A-Bike Central Forum

Weakling wrote:It surprise me that they have not found dealers in USA. Such a big country.

I agree...there has to be a market for these wonderful bikes in the US. The interesting part is that in examining the shattered pedal body, it is obvious that the plastic is indeed imbedded with glass fibre just like the plastics on the actual A-bike. I guess in this case the recipe isn't quite right.

I weight 95kg so I have not dared to buy one. I have an Authurized dealer a-bike.se only some 120kmtrs away and I could afford one but it would not last under my weight. Me being 1940mm are too tall too

So I consider to buy a Carryme despite that one slower in folding and bigger and more expensive.

I do not want to be nosy but how close to the max weight are you and did you ride it carelessly or trying to be very careful not to stress its material.

I have a Microbike, an old out of production bike with 12" plastic wheels and they easily break the rim if driven carelessly hitting curb or big pot holes or doing jumps and such. So I treat it like a new born baby. And it holds together rather well despite having used it three times a week for a year or more. I have owned it for some 10 years so I am very pleased with it.
The bad thing about it is that it has non standard parts.

Weakling wrote:I do not want to be nosy but how close to the max weight are you and did you ride it carelessly or trying to be very careful not to stress its material.

Hello. I weigh 180 lbs (81.6 kg) and am 5'8" (173cm) tall so I am within the weight and height requirements. I believe I rode the bike quite carefully and it was used only along a rolling bike path in my local park. There were a few minor ascents, but nothing that would cause me to deliver undue force to the pedals. I think the key is that mine is a counterfeit version and is destined to fail.

Fortunately I learned that with a longer seatpost I could really enjoy riding the A-bike and may just buy one as soon as they are available.

EDIT
Weakling correcting a post.

I tested a kind of heavy editing. I moved the text
from the Guest you did to this logged in post.
Hope that was ok to do.

Hey,

I just wanted to say thank you for this excellent forum. Going from what I had read here, I got a friend of mine to check my bike over and he found it to be FAKE! I have had it since August 2007! I spent so long in ignorance.

I was having so many problems - the pedals were so stiff and the brakes rarely worked. For this reason I seldom used it. I came on this forum simply to find out how to loosen it up a little. It never entered my mind it was a fake - I paid a fair price for it on ebay and it came in a box with a bag and a pump. It even had the A Bike logo on it.

I'm trying to get a refund as we speak and I will let you know how I get on. Keep up the good work. I'll be back when (or if!) I get a refund and a genuine A-Bike!

Welcome to our forum. I'm the "youngest" Mod here so me don't know as much as those who have been active since it started.

Sorry you was had buy people one could not trust.

Sad that Ebay are allowed to have sellers that sell fakes. I wish the law required Ebay to have a warranty that if the bike is fake that seller has to pay back the money to buyers. They could demand some kind of deposit that discourage fakers to loose a high sum if they sell fakes. Fraud is such a bad thing.

i just can't believe that ebay is giving fake bike.
Now what step you have taken?

Hi...

i'm interested in buying one of this
so I found this in ebay
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... :IT&ih=019

and this
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... :IT&ih=015

can anyone help me to tell the difference between the original and the fake? by only looking the pictures

If you read here then they describe where to look but a picture at Ebay could have been
taken from another ad or from an official site so no warranty it is the actual bike they sell.
http://www.abikecentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=518

I have one that I just bought from a local. It has none of the markings discussed. Is it real?

Hi Elaine,

Welcome to A-bike Central.

Looking at your photograph, it was very difficult to see anything physically different from a genuine A-bike, even down to the nuts & bolts. I instantly got mine out as a reference.

I am not sure whether you are based in the UK or not, but there are various cosmetic pointers, especially if so, as follows:
• The A-bike logo on the sides of the Upper Steering Joint (the top of the "A" shape) has a small TM after the e, and the dot on the i is red; both of which look to be missing from yours.
• On the Cross Piece (as in an "A"), there should be "Sinclair Research" on each side of the rear half, in capitals & on 2 lines, and "A-bike.co.uk" on the front half sides. It looks as though yours only has 4 various stages of unfolding on the rear half. If you lay your A-bike down from the position in your photograph, you should also find underneath the front half (upside down) a 7-digit serial number &, separately, a date of manufacture in the form YRyyyyWKww (e.g. YR2006WK28).
• On the back of the Rear Lower Tube (metal above the cranks) should be "Model No. ZB01 / Patented and / Patent Pending" (each of my added "/" denoting a new line). Actually, my Rear Lower Tube is an older one, having been replaced, so may be different, BUT the same should be true for the back of the Front Lower Tube.
• Your reflectors seem to all be correctly positioned, but do they have "Mayhem UK" or even "Sinclair Research" &"BS6102/2" on them?
• Finally, I think, there may be several yellow stickers, if they haven't peeled off. On the Handlebar Stem one showing an upside down triangle with a pinched finger & reading "Read manual before use" & "Max. weight 85kg 187lbs", both all in capitals. A no-step symbol on the front half of the Cross Piece ahead of the folding mechanism & button. And on the Brake Bands, a triangled exclamation mark followed by "Caution hot surfaces", all caps on 2 lines.
• Oh, and the tyres should read, amongst other things, "Cheng Shin Tire", "6x1¼" &" Max. inflate to 90 PSI".

Phew, simple but long-winded!

Hope this helps immensely. Best of luck. By the way, how much?

Nigel,

Thanks so much for the quick and thorough reply.

I am in the US and have only two of the stickers you mention.

>>On the Handlebar Stem one showing an upside down triangle with a pinched finger & reading "Read manual before use" & "Max. weight 85kg 187lbs", both all in capitals.

and

The 'Caution' sticker on the rear brake assembly.

It was practically given to me as the owner needed to move and the rear tube did not hold air. I bought it disassembled.

I could only find a tube that turned out to have a protruding 45 degree angle valve so I put that in the front tire and moved the front tube to the back.

This morning I put in air and off I went. Fun! Yesterday I was quite unsure as to whether I would keep it as the tire pressure was low (with the hand pump) and the ride was difficult.

The man who sold it to me said he paid 90 US dollars plus shipping. I will ask him where he ordered it...I do hope it's authentic.

Elaine

Hi Elaine,

Hmmm, the price he paid seems suspiciously low, if brand new; it should have been more $300-$400 plus shipping, depending upon the rate of exchange at the time & when. I bought mine 15 months ago at £150 from Mayhem at their office, whereas previously it had been £200, as it is again with the new plus.

Stickers are almost least important; how about any of the permanent markings matching up? Particularly the serial no. & manufacture date underneath the Cross Piece, or the model no.? If not, I'm afraid that it may very well be a fake, unless somebody else knows better, of course.

Assuming that the tyres (sorry, tires) are correct, and you have a shock pump (best with gauge), as opposed to an ordinary bicycle pump (which is almost impossible to use/maintain pressure on such tiny tyres), it really is probably the most important thing to check that the tyre pressure is 90psi. Anything much less makes for a much much more difficult ride.

Anyway, if it does turn out to be a fake, always make certain that everything is locked in place whilst in use, and please be careful; it may not be entirely up to the job. Visually it might be pretty convincing, but mechanically is another kettle of fish. If you really think it's fabulous, it may very well be worth considering investing in a new plus, which is what I shall probably do pretty soon. You are bound to think it even more fabulous.

All the Best

I already bought a chinese fake from ebay. The seller showed original pictures but sent a fake A-Bike.

What do you think about that bike?
http://i8.ebayimg.com/08/i/001/0a/cf/d6ff_1.JPG
http://i9.ebayimg.com/03/i/001/0a/cf/d806_1.JPG
http://i13.ebayimg.com/04/i/001/0a/cf/d8cd_1.JPG

Greetings

Bjoern

I think it's the "real" picture of the "fake" bike...
so the obvious clue is, it doesn't have the writing A-bike at the black cross pieces.

Different from the picture of Elaine, that one need further inspection
eniwei, if u bought it from a dealer with the price under 100 Euro, I says it have 90% probability it is a fake one, coz the original one cost around 250-300 Euro.

elaine wrote:I have one that I just bought from a local. It has none of the markings discussed. Is it real?

It's a fake A-bike definitely.