masch

Hello all

I have been convinced that I need to replace my folding bike. I have been recommended the Muddyfox Evolve 200 which comes with some interesting tech (I've never seen a bike with such a rear gear hub - but I've been reading a bit about it). Right now it is on sale for £220 in the UK. Sadly however much I adore it, it is quite a bit above my budget.

However I went to look at their website and found Muddyfox Evolve 100 and fitted with basic parts but they look good & certainly look better than my current one.

https://www.muddyfox.com/muddyfox-ev...lcode=93800103

It's really only £50 from the Evolve 200 seen here (https://www.muddyfox.com/muddyfox-ev...lcode=93802330) but that difference means a lot at this moment.

Is MuddyFox a good company? Is anyone aware of any complaints made about their quality of manufacture or their customer service policy?

Thank you for reading this.

Best regards!

badmother

Newer heard about it but I am not in the UK. If your budget is limited, what about buying a second hand bike? A lot of peopel buy folders, store them for years and sell them. Try to get your hands on one of them.

bhkyte

£220 for a nexus IHG 7 speed sounds great. Pay the extra £50.

fietsbob

DaHon Clone or rebadged by them.

I Expect as with so many brands , some OEM multi brand Making factory in Asia, made those too, filled the seagoing container
and they offloaded at a Container port .. UK Major Ports - UK Ports.

Bike = a frame a fork and a bunch of interchangeable parts attached to it ..






...

badmother

Make sure the bike fits you and that the seatpost is long enough if you have long legs. If you have to start buying parts and modify the money is going fast.

Bonzo Banana

I recommended the nexus 7 bike and think its fantastic value I honestly think you need to find the extra money as its such a superb buy. As for quality I have experience of the Dunlop folding bike sourced through Sports Direct which was later rebranded Muddy Fox I think. My mother has that bike. For the money it was fantastic quality except i don't like the basic tourney drivetrain.

If the bike is the same as hers it is sourced through a company called avocet bikes who have a range of brands although most of their folding bikes are sold under the 'Viking' brand. Check out reviews of viking folding bikes on sites like Amazon.co.uk to get a general idea of quality. The great thing about the Nexus 7 model is the Nexus 7 dictates the quality of the drivetrain and rear hub which is high. Beg, borrow or steal that £50 to buy the Nexus model.


Home | Welcome to Avocet | Avocet


https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...+folding+bikes

Also this thread for the Dunlop.

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/dun...d-trek-2608777

I've seen the Dunlop and its great. 12kg weight, excellent welded frame with a maximum rider weight of 120 or 125kg. The bike looks far stronger than a Tern for example. Can't imagine it failing.

Another option here. The bicycles4u bikes are pretty good for the money. This is a steel frame bike but apart from that is pretty much matching Spec of the Evolve 100 except no mudguards or rack. Good load capacity. These steel frame folding bikes tend to be stronger but you'll pay a kg or two extra in overall weight.

https://bicycles4u.com/collections/f...urich-explorer

masch

Thanks for the recommendation Bonzo Banana.

I really like the Muddy Fox bike, but it is missing something critical (critical to me, not critical to most people). The Tern (and Dahon?) has this thing in the front of the frame where you can fit a truss with Klickfix adapter that could be used to connect to a front basket/bag without affecting the steering of the bike. The Downtube bikes look like they have it too.

The Muddyfox would have to be fitted with a handle-based basket and I'd rather not do that.

But in one of the pictures on Viking on Amazon that you linked to has this piece that is mounted on the handlebar mount which looks like it could work, I don't know if the basket also turns when the steering is turned though.


To be honest I have been considering replacing my Tern frame instead of buying another one because of this. But just a few minutes ago I read on another thread on this same forum about a Tern rider who was sent to medical care for a head injury due to a broken Tern frame even though he was wearing a helmet!

fietsbob

Viewing the picture, it is obvious to me, it does..
LBS Sells those type of baskets , the front strut is just longer because most people have bigger wheel bikes..




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masch

Ahh yes you're right. It has those struts that connect to the front wheel so obviously it turns with the steering. Oh well.

badmother

take some time to investigate on luggage. There are the Clickfix Caddy that you can atatch low down on the stem. With a small front rack to support under the Clickfix bag you can carry quite a lot.

Also if you buy a steel bike you can do what I did to two older steel bikes, fabricate the small metal piece you want added in the front (I copyed the one found on a Brompton instead of the one for Dahon/Tern) and have a lokal welder weld it in place. There are pictures in my Flickr account to tell you what to do. This would of course mess up the paint but if it is a simple glossy black fixing the paint on a cheap bike is not a big issue and also the luggage block would cower most of the area you need to repaint (unless the welder goes bananas). Brompton bags are not cheap but most peopel agree they are the best bags and also you can just buy a frame or two and add a bag you find locally or a basket, a square crate or sew your own.

Flickr pix:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/778361...57630486971388

https://www.flickr.com/photos/778361...57632944512320

One of the albums show a test where I atatch it to a short tube just to test it out before ataccing the bikes. First I made the small pieces with holes in the right place and threaded to take 5 mm bolts as is standard for the Brompton. Then I made sure I marked the exact center of the head tube from headset to headset. Then I decided where I wanted the thingy to be atatched. Drilled one hole first and atatched the piece with a 4mm bolt and a T nut to keep it in place. Then mark and drill the second hole and atatch again with 4mm bolt. Then take it to the welder. The 4mm bolts holds it in place during the welding process. Then remove the bolts and T nuts, clean up the welded area, paint and atatch luggage block. I have been thinking of doing this to my BF NWT this winter.

masch

Wow, that's awesome! Thanks for that info. I did not know you could do that.

How do I know if a bike has a steel frame? (for example, the bike I'm considering is either:
https://www.muddyfox.com/muddyfox-ev...ng-bike-938001
or
https://www.muddyfox.com/muddyfox-ev...ng-bike-938023)

It says "alloy frame" so I think it is not made of steel?

fietsbob

you want the head-tube mount for your basket mount, You probably want a Real Dahon or a Brompton.

I went back to your picture link and saw a head-badge where the mount would be, in the head on picture,

so your pick (for low price point) is not going to let that happen..





....

masch

THanks! I see what you mean. To be honest I don't really care about the badge.

But I am concerned about the warranty..

fietsbob

Brompton has an excellent service after the sale , They shipped me a new folding pedal , when I showed them a macro picture

where there were stress cracks around the bearing, and this was a bike I bought 2nd hand.

badmother

Hmm, Alloy sounds like NOT steel. To be sure you need to get close to the bike with a magnet, unless it is stainless steel or Ti.

Bonzo Banana

Both those Muddyfox bikes are aluminium and would be difficult to adapt. You would definitely be better off getting a bike with those mounting holes already drilled into the headtube as adding them yourself to a steel bike would invalidate the warranty. I've a feeling I have seen it on some relatively cheap folding bikes but not those. I'm no fan of Tern or Dahon bikes I see them as poor quality and very overpriced but I guess in the UK for folding bikes they are the only one's that feature that mounting. It may be worth checking other options though you may find it elsewhere on other models.

What other options are there, trying to make use of some pipe brackets or similar to create an adapter plate yourself. Something like below with a clamp going around the top of the downtube around the reinforcing by the headtube with perhaps some thick metal plate bent round with the necessary drilled holes. You could shape the metal to fit the contours of the tube and then clamp over using various soft material to protect the downtube. It might take a little while to do but nothing too difficult.

snoopy20

For those interested in this 200. SportsDirect had £40 cashback making it £180. Not bad considering the Nexus 7 goes for about £120!

The rear hub is where most the money goes, and the frame. Both are excellent. I suspect the frame is made by Dahon. There is no mount on the front because it's aluminium and would snap.

The bearings in the headstock will need immediate replacement (mine lasted one hour). Standard 5/32 size. Could swap out the whole thing (it's a £5 NECO unit).

The BB is a joke, it is supplied seized by design and should be immediately swapped. It's a standard 68mm square taper (though the supplied BB is some makeshift crap - truly inefficient). The crankset is workable but I found the 46T to be a little too high. It can't be swapped without replacing the arms. Better off saving a nice 500g with a replacement HT2.

The seat post is quite short (550mm). It has an insert so you can swap to a standard 33.6mm post and can save a further 300g here as the seat bracket is very heavy (cast steel).

Brakes are solid. Plenty of mild steel here so will rust eventually but ok. Levers are aluminium.

Wheels are 36 spoke and unless the rims are really thin then these should be bullet proof.

Mudguards are light weight, as is the rack, steering post and bars. All good here.

Pedals are poor, quite wobbly and bearings are also terrible.

The Nexus 7 was set up pretty well and is silky smooth. It's made in Japan which is where Shimano makes all it's high-end gear (XT, XTR etc) and I suspect it will last a while.

I've attached a picture of mine at the start of modifications.

Bonzo Banana

I don't know if it applies the same to that bike but some of the Dunlop/Muddy Fox folding bikes sold at Sports Direct were sourced through Avocet (should be stated on your manual) which do the Viking brand as well as many others. Typically the frames are manufactured in a high quality chinese facility like Fuji-ta and fully certified and then exported to a another country bare, typically Bangladesh, Vietnam etc where the end bike is assembled and exported which a) is cheaper assembly than China and b) means they can avoid European anti-dumping duty on the bike.

Assembly can be poor, missing grease and also frame paint can be easy to chip. Sounds like your example was particularly bad. My mother's Dunlop folding bike came very well assembled except for only a trace of grease. I'm not one to over-grease but the amount they put in was ridiculously light and missing in places.

That crankset really gives the bike a great overall look. My first thoughts were suggesting using a hair dryer to remove the 'Muddy Fox' stickers but then I thought their brand reputation would probably help be a deterrent to thieves. Looks a fantastic bike for a bargain price even with your upgrades.

tds101 

https://www.muddyfox.com/muddyfox-ev...lcode=93802330

snoopy20

The manual I had has generic like a "get started in cycling". Useless and I threw it.

Can't argue for the price and even with £100-200 of upgrades it's still better speced than a circa £1k bike.

I've since re-laced a SON on the front and can confirm the front hub was over-tightened which would have destroyed those bearings. It was OK once adjusted. Spokes are stainless, nipples are brass and the rim is 2mm thick so solid.

The logos appear to have been lazered or applied pre-gloss. Unable to remove.

Bonzo Banana

Your selling that bike quite well on the quality of the components but not the assembly, sounds terrible. Sports Direct are not the sort of retailer to provide any sort of backup/assistance so anyone not familiar with cycle maintenance is pretty much scr***d. However it may not represent the majority of bikes. I think it is a bit typical of Avocet bikes though. If you check the reviews on amazon for avocet viking folding bikes the reviews are quite low and much of the criticism does seem to be poor assembly. If I had the spare money and didn't have too many bikes already I'd buy one though.

Shame you chucked the manual I was going to ask what was the maximum rider weight.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Folding-Bik...2Cp_4%3AViking

snoopy20

My reply has disappeared...

Total weight limit according to frame is 105kg. Front forks are steel so a little rack on that and another 10kg should be doable.

Still upgrading mine, have since found the rear tyre was installed backwards (though they are rubbish and I've since chucked them). The handlebar is made of heavy gauge alloy and weighs about 450g. Easy to save 250g here.

She's much faster now, almost as good as my 700c hybrid.

Bonzo Banana

If you get time perhaps a final build image and maybe final cost.

I suspect for many most of the components would be acceptable, tyres, handlebars etc. For those who just want to ride as is probably a service and grease would be sufficient. Does seem very poor assembly and the lower frame weight limit makes me think it may not be avocet. Perhaps Sports Direct's own universal cycles have sourced these. The quality of assembly of my mother's bike was actually very good except for the too minimal grease and that bike had at least 10 or 15kg more rider weight capacity as per Avocet's normal weight limits for folding bikes. I'd still buy the Evo though, incredible amount of bike for the money. Cannot be recommended for people who can't service and assemble bikes themselves though.

snoopy20

Shall do. I'm closing in on 10kg now, it's nice and light. When the new seat post arrives I think I'll hit it.

The front hub alone (SON) cost more than the original bike. The bike does need money spent on it.

Other things that have come to my attention;

1. during an easy days ride in the wet the brake blocks halved in meat. They dissolve in water!
2. the tubes will only hold pressure for a few days and will quickly go to 20psi. The valves in them don't work with most pumps (set down too low, cheap ****).
3. paint easily flakes off, looks like they haven't bothered with primer.

I love the Shimano hub, the shifting is instant and is much more refined than a derailleur. I do feel an efficiency drop in 4/5th.

Bike is great off-road! Feels like a BMX, point and it goes. I've installed trekking bars, a long stem (requires the original to be hacksawed off) and got rid of the gripshift. She's starting to look like a tourer, I'll post some pictures at some point.

snoopy20

Brakes have been replaced with XT parallel-push. They squeal quite a bit but they don't jam against the rim like the crap ones that came with it. Also the front will throw me over if I'm not careful.

I added a cheap Chinese front rack. It's the right size but build quality is crap and I'll beef up.

Weight is now 12kg,a bit more than the 10kg I was aiming for but the new brakes and stem add a bit. The pump is 300g.