Is the Ecosmo 20" Lightweight 7-Speed Folder (12kg) worth buying?

[Riverman]

So I have the v-brake version of this, one of five different folding bikes I own. I think for the money it's not a bad folding bike as such but is let down by a number of things. For one the gear ratio is a bit off. I find the higher gear too low but is maybe a good option for beginners.
This is definitely not a folding bike for tall people as the seat post is a bit short. It really should be a bit longer but it's not the worst I've seen.
The grips are a bit crap too and will probably give you blisters if you ride it a lot and don't use gloves.

On the plus side it came with a very good bell lol. It's pretty light too but maybe some of that comes down to the short seat post.
Oh and I don't think the pannier rack is as strong as the one on my Bickerton, so be careful not to overload it. I don't think the disc-brake version comes with foldable pedals but the foldable ones on the v-brake version are pretty good. Lastly the Kenda tyres are a bit crap but you can run them at up to 85 PSI (risky) which I must say I was quite surprised by. That said I do think this is one of the things you should think about upgrading, along with the seat post. I would have thought a longer seat post would put less stress on the frame, the thought of that thing snapping doesn't even bear thinking about but you'd probably see it coming.

 

[Riverman]

Calling the pedals pretty good was being quite generous. I mean they're cheap pedals but they do the job. They're probably another thing worth replacing lol.

 

[Riverman]

I'm sick today, I'm holed up in bed with a fever but I thought I'd provide an update. The pedals are awful and are on the verge of failure.
Fortunately I managed to pick up a set of Wellgo F265s on AliExpress for about £9 delivered which frankly I was shocked by. They're absolutely solid looking in comparison.

I must stress that admittedly this Ecosmo was bought second hand but it was mint condition, so I can't say for certain that it's purely down to build quality that the pedals are failing so quickly.

Also, whilst you can ride pretty fast using those tyres, they're a bit of a false economy. I have ridden about 400 ish miles on it but have already had two punctures and can't quite work out why. The second one happened within about 100 miles of installing a new tube.
Lastly, compared to my Bickerton Junction, the Ecosmo frame tubing feels like a tin can, as in not particularly thick tubes which I guess accounts for why the bike is so light. It's lighter than my Bickerton for sure and is much easier to get into the Halfords stow bag.

This is partly why I am not sure whether I want to replace the short seat post, you'd think the long post will place less strain on the frame but I don't like the idea of adding so much mass to it as I suspect a longer seat post will also be thicker. What is the likelihood the frame might crack? I really need to lose weight as I'm about about 88kg having piled on the pounds recently.

Oh and I also managed to shear one of the pannier rack bolts off.

 

[biggs682]

@Riverman I have an Intercity 8 and have just replaced the original Kenda's with a set of Marathons and running them at 50 psi .

So it might be worth swapping tyres .

If you can find a longer post and if it's alloy it might even be lighter.