fietsbob

Chedech is light, * Brompton much more durable and offers a front bag mount..

USA made Bike Friday , the 349 wheel PakIt is a 3rd option...

* to carry stuff it would go on your back , using a back pack/messenger bag ..





..

1nterceptor

NY-NJ Pathtrain by 1nterceptor, on Flickr
Large pizza; tiny bike - challenge accepted by 1nterceptor, on Flickr

Going Green at the Grocery by 1nterceptor, on Flickr

pericleto

tcs

Curl. Word.

rcismyhobby

I've owned both Chedech and Brompton. Heres my humble comparison.

Comfort:
Chedech - slightly larger wheels and carbon frame is pure smoothness

Weight:
Chedech

Price to weight ratio:
Chedech

Size:
Brompton

Versatility:
Brompton

Parts support availability/Customization:
Brompton

Resale Value:
Brompton

It really depends on your explicit needs. Neither of them is inferior in all ways.

Cheers and happy riding.

pericleto

Dahon Curl?

pericleto

Really interesting comparative... I am now considering not only Brompton and Chedech but also Dahon Curl :-)

BromptonINrio

chedech have major drawnback of beem carbon frame and parts.
in real life with a folder it will get betten, mistreated and suffer from transportation inside other vehicles.
carbon is like an eggshell and even a small dent can lead a cathastrofic fail.

pericleto

It’s time to update this post to explain that I am nowadays a happy user of Chedech :-)

It was not easy to purchase it though. I got it via a friendly Spanish guy who is a contributor to Chedech as designer. This bike of mine is a Chedech Drogon, which I believe never went into the stores, so this is more like a prototype. And I got a good price for it, to be honest.

Of course, there are pros and cons with this bike, I will give you my insights here after. I will also try to link you to some pictures.

The bike is super light, 8,4 Kg. including a couple of Reelight ligths and a rear rack for panniers that I appended. As we all know, most of it is made of carbon, even the rims of the wheels. All in this bike is about lightness and speed, even the tyres, Schwalbe Kojak with no treads at all.

In a way, when I ride this bike I feel this is a toy, but this is no different from riding a Brompton, in my opinion (I have tested the B only occasionally). At the same time, you do not feel it might break easily or that it flexes a lot. Yes, it flexes a bit because this is carbon made, but the sense is of solidity. And the rear elastomer gives you extra comfort.

The internal hub gear is a Sturmey Archer 5v. This is a bit noisy and it does not really cover my needs (I come from a Tern Link P9, i.e. with 9 gears). When I received the bike and tried it for the first time, I had the feeling I could not use the full range of 5 speeds. Fortunately, I have found a mechanic which seems to have made a good work on it and now the full range is working as normal, even though he believes this hub could not ever work perfectly well due to the geometry of the frame, as the cable needs to have more span in the final part (he mentioned 5 inches needed at the last part as per the vendor requirements, which is not accomplished).

Anyway, in the near future I would try to replace this hub with a Shimano Alfine 8s. This would add some extra weight and it would be hard work as the whole wheel (spokes and all) should have to be rebuilt, but it would be worth the change I guess.

The folding is just amazing although I probably miss the safety catch Brompton added to avoid folding the rear wheel by just lifting the saddle. The hinges are quicker to close and release than those of the B, so Chedech is superior in this matter in my humble opinion.

The rear rack deserves a special comment. The Chedech comes with a rear mudguard but I chose to replace it by a rear rack (sadly, the two cannot coexist). I should remind you the reason why I did not purchase a Chedech initially several years ago (by the time I initiated this thread) was the lack of this rear rack. As soon as I discovered there was one available, I went for this bike.

I agree that, as previously discussed, this bike is not intended to be used as a cargo. Still, I believed I could use my Ortlieb panniers (officially the front panniers, smaller than the rear ones) just the way I used them with my nice old Tern. My weight is 70 Kg, let’s say I add up to 5-10 Kg in one or two panniers. This should be good, do you agree?

The problem is the geometry of the rear rack. This is too short so even if you place the panniers all the way back you cannot pedal normally as your heels hit the pannier. This is really annoying and there is more: by mounting this rack you get four small wheels for transportation when folded (which works like a charm on the other hand) but I also tend to hit the front two wheels with the inner part of my heels when pedalling (what I also experience when riding a Brompton, one of the reasons why I do not like B so much).

All in all, I’m happy with this beautiful bike and I hope I will eventually solve the problems with the gear hub (change to Alfine?) and with the rear rack (I will talk to Chedech guys for them to try to improve its design).

Ah, there are nice pictures of this particular bike in the Instagram of Chedech Europe:

Instagram

You could even find a picture of mine with my bike if you search carefully ;-)

Schwinnsta

pericleto, I am curious, how tall are you?

pericleto

Hi, Schwinnsta, I'm kind of short: 1,74 m.

Schwinnsta

One of my concerns with Asian designed and marketed bikes is whether they would be too small for me. I ride an H Brompton and a Large Swift.

Winfried

Too bad it can't take a frame-mounted bag.

Shot in Seville?

tcs

Common with 16" wheel and 20" wheel bikes - and not unheard of with big wheel bikes.

There is more than one way to skin a cat. Dunno what it is you want to tote, but stepping away from panniers, there are rack bags, trunk bags, saddlebags, handlebar bags, bike packing luggage and an entire range of bags, baskets and mounts from folks like KlickFix. Nearly all are available with some sort of quick attach/disconnect.

Jipe

Yes, common with several small wheel bikes.

But not all.

The folding rear rack of the Birdy allow to use big rear pannier without hitting them with the heels.

The same should be possible with the newly announced rear folding rack of the Vellobike and Vellobike+.

Both bike allow now to use a Brompton type front bag and rear pannier (and even low rider for the Birdy).

2_i 

Olaf Schultz, the same who wrote the monumental Thesis on bike lighting, described the construction of a folding rack for carrying panniers on Brompton, over here. The effort is beyond what a typical owner can undertake, but the direction is interesting.

Winfried

Great piece of work.

https://fahrradzukunft.de/31/grosse-...ltrad-brompton

Alternatively or additionally (!), a pair of panniers can be carried in the front:

• Kinetics' Brompton Pannier Rack
• DIY solution

Jipe

It is placed exactly as the folding rear rack of the Birdy = high so that it allows classic rear pannier, but doesn't fold automatically like the rack of the Birdy.

Winfried

Yes, and it's a nice DIY solution considering it's only used when travelling since it's for panniers (= it doesn't matter if it takes 20 seconds more than the Birdy.)

A company could turn it into an industrial product.

Jipe

Vello is making another type folding rear rack for the Vellobike that doesn't fold automatically but folds very fast and accept rear pannier.





Kinetics also developed a rear folding rack for Brompton but I think it remain a concept and was never commercialized.