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New bike, (circumlunar), 08/27/2018
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My wife bought me a new bike, which arrived in the mail last
Friday. It is a Citizen folding bike, Tokyo model[1]. Though
I am woefully unqualified to write any sort of meaningful
bike review, I'll attempt to give my initial impressions for
the curious. I tend to be verbose, so this will probably be
long for a basic review. For the tl;dr folks, none of this
matters anyway: I'm planning on having fun riding this thing
and I'm pleased with it, and that's all you need to know.
I chose the Tokyo model because it was the lightest of the
Citizen bikes with the smallest wheels but with multiple
gears (16" wheels, 30lbs, 6 speeds.) I was tempted to go
with the Rome model, which is 10lbs lighter and still has
16" wheels, but with only 1 speed. The Rome is belt driven
instead of chain, and that seemed interesting as well. But,
I just felt like the gears would be important for the many
hills where I live. Since I saved a bit on the bike, I added
the carrying case and the airless tires.
To keep some organization in this post, I'll review the bike
in sections:
Size
----
The bike has two sizes: folded, and unfolded. For
obvious reasons, the bike arrived in the folded position.
The first thing I noticed was that the overall bulk of the
bike was greater than expected. Having worked in marketing
for a large brand in the past, I realized immediately that
my perception had been based on the marketing materials,
which tended to focus on the folded bike from only one
angle; dead on from the side. Had the company pictured the
bike from the top looking down, I would have had a more
realistic expectation. Of course, realistic expectations are
not the goal of marketing.
All in all, I can't complain about the folded size.
Volumetrically, the bike is going to take the space it
takes. No amount of folding can change than, no matter what
the Transformer movies try to get away with.
Once setup and adjusted for my height, the size of the bike
is such that it is not terribly distracting. I was worried
that the bike might feel too small for a grown man, but it
doesn't feel that way to me. I appreciate the very low
center of gravity, with most of the height only in the seat
and handlebars. I wanted small tires to reduce the folded
footprint. I'm not sure if that is what they do, but I'm
happy with the tire size.
I should probably measure the thing, or find some
comparative reference object to help convey the size to you.
Better still, I'll just snap a quick photo of the bike in
the bag sitting next to a piano and then I don't have to
think about it[2]. While I'm at it, I'll include a few more
photos as well[3][4][5][6].
Weight
------
The bike is supposed to weigh 30lbs, minus a small amount
for the airless tire upgrade. I haven't bothered weighing it
as it seems to weigh about what it should. The weight is
not problematic when unfolded and in use, nor when folded
and being moved around. It is easy enough to lift and put in
the page (which unzips fully open, and also packs in upon
itself and zips into a tiny bag you can hang from the frame
while riding.)
The only issue I have with weight is relating to the bag /
carrying case. I really like the bag a lot, except for the
handles. The made the handles just a little too long, so
that when you lift the bag off the ground, you have to pull
it up beyond the natural hang of your arm to carry it. This
would, of course, vary based on height and arm length, but I
imagine it would be even worse for someone <6' tall. The
handles are just barely long enough to put your arm through
and sling it on your shoulder. They should have made the
handles/straps just a bit longer or just a bit shorter. It's
not really a weight issue, but it does impact how the weight
is experienced.
I should also note that I really don't know how 30lbs
compares to other bikes, at all. I don't know if that is
considered heavy, light, or what.
Adjustability
-------------
I was worried that I wouldn't be able to adjust the seat
and handlebars to a comfortable position for an adult man.
On the other side of that equation, I had considered buying
these for my whole family so we could ride more together,but
I was worried that they also wouldn't adjust down for my
shorter wife and for my kids. I'm glad to say, this model
works well for myself, my wife, and my youngest son.
The seat has a surprising (for me) amount of adjustability.
The post can drop all the way down through the open bottom
of the frame; from the pictures, I thought the frame would
be closed at the bottom, and that the post might have to be
cut to accommodate a shorter person. I have no idea if the
post can normally drop below the frame at the bottom or not.
I doesn't seem like the best idea in the world to have it
sticking out down there, but it is possible. The post is
long enough to accommodate someone taller than myself.
Perhaps there is some industry standard post length; in any
case, the seat adjusts to fit everyone in my family, tested
with myself, my wife, and my youngest.
The handlebars adjust well, though they don't have as much
downward play because of the way they fold. They go up more
than high enough for myself. There is a marking on the post
for the handlebars that says "min height," and for the bike
to work well for my son I have to go below that. I'm not
sure what the problem really is in going lower, you do
already go lower when folding the bike up. I did like that
the handlebar post was channeled, so there was no play
in it. I recall as a kid having to straighten out my
handlebars, which would get misaligned from the wheel in the
front. That simply can't happen with the channel and the
rest of the folding setup. I don't know if that will be a
negative at some point or not.
I haven't adjusted the brakes or shifter, they seem to be
functioning properly. In any case, they don't appear to be
wildly different from what you might find on other bikes.
Build Quality
-------------
Given the fact that this is not a top-of-the-line
folding bike, but more of a middle-of-the-road brand, I
am pleased with the build quality. A Hummingbird costs
over 10x as much at ~$4800; a Brompton costs about 4x as
much, starting at ~$1400. I expect that with those,
you'll have a much more professional feeling bike. This
feels just a small notch above a consumer bike.
The welds look solid and clean. The paint job is very pretty
and well done. All of the components look to be of
reasonable quality. The seat looks pretty, but I'm not
convinced that it is well constructed. The chain looks good
and came lightly greased, it looks to me, with some kind of
white/silver lithium grease (I have no idea what people use,
I used to use a can of All-in-One household oil when I was a
kid.) The pedals fold down and seem very solid (though, the
way the mechanism is designed, I could see them wearing
poorly.)
I wish I understood the components enough to review them
properly, but I think the price point of this bike would
tell any serious bicyclist what they need to know. Those
parts could, I suppose, be upgrade if one wanted. For me, I
think they'll be sufficient.
One thing I really like are the mud guards on the front and
rear wheels. I had these decades ago on a bike I rode daily,
and I loved them. I had friends with much sturdier bikes
than mine back them, and when we'd ride after the rain,
their clothes would be caked with mud splatters. The mud
guards are, I think, very useful. Since I was looking at
different models before deciding on this one, I think I just
didn't realize it came with them. They are solid (some shake
and rattle horribly, my daughter's old bike had some like
that.) Hopefully they'll stay solid.
Folding/Unfolding Process
-------------------------
This thing is quick to setup and take down, and doesn't
have much of a learning curve. You drop the handlebar and
seat, fold down the handlebar and secure it, fold down the
pedals, release the mid-point and fold the bike in half, and
you're done. There is a magnetic link between the two halves
mounted on the rear wheels, that holds the thing together
reasonably well. All of the releases and joints feel solid
and have more than one connection point; that is to say,
if a release popped open while you were riding, there is a
secondary step keeping it together still. It feels safe and
solid.
When folded, the bike stands on it's own; there is a small
bar at the base of the frame for it to sit on, so you're not
scratching anything. It does get out of balance easily
though, if the rear wheels shift too much. Not a big deal,
unless you want to have it free-standing on a moving train
or some other situation where it would be jostled. For me, I
just need it to stand up so it can have the bag wrapped
around it, which is no problem at all.
Riding
------
I've only ridden the bike a tiny bit so far, since life is
busy. I would like to make more opportunities, with a
good route that starts from my home. Still, it folds and
drops easily in the trunk of the car, so I could find a
route that is not too far from home as well. There is a 5
mile trail here in Fulton, MO that is pretty nice, I might
just get used to driving the few minutes to that.
One thing that anyone would notice with this bike- and you
can see it in the pictures- is that the wheels are small,
the center of gravity is low, and the steering is almost
directly atop the front wheel. All of this combines to give
a rather squirrelly feel to the bike, especially the first
time you ride it. To be honest, I was expecting this. Years
ago I had a 50cc Honda scooter, and it had the same problem
for the same reasons. It didn't bother me, but both my wife
and my youngest son had a difficult time getting used to it.
The airless tires, so far, have been great. Reviews of such
things online talked quite a bit about how they felt similar
to either flat or over-filled tires. I suppose I don't have
much to compare to, having not ridden in any serious way for
a long time. They felt just fine to me; maybe a little flat
feeling right when you start, and maybe a little tight
feeling when you hit a bump, but nothing unmanageable or
unpleasant- to me.
Brakes are good, shifting is good (though, the handle
shifter they chose doesn't have a great grip.) The seat is
hard, but could be replaced... though, I've never minded a
hard seat. Anything else, I wouldn't know what to look for
anyway.
Conclusion
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Without much knowledge, and without having ridden much, I'm
pleased with the bike and I'm determined to have fun with
it. It does what I hoped it would do: it provides an
always-ready bike that I can easily transport and use. It
looks good, handles well, and meets my needs. I'll continue
to post on this phlog about my adventures with it!
[1]
http://www.citizenbike.com/catalog.asp?product_category_id=1&product_id=10
[2]
gopher://sdf.org:70/I/users/tfurrows/img/citizen_bike_bag.jpg
[3]
gopher://sdf.org:70/I/users/tfurrows/img/citizen_bike_folded-front.jpg
[4]
gopher://sdf.org:70/I/users/tfurrows/img/citizen_bike_folded-angle.jpg
[5]
gopher://sdf.org:70/I/users/tfurrows/img/citizen_bike_folded-top.jpg
[6]
gopher://sdf.org:70/I/users/tfurrows/img/citizen_bike_unfolded.jpg
