Folding bike arriveth

Woohoo! My folding bike was delivered today!

I use the term "delivered" in the broadest sense of the word. It seems that the couriers left the "we missed you" card on the floor near the entrance to my flat, as opposed to putting it in my mailbox, and also failed to leave any details as to what I should do next on the card itself. In the end I went on the internet, found their nearest depot, which was in Didcot, drove down there and knocked on the door.

The box it came in was suspiciously large, but at least it wasn't heavy. I had plenty of entertainment, read frustration, trying to remove the packaging though. Some bright spark in Taiwan, where it was made, had clearly decided that putting an immovable piece of plastic up the saddle mounting tube would be a really good idea. I was left with no alternative but to bring out the ol' Irish screwdriver to deal with this problem.

This bike is very nicely made; every bit of it feels solid and dependable. Sadly because of this it also looks expensive, which means I have yet again failed to buy a bike I'll feel comfortable leaving locked up somewhere for any length of time. Whoops!


The process of actually folding the bike is a bit tricky, although I was expecting this in the first instance anyway. I'm told that it gets easier with practice. The saddle drops down, the handlebars fold down next to the front wheel, and then the whole frame of the bike folds in two, where it is held folded by a powerful magnet. Upon unfolding the bike in order to ride it the hinges and latches all lock back into place with a very secure feel.

Folded down the bike itself is actually larger than I was expecting, but it's no larger than a big suitcase. I won't have any trouble taking it on trains as luggage, although carrying it for any distance wouldn't be comfortable. This said, I expect that compared with manhandling a conventional bike in tight spaces, or fitting it into the back of a car, there won't be any comparison.


Now for some shakedown trials before I metaphorically wrap it up for Christmas. Just to make sure everything works of course!