Lalato

Hi Gang,
I've been lurking on these forums for the last couple of weeks trying to learn as much as I can about folders. All of that research finally paid off yesterday when I won an eBay auction for a used Giant Halfway. It'll be my first folding bike, and I'm super excited to get it so I can take it for a spin.

I plan on keeping it in my car for when I can get a quick ride. I drive 2.5 hours each week to Chicago and while I'm in the city it'll be nice to have a bike to get around with.

Now if I could just get the seller to send me an invoice so I could pay for the darn thing...

--sam

p.s. Did I already say I'm super excited!?!

CaptainSpalding

Congrats.

It's a great bike. Altogether under-appreciated, IMHO.

14R 

Congrats on your new acquisition. How much did you end up paying?

Lalato

The seller says it's 2 years old. The auction ended up going for $151 and the shipping and handling will be "between $40 and $70". I'm just waiting to hear exactly what the s&h charge is so I can go ahead and pay. Even if it's $70, I feel like I got a decent deal on it.

--sam

bookishboy

You got a great deal on it, IMO. I'm sure others on here would back me up. Although the wheels won't come off as easily as QR skewers would, you won't have to take them off as often. The mono-blade forks mean that you can change a flat tire without removing the wheel.

Congrats on your first purchase.

14R 

That was the original (and quite bright) idea. unfortunately, in practice, those that needed to fix a tire on a Giant Halfway (including myself) learned it is not quite that simple. On top of that, the ride is quite stiff and the brakes are poorly designed.

I don't think you can get anything better for the price you paid though. I sold mines for 500 (instead of 550 which is what I paid for it new) and 600-something ( on a rear suspension, hard to find model). If you offer me any of these bikes for free I would say no, but that doesn't mean yours will not meet (if not exceed) your expectations.

Let us know what you think about your bike. It's been a while since we get a review of a 1/2way.

jur

I was wondering when you would puncture the balloon...

Lalato: 14R is quite right, a particular bike may be right for one person and their case but a poor choice for another in their application. The Giants come with a good company reputation and assurance of general quality.

Let us know how you experience the bike, and if required we may be able to provide suggestions if you wanted to mod something, like tyres or whatever.

Northshore Man

Congratulations!!!!

I have used a Halfway for two plus years and like it quite a bit. It is very convenient for train-city commuting. If you want more speed have the rear free hub replaced with 11-28 gearing(it comes with a 13-28) and the bike will be a lot faster.

Lalato

Thanks for the offers to help out with upgrades and stuff. I truly appreciate it.

Since changing tires seems to be the most contentious issue here, have any of you taken photos of your tire changing process to show how you do it (whether that's removing brakes or fenders or whatever it is that you do)?

Thanks again...
--sam

p.s. The total price with shipping ended up $226. So basically half the price of a new one. Now I'm just waiting for the box to arrive.

kb5ql

If it doesn't have 16" tires... it's CRAP!!!!

14R 

Lalato,

I do not have pictures, but the times I had to fix my Halfway tires I had to remove fenders and brakes. An attempt to remove just one brake pad ended up taking longer than just removing the entire caliper. After that day I never placed the fenders back.

kb5ql,

16"tires are far from bein the optimum riding size.

However, I like to spend time riding my bikes, not playing the lego mechanic to make them fit inside luggage or spending 45 minutes to change a flat. For me, THAT IS crap.

Folderless for another month,

14R

Northshore Man

Lalato-
I have had no problem replacing ties by removing the brake pad on the non fork side. You got a great deal on a good practical folder that rides well. Congratulations!!!

Lalato

Wouldn't you know it... The bike arrived yesterday at my house, but I'm in Chicago right now and won't see it until tomorrow night. Gah!!! (but in a good way... LOL)

--sam

Lalato

Well, I made it home last night. The bike is in decent shape. It has the normal wear and tear you would expect on a two year old bike. However, there is one major problem with it. The folding latch mechanism doesn't seem to work properly.

Can any of you Giant Halfway owners give me an idea of how difficult it should be to lock and unlock the mechanism. My guess is there is something definitely wrong here. I know how latches like this are supposed to work and this one is definitely not working right. Lifting the lever doesn't seem to push the front latching part up on the spring at all. It just sits there no matter how much pressure I apply... almost like the spring is not connected properly.

I've contacted the seller, and he notes that some Giant Halfway owners have issues with the mechanism, but I seriously doubt anyone has issues like this. I spent a full two hours last night trying to figure it out. My brain is now officially fried. Ugh.

Beyond that, the bike looks awesome. Can't wait to get this issue figured out and start riding.
--sam

Northshore Man

The latch should work quite easily. Hook the front, then push in the rear.

David

Lalato

Figured out the problem. There is a nut that controls the tension on the spring. It was too tight to allow me to get the latch up and over the metal piece that juts out. Now that it's been loosened a little, all is well.

Took it for a test spin... and I like it.

Do any of you have close up shots of your rear rack and mudguards? I just want to compare and make sure everything is as it should be.

--sam

14R 

This is the only picture I could find of my Giant Halfways. I'm not really sure if they can help, but here it is: