jefmcg

My mezzo and I have been through good times together, but now I am wondering if I am asking too much of her. I've started a long commute, and some days doing 32 mile round trip on her. I recently had to replace a part because I'd worn a joint smooth, and the other main folding joint may be wearing out, too.

Is 4000+ miles a year too much to ask of a folding bike? Should I be riding my older but still fine MTB on full commuted days? I pulled it out on the weekend - it's in a good state but is a strange beast to me now. I literally fell in a pile dismounting on the side of the road - twice! - because I forgot it had a top tube, and the lower handlebars are strange too. But I think it would make a decent commuter and so should I fix it up (slicks etc) and leave the folder at home on days I don't plan to use the train?

Dynocoaster 

Why not get another folder and alternate between the two?

vmaniqui

+1

jur

I have over 10,000km on my Birdy and it's as good as new. The only thing I am wearing out are rear tyres and the front rim is also due. Rear rim is as new. Folding joint and suspension joints feel fine.

alhedges

Is it easy to replace the joints? If so, I wouldn't worry about it - many components on all bikes (folder or non) will need replacement if you ride enought.

bhkyte

I bought a spare Mezzo to use incase of break down flats ect. Also to bucther parts if I needed one quick.

The seat post clamp and stem seem to be the part that wear quicker than a conventional bike.

Folding bikes can be heavier on maintaince, ie if you use folding pedals they need changing every year or so. I also get though a lot of bike cable on mine, but that is hindered by squeezing in another cable for the dual drive system.

I cover around 2500 a year for around 4 years now on my Black mezzo. I use in almost exclusively, as it is quick and convenient. However I do think about "sparing" it a little by purchasing a fast rigid bike for when I do not feed a folder.

Or just getting another folder.................symtoms...................ebay..........£££......excusses...........purchase. .........regret................not really...........repeat cycle

Folding-Bikes

+1 to Jur. No its not, people forget bikes are made to be used, and should be made to last, I commuted 40km every day for a year and my Reach somehow got better with age..

bhkyte

yes the black older more used mezzo bike of mine works better than the newer less used spare.

jefmcg

Just like to say I'm definitely using it, about 2200miles this year, so far and pretty constant usage in the 3 years before that. And I know things wear out, this year I've replaced cassette and chain, all the brakes, new derailleur and cable, new front wheel (crash!), I'm replacing the gear levers and cabling on Thursday. 3 tyres - I just go through those things. And the handle bar stem that started me wondering. I've never had trouble with the seat post, btw and the folding pedals on there now are about 4000 miles old, and going strong. (knock on wood)

My bike isn't better than it was when I bought it - but now I am servicing it myself, it's better than it was 6 months ago.

Certainly wouldn't buy another folding bike - if you have two creatures sharing the same ecological niche, one will perish. Also, I'm trying to be a little green, and 10kg of aluminium - or even steel - doesn't help that.

Deal is I have a 26" wheeled bike in the shed, serviced a couple of years ago but hardly ridden since in very good order. I have very secure parking at work. Now (on some days at least) I am commuting both ways by bike so maybe I should give the joints of my folder a break and take it out. It's a hassle to get in and out of the shed and I no longer love it - oh, and I'd have to get slicks and probably a pannier bag so nothing is easy.

bhkyte

Have you tried adjusting the grub screws in the bottom of the hinge to get rid of the squeck and wobble you mentioned? I did it on my slightly wobbly gold bike and its all gone.

Geeeyejo

I was wondering the same thing regarding my new Tokyo. I am commuting less (about 10mi round trip daily) but at 225lbs plus clothes plus travel pack; I am definately over the stated 220lb weight limit! I ride pretty fast and hard too. So far, so good - the high pressure tires are handling my weight pretty well and no squeeks or loose bits yet. I think the steel frame of the Tokyo (albeit heavy) lends itself to more durability and better handling...

snafu21

Hello!

Have you thought about buying a 4 litre Jeep 4x4? They can be bought for the price of a used Brompton, don't look like a third-rate train-crash, and they have the great advantage of keeping the rain off. You could then keep your lovely Mezzo at home, and put the MTB on the Jeep roof in order to appear 'green'. I use my own 4x4 for taking my folder down to the coast, about 120 miles away, where I can ride it for half an hour or so, then come home refreshed after saving the planet. It has air-conditioning to keep the CO2 and other noxious fumes emitted by bicyclists out of the cabin.

On an altogether filthier note: bikes wear out. It's a question of which you wish to wear out first, the folder or the MTB. (You are an ace bike commuter, and I think , deserve some sort of award.) On the question of knobbly rubber, though: your only quest is for a pump to get the blighters up to 4 bar (60 psi). Gnarly MTB's have their place in London, and can often be seen casually parked outside cafes in Nottting Hill but fitting slicks will only generate jeers and opprobrium.

Many London commuters, I note, are buying £100 clunkers to commute on. The price of bicycling to work on £700 folders in these straightened times is too much for many to bear. The four litre 4x4, at £300 has become the only viable option, and you'll be recycling 2 tonnes of steel!

I can recommend Mercedes. They are German, and therefore break down even more often than Bike Fridays. The paint finish is better, too.


For more fine bicycling advice: come to the Hyde Park Folding Bicycle Society Annual Jamboree on 7th August.

xrayzebra 

snafu21 - Now that's entertainment!

jefmcg

For god sakes, don't buy German cars! A friend was rammed by a deer in Richmond park in her Mercedes and was told that they seem to hate German cars: a BMW was rammed the previous week.

I guess you could buy a Mercedes and avoid Richmond and Bushy parks, but where's the fun in that? Plus they don't lock the gates during the day, so the deer could all escape and seek you out.

(Drive to Canary wharf? Hmm, congestion charge + £20/day parking + apparently they charge for petrol too! I could buy two new Mezzos a month - or a Jeep every week! - for that sort of money)

jefmcg

Thanks Bhyte. Tweaked everything, and it worked for years. But nothing worked now. I just rechecked the joint: the two ends no longer sit flush together, so tightening that would do limited work.

Anyway, it's replaced now, and everything is rigid. Except that I've put 290km on it in the last 7 days. Let's see what sort of mileage I get out of the new joint. It's of different material, it seems, so it might last longer.

snafu21

The London Kengestion Charge is a bummer. When I lived in Notting Hill, 'they' moved the charge zone to the top of Ladbroke Grove, so my West wing car park exit was in the Zone, and the East wing out of it. If I left home in a tizzy without thinking, I'd be whacked with a nine quid fine. 'Twas then I took to bicycles.

I forgot you worked in Canary Wharf. When venturing that far down river, you need your own ship. (Never get out of the boat).

I don't know what the best option for a long distance daily ride is. My mother has a 1948 Rudge in her garage, she rode it daily for thirty of those years, and the only consumable she used was gin. My Dahons have been good, but eventually stuff like hinges and clamps wear out, though they can be got as spares.

I suspect the answer is a £99 Halfords MTB every year.

Did I really just say that?

bhkyte

I find if their is a problem with my mezzo I just adjust it and its sorted. Guess the self locking hinge's are a double edged sword. Quicker, but more prone to maintainence and wear?

longlong14

Interesting, I average about 1000 miles per year on my bike, but I have not yet replaced any parts on it, its been almost three years. Probably because.I weigh far less than you guys.

snafu21

I don't think it's just the quantity of miles, London is hard on bikes, potholes, fold/unfold four times a day, grime, soot, rain, grit, sulpherous fumes from 4x4's and other cyclists, stop/start riding. It's a very corrosive atmosphere. (Jefmcg is mere slip of a thing, by the way).

I don't know if the Mezzo is better or worse designed than anything else, but at 4000 miles a year, one might expect some wear.

jefmcg

Thanks for the compliment snafu, but I don't think its defensible. Me and the Mezzo are on a bus right now because we snapped a seat rail.

Still, is a good excuse to buy a brooks!