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Sub-$500 24"-26" Folding Bike recommendations?

Old 08-29-18, 08:26 AM
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mkygod
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Sub-$500 24"-26" Folding Bike recommendations?

A couple I've found in this price range are:
EuroMini Swiss Alps
Citizen Gotham 24-7

Are there any other brands/models that would fit my criteria?
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Old 08-30-18, 06:16 AM
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Check out craigslist for used Montague's. They come up all the time where I live, usually for around $300.
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Old 08-30-18, 06:20 AM
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Montague Paratrooper

Downtube Dyan 24". Exists in prototype form right now. May be introduced in 2019. There's a previous thread on it.
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Old 08-30-18, 08:51 AM
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Originally Posted by Musket104
Montague Paratrooper

Downtube Dyan 24". Exists in prototype form right now. May be introduced in 2019. There's a previous thread on it.
And, in case you didn't see the OP's first post, a requirement is UNDER (aka "sub") $500. The Dyan will be MAYBE $550. I'm interested in it as well. I thought a smaller wheeled bike would suffice,...but the Dyan is my next purchase.
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Old 08-30-18, 08:56 AM
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Originally Posted by tds101
And, in case you didn't see the OP's first post, a requirement is UNDER (aka "sub") $500. The Dyan will be MAYBE $550. I'm interested in it as well. I thought a smaller wheeled bike would suffice,...but the Dyan is my next purchase.
$550 is close enough. That Dyan does look pretty sweet. I don't know if I can wait till 2019 though unfortunately.

I'm looking to buy new, so I think a a Montague would be out of the question for me.
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Old 08-30-18, 09:14 AM
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Originally Posted by mkygod
$550 is close enough. That Dyan does look pretty sweet. I don't know if I can wait till 2019 though unfortunately.

I'm looking to buy new, so I think a a Montague would be out of the question for me.
I honestly think the wait will be worth it,...the bike will be fantastic IMO.

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Old 08-30-18, 09:25 AM
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Originally Posted by tds101
I honestly think the wait will be worth it,...the bike will be fantastic IMO.
Yeah I know. I want one. The site says "We expect the Dyan to retail for around $550 in 2018." Where did you see it say coming in 2019?

If its in 2018, i can definitely wait.
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Old 08-30-18, 09:31 AM
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Originally Posted by mkygod
Yeah I know. I want one. The site says "We expect the Dyan to retail for around $550 in 2018." Where did you see it say coming in 2019?

If its in 2018, i can definitely wait.
In the Dyan thread: https://www.bikeforums.net/folding-b...8-release.html
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Old 08-30-18, 01:48 PM
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I've researched all of the above and personally would go for the EuroMini Swiss Alps. It has an attractive price, front suspension, and disc brakes. Not sure where you live but if you are close to their headquarters in the Bay Area CA, they can let you test ride one.

(BTW I'll not affiliated with any of the above companies.) We are probably next buying a Tern because my SO is a brand snob. 😅
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Old 08-31-18, 06:55 AM
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Originally Posted by minbikemaxfun
I've researched all of the above and personally would go for the EuroMini Swiss Alps. It has an attractive price, front suspension, and disc brakes. Not sure where you live but if you are close to their headquarters in the Bay Area CA, they can let you test ride one.

(BTW I'll not affiliated with any of the above companies.) We are probably next buying a Tern because my SO is a brand snob. 😅
Speaking of Tern, i looked at their website and found a 26" bike from them called the Joe C21, which is right at $500. Any thoughts on this one?
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Old 08-31-18, 10:12 AM
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Originally Posted by mkygod
Speaking of Tern, i looked at their website and found a 26" bike from them called the Joe C21, which is right at $500. Any thoughts on this one?
I've actually seen the Tern Joe in person at a nearby bike shop! It's a nice bike. If I were in the market, I'd probably choose between the Tern and the Euromini. It really depends on your needs.

With a bigger company, the bike will cost more and you will get lower end components. You are paying for the overhead of their staff, corporate headquarters, middlemen/distributors, etc.

However, the big advantage of buying a Tern/Dahon from your local big name bike shop is that you can always return it or get support if necessary. I live near REI, and they have a 1 year satisfaction guarantee. If anything goes wrong with the Tern, I'd just bring it back and return it. Super hassle free. Unfortunately REI doesn't carry the Joe models.

The advantage with the smaller online-only bike companies is price, and you might get higher end components. For example, the Euromini has disc brakes, front suspension, and fatter tires (maybe more comfortable ride). The *possible* disadvantage is that it might be harder to get customer support if anything goes wrong with your bike.

The best way to research this is to chat with owners of these brands, and ask if they've ever had any issues with customer support.

I personally think we in this forum overreact to the Tern recalls. For example, Honda recalled 900K Odysseys due to a possible seat installation issue. This is what big companies do. When an issue arises (e.g., a failed bike hinge due to someone hitting a pothole too hard) the big company will err towards safety and recall many units (taking a monetary loss). That's why you pay more for big name brands.

Do you think Euromini, Citizen, Montague, etc would ever issue a large recall? If there was a failure, they'd just try to appease that one customer, and probably cross their fingers that it doesn't happen to other customers.

One possible way to mitigate risk is seeing if any of these smaller brands are available on Amazon. Even though it's sold through their 3rd party marketplace, Amazon has a A-to-Z guarantee. If you can't work it out with the merchant, Amazon will make it right (usually this means a full refund to you). To them, the customer is always right.

Let me know if you want any more opinions! I'm still learning. If my garage was bigger I'd buy more folding bikes. ;-)
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Old 08-31-18, 10:27 AM
  #12  
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Originally Posted by minbikemaxfun
I've actually seen the Tern Joe in person at a nearby bike shop! It's a nice bike. If I were in the market, I'd probably choose between the Tern and the Euromini. It really depends on your needs.

With a bigger company, the bike will cost more and you will get lower end components. You are paying for the overhead of their staff, corporate headquarters, middlemen/distributors, etc.

However, the big advantage of buying a Tern/Dahon from your local big name bike shop is that you can always return it or get support if necessary. I live near REI, and they have a 1 year satisfaction guarantee. If anything goes wrong with the Tern, I'd just bring it back and return it. Super hassle free. Unfortunately REI doesn't carry the Joe models.

The advantage with the smaller online-only bike companies is price, and you might get higher end components. For example, the Euromini has disc brakes, front suspension, and fatter tires (maybe more comfortable ride). The *possible* disadvantage is that it might be harder to get customer support if anything goes wrong with your bike.

The best way to research this is to chat with owners of these brands, and ask if they've ever had any issues with customer support.

I personally think we in this forum overreact to the Tern recalls. For example, Honda recalled 900K Odysseys due to a possible seat installation issue. This is what big companies do. When an issue arises (e.g., a failed bike hinge due to someone hitting a pothole too hard) the big company will err towards safety and recall many units (taking a monetary loss). That's why you pay more for big name brands.

Do you think Euromini, Citizen, Montague, etc would ever issue a large recall? If there was a failure, they'd just try to appease that one customer, and probably cross their fingers that it doesn't happen to other customers.

One possible way to mitigate risk is seeing if any of these smaller brands are available on Amazon. Even though it's sold through their 3rd party marketplace, Amazon has a A-to-Z guarantee. If you can't work it out with the merchant, Amazon will make it right (usually this means a full refund to you). To them, the customer is always right.

Let me know if you want any more opinions! I'm still learning. If my garage was bigger I'd buy more folding bikes. ;-)
Yeah, actually what do you think of the 451mm size wheels? It seems like an oddball size, but looks like a nice medium. Only thing i worry about is lack of tires available in that size.

I notice there was one company did sell a lot of bikes that fit my criteria, Allen Sports, but it seems like they no longer manufacture bikes; only bike racks and accessories. that's too bad.
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Old 08-31-18, 12:07 PM
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Which bikes have 451? I thought only the Tern Verge has them. If only someone would gift me a Tern Verge..... :-D
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Old 08-31-18, 04:46 PM
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Originally Posted by minbikemaxfun
Which bikes have 451? I thought only the Tern Verge has them. If only someone would gift me a Tern Verge..... :-D
Dahon, Pacific Cycles, Bike Friday all make bikes with 451 wheels. Litepro and FnHon both sell dual 406/451 framesets. Here is my Dahon 451er.


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Old 08-31-18, 08:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Abu Mahendra
Dahon, Pacific Reach, Bike Friday all make bikes with 451 wheels. Litepro and FnHon both sell dual 406/451 framesets. Here is my Dahon 451er.
Nice collection of bikes, Abu! 😁

Yeah I was confused because we were talking about Euromini, Citizen, and Montague bikes. I didn't think those brands had 451 wheels yet. But definitely I think 451 is an interesting medium. Maybe Abu can let us know how it compares to other nearby sizes?
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Old 08-31-18, 08:53 PM
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Originally Posted by minbikemaxfun
Nice collection of bikes, Abu! 😁

Yeah I was confused because we were talking about Euromini, Citizen, and Montague bikes. I didn't think those brands had 451 wheels yet. But definitely I think 451 is an interesting medium. Maybe Abu can let us know how it compares to other nearby sizes?
My impression is that 451 wheels roll faster, and maintain more momentum than smaller wheels. Conversely, they are not as quick to spin to velocity from a stand-still as smaller wheels.

The main usage issue with 451 is the paucity of tires, and of tires wider than 37mm. Narrow tires are somewhat offset by the steeper attack angle of the bigger 451 wheel. For rougher terrain, however, I would still chose 406 wheels because of the much greater availability of wide, plump tires.

Finally, another limitation witn 451 is that the majority of frames for 451 tires use caliper brakes which can take only so wide a tire. Even if there were wide 451 tires, one could not use them due to the size limitations of caliper brakes. Future growth of 451 segment lies in disk brakes. If Tern and others are serious abou 451, they need to move away from the thinking that 451 is exclisively a narrow, high pressure tire segment, and push for wider tires (and disk brake frames) in 451 size so as to make it a varied segment, much like 406.

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Old 09-01-18, 06:18 AM
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Originally Posted by minbikemaxfun
I've researched all of the above and personally would go for the EuroMini Swiss Alps. It has an attractive price, front suspension, and disc brakes. Not sure where you live but if you are close to their headquarters in the Bay Area CA, they can let you test ride one.
As an European I would be a bit in doubt about a company that calls itself "EuroMini" though it is from California and sells a bike called "Swiss Alps" that probably has never seen those (and as far as I know is not even sold in Europe at all). And I would personally not expect a "full sized Mountain Bike" for 399$ to be of good quality. But if the bike has to be below the 500$ mark there is probably not too much choice. I'd follow the hint to a used montague.
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Old 09-01-18, 06:46 AM
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Originally Posted by berlinonaut
As an European I would be a bit in doubt about a company that calls itself "EuroMini" though it is from California and sells a bike called "Swiss Alps" that probably has never seen those (and as far as I know is not even sold in Europe at all). And I would personally not expect a "full sized Mountain Bike" for 399$ to be of good quality. But if the bike has to be below the 500$ mark there is probably not too much choice. I'd follow the hint to a used montague.
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Old 09-01-18, 06:17 PM
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Personally, as the owner of a Tern Joe P24, I'd go with a Tern Joe C21. For around $500 it's a fantastic bike.

My Tern Joe P24 is my best folding bike. The best part is that the Tern Joe's are easily upgraded with standard parts,...wonderful bikes! The EuroMini Swiss Alps & Citizen Gotham 24-7 are definitely budget 26" folders. You can do a tour on a Tern Joe. It's a rugged bike line (I'm 230lbs,...).
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Old 09-05-18, 11:26 PM
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Citizen Bikes

I own 6 of these citizen bikes. My wife and I and 4 kids lived in a motorcoach for 4 years traveling the country. We needed bikes small enough to store in one of the bays and our budget was limited. We have 4 Miami's, 1 Tokyo and a Gotham.

These are budget bikes. The bottom bracket is small and the crankset is fairly generic although 170mm. The shifters and deraileurs are shimano and can be replaced with off the shelf parts that are fairly easy to find. The brakes on all of ours are simple generic no name cantilevers. All the bikes are easy to fix and work on. Rims are decent and spokes are cheap albeit many. Hubs are lacking but they work. Probably need a repack after 600-800 miles and wouldnt hurt to replace the bearings whike you are in there.

This week we went to Vancouver with our oldest daughter. All three of us and 3 citizen bikes with luggage fit into the back of the car (CX9) without a bike rack. We got here and unloaded the luggage and the bikes into the hotel room. We went for a 17 mile ride around Vancouver Harbour without issue. Not the most comfortable bikes for a 20 mile ride but Im not sore or anything as I type this. We locked them up a few times for a couple hours at a time and never worried about someome stealing them

We have owned these for about 5 years now. They will last. They have taken a beating and have been in rain, snow, mud, asphalt, rock, mountains... etc. A couple minor parts rust (such as the 90 degree elbow that feeds that cable into the brakes) but overall its nothing major. After 5 years they still look good and operate well and for 200$ they are decent folding bikes. If you are putting more than 10-15 miles a day on them you may want to look for a lighter, better fitting frame. But if you need something you can ride down to the train, throw in the back of a car, needs to be stowed away and not have to worry about it getting dinged up or locking it to a bike rack while you are at work for 8 hours these really are great bikes for the price.

-Sean
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