Great post, Amuro!

In your last picture I'm happy to see a new chain tensioner!
With the screwheads on the outside it should be possible to adjust the chain tension without taking the abike apart.
And hopefully the new tensioner will give more levels of adjustment.
This could be the end of the rattling chain and the spiral grooves on the rear tyre!

Another minor improvement seems to be the handlebar grips:
now without the hard plastic endcaps.
This doesn't matter to me since I'll put on my black foam grips anyway for better vibration protection of my hands.

Also from the webshop pictures it seems the pump has a slightly differnt design nipple: It looks thinner. This should make it easier to screw the pump nipple to the tyre nipple.

I hope to receive the 2010 model this week!

Job

Here are some photos showing the differences between the old models and the 2010 model:

An old model


The 2010 model


The old saddle


The newly designed saddle


VP-F50 folding pedal used on old models


VP-F55 folding pedal used on the 2010 model


Rear wheel close-up of an old model


Rear wheel close-up of the 2010 model


A minor improvment is noted on the new model:
Heat Shrink Tube is used on the contact part between the valve and the rim to protect the inner tube from being torn when inflating the tyre (rear wheel only):
http://www.abike-uk.com/img/a-bikeplusf.gif

Here is the photo gallery of the 2010 model on the official Japanese A-bike website:
http://www.abike-uk.com/gallery.html

Stevbike wrote:Hopefully, a person in Finland reading this post will come forward to allow the last person to ride the bike before buying it. Given the fact that you are 6' 3" tall, a replacement seat and seat post will be needed to allow you to fit the bike properly. I am only 5' 7" tall and found the seat post too short for myself to get a good fit on the bike. After replacing these items, I found the bike far more livable to ride on.

stevbike

Hello,

A new user from Finland here, what a coincidence. I purchased the 2010 model a few months ago, and the only thing that causes concern is the sustainability of tires other than asphalt or concrete surfaces. Actually I've already lost one tyre, so I'd be happy to hear, if anyone has done any sort of modifications to make the tyres more reliable? (I read about some hard-rubber tyres, but I just cannot find the message any more!)

Anyway, if the finnish guy writing earlier message would register an account to this forum, I would give some more detailed contact information. I'm living in West-Finland (Tampere), and a test drive would be perfectly OK!

finzee

The one weak area of the A-bike design is the weight limit. Simply put, many North Americans are over this weight making the limited to those that will meet these specs. To make the bike a bit more useful to this market, a redesign would be nice to allow a wide range of users even it means a slight increase to the bike itself. Some riders are near or at the weigh limit and report carrying a extra back pack (more weight) as well with the bike holding up on their rides.

Hopefully, a person in Finland reading this post will come forward to allow the last person to ride the bike before buying it. Given the fact that you are 6' 3" tall, a replacement seat and seat post will be needed to allow you to fit the bike properly. I am only 5' 7" tall and found the seat post too short for myself to get a good fit on the bike. After replacing these items, I found the bike far more livable to ride on.

stevbike

Any information on if the weight requirements have improved with the sturdier version? While mostly fit into the 6'3" height requirement, I can't see myself reaching the weight requirement too soon...

The FAQ on the shop still has the same figures.

Wish there was someone in Finland with one so I could try it.

It sounds like you are enjoying the bike and the improvements are worth the extra cost. I hope the others are also getting the most out of the bike as well!

stevbike

I've now had the new 2010 model for a few days and can give a preliminary thumbs up. I hope to provide photos or video eventually, but i can give these observations now:

All the materials seem improved, all the bolts and hardware are of improved metals, and the plastic does seem to be a better grade, as promised. The bike is clearly sturdier and more rigid. The tools that come with it are also improved. The cases for the rear-wheel bearings are sturdier and unscrew from the outside, so you no longer have to take the bike apart to access the bearings. The seat post does not wobble, and you can now adjust the tightness of the seat-post clamp with the provided wrench (spanner) without having to remove the blocking bolt. The brakes are more responsive with the new springs, and i had less trouble adjusting them than i have had with my past A-bikes. The ride is smoother and the pedaling surer, and the rear wheel seems to have lost its back-and-forth wobble. The pedals are slightly better quality, but still too short for me, so i extended them out by about 3 cms to allow my feet to be a bit further apart and in line with my knees and hips. It is still true that the saddle and seat-post are inadequate, though improved. I use the Thudbuster seat-post.

All said, this is a remarkable improvement, and i am extremely grateful to those who must have worked long and hard to work out details of engineering to come out with this fine new version. I really want to keep using the A-bike as my primary daily run-around transportation, and this improved model has greatly restored my faith in the A-bike design.

Where I live, the roads are in rough shape. I think that the smaller wheels would have troubles on them. I have a hard time using my 14 speed road bike using 700 by 25c tires at times when riding the roads. I would like to see a larger wheel option on the offical A-bike myself. It could be the ticket to more people buying the bike. I was thinking about the design itself and there is little that could be done really improved on on the overall design concept. I think the design has a timelessnes to it. Refining little details is the way to go and I am glad to see the company do the small refinements on the bike. One model I would love to see is a tandem version of the bike. I do not think there is need to make one other then the fact I think it would be cool to have the worlds smallest folding tandem bike. I have drawn up a design of one to see just how it could work. I like it! I would just like to see the A-bike placed in stores so more people could get there hands on it to see what the bike is about. I think it makes for a great second bike to run to a local store and can be stored inside taking up very little space. The option of having a factory built E-bike option would open up the market to people that may otherwise over look the design.

How have you found the A-bike design is holding up in use? I think the idea of carrying a tire and tube is good one. I never thought of that but it makes sense. Are you using a cycling computer at all to record the mile and riding time spent on the bike? I am using one on my copy version of the A-bike and it is helping me determine just how well the bike is holding up. To date it is doing OK.

I still believe the seat design from the factory is the one weak point of the bike. I understand the need on the rear cut-out to allow it to fold into the bike frame but as with others on this list, I changed mine over to regular seat and found out the bike can be used to go farther then the designers may have thought it could be used. It goes slower then my full sized bikes but that one of it's charms.

I don't get the complaint about 6" wheels, and the desire for 8" wheels. 6" wheels are just fine and stable and haven't caused me any trouble in my 4 years of riding A-bikes. Also, I can easily (and do) carry two spare wheels with me at all times so i can just swap wheels when i have a flat. Having bulkier wheels would make that more difficult. If you've had to change the inner tube on an A-bike, you know why it is best to carry the spare wheel ready to go. Whatever advantages 8" wheels might have in terms of speed (?) or safety are minor, but the added bulkiness and weight are not worth it to me.

I just ordered the 2010 model, which will be my fifth A-bike. I am excited about it, the improvements sound excellent.

Yes I have to agree. If I was them I would move towards standardising as much of the A-bike as possible. Seat, grips, pedal cranks, brakes... theres no point re-inventing things that others have been making for decades. This could bring the price down and let them focus on the really innovative part: the frame and compact gears.
With standardisation theres no reason why they couldnt franchise out assembling all kinds of versions of the bike to different bike shops to suit different customers. I would like to see different size wheel or even electric options, allowing people to choose thier own compromise between size weight and practicality.
In the meantime I guess modifying it is part of the fun.

I was wondering about the company going to the start using the larger wheel size. It makes the bike a bit more user friendly on the road. I have not ridden a original A-bike myself but I own a Chinese copy version with the 8" wheels and find the ride over rougher roads takes more work to deal with but is liveable. A smaller wheel size could work against riding it in these conditions.

The other thing I am interested in is the fact that the company only offers this bike as product. Without making a different product as some point, interest in the A-bike could fade in time. This happened in the 1890's with the bicycle industry. The product was over producted and by 1900, the cycling industry almost failed. I just hope that the A-bike can carry on for some time without fading at some point. I like the design and it should be seen more then it is is now.

stevbike

I'm excited to see a detailed 3rd party / personal review as well. (hopefully someone that really knows the details and goes over every little thing) And yes, Detailed photos and videos please. I'm pretty sure I'll buy one in the near future since I still have a first gen model. I just want to see and hear good things first.

"almost frictionless but rigid steering column"

He he, Ill believe that when I see it.... Unless its ball bearings.

"Still the same tiny wheels? "Epic fail"."

Exactly. If they had read any of the discussion on this forum they would realise the benefits of 8" wheels are well worth the compromise in size. Although it is good to see that they have increased the quality (and the price) as build quality is the only reason to buy the genuine one over the (often more innovative but not so well made) chinese copies.

Anyone have detailed photos of the new model? I would be interested to see the return spring mechanism for the brakes and the new gear/chain system.

Still the same tiny wheels? "Epic fail".