Gotten this new RED HOT 20″ Conte foldie from Bike Zone Connection at Sengkang Square some weeks back and am loving it with every single passing day.
This RED HOT Conte costs $399 at the store and $350 on their website (excluding accessories).
The Conte’s crank was slightly larger than my previous Java TT7 and with one extra gear, that made a huge load of difference to the speed that I could travel on.
On my previous bike, my average speed was a 12km/h. On the new red hot Conte, my average speed reached an average of 20km/hr. Haahaa… 🙂 Some of you must be rolling your eyeballs with that, because 20km/hr is like crawling for the pros. But for me, I felt like I was already flying off the bike. Not only was it smoother, it was very much faster and less strenuous.
When I started cycling on my new red bike, most of my friends were ‘Red’ with envy. It was almost like riding a Red Ferrari on the PCN.
Got the (matching!) bottle cage for $3
Gotten a rear rack at $48 and the rear light at $28. The rear light is so cool and matches my red hot bike! Hohohooo… : D
Weighing a 12.3kg (without rear rack and other accessories), it was a manageable weight up and down slopes and steps.
Fitted with a thumb shifter, it was now easier changing the gears and my ‘favorite-iest’ part of the bike is….. guess what?
The ‘palm-rest’ on the handlebar! Although it looks weird and ‘funny’ with its shape at first glance, it was actually very ergonomic. Whenever I felt my hands cramped up from the grips, I rested my palms on the palm rest and let the bike run.
My ‘Favorite-iest’ part of the bike – the Palm Rest !
One of the most important element of a folding bike is its folding mechanism. It took me 3 steps to fold up the bike into half. (1) Unlock the cache (2) Release the folding and (3) Fold it up. And woolah, there’s even a stand for the bike after you fold it up. I think that was rather clever and well thought-out, when I was initially wondering what was that gadget for.
(1) Unlock the cache (2) Release the folding
Ready to fold
There’s even a stand after you fold it up.
Transformers
With my new bike, I was off exploring the PCN, testing the bike and its performance. See the next blog post for some of 小红’s adventures. Yup… he has gotten himself a name (named by a friend actually)… And nowadays, friends could spot 小红 on the PCN and not me! Haahaa.. 🙂
霞女之旅 
Hi just curious. Is it possible to wheel the bike around?
In the folded position*
Hi Raymond;
Thank you for reading.
Yes, it is possible to wheel the bike around and as a matter of fact, it was quite smooth and easy. After folding the bike and during the wheeling, the bike did not ‘open up’, swerve sideways and go haywire (unlike in my previous bike). You can wheel it using one wheel or both.
Hope that helps 🙂
Do you feel that the 8 speeds on your Conte folding bicycle allow you to cycle up hills or is the lowest gear insufficient?
After reading your post, I plan on buying the Conte from Bike Zone Sengkang but stocks will only arrive in mid August 2016.
Thank you.
Hi Albert ;
Thank you for reading.
Yes, the 8 speeds is definitely a bonus. It enables you to cycle up hills and go faster with very much lesser effort as compared to one with a lower gear. I’m quite thankful that this has 8 gears cos of the distance and number of hills that I cover each time I bring it out.
I had checked with Bike Zone Sengkang. There was a delay in the shipment and the stocks should arrive in another 2 weeks time. Do give them a tinkle to check before popping by. I would say that this is a rather good buy for the performance, specs and price that this bike offers. I hope you’ll enjoy the bike as much as I do… 🙂
Thanks for taking the trouble to reply. I really enjoyed reading your blog!
Albert
Thank you very much for the encouragement, Albert. Hope to catch you around someday with your 小红. And then, both of them could get a pic together… Heh heh hehh… :p
Hi xia! Nice bike you got there! I was browsing the interwebs for foldies and came across your blog.
Can I ask what is the size, i.e, number of teeth, of the crankset, and the range of t of the cogset?
I think this is one of the few foldies at this price range with 8 speeds and the palm rest is a good selling point. I recently bought a bike with palm rest as well and i am glad that i did.
Hi Toh ;
Thank you for reading.
The number of teeth for the crank set is 52, and the range of teeth for the cog set is 12 to 32.
Yes, I have to agree that there are not many foldies with 8 speeds at this price range and I really do appreciate the ‘palm rest’ too ~ especially after cycling for quite a distance. I’ll usually just rest my palms on it and let the bike run ‘on its own’. Haahaa…. 🙂
I hope the above helps. Cycle safe and hope to catch you around.
Hi xia! Thank you for your reply. I am looking at foldies for my friends. As most foldies have a fixed crankset, i am looking for cogsets with a wide range and reasonably ‘easy’ high gear, as my friends have just started on cycling again. 12 to 32 seems like a good compromise.
Many thanks for sharing your research with the community!
No worries at all, Toh. Glad that you found the information useful 🙂
hey thanks for the review, well done
Thank you for reading and the kind compliments, Shaun.
do they only come in the 20inch?
Hi Shaun ; Yup, they only come in 20inch.
We finally got our Contes and took them for two rides. I am still finding the folded bike hard to handle. I fold down the stem first and swing the two parts together with the handles between the two sections. But I find that it doesn’t roll easily and the brake levers or the handles get squashed by the pedals when they turn. Perhaps I am not folding the bicycle correctly. Do you have any pictures of how it should be when folded? Especially of the handlebars.
Other than the folding, I found the 8 gears to be able to go fast and I had no trouble cycling up the hill before my home in 1st gear! I could never do that before on my mountain bike. 20 in bikes are really easy to ride.
Thanks for reading.
Hi Albert ;
I’ve tried your method and it was indeed quite tough pushing the bike. What I normally do is to fold the bike into half first and then use the stem and handlebars as “steering wheel”. (I did not fold down the stem since I was using it to push. And if the car / cab could fit the bike in properly without putting down the stem, I would just leave the stem as it is (without putting it down).
I found the 8 gears a thumbs up too… 🙂
Actually, I found the pedals so annoying when trying to load 2 bikes into the car that I decided to order quick release Wellgo XPEDO pedals from Aliexpress. I can’t wait to swap the pedals so that I can detach them for transportation.
Haahaa… I don’t really have this problem cos’ I seldom pack the bike into a car or cab. But I do agree that a pair of quick release pedals or foldable pedals would certainly add much convenience to the folding experience. Hope you’ll have a better experience with your new pedals soon 🙂
I use quick release pedals all the time. They are incredibly convenient.
For folded bikes, you can detach and roll your bike without worry the pedals bump against the bike as it rotates, you can avoid bumping your feet/legs/people, and when I lock my bike at places, I not only chain it up, but carry the included pedal pouch and put the pedals in- make the bike as undesirable to steal as possible- and they are so easy to click back on.
I have also needed to put my bike in taxis twice this year- removing the pedals makes it so much easier to put the frame part in the back of the taxi.
Of course it makes storing at home easier too!
Also they come in many colours. I have orange. Xia, you can ask for red! haha!
Haahaa… Thanks for the great infor, Adrian. Hope to meet you on the paths someday soon… 🙂
Hi is your Conte allowed on MRT/Buses?
Yup… Personally, I’ve folded the bike and brought it into the train from Sengkang MRT to City Hall MRT, Boon Keng MRT, Farrer Park MRT etc. I packed it onto the bus from Woodlands Interchange to Sengkang as well. Hope that helps.
Oh yes! Indeed help a lot!!! Thank you very much! Looking forward to start my foldie adventure haha!
[…] (My Red Bike – literal translation as “Little Red”) a shower since I got him some years back. I had also wanted to buy a clamp of some sorts to prop up the bike so as to clean the chain, until […]
Hello, thank you for your informative blog..
I am new to folding bicycle hence unsure of their longevity.
May I ask after having two folding bicycles for years, does both bicycles produce creaking sound?
Also, is there any benefits to turning the bicycle upside down when decreasing? (I purchased the same chain cleaner after reading your blog)
Lastly, I read some blog saying that becos their Java bicycle does not fome with chain stay hence their bicycle spoke breaks after a couple of years riding the bicycle. Did you experience the same problem?
Hi Marcus ;
Thank you for reading the blog and the different posts.
Welcome onboard to the cycling and folding community. I’m sure there’s tons of new places waiting for you to explore soon.
(1) So far, the bike doesn’t produce any creaking sound, but there’s always a shrill coming from my brakes. I guess cos it has been contaminated and I didn’t know how to clean it nor send it in for servicing.
(2) I was at Decathlon looking for a bike stand to hold up the bike so that I could clean the chain, but they didn’t have it. Hence, the staff suggested I turn the bike over so as to stabilise the bike and clean the chain. And I’m so glad he suggested and it works. Hence, I’m not sure if this method of degreasing has any other benefits since this is the only method that I’ve tried and used.
(3) I haven’t been using much of the Java after I’ve gotten the Conte. Hence, I’m not too sure if the spoke breaks after a couple of years. So far, nothing much has been broken on Java and Conte, except for my arm and fingers. Hahaa… 😅
Hope that answers your queries and looking forward to catching you on the pcn someday.