snoopy20

Fixed the brakes with some shims. Replaced the chain which I originally thought was good - it seized.

I can confirm the bike is a variant of the "Carrera Transit Folding Bike" so they are the company making it. The only difference is the Muddyfox is cheaper and comes with a Nexus 7sp vs the Carrera's 3sp, plus a slight angle on the steering tube. Otherwise all parts (which are mostly ****) are identical.

I love mine but all that's left;

Wheels (not front hub)
Steering tube
Front fork
Frame
Kick stand

One safety flaw is the folding mechanism, this has a safety bolt which was not engaging. If the lever was to snag then the bike would fold. One reviewer said Halfords were withdrawing them because of it. It's just an adjustment but I'd expect this to have been done in the factory.

Bonzo Banana

Carrera don't actually make any bikes, its a shop brand which imports just like muddyfox/sports direct. Considering what you said about assembly quality and the fact the Carrera bike is very well reviewed on the Halfords site I suspect they share the same frame and a few other parts but could be assembled at different factories. There is a large business of exporting EN certified OEM frames from China which are then assembled elsewhere to avoid European dumping duties, this could be Vietnam, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or in Europe etc. Saying that Halfords do assemble most bikes for people but you can also order boxed bikes from them. I have a Carrera bike and the quality is superb and a recent trip to Halfords showed some absolutely brilliantly priced bikes under the Carrera brand. The Carrera Subway is legendary for quality and value and I think that is based around a chinese OEM frame and assembly in Vietnam.

Carrera Subway 2 review - BikeRadar

Around the world there are probably many other brands that use the same frame.

Companies like fuji-ta do many variations of the same frame for different customers, extra reinforcing, straight or curved seat or chain stays etc. This one is similar and could easily be a variation of the Muddy Fox, Carrera frame.

PINSHANG - Tianjin Fuji-ta Bicycle Co.,Ltd.

sakisbury

Instead of changing the chainset did you consider changing the nexus chainring. £9.99 from evans to replace the 16T chainring with e.g. 23T.

tds101 

I was wondering if you could help me make a final decision on purchasing this bike. I have 1 deciding factor that will make me hit the "PURCHASE" button: are the rims single or double walled? If they're double walled, and as bullet proof as you say, I'M ON BOARD!!!

snoopy20

They are single walled, you don't need double walled rims on a 20", especially one that has 36 spokes (which are powder coated mild steel so will eventually rust but very strong). They are bomb proof.

Mine are gone however, I've picked up a Shimano Nexus 8 at a bargain price but in 32 hole so I've had to find new rims. The main reason for doing this is being unable to live without drop bars. This way I can buy a bar-end gear lever.

All that's left of my original purchase is...

1. the frame & forks
2. the steering post
3. the seat quick release
4. the rear luggage carrier
5. the stand

I'd still recommend it - spend a bit of money and flog the crap parts on ebay.

snoopy20

I didn't but it's one option. SJS have 16T in for £1.99.

tds101 

Thanks for the quick response.

Single walled is bullet proof IF you weigh less than 200lbs. I'm a heavier rider, and as much as I'm losing weight, I'm still 230lbs currently. I've also destroyed 20" single walled rims, so I'm probably passing on this bike. I don't mind upgrading certain things, but I'm not willing to upgrade the rims straight out tha box.

It would have been a nice multimodal commuter bike for me, after I recover from my car accident.

snoopy20

Single was perfectly acceptable until spoke count went down. Even with your weight it would be very unlikely (IMO) to suffer any damage. More likely the frame will snap first.

It's a £240 quid bike and the Nexus 7 is worth £100, so you're getting a good alloy frame for not much money. I reckon I've spent £400 in total and it's better specced than any foldy up to 1k. It's replacing my Specialized Awol for a trip in Iceland this year.

tds101 

I'm not worried about the frame snapping, as I'll most likely be 10+ lbs lighter when I start riding again. Like I said, I've destroyed 20" 36 spoke single walled rims before,...and that was at a MUCH lighter weight.

Where I live has horrible roads, and where I work is no better. Rims get destroyed around here,... Even with the value of the Nexus 7 speed IGH, it's not an inexpensive upgrade for me to have a double wall rim laced. It used to be,...but my LBS mechanic retired and moved away. It's cost prohibitive,...

bgard

Bought 2 of these last Xmass, looked really good value for money and would have been except that after no more than 10 hours use over 6 months the bearings on the right pedal of both bikes started shedding broken ball bearings and jammed up. This in itself is no big deal, however the response from Sportsdirect (who I believe own Muddyfox) was far from helpful, apparently it was my fault for using them!

tds101 

The pedals that come on most bikes are expendable at best, and most of us remove them almost as soon as we get the bike. Buy some decent Wellgo folding pedals off of Amazon and you're good to go.

keke

Never expect any good from sportsdirect, EVER.