Vela Folders
 

Hi:
has anyone heard of these folders and what has been the experience of any riders?

http://vela.ca/index/folding_bike.html

Never heard of them. Based on their about page, they are simply a folding bike distributor, not a manufacturer or design house. So my best guess is that they've imported some bikes from Asia and are selling to the North American market. Based on specs they're on the lowish end of the spectrum. The black bike reminds me of a Dahon.

--sam

My experience from folders that I have owned and looking at the pictures of this folder is that it is a lower end folder that I wouldnt pay over $200 for it. Just my 2 cents.

I agree, I think you'll get the same quality for lower price elsewhere.

thanks, I guess I may look at Downtube instead

Is that $450 Canadian? From looking at the specs of this "BB" folder, it looks like it would be comparable to the Citizen Gotham which sells for $274 USD, and that is a fair, and reasonable price for that level of quality.

I noticed in another post you're going to look at the Downtubes, and if you can afford to invest $400+ in a folding bike, that is a good brand to consider.

Good luck.

Edward Wong III
Qile Duo 5 Speed 20" Folder

Great to see that the discussion has started about vela.ca folding bikes. Vela.ca is a Canadian based company which is focused on the Canadian Market. For all of our friends south of the border (US of A) please allow me to explain some of the differences in pricing. Canada has higher import duties and sales tax (GST) for bicycles, not to mention universal health care, rich ethnical diversity and apparently a more securely structured banking system. Vela.ca's price of $450 CND also includes shipping within Canada (shipping costs are also higher in Canada). Let's do a comparison... A comparable downtube model sells for $379 USD. Import duties= %13 GST=%5 If Canadians order from an American company they will also be charge a customs brokerage fee which is about $20-$40. So, Downtube's $379 is now up to approx. $450. Downtube charges $80 for Canadian shipping... we're up to approxly $530, not including the possible $20-40 brokerage fee. So, for the moment Vela.ca's bikes are not ideal for American customers but are very competitive for Canadians. The bikes are stylish and customer service is great. It's great to have comments in any forum but I don't think anyone has done a fair comparison of the bikes or the price. Maybe the company will eventually open a branch in the US. Cheers

Thanks for the int'l economics lecture mtvelo. You know in 1983 the average West German was driving a BMW while the average East German was waiting ten years for a Trabi.

Don't sweat it, Canuks. Next year when the Yuan re-values we'll all be looking for used Raleigh 20's.

Aint that the truth.:twitchy:

As a Canadian, I honestly have to disagree with the pricing of the Vela personally myself. The bike is pretty comparable in technologies and components to an Asama which can be bought in Canada for $375 including a rack and fenders. A Dahon Speed D7 is about $575 with tax, can be bought at a local shop, includes a rack, fenders, 5yr - lifetime warranty, 7sp cassette with a much better gear range (The MF-TZ20 shown in the Vela pictures is a 14-28 6sp, the D7 has an 11-32 7sp), an adjustable height stem, and in my opinion as a mechanic, higher quality hinges. Now, theoretically, the Dahon is going to come assembled and tuned from a bike shop, and lots of bike shops also throw in a free tune down the road with a purchase, whereas I see you're recommending a purchase tune from a local mechanic, which packs a little value on for the Dahon, and adds a little real world price to your Vela for users who won't be doing their own work. As in inquiry, do your Velas come professionally assembled and completely tuned up out of box?

Your comparison doesn't include the fact that the Nova has been selling for $300 and under since its introduction, and the 8H is closer to your stated estimate of $379, at $389 (And the 8H reflects a considerably higher component spec). Yes, these are sale prices and aren't guaranteed to last forever, but they reflect current value, and the sale's been on for a long time now.

As a Canadian who currently works in 2 bike shops and knows the full ins and outs of our national dilemma with bicycle, component and accessory pricing, I am fully acquainted with how things up here can get pricier. And I also recognize that you are adding in the value of shipping and tax to your bicycles, but still, I feel that Canadians can do better for themselves than the value currently reflected in your product.

wow, that website needs to be checked
http://vela.ca/index/bby.html

click on the bb red x black bike towards the bottom and it brings you to
http://web.me.com/mr_takeshi/Site/bb...ing_bikes.html

the value based on the components on the BB are quite cheap. about on par with Walmart NeXT and Schwinn Tango folders. both of those are under $200 cad, so the BB is way over priced for what you are geting.

.... and in English it's almost the same bike which appears new on Ebay here for £99.00 - albeit with a steel frame, and no matt black paint. That's $165 Canadian, I fear.

I did own one of these last year, and found the componentry to be cheap (in the pejorative sense) with play in the handlepost, and folding latch. It went back. It wasn't unservicable, it just wasn't pleasant to own. My Dahon Vitesse is, though it was three times the price.

mtlvelo - Having read your thoughtful post, I think that you hit up on the solution at the end.

Instead of having your Chinese made bikes imported into Canada, have them imported into the US and distributed to retail outlets in the northern part of the country. Then when Canadians come down on their frequent buying trips they can add a Vela folder to their shopping list.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/...rticle4478423/

Don't worry about those disgruntled US shoppers in Bellingham - the Chamber of Commerce will calm them down. In fact, may I suggest locating one of your stores at the Bellingham Outlet Store Shopping Center to take advantage of the heavy Canadian shopping traffic already well established at that location.

It would be a win-win-win situation. You would sell many more bikes, Canadians would save $100s on the purchase and US business would prosper, increasing tax revenue to support our new health care system.

However if you really want to stay in Canada maybe you should check out Halton Hills, but be prepared to lower those prices (interesting comments from your fellow Canadians about this issue follow the article):

http://www.thestar.com/business/pers...ort_shows.html

As for the effect of Canada's ethnic diversity on cost of goods, I would need to understand more about how this works, as the relevance is not clear to me and I always thought the US was fairly diverse.

Have a look at Origami Bicycle Company too. (my biased opinion)

Hello snafu21,


I agree that there are many similar shaped, similar components folding bikes in the online and offline market that cost between $200 to $350. There are ones made of steel to aluminum, single speed to 8 speed. However, I would like to mention one big difference with our folding bikes. We, VELA BIKE, work closely with a well-credited Japanese folding bike company to produce our folding bicycle in China. What we have achieved in the past three years in Canada are product safety and maintained quality folding bicycles. Our customer return rate in the past 4 years is incredible 0.5%, less than 1 folding bike per 100. This is all because all VELA BIKE INC. folding bicycles meet JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) bicycle safety compliance. Our Japanese partner company conducts a series of stress tests for each bicycle components before making it into the market. That gives us two big benefits: All our bicycles are compliant with one of the highest safety measure, and the customers receive qualified folding bikes. JIS ensures certain levels of product quality just like consumer product safety commission (CPSC).JIS was created under the discipline that Industrial standardization concerning product quality should be prepared, focusing not on company needs but on the needs of users and consumers, with full consideration given to social needs, including the public interest. With regards to safety and environment conservation, products are restricted by technical standards established through mandatory legislation.


If you have any questions on the safety of our products, please feel free to contact us at info@velabike.com.

Thanks,

Takeshi