Kent Compact 16 Aluminum Folding Bike (16-Inch Wheels)
Never has it been a better time to consider a folding bicycle. Rising gas prices are making it harder and harder to have a car these days. Folding bike to the rescue! These have long been an answer for campers and travelers of all kinds and our Compact 16 Aluminum Folding Bike is the newest solution in the space equation making it perfect for apartment dwellers, college students or anyone looking for a great bike with little space! A simple and easy 6 speed drivetrain is perfect for this handy compact bike. Safe braking is provided for with sure stopping linear pull brakes front and rear. Lightweight but strong alloy wheels in a terrain-taming 16-inch size provide a smooth and comfortable ride. This package is tough to beat, especially at this price. Now you can affordably take your fitness and transportation WITH you. Customer contact information at 1-800-451-KENT (5368) or www.kentbicycles.com
Kent Compact 16 Aluminum Folding Bike (16-Inch Wheels) Features
- Front and rear alloy v-brakes for powerful and reliable braking
- Built of lightweight aluminum, it's one of the lightest in its class at 25-pounds
- Compact foldable frame designed with elegant clean lines
- Designed with 16-inch wheels
$194.99
This is a great cute looking bike. I love to bike. The only problem is lugging my bike around. I hate putting it inside my car cuz it ruins the leather or back seat material. I also have to keep removing the wheel. OR i have to leave a bike rack in my trunk and attach it. Basically....this was all slowing me down, making biking (something that I truely love) ... A PAIN.
So the simple solution to a city dweller who needed to transport my bike everywhere by car, bus, or carry it upstairs is this folding bike! Mind you, I have flat roads, bike paths everywhere, and don't need something rugged or super fast. I JUST NEED SOMETHING BETTER THAN WALKING. I HATE WALKING. It's slow, tiring, and BASICALLY A WASTE OF TIME. This bike allows me to breeze by walkers and have fun. I hate skateboarding, and was always jealous of the way that skateboarders can go anywhere without having to worry about parking. With this tiny, cute bike, I can go ALMOST ANYWHERE. Lots of stores let me bring this bike in cuz IT'S SO CUTE!!! and small, and they like talking about it. Also security guards always volunteer to watch it cuz they think it's so cute :-).
It's also easy to lock up with a cable lock. I love the back rack. I put a bag of groceries on it. I easily transport 3 bags of groceries on it. THIS BIKE HAS IMPROVED MY LIFE. I do all my errands with this bike: post office, groceries, errands..etc. I save gas. It was the high gas prices and all the tickets that police men and parking police are giving out these days in this aweful economy that FORCED ME to get my lazy butt off the car seat....and boy I'm glad this happened! I get excercise. I breathe fresh air. And biking is just a joy. Even if the economy improves or gas prices plummet, I'll still try to find an excuse to ride my portable folding bike! I was going to buy a scooter, but forget it!!! THis is so portable, safer, and better for my health. ...Worth $199? HECK YES!!!!
BIKE ON! GO GREEN! SAVE MONEY! GET IN SHAPE! HAVE FUN! -- This is a great buy....SICK OF GIANT BIKES!!! NOW I CAN GO PLACES!!!!
I have had this bike for a month and ride it to class everyday. I am very satisfied with this purchase. This bike isn't heavy, that is good for me since I have to lift it to my apartment on second floor. It have 6 different speeds and if you set the fastest one, it is relatively fast. I usually use the 3nd speed and am ok with it. I don't like the pedals though, they are small and inconvenient (as another review wrote) I rated it 4 stars because (for me) it is heavy to pedal in the fastest speed. Over all, I would like to recommend this bike to those who want to cover a short distance.
p/s My husband thinks I look weird on this bike, everyone in my office laughs at it. Well, I personally like it and think it is nice. -- This is a good bike.
Before the bike was even delivered, I followed another reviewer's suggestion and bought a used 170mm crankset with a 52 tooth sprocket on a popular auction website for $30 delivered (it could handle an even larger sprocket if you can find one). That helped leverage up hills and provided more top end speed, but the 35psi kiddie tires were killing me with friction. So, for $19 per tire, I bought a set of Maxxis Hookworm 16x1.95 tires online, which inflate to 110 psi, designed for high speed reclining bikes, and a perfect fit on these rims. WOW! Now it is a real bike, with the speed of a real bike. If you can only do one of the two upgrades, just buy the 110psi tires. Because this eliminates friction when you turn the front wheel, it makes the steering a little more twitchy with high pressure tires, but it is not noticeable at high speeds. I don't understand why they don't ship it from the factory with 110 psi tires. I gave it five stars even without the upgrades, because all other bikes that weigh in at 26 pounds or less come at twice the price, and don't have a kickstand, fenders, and bike rack already included like this one does. I respect a bargain. It folds in seconds with just three quick cam lock fittings.
My only gripes are minor. The pedals sag about 2 degrees under strong torque. When it arrived it the box, it needed a few tweaks, as you would expect. Shifter cable needed adjustment to shift into sixth gear. Fender height needed adjustment (one fender locknut was stripped and had to be replaced). Front steering had very slight play in it, needed allen wrench to tighten handlebar connection and a channel lock pliers to tighten front steering bearing (the play would probably not have been noticeable to many people).
I've never seen a folding bike before, and it does not fold as flat as you would visualize if you have no reference (about 13.5 inches wide when folded if you do not pull the handlebar completely out of its stem and stow it separately). But it is very small and light. I carry a bungee on the rack to keep it folded together when not in use. Women seem to think the bike is "cute", for what it is worth.
This is a great bike, especially at the price and after a few small upgrades. -- Upgrade Cranks, Sprocket and Tires = A Real Bike
