930trekker

Q1: Have you been on any other folding bikes since getting the Liberte? Just wondering if it's a pretty similar experience across various brands.
Q2: Do you think it's a little more tiring/tedious on long rides than a conventional recreational bike?

I bought a Zizzo Campo about a year ago from Bed, Bath & Beyond with a 20% off coupon, ~$265. I'm anticipating doing a lot of travel camping in the future and liked the idea that I could transport it easily inside a vehicle/van/RV. Last year I mostly did flat trail rides; it runs good, no issues. If I'm nitpicking, it's hard to see the gear number on the shifter while riding. I will say that with the smaller 20" wheels and long handlebar stem the handling is somewhat twitchier than a conventional bike and a little less comfortable on long rides. Nor is it quite as suited to grade climbing, especially if you try to do the stand-pedaling method. Those are the trade-offs for me.

Just recently I was having "vehicle issues" and rode it to work (just a couple miles) about half a dozen times. The only issue I had was that I live at the bottom of a small ravine and was not able to ride all the way up the hill. I used to be resistant to the idea of an electrified bike so now I'm over that(!) and figured on getting one at some point. Then come to find out just yesterday via email from Zizzo that they are getting close to releasing e-bike conversion kits designed especially for their Zizzo bikes so I will await further details / pricing and may go that route.

john m flores 

A1
I bought a used Bike Friday Pocket Rocket earlier this year. It's a completely different experience than the Zizzo Liberté. The Bike Friday feels like a regular steel road bike. The Liberté is more of a city bike for short trips.




I have added racks and a bucket pannier to mine for trips to the supermarket and such. It's my most-used bicycle.




A2
I've taken some pretty long day trips on the Liberté; about 27 miles in Washington and about 25 miles in New York City. It's doable but you will work a bit harder than you would on a folding bike like a Bike Friday Pocket Rocket or a regular bike. But considering its price and utility, you have to ask if longer trips will be the norm or the exception. For short, in-town trips under 5 miles, the Liberté is great.

A3
The Zizzo is great for camping. We did just that recently, taking both the Libeté and Bike Friday on a camping trip. Both rolled easily in the back of a Honda Element. Once we got the campsite, we used the bikes for all of our errands to town, to dinner, and even for hauling firewood.

I got the Zizzo email too about the electric accessory. That may be perfect for your needs.

I hope this helped.

tubesocksFred

The steep head tube angle and small wheel causes the "trail" to be real short, thus causing the front wheel to easily steer away from the forward direction. It makes it hard to ride with no hands (I eventually got the hang of it, but you have to constantly be at the center of gravity, as each pedal stroke will cause a slight weight shift and make the bike want to veer off course). It is also a bit tiring, as one always have to have 2 hands on the handlebar. If I am to remove one hand, either to drink water or adjust something, the other hand has to stiffen up, neither pushing or pulling the handlebar, but keeping it at the current position.

As for climbing off the saddle, there seem to be an angle one rocks the bike where it feels like it to want to tip over to the side, something that I don't feel on a full sized bike. I do use clip on pedals though, so maybe I am rocking the bike more than if I am not using them.

My commute to work is around 20 miles each way on the bike and I did it a few times on my Zizzo Liberte. I then commuted on my road bike and found out my speed is roughly 2mph faster than the Zizzo, so I eventually did all my commuting with my road bike, unless I have to take the bike on the mass transit, which sometimes is part of my commute.