy-like or the wheel size inadequate for cracks in the sidewalk. I suspect he ordered the bike sight unseen, was intimidated by the actual wheel size, and never gave it a chance, just as people do all the time with 16" or 20" Dahons or Bromptons.

I'm surprised to hear you interpret the latest reviewer as complaining about a cramped ride, but I think this highlights the fundamental schism between an enthusiast like yourself and utility cyclists like me or vekling. The reviewer said that he was "at the border of really comfortable". I guess if you are riding for pleasure on the nicest day of the year then that might be a bad thing, but to me that sounds great because I sure as hell know it's closer to perfection than anything else I'll encounter while riding.

Lastly, I'm not that small (just a bit smaller than you at 5'7" 130lbs) and I'm not the only one extolling the virtues of the Carryme around here. Forum member Oldiesonfoldies has extolled it as much as I have (in fact I think he bought another and has put his Strida up for sale) and there seems to be a big following over at stridasingapore.com/forum .

That being said, I personally don't think the Carryme is ideal for Vekling. But he doesn't like the way the Strida rides and there are only so many folders available that are appropriate for anything other than storage....: shrug :...

Weakling

How something feels have to be subjective.
Not easy to measure such things.

Me and balance. Yes and no. I am not as good
at it as the average user of bikes. But not so
bad that a Cop or Police would stop me from
riding either. Even on the Microbike I am able
to go fairly straight even at walking speed.

But I do have problem with the old Strida.
I asked the owner recently if his exemplar
was an exception or if all of the old ones
was that twitchy which he think they are.

I will sure try out Strida 3 and 5 and Carryme at
same visit this summer in London England.

So I get a relevant comparison.

What I hope is that Makeinu and Oldiesonfoldies
and other owners will describe their experience of
other folders they have tried out how they compare.

Bruce, why on earth don't I get one of the
bigger ones. Makeinu give much better description
of the features than my clumsy English could make.

What I most want is the ability to let it roll on beside
me when I am walking in a Food Store or Mall or Shop.

Same need on the platform when I change from one Train
to another commuting and at the Bus. To have to bear
a Dahon or Brompton is too heavy for a Weakling like me.

Carryme weight in at about 8kg + and the footprint is much
smaller than most bikes.

Carryme is smaller than my Microbike but that one
will get broke within a few years cause the plastic
in the 12" wheels will get the Plastic fewer or
what it is named. Boats have the same problem.
The plastic get brittle with age.

the Rubber belt alternative to the chain will get old too
so I need to plan for a replacement of the M.

I could buy a Mobiky or maybe a Bike Friday Tikit but both
or them are two or three times as expensive I guess.

I could maybe wait for a used Mobiky being affordable but
then I need to compete with all of us wanting to buy that
one and that is too much of a lottery.

The more I look at Carryme I admire the designer George Lin
of Pacific Cycles Taiwan. He seems to have done a good job.

Apart from me not knowing how it ride it seems well thought out.


Me being a skeptical person .I meant I trusted Strida to be a
good bike and loved it from first sight until I tested one and
never got the "The resulting ride is still an acquired skill,
but lots of fun once you’ve mastered it"

I never mastered it. I didn't even have to master anything on
my Microbike. Worked instantly and that is what I hope will
be the case with Carryme too.

But to be on the safe side I ask those of you who already
have tried it out and could compare with other very small
bikes.
Vekling = Weakling Sweden

BruceMetras

First off, I like the CarryMe.. I think it is a very well thought out and executed little bike... I wasn't questioning why "someone" would want one, I was questioning why Vekling at 6'4" and 210+lbs would want a short wheelbase, 8" wheeled bike given that he feels he has balance problems.... as a point of reference, my 20" Helios is the same weight as a Carryme and folds flat at under 10" and sits nicely in my Alfa's trunk, which is only 36" wide (same as the height of a folded CarryMe).. certainly the CarryMe should be more user-friendly boarding a bus or train, but that's not the point....




There were three reviews... his was the first .. then you .. and a third... Vekling was looking for riding impressions.. I think it was germane to point out that other 'commuter' opinions exist (and posted on a dealer web page)...




Here's the whole quote..

"My only other gripe would be a lack of available sizes. I ride on the long side of 56cm. With the saddle tube all the way out at the mark and the saddle itself at the front of the rails, I am just at the border of really comfortable. If you are bigger, you might not be able to make it work."

Again, Vekling is 6'4" 210lb ... so it will be conceivable that Vekling will be cramped and riding with all posts to their max extension and levering them with a high c/g on 8" wheels .... the quoted text is just information from a larger rider... it's just more data... negative along with the positive...

As an aside, if Carryme ever comes out with a 12" wheel version, I'd probably try to find a reason to have one..

makeinu

I think that is the point. It's my understanding that it's exactly Veklings intention to find a bike specifically for the purpose of boarding the bus, with shopping. Considering the fact that he is currently very satisfied riding a short wheelbase, 12" wheeled bike (the swedish "Microbike"), I don't see any reason why he would consider anything but a short wheelbase small wheeled bike.

The way I see it, if he's really as weak as he thinks he is (at 6'4" 210lbs?) and the Strida doesn't work for him and the Carryme doesn't work for him, then nothing will.

I overreacted. I took it a bit personally that you decided to post that one particular negative review in full instead of, for example, the latest review which actually discusses sizing. Of course, now you've posted both...so I guess I have nothing to complain about.

Well, I estimate that Vekling is probably much larger than that reviewer. Wouldn't 57cm be about your size, Bruce? For me the Carryme fits perfectly at full extension (which is nice...no extra tubing to carry around as dead weight), so it makes sense that you, being a bit larger than me, would be "at the border of really comfortable" just like that reviewer. No doubt the Carryme is going to need some modifications to accommodate Vekling, but if he can make it work with the Microbike then perhaps he prefers a tight fit? I'm looking forward to hear his impressions once he test rides in London as he hasn't been the only large person to show interest in the bike.

Just curious, why the wheel size? I know I've said this many times, but of all the Carryme's shortcomings (short wheelbase, small fit, limited gearing, low bottom bracket and frame, etc) I don't perceive the wheel size as being significant. I'm intrigued by what draws you to the conclusion that the wheel size is insufficient.