Because aluminium fatigues. Steel is easier to repair. These Argos folding ebike buying dudes may complain about it's weight, but their frames will outlive them. I want my ebike to be handed down through generations and used to transport my descendents on regular pilgrimages to worship mountains carved with my fanged effigy. Painted orange.
Steel isn't always easier to repair, some of the frames from fuji-ta which dominate folding bike frame and fork manufacture use a steel which is difficult to weld, might be 1040 steel the one that is close to the strength of basic chromoly steel. Fuji-ta used to have a great site in China but I guess their OEM customers got annoyed with it and I can't find it now. They used to state a steel that couldn't be welded with low cost welding equipment. I wonder if there is any info about the frame material on the frame compliance sticker. I think in the old days of British cycling manufacturers it was basic 1010 or 1020 steel but the high tensile steel used in even quite cheap bikes today is better if 1040 or possibly something else.
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I think you may well be right that the Argos folder bike is likely made by fuli-ta. It has more than a passing resemblance to this one. Take a look at the mechanisms which secure the folding parts and the general geometry.Steel isn't always easier to repair, some of the frames from fuji-ta which dominate folding bike frame and fork manufacture use a steel which is difficult to weld, might be 1040 steel the one that is close to the strength of basic chromoly steel. Fuji-ta used to have a great site in China but I guess their OEM customers got annoyed with it and I can't find it now. They used to state a steel that couldn't be welded with low cost welding equipment. I wonder if there is any info about the frame material on the frame compliance sticker. I think in the old days of British cycling manufacturers it was basic 1010 or 1020 steel but the high tensile steel used in even quite cheap bikes today is better if 1040 or possibly something else.
SAE-AISI 1020 Steel vs. SAE-AISI 1040 Steel :: MakeItFrom.com
So there has been a improvement in steel used by some Asian manufacturers but its rarely mentioned in the press as they are obsessed with aluminium and carbon fibre frames and forks so a small improvement in steel budget frames doesn't really get a mention.
This is a statistic from around 2017/2018 but back then over 95% of bikes made in China were steel. I can't quite see it being so much today but its probably still over 90% as steel still dominates in Asia, Africa and South America and even in Europe a high percentage of budget bikes and children's bikes are steel. Budget bikes still dominate sales hugely even if such bikes aren't used as much as more expensive bikes, i.e. many budget bikes are occasional use bikes. The Buffalo bike sold in Africa in huge numbers is pretty much an all steel affair except for aluminium rims probably.
That's probably a Chinese market spec model designed to take lower weight riders. I know fuji-ta do huge variations of what frames people could order. I see that model has 28 spoke wheels and the stays look thinner to me. Battle bikes are only sold in Asia I think so designed for less weight and also where there are less consumer rights. The Argos ebike I think I read was made in India but likely just assembled there from mainly Chinese parts. Fuji-ta supply a lot of assembly plants like the Max.com factory in Bulgaria which assembles Dahon bikes for the European market. I find the company interesting as they make millions of bikes per year and have a fairly large chunk of the world market yet most people don't know anything about them as they just buy rebranded fuji-ta bikes and only know their bike by the rebrand. When I was strongly interested in the bike industry a few years ago, so many brands led back to fuji-ta from basic Muddyfox bikes to high end Bianchi bikes. A very successful company to say the least. I've got 2 folding bikes made by fuji-ta my Bicycles4u Paris Explorer and my Muddyfox 200 (same bike mostly as the Carrera Transit). However there are many other factories in China making folding bikes especially steel ones but what often they don't have is the correct certification to export their products at least for smaller factories. Not only would it be expensive to go through certification they would probably fail anyway. There probably aren't that many folding bike factories that are legal to export to Europe and the UK. The only way you could get such uncertified bikes or ebikes is as a personal import from aliexpress etc.
Interesting stuff. Maybe you worked in the bike industry to know such things.
Just doing a bit more research, the Carrera intercity disk 8 is the one to go for, the disk 9 has an odd rim size with really difficult to get hold of tyres (& tyres have to be very narrow)
Keep up the good work!
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I'm pretty sure that your idea to tilt the caliper would have worked. Other things you can try is to swap the adapters around. They all tilt at different angles. Did you try the adapter that was already on your bike?Inspired by this excellent topic I ordered a set of the Zoom HB100 disc brakes. I did a trial fit of the rear brake before fitting a rotor and stripping off the v-brakes. Unfortunately there was a problem, which I suspect is specific to my hybrid bike's frame.
The caliper mount is inside the rear triangle (most seem to be above the dropout) and the operating arm was foul of the seat stay, even with the stroke adjusted to the shortest possible:-
View attachment 61041
I played around with the adapter using washers and came to the conclusion that the only way to clear the frame was to add washers to the end nearest to the axle and file down the other end to rotate the caliper slightly anti-clockwise. I couldn't be sure it would give full contact over the whole of the brake pad though, so rather than start filing the adapter I've sent them back and ordered the fully hydraulic HB-775E's with brake cut-offs instead:-
ZOOM HB-775E E-BIKE Hydraulic Disc Brake Set Electric Scooter Folding Mtb Bike Power Off ebrake - AliExpress 18
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
Without that operating arm the rear caliper should fit OK (fingers crossed). After scouring Aliexpress for Black Friday deals and coupons it's cost a total of £50.98 including hose fitting tools, bleed kit and some oil. I have combined brake lever/shifters so it means that I will now also need to buy some separate shifters as well. I've already bought a new fork with disc mount and a disc-compatible front wheel so this is working out to be more expensive than anticipated.
I'm expecting Saneagle to come along and say it would have been cheaper to buy a bike that already has disc brakes, and he'd be right. Where's the fun in that though, and it's only money after all!
I just hope it will all be worth it in the end.
I found I had to use washers to get the disc to align properly, not fitted the rear yet, only the fronts. The originals didn't have perfect contract with the discs either so not a major issue. Will say they are big upgrade over the oem fitted items. Hard to compare to my full hydros as they have much bigger rotors.
These bikes use all standard Chinese parts that you can buy from Aliexpress for next to nothing.
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Ah!.....She paid 200 notes for the Wisper!These bikes use all standard Chinese parts that you can buy from Aliexpress for next to nothing.
You can buy a battery holder along with a spare battery plus charger for £114 with free shipping:
Original Folding Electric Bike Battery 36V 10Ah 12.8Ah 14Ah 24V 10Ah 15Ah 48V 10Ah Seat Post Mount Battery for E-mission Ebike - AliExpress 18
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
