Asking for a first hand experience about Ecosmo bikes

[Spaceball1]

Good afternoon fellow bicyclists,

After moving to London and reading the TFL rules about bicycles, folding bikes seemed a much better alternative. Browsing the internet for budget-friendly ones, I came across this brand. I'm planning to get the 20inch model for my girlfriend and the 26inch "mountain bike" one for myself.

For the longer part of my life I have been riding a 26" hard tail, both cross country/moderate downhill and around the city. For this price point I don't expect top-notch quality, but I think for occasional use it should be fine. After doing my homework and reading all I can find about this brand, I saw that the majority of the reviews were quite outdated, so can anyone share their experiences with them now?

My plans are to ride them stock initially, but as time goes and the pandemic rolls over, I really don't mind upgrading some parts here and there. My main concern about both of the bikes is the folding mechanisms: how do they hold up and are the welds any good? All the other parts can be replaced/upgraded, but when your frame refuses to stay in one piece there isn't much you can do about it .

Please bear in mind that we'll only ride them around the city and parks, without pushing any limits (after my last "experience" on a rocky track I'm done with off-roading for the moment ).
Here are the links for the bikes in question:

https://ecosmobike.com/shop/folding-bikes/ecosmo-20-wheel-folding-city-bicycle-white/

https://ecosmobike.com/shop/folding-mountain-bikes/ecosmo-26-wheel-folding-mountain-bike-white/

Best regards,

 

[Oldhippy]

Living in London why not use non folders? You can get anywhere quickly once you know shortcuts and longer range cycle friendly roads and byways. Completely negates the need for tube and bus travel.

 

[T4tomo]

the mountain bike version looks dreadful and weighs 18kgs. its cheap, I'll grant you that. You wont be able to lug them up and down the stairs to get on public transport

you'd be far better off with two of Halfords cheapest apollo or indi hybrids

 

[Spaceball1]

Living in London why not use non folders? You can get anywhere quickly once you know shortcuts and longer range cycle friendly roads and byways. Completely negates the need for tube and bus travel.

Thanks for the advice Oldhippy,

Yes, that would be my desirable option, but there are several obstructions like storage, transportation and a couple of more, that made me dive in the world of folding bikes.

 

[Spaceball1]

the mountain bike version looks dreadful and weighs 18kgs. its cheap, I'll grant you that

You are quite right about the weight and yes, it's not the most appealing of bikes out there. Do you have experience with their other models?

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

the mountain bike version looks dreadful and weighs 18kgs. its cheap, I'll grant you that. You wont be able to lug them up and down the stairs to get on public transport
you'd be far better off with two of Halfords cheapest apollo or indi hybrids

Or a £100 Challenge Conquest 26" rigid from Argos, just put the forks round the right way; a lot of people who buy these ride around with them pointing arse-about-face. Looks hilarious, but I doubt it does much for the steering geometry or general stability.

Plenty of Londoners don't ride folders, me included. The ones with full size wheels totally defeat the point of having a folder in the first place. Forget about anything folding with bigger than 20" wheels.

 

[Brooks]

If you look on the TFL site you'll see that there is plenty of options to bring your bike on the trains off peak. You can on national rail trains and the overground and also the DLR.
But if you check out the Quietway network of cycle routes you will be surprised how good they are.

 

[T4tomo]

You are quite right about the weight and yes, it's not the most appealing of bikes out there. Do you have experience with their other models?

No I just clicked the link you shared, and then had to scrub my eyes with washing up liquid

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

if you insist on a budget folder, go and get a B'Twin one from Decathlon. it won't be fancy, but it won't be junk either and Decathlon have decent warranties.
The folding 26" MTB in the link is a pure BSO, simple as that. Heavy, low quality, built to superficially appeal but will be a horrible ride and mechanically troublesome. My 30 year old Apollo out of a skip is a far better bike than that folding full-sus monstrosity. Avoid.

 

[Oldhippy]

Would a non folder be ok if you could hang up on wall hooks for floor space perhaps?

 

[Spaceball1]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. For the moment, I'll continue searching for new/used ones at this price point.