I recently started a new job that paid substantially more than my last one. However, my daily commute went from 7.5 miles to 21.5 miles each way. To make matters worse, my new job is located downtown and parking is $9.90 a day. After a week of braving downtown traffic and shelling out almost $50 in parking fees, I decided to look for an alternative to snarled traffic and parking fees. I found a place to park my VW Jetta where I can easily hop on a bike path and ride 1.5 miles to work

I wanted a bike that would be small and light enough to take out of my trunk, unfold, ride to work, refold, and then take up a flight of stairs to my office. I chose the Kent Ultra Light folding bike because of its low weight and small size. I wanted a bike that I could store under my desk when I wasn't using it.

I ordered my bike from Amazon and received it within a week. The bike was completely assembled and folded up within a box. When I opened the box, I was surprised to see there was no packing material protecting the bike. The bike was basically just dropped into a box. This might explain why the bike came with a slightly bent back rim. Other than that, the bike looked to be in perfect shape. I took it out of the box and grabbed my digital scale. 25.6 lbs. That's just about 11% more than the advertised weight, but still much less than comparable bikes. I folded the bike together, added air to the tires, and took it for a test spin. Because of the slightly bent back rim, I had to adjust the rear brakes.

I've been commuting with my bike for a week now. Folding and unfolding the bike is a breeze. I believe it takes me about 5 seconds to fold and unfold the bike. When I fold the bike, I only fold down the handlebars and fold the bike in half. This compacts the bike down significantly and it easily fits under my desk. I do not adjust the seat or handlebar heights, nor do I fold the pedals in. Many people have stopped me to ask about the bike after seeing me fold it up so quickly. I have seen many peoples mouths drop open when I walk out of the building and unfold my bike and bike away 5 seconds later. They don't even get a chance to ask me about my bike.

Riding the bike has NOT been the best experience for me, however. The bike is geared very low and as a result is very slow. Having a bent back rim doesn't seem to help matters either. When biking within the city, the bike performs well because of the slow traffic, but once I get on the bike trail, I am quickly exhausted. It is demoralizing being passed by the other bikers. It is embarrassing pedaling as fast as I can just to pass a jogger. I've ridden my 8 year old daughter's bike a few times just to make her laugh. I would say this bike is about as fast as that. Another annoyance is with the pedals. Because they are folding pedals, only one side of the pedal is flat, the other side is curved in such a way that you can't pedal with it. Often times, when I'm pedaling my heart out trying to pass a jogger, or an old lady in a walker, a pedal will flip over to the non useable side. Or sometimes the pedals will fold up for what ever reason. I've been thinking about tossing out the folding pedals and replacing them with regular pedals.

PROS:
Folding, unfolding, and carrying this light-weight bicycle.

CONS:
Riding this light-weight bicycle.

I'm still going to give this bike 4 out of 5 stars because I've never ridden a folding bike before so maybe they are all slow. Or maybe I'm just getting old and out of shape. I'm very happy with the weight of the bike and the ease of folding it. The bike is going to pay for itself in less than a month and that alone is worthy of 5 stars. However, Kent should really work on their packaging though, this bent rim is annoying. 4 stars

Arrived in good condition. Unpackaged easily. There was NO MANUAL in the box, which is ok for me as I'm a seasoned bicyclist. Minimal assembly. I really dig the cast magnesium alloy frame but the rest of the bike feels a bit cheap. The brake levers feel flimsy, the pulls are metal but the rest is plastic. I would expect them to break at some point with regular use. While the photo does not show it (I will try to post some customer images later), the bike I received included mudflaps/fenders. I had to adjust the front brake spring rebound as it tended to remain rubbing against the wheel on one side after releasing the brake. The V brakes themselves also are a bit on the cheap side.

As far as size, I am 5'11" and 165lbs. The bike feels a bit small for me, not unbearably so for short rides, but I would say if you're around my height, you probably want to buy a folding bike with 20" tires. With the handle bars extended most of the way up, the steering is sketchy and there is some flex in the bars.

Now allow me to contrast this bike with the 2003 Dahon Boardwalk folding bike that I own, which has 20" tires but was twice the price when new. Dahon is the market leader in folding bikes. The Dahon I own feels more solid, fits me better, and is made with higher quality components. Also, the one thing I didn't notice immediately, is that with a 16" tire bicycle, they have to make the cranks (the arm the pedal attaches to) shorter due to ground clearance. This means that your legs spin faster. The folding pedals (which must be folded out manually and locked into place with a little clip) can only be used on one side, the other side is not flat. This is fairly annoying and I'll likely replace the pedals with a set from Dahon which are spring loaded and both sides of the pedal are flat.

In conclusion, I'll probably stick with my Dahon for non-size critical travel applications (car, train, bus, etc). However, when it comes to flying with a bicycle, the Kent packages into an ordinary suitcase much easier that my Dahon would.

So is this bike a bargain for the price? I personally would say no. With regular use you'll probably need to replace some parts sooner than later (brake pulls) which will put you near $200 in the end. For a similar price you can find a used Dahon that is constructed better, has as many as 8 speeds, 20" tires and is overall, a higher quality folding bicycle. 3 stars

1. I had the bike for 2 weeks when I wrote this review.
2. It arrived in fairly good shape, no parts missing or improperly installed.
3. Only minimal adijustment required. More or less able to ride it right out of the box.
4. The frame is good quality, most other parts just medium or low cost components, as expected from the price.
5. For people who are used to cycling, you will think the gearing is too low. (for those who know what it means, the gear-inches are from 26 to 52) Good for climbing hill, not for high speed, which is OK for a bike that is meant for extending the range of public transit, fun during camping, and not for all day riding.
6. I am 5'10", and have to extend the seat to an inch beyond max on the seat post. Taller person will find it too low.
7. Lightest weight of the low cost folding bike I have found. Good buy for the money, but not the highest quality bike you can get.
8. Folds fairly easily after you get used to the steps. Need a bungie cord to hold it together in the folded position if you are going to carry it.
9. I can recommanded it to anyone who want a folding bike and don't want to spend a lot of money. 4 stars

I put it together, but then the handlebar wouldn't come out easily for folding and puting in the trunk. Also, the shift mechanism in the rear wheel has very little clearance from the ground.
Visually, the finish quality looks very good however.
Not suitable for kids - the height is ok, but the reach for the handlebar is very awkward at low seat heights 2 stars

The price on this bike is good, but the folding is a bit of a hassle and time consuming...perhaps you need some practice and be really familiar with the bike if you're going to fold/unfold it everday. I think it's excelent for camping or a trip to the beach in the trunk of your car. It is very lightweight as claimed. Also, it needs fine tunning on the deralier and brakes (but you probably need to do that with any new bike) The ride feels smooth and fun. For the price, I think it's worth having this bike around. I recommend that you you make adjustment to the steering column, using an allen wrench, such that it folds down on the left side (relative the rider's position), which would make an even more compact fold...but the default setting is just fine. 4 stars