STOWABIKE 20" Folding City V3 Compact Foldable Bike – 6 Speed Shimano Gears Black

I bought this bike last year, and it was great fun for me to stow it away (it completely fits inside the trunk of my VW Golf!) and take out on bike path rides along the beach after work. I loved the ease of taking it out, unfolding it. It got to be annoying to keep having to reinstall the handlebars (although it comes with a handy allen wrench) but after a while, I got the hang of it.Sometimes when it was stowed away with handlebars off, it would mess up the front brake setup, so I had to re align everything. I figured, well, I got what I paid for, where other folding bikes are at least $350.So here is the lesson I learned: YES, you do get what you pay for. While I definitely got some great rides in with this bike (it's surprisingly very easy to ride at a good pace, has gears and decent brakes), after only 7 months, I can't ride it anymore. What happened was that I'd been taking the handlebars off/on and with the repetitive bolt screwing, I think I have stripped it. It's sitting idle now until I have the time to sit and figure out how to fix it. What I worry about is that if it isn't fixable, I'm going to have to get rid of it. Now, when I look at other folding bikes that are more expensive, I realize they have a quick-release for their handlebars. Sigh. A $150 mistake on my part.I wanted to write this to offer a warning if you are thinking of buying this bike. Maybe it should be stressed to future owners to not repeatedly remove the handlebars for storage but to leave it in place but for me, it was a thrill to get the entire bike to fit inside my trunk without having to lower my back seat. I should have paid more for the other bikes that are made to be more compact.Hope this helps, as I wish I had read about the reality of this bike before buying it.

I was very skeptical about ordering this bike from the negative reviews about bent parts, missing parts, etc. I took a chance and ordered it. Arrived on time and box was hardly damaged. I immediately opened it and found all the pieces and everything looked OK. Christmas rolls around and I actually assemble it and found the front rim to be bent just enough to not be able to adjust the brakes without them dragging.Contacted the 1800 number and took 3 weeks, 3 phone calls, and 3 different people in 3 different cities to get a replacement rim. Replacement rim and tire is perfect and true so cant argue too much.Anyways about the bike: I am 6'3", rather husky at 240 lbs, 34" inseam in my jeans. While I'm sure I look ridiculous riding it I find it very stable feeling. Feels as solid as a standard 20" BMX bike under me. With the seat all the way up to its max height line and my butt on the seat i can touch the ground with the balls of both feet just barely so pretty much proper riding height. The swept back handlebars take a bit to get used to if your used to a mountain bike like me but your supposed to have an upright posture and easy ride when using this bike and it feels very comfortable. I do have the handlebars at their max height also. BE WARNED - I test rode several folding bicycles before going for this one and one fit great (current GIANT folder) but a few others just fit awful (ya know like the seat all the way up yet knees hit my chin sorta "fit") So if your my height/weight id recommend this one. The hande bars do hit my legs on very sharp turns but normal riding and gradual turns its nowhere near hitting.The rear "luggage rack" is surprisingly sturdy and feels stable for those of you who would rely on it.The gears shift as they should right outa the box, just will need a few minor tweaks once the cables break in and stretch a bit. (normal for ALL bicycles)Not sure about all these reviews that are saying its hard to build...I mean you know what the end result is going to be: A BICYCLE! so if you end up building a barn outa the pieces there's no help for you. I will admit the instructions do suck as its all pictures but pretty much everything you have to put on only fits easily one way.Cons: yes there's always a few, First the wheel reflectors are amber in the amazon pictures but mine are white reflectors. May be China vs USA bicycle reflector laws or something like that so not a big deal but is a difference.The handlebars do not fold down easily - you need the allen tool that came with the bike to fold them down. For me and how I use it not a big deal to make it fit in a car trunk with handlebars locked in their normal position but i could see how a commuter would hate it.The seat is not the most comfortable thing in the world - does have springs which help but if your big it kinda feels a bit like sitting on a yoga ball or something - has that weird bouncy feeling to it. I happen to have an old GIANT brand seat laying around that fit perfectly on the seat post and makes it feel MUCH MUCH more comfortable to ride so factor that price of a new seat if your trying to decide what folding bike buy.Side note:It should be noted it is very easy to land on your back with this bicycle especially with the seat all the way up (center of gravity is higher). So in 1st gear if you try to pedal hard and NOT lean forward you can relatively easily pedal the rear tire out from under you - especially true going up hill. This is due to it being a compact folding bicycle, the rear wheel is almost directly under your butt and doesn't take much pedaling force to get out from under you so be careful!I cant comment on the longevity of the bicycle as its been too cold and or snowy here to really get it out but will hopefully update this review soon!Overall I'm pleased with the "bang for the buck" this bicycle is. Sure its not a $500 bike but i dont need a $500 bike.

Sturdy and rides OK for me; I'm 6'2". But unlike the other reviewers who said they were 6'2" and 6'3", it's certainly not perfect for me - the seat does NOT raise up enough for a "correct" bike ride - where your legs should be completely straight when pedal is lowest. I'm going to rectify by ordering a 17" bike post.At first it was very rickety/dangerous - my fault- because I tried to raise the handlebars up too much. Once I lowered them way in, bike is sturdy. Handlebars are OK for me, once I found the secret hidden hex bolt under the front of the handlebars; with that you can angle the handlebars more upwards, gets them sort of close enough.About assembly. Generic instructions, not specifically for this bike; missing plenty of info. Not good:1) No info on how to attach handlebars. I figured it out though (Stick the thingy into the post, tighten top nut2) No info on how to fold it! I tried for a few minutes, gave up, youtubed it. Turns out you LIFT the the locking assembly as you turn it out.3) As many others said, rear fender bent slightly. I bent it pretty much right back pretty easily. It was very well bubble-wrapped; that still happened.GOOD, not mentioned:1) Comes with a little bell, cute2) Surprisingly the pedals DO fold up, I wasn't expecting that (press them in and flip up)Note 1 - lots of things are loose (on purpose, I think), like brakes on handlebars and reflectors, make sure to check everything and tightenNote 2 - I thought there were no bolts to attach the front fender; but then I came across them on the floor - they must have been stuck in something in the small box of tools/parts and fallen out without me seeing them.