Best Mountain Bikes Reviews

I have owned this bike for a month now. This is my first folding bike, but I do have a lot of experience with biking in general. I bought this bike for 2 reasons: One is the ability to bring it on the subway and the other is that my 3rd grade son can ride it. The quality of the bike is quite impressive for 0. The parts and componentry are a few steps above low end quality. Mostly, the components, rims, and frame are alloy, not steel. The Microshift brand drive system – shifter and derailleurs are all well made. The crankset arms are alumninum while the spider is steel. The folding mechanism works, but will require a few times of practice to fold quickly. Carrying it is cumbersome, as the bike tends to inadvertantly unfold itself. You really need a bungie cord to hold it in the folded position. Also, it initially seemed natural to lift it on the chainring side, but then got greased by the chain. There is no handle once the bike is folded. Like most folding bikes, I would think the frame is less sturdy than a conventional diamond frame bicycle.

The bike weighs in at 25lbs with all original equipment. My son is short, so I install a shorter seatpost with a child seat when he rides. The folding pedals are difficult to use and heavy. I removed the rear rack, the kickstand, and replaced the pedals with conventional plastic ones. With these small modifications and the kid seat, I got the weight down to 22-23 lbs, which is equal to that of a good quality road bike. After lifting it some, you’ll realize that even 22 lbs seems kind of heavy, so it really pays to lighten the weight. However, you shouldn’t confuse light weight with quickness. This bike is quite slow. I’m on the top gear just about all the time, and people pass me. The reason is that the gear ratios are similar to a mountain bike, but the wheels are 16″. So, for the same gear, the bike will be 16/26 = 0.62 of the speed of a typical mountain bike. Other reasons it is slow – the riding position is quite upright compared to a mountain or road bike, the tires are 40 psi, and the cranks are a bit shorter than the typical 170 mm. The smaller wheels also make the steering a tad twitchy compared to a conventional bike.

In conclusion, this bike is not designed for long-distance and speed. It works well for 2-3 mile commutes, where one needs to combine the commute by car or rail. It also accomodates short kids who desire the ability to shift gears. Because of this, it is a versatile, cleverly designed bicycle. For 0, it is high quality and a great value.

Dec 23 update:
I have taken this bike on the subway for a few months now. It works terrific, and I get a lot of compliments. Therefore, I have increased my rating to 5 stars. People cannot believe the price I paid for it. It sounded like they’ll get their own. Folding it has gotten quite easy. I fold it without lowering the seat or the handlebar. The handlebar and seat mesh nicely together. Then I wrap the bungle cord around the frame (normally stored around the seatpost.) The whole process takes less than 1 minute. The fellow passenger I demonstrated this to was totally impressed. I carry the bike by using the back of the seat as the handle, when it is stowed. Also, it goes in the trunk of a Honda Accord very easily. The weakness of this bike is the lack of high gears and very short 140 mm crank arms. I have replaced the crankset with one that has 170 mm arms and 50 teeth. This turns out to be a good upgrade. Now, my speed is up ~20%, and its easier to pedal up hills. The pedals are closer to the ground,so I just have to be a bit more careful with I make turns. I recommend this upgrade as it addresses all the shortcomings of this bicycle.

Highly recommended.

Good for the price! – A. Estebe – BUE Argentina
The bike is good for the price you pay! Yes its a little slow and no perfect finish. But you can use it for shorts rides. I think the pedals are the worst thing! but you can change it. The frame is solid and its light. When folded its compact and you can put it in car, plane or boat without problems. I just use the first and the last gear the others are useless! Its really adaptable for different riders sizes.
Advice: inflate the wheels as a rock, if you not do it, you must to do a lot effort to ride just a block!
Good luck!

Great bike, light and easy to fold – J. Wu –
I ride around Savannah with this bike, it’s very convenient to carry around. The city rains alot, and I would fold it and bring it inside to the building like a bag. The only annoying part of this bike is the foot pedal, one size has a bump since it is designed to fold in, it made it not as easy to pedal. The bike is pretty slow if you are looking to get to a place fast. Nonetheless, it’s great folding bike.

I didn’t want to put a lot of cash into a bicycle right now but I did want to get riding again sooner rather than later. I’m not really concerned with name/brand prestige or snobby looks from mtbr’s on Gary Fishers, but more about a good quality/cost ratio, and no stuff from China.

This bike fits the bill.

Components on this bike were better than those on toy store bikes but below the quality of higher end enthusiast and professional stuff. They’ll wear out quicker than the higher end stuff, so I’ll upgrade as that happens.

So, you’re really buying a frame with the components thrown in for good measure.

odds and ends:
- the rear derailleur is an Altus, not an Acera as advertised (that’s a step down in quality. Crosslake took care of me though.
- decently crisp shifting (I prefer levers to twist)
- I don’t know how the chain rings (the gears next to the pedal) hold the chain. Malformed and bloppy metal, must be factory rejects or something, but no real problems yet except icky shifts now and then. First on the upgrade list.
- you’ll probably need to tune the derailleurs a bit.
- wheels are true and brakes are basic but strong.
- haven’t weighed it but it couldn’t be more than 30-35lbs.
- I’m 6′4″ and the 22″ frame is just right.