Old Ideas Become new Again.

One of the last notes on this blog before starting something new. In the mid 1990's I was looking up the history of the bicycle design. One of the designs I noted was a bike designed in 1919 by Charles Haskell Clark and patented in 1921. Although the bike used a solid fixed frame and a shorter wheel base then the new age A-bike, it shared the same base design used in the newer folding A-bike has cashed in on. A bike that can be carried on to public transist without any problems.

It is great to see old ideas be reborn into new product designs to be used by the public.

2012 Bike Design Up-date.

The bike has been reduced in use since the last post but it is still alive a kicking! The overall design is still holding up with a a few signs wear. I still like the design and feel that with copy version of the bike is useable with a bit of TLC. Some small cracks have started on the front lower tube section on the upper areas by the frame locking sections. So far no problems has come from it but I will take a look at it early next year. I hope the people reading it this blog have a good idea how this bike design is holding up.

This is small crack starting on th front steering tube section.

Year mark since ordering the bike!

On this date late year, I ordered posted the drawing of "my" home built A-bike design on this site.The A-bicycle copy from the hobby shop in B.C. was ordered on Oct. 20, 2009. As noted in past blogs, I really like the bike. I has about 473 km on it now. I did some riding on it before the computer was put on so I figure I have about 500km on the bike. That was about the target range I had in mind when I got it on Nov. 3, 2009. It is a too bad this bike is not really promoted more since some of the people I have seen like the idea it uses.

Other then some passing notes starting next year about things happening to the bike as far a future wear and tear, this blog will go quiet. I hope that anyone looking at this web page will get some idea of how the bike is in terms of quality and long term use.

One Year mark coming on Oct. 20th.

I has been almost one year since I ordered the bike from the hobby shop in B.C. The bike has been working better then expected. In the time I have had it, it has come in handy for rides where I had use as my way home while my girlfriend had to go to work. We where on trips out of town and she had no time to drop me off at the apartment. The bike was the only way to get home. At times it was nice to get out on slower paced ride offered on my other bikes. I have listing of the things I both like and dislike on the design of the bike.

Likes

- Light weight frame, it makes it easy to carry around when not being ridden.
- Comfortable set-up, once the original factory seat was replaced.
- Good speed given the lower gear ratio.
- Easy to work on, I have taken it apart to fix a few things and I wanted to see how it worked!
- Overall it has held up to regular useage.*

Dislikes

- Low quality parts used that wore out too fast, namely, the pedals.
- Improper fit of some frame parts, example being the misaligned handlebar to front wheel assembly.
- Poor rear frame lock assembly. This needs to be looked at. This affects the opening of the bike.
- The rear bottom frame section. When the rear frame lock becomes loose, it comes out from the bottom frame section allowing over time develop a metal tear to start*. A hose clamp fixed this but this should not be happening. This not restricted to the copy version of the bike. The original versions have problem as well.
- Total lack of support for the product. There is no parts list or 1-800 help number to support any problems that can happen over time.

So even with these problems I enjoy using the bike. Having moved from a house into a apartment makes the folding design even stronger. It takes up a less space with a ful sized bike. Once you get used to the feel of the bike, it is very rideable, unlike some reviewers comments on it. It is a different feel to the ride due to the smaller wheels. I was disappointed to find it had the solid wheels but I have gotten used to them and for the most part, there are working out well.

The bike has now been ridden 450 km since last fall and feels as solid as the day I bought it. I was logging the rides of this bike along with my other rides and found out that it has been used 26 percent of the 2010 riding season. The average speed for this year on the A-cycle is 12.614 kph. The cruising speed is around 17 to 19 kph. Not too bad for a little wheeled bike. The gearing on the bike works well most of the time. I noted a bit on chain slip in the drive train. I think that the fine pitched 1/4 inch chain is sensitive the pressures of the riders pedaling. It happens on small hills ans when you start the bike from a dead stop when the pressure on the system is the greatest. Small adjustments on the rear wheel tensioners helps out to some degree.

I would recommend this bike for people doing short distance rides and fit the specs set buy the designers. Sadly, the biggest problem the bike has is the weight limit. Set at 185 lbs, many North American are too heavy for the bike. It is too bad that this design is not too well know because the people that I talked to really like the design. Buying it is a challenge since you have to hunt down places that will carry it.

Although I own this copy, I would recommend that you look into buying the original version that is supported by a warrenty. You get the on-line store to get replacement parts if needed. You are supporting the people that designed the bike in the first place. The biggest problem I see with the original is the price. It is about $500.00 to buy. Since there is not too much to the bike in terms of weight or size, many may look at alteratives but the quality models do cost you. You have to decide the model that will suit your budget. I was tight for money so buying a copy version was the best type for me. So far it has been holding up.

*- note1

Repaired frame section

Today, I bought a hose clamp to tighten up the damaged rear frame tube section. It works great! I test rode the bike from the apartment down to the downtown core and back, a 8 km ride. The bike felt very solid. A average speed of 14 kph was reached. I now trust the bike again. This was reached on areas that are a little hilly in areas. The designers of the bike really need to do their homework in thr design of this rear section of the frame. I figured out that I have had about 32 hours of riding time on the bike when this happened. This should not be happening! Anyways, I feel the bike lives up to it being a fine short range machine. I have gone as far as 9 km (5.5 miles) it with no problems other then the slow pace it provides.

Minor repair/ Frame damage

With 380 km on the bike, a number of items have come to my attention.

The first was very minor problem dealing with the bell. Ever since the bike was new, the bell was always loose. It made hearing other possible problems on the frame difficult to detect. Up until now, I never really did anything about it. The noise began to bother me so I removed bell by unscrewing it from the brake lever and tried to retighten the fastner but due to the plastic part on the bell, it would not get it nice and tight. I bought some 5 minute epoxy and glued the bell in place. It is on tight now and I feel better at this.

The other item that has come up is more serious but fixable. I read on the A-bike forum about the rear seat tube getting damaged due to it tearing at the cut sections with the rear seat lock coming off the frame. The weight of the rider will with time put stress on this area and at some point the metal will tear as has happened to mine. I found out about it while out on a store run. I asked to store owner for a hammer get the frame section hammered back into a place where I could get the rear seat locking assembly back on to the bike. I had to remove the locking lach and just place to metal pin in place to lock up the frame to get the bike home. I am going to get a hose clamp to tie around the frame section that is damaged. This should stop the frame from splitting any farther. This is a design weakness that has showed up the original A-bike as well. I feel that there are design problems like this that should be better thought out. I have had a problem with this frame design system from day one and would like to see big improvements in areas like the frames locking points.

I am hoping that this bike will last for a while but with this frame tube crack, the future of this bike may not be as long as I was hoping for. Apart from these problems, I am enjoying the bike as much as the first day I got it. The frame was test ridden after getting the clamp arm put back on and the bike feels tight. The only noise coming from the bike is the sound of the solid wheels and the bikes responding back at the various points that can still make a bit of noise.

The next report will be written in Nov. on the first year of buying it on-line.

One Year mark on the A-bike

I am coming up on the one year mark for buying this A-bike type design vehicle. It is running very good. It is still feeling like new as far a the feel of the folding frame. The bike as a bit on the stiff side as far as folding it went. It has loosened a bit and folds down and opens better then new.

The tire wear is doing not too bad. The rear drive tire is taking the bulk of the wear. By October, I am hoping to have 400 km on the bike. This is a bit short of what I hoped for but the general bike condition is holding up good.

Other signs of use are showing in areas like the handle grips. Small wear points are starting to show in this area. Over the time I have have the bike, I have taken apart the drive train section and managed to misplace two on the nuts used to lock in the bolts used to hold the casing together. These have been replaced with some hardware store fastners.

The overview of the bike design is that it is a fine short range bike design. It is holding up well and once you get past the novel design, it fits into my normal riding time. It is a slow bike due to the low geatr ratio but it is nice to get in a slow ride every now and then. Anyone looking at buying this type of bike will have fun using it. I find the way it folds up very useful when travelling. I just wish that it was seen in more locations like stores to be seen so that the public can get a chance buy it there. I have not been disappointed by the bike! It is great!