Giant Conway 1.0 Folding Bike - Intro
My Giant Conway 1.0 was on sale for £110 nearly new. I am still trying to work out whether I have got a bargain or not. It is Giant brand so you would expect functional quality and up until now that seems about right. I have now upgraded this folding bike.
Giant Conway 1.0 Folding Bike - Weight
The first thing I noticed (when I took delivery) was the weight, official stats put the bike at around 11 kg, which is not too bad. But I am not convinced this is accurate, it feels heavy for its size. The frame, seat post, mud guards, main part of steerer, are all steel. With alloy only for the bars.
Giant Conway 1.0 Folding Bike - Folding
The Conway 1.0 folds up quiet easily, but could do with folding peddles as these add to the width a fair amount. Don't get be wrong it will go in the boot of a car easily, even a small car, but it makes for a knobbly package.
Giant Conway 1.0 Folding Bike - The RideThis is fine. The ride comfort is surprisingly good, with an upright position if you want and a more "flat back" ride if you prefer, the adjust-ability is immense I am 6 ft 1", and I am pretty sure my 4 year old daughter could ride this as well.
Being single speed you are limited to how strong your legs are as to where you can cycle, steep hills are not OK, but shallow ones are fine, and walking or riding up a steep hill takes around the same amount of effort anyway, if a little slower.
The biggest let down are the tires, which only inflate to 45 psi, even for a fairly light rider (which I am not) this is not high enough. I overinflated the rear tire to around 60 psi, and it didn't explode. See one of my other posts for a detailed look at the Kenda 123 tyres.
The bike has a nice little rack over the rear wheel, but don't expect to put any panniers on this bike as your foot will bump in to them whilst peddling. A rack pack is your best bet, or maybe something on the handle bars.
Giant Conway 1.0 Folding Bike - Giant Specs
Frame: Steel
Net Weight: 11 KG (???? Will confirm)
Size: 16 inches
Brakes: Front and rear
Load: 120 KG
Folding Time: 15 Seconds
Tyre: Kenda 16*1.75
Giant Conway 1.0 Folding Bike - Brakes
It is a long time since I have ridden a bike without v-brakes. Oh my goodness calliper brakes on the front are fairly useless, and the rear hub brake (although neat) is not much better. However with both clamped on as hard as possible you can pull up fairly quickly and the fact that you won't be traveling too fast helps.
Giant Conway 1.0 Folding Bike - Suggested Extras / Upgrades
I would suggest getting some better tires for this bike that inflate to at least 65 psi or higher. Schwable Kojaks would be ideal, or continental super tours. The mud guards are pretty snug so I wouldn't increase the width.
Update 12/ 11/12 - I have upgraded the tires for some Schwable Marathons with Green Guard. Which have made this bike roll very well. The gearing is a little low for a strong rider. I have also changed the brake levers they were rather bendy under load, and have swapped them for some alloy one. Braking is still poor, especially on the front brake!
My Giant Conway 1.0 was on sale for £110 nearly new. I am still trying to work out whether I have got a bargain or not. It is Giant brand so you would expect functional quality and up until now that seems about right. I have now upgraded this folding bike.
Giant Conway 1.0 Folding Bike - Weight
The first thing I noticed (when I took delivery) was the weight, official stats put the bike at around 11 kg, which is not too bad. But I am not convinced this is accurate, it feels heavy for its size. The frame, seat post, mud guards, main part of steerer, are all steel. With alloy only for the bars.
Giant Conway 1.0 Folding Bike - Folding
The Conway 1.0 folds up quiet easily, but could do with folding peddles as these add to the width a fair amount. Don't get be wrong it will go in the boot of a car easily, even a small car, but it makes for a knobbly package.
Giant Conway 1.0 Folding Bike - The RideThis is fine. The ride comfort is surprisingly good, with an upright position if you want and a more "flat back" ride if you prefer, the adjust-ability is immense I am 6 ft 1", and I am pretty sure my 4 year old daughter could ride this as well.Being single speed you are limited to how strong your legs are as to where you can cycle, steep hills are not OK, but shallow ones are fine, and walking or riding up a steep hill takes around the same amount of effort anyway, if a little slower.
The biggest let down are the tires, which only inflate to 45 psi, even for a fairly light rider (which I am not) this is not high enough. I overinflated the rear tire to around 60 psi, and it didn't explode. See one of my other posts for a detailed look at the Kenda 123 tyres.
The bike has a nice little rack over the rear wheel, but don't expect to put any panniers on this bike as your foot will bump in to them whilst peddling. A rack pack is your best bet, or maybe something on the handle bars.
Giant Conway 1.0 Folding Bike - Giant Specs
Frame: Steel
Net Weight: 11 KG (???? Will confirm)
Size: 16 inches
Brakes: Front and rear
Load: 120 KG
Folding Time: 15 Seconds
Tyre: Kenda 16*1.75
Giant Conway 1.0 Folding Bike - Brakes
It is a long time since I have ridden a bike without v-brakes. Oh my goodness calliper brakes on the front are fairly useless, and the rear hub brake (although neat) is not much better. However with both clamped on as hard as possible you can pull up fairly quickly and the fact that you won't be traveling too fast helps.
Giant Conway 1.0 Folding Bike - Suggested Extras / Upgrades
I would suggest getting some better tires for this bike that inflate to at least 65 psi or higher. Schwable Kojaks would be ideal, or continental super tours. The mud guards are pretty snug so I wouldn't increase the width.
Update 12/ 11/12 - I have upgraded the tires for some Schwable Marathons with Green Guard. Which have made this bike roll very well. The gearing is a little low for a strong rider. I have also changed the brake levers they were rather bendy under load, and have swapped them for some alloy one. Braking is still poor, especially on the front brake!
For carrying stuff around I would get a rack pack too I opted for a Carradice Super C Rack Pack which is a nice bit of UK made kit.
Visual Impact Assessment for Wind Turbine
Visual Impact Assessment for Wind Turbine
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