8/24/2024
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Two decades ago, I was looking for a portable, folding bicycle. The main ones I found were the Bromptons from England. They were in the $900+ range, as were most other folding bicycles back then. I'd been riding those cheap all steel K-Mart Huffy mountain bikes for years and I was needing to take BART before they allowed bicycles at all hours. Those Huffy mountain bikes were $150 at the time, which was super cheap. They were heavy, but I got used to them and I could go quite fast when I was younger, beating most people on their much lighter weight touring or sport bikes. The Internet wasn't all that commercial yet, but one day, I found a folding bicycle online at a Dallas Walmart. It was $115 and I think shipping was either free or $10 or something quite cheap. It was far, far cheaper than any other folding bicycle out there and had "normal" 20" tires instead of the less standard and harder to find 16" or 10" tires. I could get replacements for a 20" tire more easily and quickly back then, since a lot of kids BMX bikes used the same standard 20" tires. It was the first and only thing I ever bought from an Walmart for at least a decade. This was a really cheap bicycle, both in price and quality. The folding pedals broke and I bought a replacement which also broke. I eventually just got regular pedals that didn't fold. The original brake pads were really, really soft and wore out quite quickly, so I went to a local bicycle store and bought replacement pads that were much harder and better for downhill stops. I replaced the front brake cable and caliper when that broke off. The rear spokes started breaking from my heavy riding and I replaced a couple of them. The wheel eventually warped a bit too much and I bought a new sturdier wheel with a new cassette. You can't pedal as fast as a normal bicycle since it's only got 20" wheels. I can still go downhill faster than others, since it's a bit heavier and I'm ok with faster speeds. The shorter wheel base means it's not as stable and doesn't stay as straight and steady if you want to ride with your hands in your pockets. The handle bars are also high up for a "comfort ride" position and not meant for a sport ride, even if you put it lower. It's also not quite ideal for really tall people. The total cost after 2 decades of use was around $300, since I only spent an additional $170+/- on parts. Overall, it was sturdier and better than the cheap sub $100 bicycles that started showing up from China in the 1990s. The steel on those were so soft that they just fail. I used it a lot and kept it tuned enough that it's still an ok bike for taking on public transit. It was tiny and great for commutes. If I lived closer to work or had better public transit, I'd still be using it now. I started using a much bigger electric G-Force T42 Ebike folding bike for the much longer commute, so I don't end up all sweaty and needing a shower when I arrive at work.
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