The need to travel about on the Northern Rail network (ancient overcrowded Sprinters and Pacers with little to no bike carrying provision) with a bike has necessitated the purchase of a folding bike. I didn’t want to spend a fortune, but also didn’t want to put up with something that didn’t work properly or that I would end up having to replace when it broke after a year or two.
I spent a lot of time researching online. Looked at new Dahons, 2nd hand Bromptons, was tempted by heavily-discounted Oyamas, and eventually plumped for the B’Twin Hoptown 7. Four hundred quid for a fully equipped bike (7-speed hub gear, mudguards, stand, rack, lights, carry bag) which, as I understand it is effectively a rebadged Dahon Vitesse, seemed like a pretty good deal.
First things first – and this is the worst bit – actually getting my hands on it. I quite like Decathlon. I’ve been in their shops in Edinburgh and Bolton. They’re nice and bright, well laid out, and it’s easy to find what you’re looking for, as long as it’s in stock. Their stuff is pretty good for the price, and their labelling makes it clear what kind of user the product is designed for.
Unfortunately the bike I wanted wasn’t in stock in any of the branches which I could realistically travel to. So I tried to order online. It turns out they don’t have a central distribution centre for online orders. Two of their shops offer a “mail-order” service, Stockport and Surrey Quays. Which one you can order from online depends on your postcode. My postcode is covered by Stockport. Who didn’t have the bike in stock! After a frustrating couple of days of sending online messages and leaving phone messages in different places I eventually spoke to someone in the Surrey Quays shop. She advised me to enter their postcode in the actual postcode field, and type my full address in the free “Address Line 2” field, to avoid being redirected to Stockport by the online system. Not ideal, and I read the other day that they are revamping their website and online ordering, so hopefully such problems will soon be a thing of the past.
Pleased to say that the bike was worth the hassle. Nicely finished. Mostly white frame with some brown. Matte black handlebar/stem/seatpost/rack. Brown leather-look padded (but not too much) saddle, with matching grips. It looks pretty classy and I’ve had a few approving comments from other cyclists. No complaints about the build quality. It’s not the lightest but then with the folding mechanisms, kickstand, a hub gear and a rear rack, that would be a lot to ask. It will roll when folded due to some casters on the back of the rear rack, but for rolling more than a very short distance I tend to unfold it.
The folding/unfolding process is pleasingly straightforward. Perhaps not quite as quick as a Brommie but I would say I can do it in about 20 seconds or so without particularly rushing. It locks in place nicely when folded, and actually came with a decent bag, which I fold up and fix to the rear rack in case of pernickety train guards (I haven’t encountered one yet).
The Nexus 7-speed hub gear is, to me at least, a revelation. No need to freewheel or backpedal, like the old Sturmey 3-speeds I’ve experienced in the past. Change while pedalling, change when stopped, it’s always smooth and quiet. Great for city riding and those short-notice stops when the lights change. Plus it’s sealed away from the grime and there’s no jockey wheel hanging there just inches from the road (especially taking into account the 20″ wheels). Make sure you know how to remove and replace the rear wheel in case of a puncture before you hit the road. It’s easy when you know how, but not entirely obvious. There are some good video tutorials on Youtube, which I found easier to follow than Sheldon Brown in this case.
So with the hub gear it “goes” pretty well. I’m glad to say it stops pretty well too, which surprised me given the no-name (Alhonga? Who they?) v-brakes fitted. They are effective, but can be a little bit “grabby”, which I suspect that a pad upgrade when this set wear out will probably improve.
How does it ride? With a “one-size-fits-all” approach, common to most folders, there’s a bit of compromise going on. I’m just under 6′, and usually ride drop handlebar bikes. So I have the saddle pushed right back, and the handlebars as low as they will go. The seatpost has another 7cm before the maximum extension so even someone a fair bit taller than me could ride it, though you might start to feel a bit cramped lengthwise.
Even with the bars right down, there’s no hiding from a headwind, but if you normally ride a flat-bar bike anyway you won’t really notice this. Handling is pretty skittish. The front wheel is rather unweighted, and has a tendency to lift whenever you start getting the power down. This tends to manifest itself when accelerating away from traffic lights which is all very well in a straight line but care is required when turning right at a T-junction or X-roads! Climbing is “fun” given that it’s quite hard to control the bike if you stand on the pedals, but remaining in the saddle makes it hard to keep the front wheel on the ground. It’s got the gear range to handle most inclines (I’ve done a couple of laps of Edinburgh’s Arthurs Seat on it) as long as you adopt a slightly comical position with the bottom at the front of the saddle and the elbows bent to allow the chin to approach the handlebar.
One area that has really surprised me is how comfortable the bike is. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not about to start taking it to Sportive or Audax events. But I would have no qualms in planning to spend the day dawdling around a city on it. On a recent visit to family in Wales I covered 15 miles on the Hoptown on country lanes in an hour before breakfast. Despite the small diameter wheels it soaks up the bumps remarkably well. There must be a fair bit of flex in the non-triangular frame, along with the long seatpost and stem. Put this together with the 20×1.75″ tyres and even Edinburgh’s notorious cobbles can be tamed.
This brings me onto the biggest failing – the tyres. The Kenda Kwests supplied are rated up to 65psi and roll along pretty well, capably dealing with the less than perfect surfaces we so often have to put up with in this country. Unfortunately they’re not so well equipped to deal with all the crap that our less considerate neighbours are inclined to abandon on the roads and paths. P*nct*re protection is non-existent. Fortunately a wee bit of online research shows that Schwalbe and Conti (and no doubt others) are making 20″ versions of some decent tyres these days. This will be the first upgrade as soon as I spot a decent “sale” deal on tyres.
UPDATE: Managed to acquire some Schwalbe Marathon Racers on Ebay for a fairly decent price. It actually rolls really nicely on these. Even though they’re only 1/2″ narrower than the Kendas, I have noticed the difference in rolling resistance. The fact that they’re rated for a higher pressure no doubt helps in this respect as well. I haven’t noticed any significant adverse effect on the ride comfort either, so it was an updgrade well worth doing.
A wee note on the saddle. I swapped this saddle onto one of my other bikes when lending it to a female relative. She doesn’t ride very often and I thought the “unisex” style of this saddle, with a reasonable amount of padding, might work better for her than any of my other perches. I was right, as she reported no problems “down below”. I, on the other hand (cheek?), found riding the Hoptown with a fairly firm “gents” saddle to be a literal pain in the backside. The upright riding position leaves all the weight carried on the sit-bones and the extra padding that B’Twin have included is definitely needed. Further evidence that the Hoptown is a well thought out package.
Tarren Cycles 