bikecruiser

I'm looking for a folding bike to ride a short distance to work and am considering buying the 2006 Citizen folding bike. Does anyone own one? Are you happy with the folding mechanism? Look, I know it's not a Dahon or Brompton, but would you recommend it to someone looking for an inexpensive folding bike for the daily commute to work?

Seeking reviews. Thanks.

af895

1st, very smart to consider a folder. They open up a lot of options - bike on bus, in car, plane AND... no lock needed! Just bring it inside everywhere. (fits in a shopping cart)

35lbs seems a bit on the heavy side. People still ride 40lb 3-speed utility bikes around Europe so don't dis-count a bike entirely on weight.

What you have to be wary of is off-brand components - brakes, shifters etc - with the least expensive bikes on the market. That level of componentry tends to be very heavy and has more "slop" than brand name gear.

Suggestions for alternatives:
Bazooka's 20" wheel folders. https://www.bazookasports.com/viewproduct.php?cat=1
I considered these when I was looking at folders. They offer good value. If you get a pricelist from Bazooka, remember: it's in Canadian $. US$ equiv is less.

Downtube. (search this forum for threads whose titles include "downtube")
https://www.downtube.com/catalog/ (without rack and accessories, these bikes come in at 26lbs)

A Dahon Boardwalk can be found for around $270. I know this is a bit more than you'd planned but it's not much more and you get a LOT more bike. Any way you could swing it? https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...58474?v=glance

(other's here may have suggestions on where to find these bikes on special)

14R 

BikeCruiser,

Welcome to the forum. I am with AF895. I believe a Dahon Boardwalk or a Downtube "hard tail" (no rear suspension) would fit your needs and offer you "a lot of bike material". Check the websites, do your homework, define what you want/expect from the bike and always ask questions (specially around here) to avoid "surprizes".

Once again, welcome to the forum. Whatever you end up buying, come back and share with us. The information will be useful for new members in the future.

Rafael

FlaTour

My thought is,,it depends. If you are older or heavier then you might want to road test the bike 1st. You dont have to spend alot of cash if youre resourcefull.

I have had a number of folders.(6 in all) and I have regular bikes as well. A number of years back I got lucky. A retired couple had 2 Dahons (only 2 years old) and they sold them in a yard sale..$50 each.(!) I also found a rather heavy foldup/spanish made for $35 at a thrift store and I also found a WORKSMEN made in NYC for $35 from a guy who had just had hip surgury.(yeah,,I know a deal when I see one!;-)

I rode all of them alot initially. I am 6'1'', weigh over 200lbs and I didnt like the handling or the small handlebars of the Dahons at all. I sold the Dahons for a tidy profit and kept the other two....the heavy Spanish-made one(the components were VERY good) and the foldup I use most is the WORKSMEN. I since found a 1spd for FREE at the end of a nieghbors driveway(I suspect MOST people in USA dont cycle much and the foldup looks way too different to them and they go back to their Walmart Huffy..just my humble opinion)

Ive used the WORKSMAN for 8 years now. Ive cycled the Danube Radweg, most of the UK, Florida and MANY cities inbetween on the booming $105 I invested. The Dahons actually paid for my airfare that 1st year.



The Citizen looks fine to me..and are on sale at:
https://www.citizenbike.com/catalog.a...1&product_id=1

bikebugmenot

Any comments on the Citizen Folding Bike? I couldn't find any review about their bike besides their "Latest testimonial". I also cannot find any history about the company. It seems it is formed this year?

v1nce

Although on the page it doesn't look too bad at all (but almost ANY new bike can look good in pictures) i'd be very wary of buying a folder that nobody has any hands on experience with,.. no matter what the price! This one i wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole, unless i had a chance to see it up close and could satisfy myself that my fears are unfounded. I find three things a bit fishy to say the least:

1. Suspension,.. at that price it might well be of the variety and quality you'd really rather prefer not to have at all.

2. The Folding hinge, from the picture it looks somewhat fragile and thin, if this goes the $ 174 is probably flushed completely down the toilet. The frame and fork have a warranty for one year the rest of the parts only 60 days!! I think that is pretty damn shamefull. If you sell a bike and believe at all in your product that term ought to be at the very very least 2 or 3 times as much. Very, very poor show, Ridiculous! Preposterous! Plus if you need to make use of the warranty you have to pay for the Labor costs to boot! That might very well end up being half the price of this bike. PRFTRTdDDT!?! I gotta stop before i have a fit.

It may have a Derailleur with 6 speeds but why don't they even mention any brand or name..? Again, you may end up wishing (presumably after 61 days ha ha) that you had a decent singespeed rather than 6 rotten gears. Labour costs here i come! As James Brown would say: 'Hit me!!'

I also second the alternatives suggested and in this order of preference:

Downtube!!!
Boardwalk (maybe second hand if you are lucky to find a good deal)
Worksman (the cheaper model has few features, looks old school, might be heavy? but will last "for ever")

I'd leave the Bazooka out myself, i don't think it is really a durable bike at all though that is mostly from what i can infer from the pics and specs. Cheap is not cheap nor a good thing if it means replacement in the short term...

Lastly, as for the comments about the Dahons. Makes sense: it is common knowledge that Dahons (especially the cheaper models) have improved by leaps and bound over the last 2 to 4 years. From what i hear the older ones were decent at best. The Newer (even the cheap Boardwalks) are very good and excellent value.

Good Luck! Hope the folder experience works out for you!

James H Haury

The Citezen Bike has a 48T front chainring and a 6 speed freewheel. What are the ratios is it 13- 28 or 14-28 . The specifications are incomplete .If the rear freewheel craps out you can always remove it and replace it with a fixed gear cog .I recommend a shimano dura ace cog from loose screws bicycle small parts. (Look it up this is not a link) or you can replace it with a 16T bmx freewheel . Do not forget to adjust the chainline though or you can have problems.

BruceMetras

From the look of this picture, I'd be leary of a compromised ride... it looks like the rear shock is the seat stay and near vertical with the pivot around the bottom bracket.. I would think the bike would pogo down the road some with normal pedal effort...but I could be wrong..

For approximately the same money, you could get a Downtube VIII FS (I've got two in the household) which offer a great ride (with front and rear shocks), 8spd, standardized components, horizontal dropouts for a future hubgear if you wanted, all on a really solid, good handling platform...Downtube bikes are tremendous value.

James H Haury

Sometimes what seems to be a bargain is not.

Waynedude

My partner just bought a Vilano folding bike. Another cool named piece of s@#t.. Has all the same components and specs as the Citizen.

First off, it weighs a ton due to all of the steel components (except for even cheaper plastic parts). It came assembled (obviously straight from China) but I had to tighten every screw on it. The spokes were loose, the brakes were loose, everything.

The clamping mechanism for the frame, handlebars, seat, and handlebar post were uber cheap and felt like they would break if tightened enough to actually hold the seat in place. From the pictures they are all the same components. The rear shock looks cool, but due to it's design cannot hold the bike rigid (unless you weigh 70 Lbs). He brought it to work today for the first ride (5 miles). After two miles, the shock had gotten so soft the wheel was riding against the fender and it broke off. Then the mount for the fender was digging into the rear tire. As he continued to attempt to ride it, It got to where the pedals were scraping the street on every turn!

He brought it to a bike shop to see if they could do anything. They said it shouldn't have the rear suspension due to it's wheelbase and the design of the suspension is all wrong. The only thing they could do is replace it with a solid tube. They also said a lot of the components were not standard, so you couldn't even replace some of them.

We thought maybe it would last at least a little while but two miles! This thing is a lawsuit waiting to happen. If you look at the components in the pictures, they are exactly like the bike we just got (even the frame and suspension), only difference was the flying plastic fenders, paint, and name. Even has the same warranty terms (which is hardly a warranty).

Buyer beware!

The Remix

approx the same money?...329 vs 160+ ... not that close in price

BruceMetras

Check the post date.. I wrote that post in 2005 .. at that time, I got my FS's off of ebay for well under $200..

Big_e

I realize this is an old post but I was searching for anything on the Vilano folders that are on sale on ebay. Thanks for the warning. I'll just play it smart and save up for a decent folding bike.
Ernest

trider

I just bought 2 ea of the Miami Citizens bikes 6 speed 20". My wife and I plan to keep the bikes to help us get into biking. We are happy with our bikes so far for what they are.
I am also impressed with management. I had a couple of quick initial issues and they addrresed them promply and called back as a follow up.
Very impressed.

Waynedude

Well, we sent the Vilano back and they refunded us the charge. We first saw this on Ebay but decided to buy it directly from the importer. It still cost us $34 to ship it back, and as I had thrown the box away, I had to make a box for it (pain). At least it is gone. If you plan on buying one of these cheap chinese bikes, dont get one with suspension or one with a rear drum brake (totally non-standard for a bike except in china). Some of them don't have these and they may last a bit longer. I still say stick with a reputable brand, even a used decent bike is better than a cheap knock-off from China.

trider

Wise thinking. The Miami Citizens bike is a very low end bike with low cost components. I am ok with the bike for what it is, I just didn't want to get into folding bikes by spending a lot of money up front. If my wife and I still enjoy biking like I think we will, probably by next spring we will be ready for a Dahon Mu P8 at $570.00. That looks like the folding bike of our future. Or maybe the $387.00 Dahon Speed D7. Just have to wait and see.

trider

Today I got an email and a phone call from Citizens Bike management just to check to see if I was happy or needed anything. I am very very impressed with the staff at Citizens. Yes, its a low end folder, but they are trying hard to put out the best bike possible for under $200.00. If I have a problem with this bike, I feel real secure in the fact I will be taken care of. I am indeed impressed.

Terry
PS: I certainly don't work for the company or have anything to gain. I am just stating that this has been an excellent experience so far.

ridnforlife

I recently bought a Vilano folding bike for $139 with free shipping, and I have to say it's a pretty descent bike for the money. I did have to spend about 10 minutes adjusting the brakes and going through the bike, but I expected that. Every bike I've ever ordered online, I had to tune before riding. I tightened down the adjustment nut on the rear suspension to stiffen up the rear swingarm. I weigh 190 lbs and it held fine. I don't mind the trade off of saving $400 for a little bit of tuning and assembly.

edwong3

I got my Vilano folding bike yesterday and did have to spend some time adjusting things, lubing moving parts, etc., but for the money ($139 shipping included!), it's not a bad bike. The paint left much to be desired as it seems that the factory worker that packed the bike, didn't notice that the paint was not completely dry. Other than that, the bike runs great, and there are no problems with the shock like the poster above reported. I'm 200 lbs.

People need to understand that there are compromises with any purchasing decisions. You can go cheap, and put in some work to get the product to perform, or you can spend the big bucks, and not have to work as much on the product, but then you have less dollars available for other necessities. It's all about "opportunity cost".

Hey, this thread is supposed to be about the Citizen Bikes, not a discussion about micro economics

Edward

psikot

i've got a citizen. they are inexpensive and cheap. they scrape together when folded, and don't even think about anything you would call a hill.

psikot

i've got a citizen. they are inexpensive and cheap. they scrape together when folded, and don't even think about anything you would call a hill.

alpacalypse

If you want a decent cheap bike, check out the dahon boardwalk S1. It's a singlespeed, so it's a lot more robust and well-designed than comparable full-suspension geared models. I've had mine for about a year and love it. You can get the 2008 model on ebay for about $160 plus $20 shipping.