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Citizen Tokyo 500 Mile Assessment

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Citizen Tokyo 500 Mile Assessment

Old 10-12-11, 11:23 AM
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Citizen Tokyo 500 Mile Assessment

Well have had my Citizen Tokyo since late June and ridden her for nearly 500 miles now (about 475) and figured I would provide a longer term usage assessment.
Shortly after obtaining the bike I made what I felt were very necessary comfort/performance/reliability upgrades. These included:
Brooks B67 Saddle
11-28T 7 spd Freewheel
7 Speed grip shifter
Used Vintage Suntour Alloy Derailleur (didn't like plastic original Shimano unit)
Non folding trap type pedals
Kenda Kwest 100psi tires
Flat resistant tubes
The upgrades above resulted in a significant improvement in top speed and rideability and including original purchase price of bike put me in at only about $400.
The bike has proven itself to be a durable, capable and versatile commuter - I am about 220lbs and ride with about a 25lb pack - alot of weight for this little folder! The freewheel/shifter/derailleur upgrade initially proved a bit challenging as the index shifting would not exactly line up. After several adjustments I was able to set it so 5th and 6th gear required two "Stops" on the grip shifter - ie to shift from 7th gear to 6th, I shift to 5, then back up to 6. A minor inconvenience, but once used to it becomes automatic and hits the gears every time. Reality is I only use 5 (rarely on a steep hill), 6 & 7 - no need for the lower gears.
I also experienced some jumping of the chain on the freewheel - Initially I thought that it was due to the new freewheel, but it turned out to be a lubrication issue - a few drops of chain oil and no more skipping.
About 100 miles ago, one of the allen head bolts that secures one of the rear brake calipers (and the rack) apparently vibrated out of the hole and was lost. I emailed Citizen about purchasing a replacement - they actually sent me two - at no charge! Great customer service!
Lastly, I noticed a few days ago that the bottom bracket had developed a bit of play and necessitated a bearing adjustment. I had been meaning to inspect/grease the bottom bracket as I had hit some deep water on a flooded street a few weeks back and never sure how much grease is used on initial assembly. I pulled the bracket last night - it did in fact appear that a good amount of assembly grease had been initally used. I cleaned the bearings, greased, reassembled and all is fine once again.
Honestly, there have been times that I have considered upgrading to a Dahon D7 - Chromo steel frame at about $489 new locally - but considering my usage (intermodal train/ferry/bike commuting with about 5 miles on the bike each way to work) the Citizen does in fact fit my needs and is holding up rather well - makes it hard to justify another $500 purchase.
Now would I have bought the Dahon in place of the Citizen - considering my experience over the past 500 miles? Well price really comes into play. My most expensive upgrade was the Brooks Saddle - which quite frankly I would have purchased had I bought a Dahon (or any other bike without a good leather saddle). This brings the price of the Dahon closer to $600. I likely would have upgraded the Dahon tires to high pressure road tires with flat resistant tubes as well - add another $60. Not familiar with the gearing on the Dahon but assume the 20" wheels and freewheel provide acceptable top end speed - if not then upgrade and even more $$ again.
For the money, the Citizen remains a remarkable value - hard to justify another $260+ for similar functionality. Now if for any reason my frame goes (although I assume the good folks at Citizen would make good on this) I might go the Dahon route...
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Old 10-13-11, 06:06 AM
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I have a little over 600 miles on my Citizen "Gotham 1" and it has been problem free so far. I use it for post office runs, store runs for grocery, ride it when I am in different cities, and at the beach which is VERY nice. Paid $269 for mine in July, but the price has been raised to $289 now. I cycle a LOT so the one speed can go quite quickly for me except for steep hills which only happen occasionally thankfully. I am fine with the stock seat guess I just have an iron rear, but I can see the comfort limitations the stocker will present for a lot of riders. Right now I am 155 lbs and it does fine even with my back pack loaded sometimes on my back. No mods on mine right now just a front and rear light for morning / dusk / night riding. I love how nimble this thing is you can get through all sorts of small tight spots with ease which makes a difference in built up urban areas. Its funny how much attention this thing gets everywhere it goes. My only complaint so far is that sometimes the seat post will slide down gradually. No big deal to adjust it, but do they make a heavy duty clamp perhaps to really hold it?

Citizen is a great company in my opinion and the prices are very reasonable. I like the one speed for the reliability. I can go 10+ miles with ease on the G1 and it has a myriad of uses. I can stow the thing away just about anywhere in my travels when its locked up. Post pics of your mods if you can Geeeyejo sounds like it made a nice transformation while still retaining the stock stuff.


Sorry about the structure of this reply I am posting from mobile.
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Old 06-17-14, 12:50 PM
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Hi Geeeyejo

Just wanted to follow up on your Tokyo. Wondering what type of shifter you upgraded to. I was looking at the Shimano 7spd Revoshift along with the DNP Epoch 7spd freewheel. You mentioned you had trouble with shifting. did you also have to change the chain?

Amazon.com: Shimano SL-RS35-Right/Left Revoshift 21 Speed Shifter Set (Black): Sports & Outdoors


Thanks,
Anthony
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Old 06-23-14, 10:36 AM
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I agree that Citizen makes good bikes,I own a Brompton worth $2000 and a Citizen Miami worth $199 +$30 shipping anywhere in US.I like and use both bikes,each is different in their own way and I will continue to ride both.My Brompton is worth the money I paid for it,but my Citizen is worth much more than I paid for it.It's well built and a great bargin for the low price and just because it is cheap does'nt mean you don't get your money's worth.
I am considering getting the Tokyo with 16 inch wheels next.
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Old 06-23-14, 10:46 AM
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The Citizen Miami I test rode was surprisingly nice. It was just really heavy compared to my DT Nova.
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