the bike is folded but here you can see both fenders. with all the accessories on this bike it's now pretty heavy--i think it's the heaviest bike i own, even heavier then my all chrome brevet style bike!
posted by minhi @ 9:25 AM
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here's one of the rear fender.
posted by minhi @ 9:23 AM
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bike comes with real metal (steel) fenders with metal supports. cool looking, super heavy.
posted by minhi @ 9:23 AM
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OMG! only six speeds!
Hmm, I wish this was friction instead of indexed, this is something i might change i've gotten so used to friction that indexed feels kinda wierd now. works fine, nothing fancy.
posted by minhi @ 1:42 PM
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this is a nice touch, there's a bracket off the bottom bracket that holds the bike up when you fold it in half.
posted by minhi @ 1:38 PM
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bike came with a rear kickstand, this is the only style that would fit on this bike. I bet that's because very few folks with full suspension bikes put kickstands on :). This is the police style rear support, it's really heavy and has a locking tab to force it into place.
Part of me wants to lighten this bike up, but part of me sees it as already so heavy there's taking 2-3 lbs off is not going to make a difference anyway!
posted by minhi @ 1:35 PM
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well it says it on the component so it must be true!
it's funny that they put this on the gear where very few people would see it.
posted by minhi @ 1:31 PM
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oohhh, comes with Shimano components so it must be good :rolleyes:
Or maybe it's because there aren't that many companies to buy bicycle parts from anymore! This bike is only six speed in the back and one speed in the front, so only six speeds--oh my what will i do?!?!? Uhm how about not shift, or pedal harder?
posted by minhi @ 1:29 PM
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a wider shot to show the entire rear drive train
posted by minhi @ 9:24 PM
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the rear derailleur was busted so i needed a replacement. this bike has no hanger bolt it needs a claw style one. i could've used a claw adaptor and a higher end derailleur. but given the utility of this bike i decided on a cheapier Shimano Tourney Megarange for $10 hanger included. It works fine, doesn't look too bad--though the red lower pulley is a pretty cheap plastic. But i can buy 5-6 of these for an XT derailleur. As a disclaimer I have an XT derailleur on another bike.
posted by minhi @ 9:23 PM
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not a very good brooks rip off. vinyl look leather but the springs do work. seat post is a cheapie clamp style.
posted by minhi @ 9:20 PM
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i think this sums it all up. the headtube only carries a sticker, and it's not even straight! this bike just doesn't make any sense to me! some of the touches are nice and then the other things are functional but not high quality.
posted by minhi @ 9:18 PM
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a better picture of the top tube logo, the silhoutte woman is a little creepy (to me at least)
posted by minhi @ 9:16 PM
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this is a nice touch. it uses a quick release for the stem tightening nut. on a normal bike this is an allen bolt. the quick release lets you lower the stem to make it more compact--or pull the handlebars out completely. the only problem is centering the bars when you tighten it back up!
posted by minhi @ 11:02 PM
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good picture of the rear spring, seat tube and hinge piece.
posted by minhi @ 10:39 PM
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this is a no-name chinese branded rear spring. this is one of the odd things about this bike. Typically Japanese brands take great care to use quality parts and in this case a lot of the parts are pricepoint parts. the frame is chinese made, it's steel (instead of aluminium), the seat is a fake brooks like springer model, the bmx wheels are no-name.
So it's curious what market they were aiming at with this bike. and maybe that's why i can't find anymore info, i guess customers couldn't figure it out either.
posted by minhi @ 10:38 PM
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and this is the hinge for the folding mechanism. it's a simple quick release, you unlock it and slide the pin up.
and yes, i already put an "In-N-Out" sticker on it. There are some scratches in the paint i want to cover up.
posted by minhi @ 10:00 PM
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here's a shot of the bike folded in half. the hinge is pretty simple but it feels strong and it's very easy and fast to fold the bike in half and then unfold it.
posted by minhi @ 9:59 PM
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Oh did i mention that this bike is full suspension :) Considering that it's a folder and full suspension, the 35lb curb weight is not so horrendous. There are also a few other things on it that make it so heavy. I'll get to those shortly.
posted by minhi @ 9:57 PM
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i recently bought this folding bike on ebay. It's from a company called erotic machine works--which makes for an awesome frame decal.
The only bit of info i can find is that they made bikes in the late 90's and they were based in Japan. The bike is actually very un-Japan as the build quality and parts are unremarkable.
I only paid $66 + 34 shipping for it. So for $100 i have a versatile bike that will fit in any trunk or a suit case for airplane travel.
I haven't ridden it yet, it needs a new rear derailleur, but i'll post a few pics and comments.
posted by minhi @ 9:55 PM
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Here's a shot of the lumbar area, it's the little curve in at the bottom. It must be for weight distribution because it reduces the size of the bag by a lot. You can buy strap on bags that clip into this area to give your more storage and external access to things.
posted by minhi @ 7:57 AM
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here's the bottom or back side of the bag. I think the newer versions don't have the orange padding (it's black). I kind of like the orange, you can't really see it once you wear the bag.
As you can see there is plenty of padding in the lower back. Surpringly the straps are not that padded, there are a few hook points and straps to clip things like bottles or strap on accessries on the straps.
I think they have a new accessory that lifts the bag off your back to allow for more ventilation. I can see that as a benefit in the summer when it's hot.
posted by minhi @ 2:22 PM
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Here's a profile to give you an idea of the shape, notice the hookpoint on the side. There's a number of them on the bag to allow for stretchy cord like i have here or to use the net sold by boblbee to strap down things like jackets, helmets, shoes etc.
posted by minhi @ 1:57 PM
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tighter shot of the included extras, the bag is pretty basic, basically for dirty clothes. The cell phone case is too big for most cell phones but works ok clipped to the shoulder belts. The waist strap works pretty well--boblbee sell a padded one with extra hooks (to clip things on) but i don't think it's needed.
posted by minhi @ 1:41 PM
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here's a shot of the bag with my ibook. The ibook is inside a north face laptop sleeve. I'm not sure i would do this normally, i have a neoprene case for the ibook and i think that's plenty of protection. but gives you an idea of the volume. This picture is a little misleading because there is some expansion between the outershell and the back of the bag--sort of like an accordion, so you can stuff the bag a little bit.
posted by minhi @ 3:34 PM
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I was suprised to find a few extras with the bag. A small cell phone case which you can clip onto the straps, a waist belt, a do-all strap and a gym bag were all included.
posted by minhi @ 3:29 PM
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like i said before, i'm a nut for bags. i've wanted a boblbee bag for close 10 years. Ever since they came out in 96? or 97? but they were (and still are) so expensive. They start around $130 for the smaller ones and get to over $200 for the larger ones and the executive models. And then that's before all the accessories you can get for them! padded waist straps, cargo nets, clip on bags etc, you can easily spend as much as the bag!
Even though I can now afford these bags, i still can't justify it. But then i find out that ebags.com is selling the "old" version of the megalopolis for just about 50%--well actually it was $90 - an ebags special 20% more. So after shipping i paid $82.10 and it came directly from boblbee.
So what's the difference from the "old" megalopolis and the new ones? As far as i can tell the only difference is an internal organizer. On some of the other models there's also a dedicated compartment for a laptop, but functionally they're still the same.
Now I admit i do have plenty of bags so other then the fact that I've always wanted a boblbee why did i buy this? Well I spent an afternoon walking around with my Timbuktu bag (which i've owned for 8 years) and the next day my back was killing me, even though it wasn't that full! Old age i guess.
The boblbees are famous for comfort. And it's true i spent an afternoon walking around and it is comfortable. Other side-benefits are you rarely see another one of these, most people give you wierd looks because it is pretty funny looking and you can put stickers on them!
Minuses are they don't hold all that much, about the same as a small backpack. There is only one small pocket in the top flap. The top flap clips over the mouth of the bag, so no zipper to secure it. And inside the bag there are no compartments or pockets so you have to organize things with mesh bags or no organization!
So of these things you can solve, they make bolt-on bags that clip to the outside and fit into the little curve on the back, this gives you somewhere to secure items you need quick access.
I'll post some follow up thoughts, if you want to see more, just click on the pic to go to my flicker set.
posted by minhi @ 3:25 PM
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