psykoocycle

Saw this ad... googled it... not much info....anyone know or have experience with it?

5sp 16" Scooma Travelling Bike

https://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/bik/668301194.html

I wouldn't mind a junk/cruiser bike...

trueno92

don't even know if it could be considered junk, for $60 and it folds like the tikit? looks very decent.

can't find too much info on weight etc, but there are a few of them in toronto:


on the danforth...


for $60, i'd be all over it.

psykoocycle

wow... that one looks much better than the other one... the chainring is certainly geared better...

I'm going after that puppy...

trueno92

yah hope u get it..

remember, $60 alone is the price of TWO MARATHON TIRES, at urbane cyclist! so for the entire bike, i can't see it being a bad investment at all!

JonathanG

The handlebars and the way the frame is set up make it look sort of like a Bickerton. For more information on that, but not on the Scooma, see https://www.bickertonbicycles.co.uk/. For $60 I'd go for it.
Jonathan

psykoocycle

I ended up buying it, the owner didn't like how undergeared it was. But as soon as I saw it, it just had that novelty factor... it has an interesting design (all steel, integrated folding rear rack, rollers on the kick stand, "old school BMX" style brakes (I'm going to hack my GT Interceptor circa 1987 for brakes), and it SHOULD fit 16" big apples... oh and the grasshopper folding handlebars are really cool). Time to mod and work on gearing (I wish I had that silver bike's crankset)... and for some big apples...

I think this is the puppy that'll be coming with me to asia...

BTW... I've ordered the big apples... and so far I've spent more on the tires than for the entire bike...ehhh... gad....

trueno92

heh, glad u managed to pick that one up, i have seen bikes that are not quite as novelty go for twice as much.. so thats awesome.

take pics man, lets see some of this scooma goodness!!

oh and its undergeared? so u look like a circus monkey on it? lol

v1nce

I just bought one of these, singlespeed version in near Mint condition. Even have the instruction leaflet. If anyone has questions, by all means ask me here, rather than in PM. My take on it so far: Very fast easy fold, very durable/steel constrution, only concerned about a few smaller plastic latches for the handlebars but so far so good. Rides pretty decent, easy to work on. Lots of hinge or contact points, wonder how they will hold up over time but looks well! made. Downsides: The fold is not big by any means but does not beat a Dahon Classic 3 in terms of compactness for example. Also, heavy! about 14 kilos + Of course some of that could be mitigated for sure by putting in Alu rims, chainring etc. Another big downside is that the seatpost is special (swept back/curved, seat sits about 8 cm behind the post and not so long, this means this bike is limited to people of about 175 cm in height. The seatpost is very nicely made of good steel so i def. think any good metal worker could well a piece on to it. I bought mine for 120 euros I think. Will use it more extensively for the first time these coming 6 days.

smallwheeler

here's some inspiration for you. this is really a fantastic restoration/upgrade project. hope you have a lot of success with yours.

from this:



to this:

feijai

??? It folds nothing like the tikit.

wesgreen

Scares the heck out of me!

Ralph_69

I bought a Scooma Foldy last week and started to look for more info on it. There's a story on a Taiwanese website with a model in a museum, stating that it was invented by Mr Ching H. Thay and he won a silver medal in the Geneva Invention Conference in 1989, he patented it a.o. in the US (patent nr 4,824,131 see Google Patents). I modified it a little with higher saddle bar and I put skeeler wheels on the stand to make it roll better in folded condition, but it's a very nice bike and extremely easy to fold (even my wife can do it). When I lower the saddle, even my 8 yr old son can ride it.

ttakata73

Interesting design. Does ot ride rigid or can you feel a lot of flex? The frame seems to be a box with the left and right tubes but so many hinges make me wonder about rigidity.

Ralph_69

It is indeed a bit flexible, becomes a bit better when the hinges are tightened better, but you get used to it quickly. Mine does not have gears, so not for long distances...

fietsbob

Yea, rear section folds under then along side the frame in the Tikit.. like all bike fridays..

Supertofic

Hi, I just got registered to discuss a bit more about that Scooma foldy as I just happened to buy one. Strange bike indeed. Heavy but comfy on the road. Mine has a back pedalling system.
I already found on the net some pictures and old brochures. But I would be interested to have other details. I just saw that one member even has a leaflet instructions. Could be great.
Greetings from France.

Lwin

Stunning Taiwanese design deformation car SCOMOMA old horse
Lao Ma's unique styling elements and folding method create a sense of fusion that is both modern and classical, so it is favored by many bicycle collectors, so they have also created many different styles of Lao Ma folding bikes under their insights and skillful hands on this car.

The starting point with a magical classic small fold
In the process of collecting the old marten old folding car, I accidentally found that the rider had the special folding car of the old horse, and the eyes were initially attracted by his Harley-like "Ape hanger handlebar", the towering driver handle with a strong sense of bohemian American pompousness, the mechanism design of the car body is quite complex at first glance, different from the structure of the old marten diamond frame, the old horse is a bit like a French steel pipe line, and a specially shaped rear shelf is erected above the rear wheels.

I didn't know how to fold this bicycle for a moment, and I exclaimed that it was a rare longitudinal folding method under the demonstration of riders, and because of the special body structure and the unique style derived from its design, I wanted to collect this car.

The history of the old horse and the way it is folded
In the process of studying the longitudinal folding car of SMOMA Laoma, it was discovered from the Internet data that he was a folding car designed by Taiwanese (it was also heard that it was probably the first folding car in Taiwan).

It turned out to be a doctor who designed and built a bicycle that could be folded and stored so that children could take to the classroom when riding a bicycle to school. Later, the design of this car was handed over to the "Qinghuang Enterprise" to be responsible for production, and it became the appearance of the old horse we see now.

At that time, the folding trolley also won the silver medal at the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions in 1989, and the folding method was quite special. The complex body structure corresponds to the intuitive pulling of the handlebars to directly retract the body, fixing the front wheels with the space in the body, and the special rear shelf can also fix the rear wheels.

Fold the pompous handlebars forward until they support the front wheels; Fold the pedal inward to finish. Three steps reduce the car body into a square space. The underside of the frame is also like an old marten, with an easy-to-travel wheel for easy movement in the storage state.

Not only collect and sort out this old horse
The experience collected by the first old horse is a passing by a nearby resource recycling yard, a quick glimpse of an old horse reclining in the abandoned bicycle pile, immediately turned around and went back to talk with the boss to make friends, and finally bought this old folding car in a very low state at a fairly low price under the happy conversation, dismantling day by day, rust removal, assembly, online homework to inquire about relevant information, and communicate with riders, in this back and forth process to find a lot of fun. Day by day, seeing the old horse gradually return to its former glory, I also feel an inexplicable sense of accomplishment. Along the way, I have also collected two old horse folding cars one after another, one of which recently changed hands to other friends who also like this car. These collected old horses may not be as comfortable to ride as a new car, and occasionally shake their heads a little when riding, but in the time of little by little repair, I learned the history of this folding car, through the owner's love and repair can make it again have the opportunity to return to slow or galloping on the road, I think this continuation and inheritance of emotions can not be compared simply to buy a new car. I hope that more and more people can cherish and value these old cars, continue to use them for life and play an irreplaceable role in our lives.