The
Folding Society
Neobike Access and Vitesse D3
By Gunnar Carlson
First
published 12 July 2010
Contents
1. Background
2. First
blood
3. Second
thoughts
4. Exit
Neobike, Enter Vitesse
5. Conclusion
1.
Background
I live in Sweden. I quite enjoy cycling, for transport as well as for
recreation and excercise. I also travel a lot in my work. During
periods when I have travelled regularly to the same location and stayed
two or three days a week, I have transported a traditional full-sized
bike there. It has stayed there for some months, and I have used it to
and from work, for shopping or generally going about. However, the
transports from my home and back again have always been a bother, so
about three years ago I bought my first folding bike, a second-hand
Neobike Access. I bought it from a sailing yacht owner who had owned it
for three or four years, but not used it. He had sold the boat and did
not see that he would start using the bike.
2.
First blood
Neobike Access was a budget folding bike was equipped with 16-inch
wheels and a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed gear hub with a back-pedal brake.
The front brake was a side-pull brake of "classic" design, and not very
effective (Efffective side-pull brakes exist. They are quite light,
quite expensive, and suitable for racing. On a week-day bike you are
better off with centre-pull, cantilever or V-brakes.) The
seat post and the steering stem were both telescopic, allowing for
short as well as tall riders. The frame was steel. There was a low
luggage rack and a kickstand on the left side of the back wheel. The
rack accommodated only narrow luggage because of heel clearance. The
stand worked very well. The bike was well put together and reasonable
value for money - but heavy. The riding position was strictly
sit-up-and-beg, mostly because the distance between saddle and steering
bar was (too) short. I did not like this and never found a reasonably
comfortable riding position. Even if the riding position was not ideal,
it was however comfortable enough for me to use the bike regularly for
more than a year. The only technical problem I had was a flat font tyre.
The Neobike Access folded logically and reasonably fast. However,
usually I didn´t. It was so compact unfolded that I could
bring it inside as it was - and, the folding procedure was a bit of a
bother, after all. As it came with a nylon transport bag, there was no
problem taking it on a train. A careful decision however, because of
the weight (14 kilos plus).
3.
Second thoughts
At some point during my Neobike ownership I stumbled over foldsoc.co.uk.
Over the following weeks and months I returned regularly and enjoyed
browsing through the articles, especially the test reports. Also, I
have used foldsoc as a base from which to explore links to other
reading about foldables. I became somewhat acquainted with Dahon, Bike
Friday, Birdy, Brompton and others ...
4.
Exit Neobike, Enter Vitesse
From my surfing the Internet I
had learnt that Dahon was a low-to-middle price brand, and according to
reviews, reasonable value for money. I had also taken a fancy to the
Dahon Curve, partly on account of a well-written review on foldsoc,
partly on account of a number of YouTube videos. So when I saw an ad
offering a secondhand Dahon folding bike, I impulsively responded. The
bike in question turned out to be a Vitesse, not a Curve. Hmm... But
after looking it over and taking it for a short test ride, I mentally
waved goodbye to the Neobike and bought the Vitesse. And yes, the
seller was a boat owner (motor) and I eventually sold the Neobike to a
sailing yacht owner.
The Vitesse was also in mint condition (apparently boat owners mostly
"boat" and don't ride bikes very much). It came with an aluminium
frame, 20" wheels, a V-front brake, and an Sram 3-speed gear hub with a
back-pedal brake. It also had a luggage rack and mud guards. And
although the bathroom scale said it only weighted between two and three
kilos less than the Neobike, I found it was much easier to carry when
folded. A combination of less weight and a useful handgrip with good
balance, I think.
I have fitted another luggage rack, an ancient Karrimor I once used on
a touring bike. The only extras needed to mount it was a pair of long
support struts at the front end, and after asking around a bit I found
them at a local bike shop at about £2 for the pair.
My current travel pattern is that I make a train trip with one change,
and spend one or two hotel nights at my work location, Stockholm. So,
for several months now a typical work trip has gone as follows. I use
the Vitesse to the railway station early Monday morning, fold it, put
on the shower cap, and stow it on the "Redeye". At the change I carry
it about 100 meters and stow it on the next train. At my work location,
I carry it up two flights of stairs, unfold it and ride 2 miles into
the office. In the evening I ride to the hotel, 4 miles, and later ride
about sightseeing for an hour or two. When it is time to return home,
Tuesday or Wednesday, the procedure reverses.
The compact camera case fits "naturally" on the bottle cage and
is useful for tyre tools, lunch money & other small items.
5.
Conclusion
So far, I am very happy with
the Vitesse. It is solidly made. It folds easily and quickly. When
folded, it is compact enough that I can stow it aboard Swedish trains
(not above the seats).
The 20" wheels handle potholes, etc, significantly better than 16". The
riding position is good enough, much better than on the Neobike
(although not as good as on a fullsized bike). The longest trip so far
was 42 km on a wide variety of surfaces, from riding path to dirt road
to streets, and it was enjoyable all the way.
I am used to having a lot more gears, but the ratios on the Vitesse
work well for me. In low gear I get up all the inclines I normally am
confronted with, even with some luggage, and in 3:rd gear I roll
pleasantly along. In traffic I find that I usually keep about the same
pace as any 3- or 5-geared bike.
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