The 8" wheeled genuine A-bike

[Amuro Lee]

An 8" wheeled A-bike Smart?
http://item.taobao.com/auction/item_detail.htm?item_num_id=6181431012



Is it also an authorised product selling in mainland China?

BTW, the A-bikes shown in the pictures on the following post look like imitations more than authorised genuine products.
http://bbs.a-bike.com.cn/viewthread.php?tid=19&extra=page%3D1

Oh! I've just noticed that the poster of the last post on the above thread uses a photo of my body as his avatar.

[Binch Shin]

In the Mayhem's announcement(here), the Mind N Life took the licence for China market. Their Internet site is a-bike.com.cn which appeared on the sales page.

Anyway, WOW, the 18" wheeled A-bike Smart has a wider width.. they modified most of plastic parts..!

[Amuro Lee]

Everything is clear now, I think.

Hi Amuro
Yes we are inroducing the 8" into the UK in august and yes you are right
Mind n Life are the licensed and authorised seales company in PRC.
Thanks for your interest.
Best regards


David Merricks
Managing Director
______________________________________________________________
Mayhem UK Ltd

[Amuro Lee]

Although they have increased the wheel size on the 8" wheeled model, they have lowered the gear ratio from 6.81 to 5.25 as well.
http://item.taobao.com/auction/item_detail.htm?item_num_id=6181431012#description

Therefore, the actual gear ratio of the 8" wheeled A-bike is 8" × 5.25 = 42 gear inches. This means that the bike travels about 3.3 metres per crank rotation (20cm × π × 5.25 = 329.87cm).

The original gear ratio of the 6" wheeled A-bike is 6.81 (14 ÷ 8 × 35 ÷ 9), i.e. 6" × 14 ÷ 8 × 35 ÷ 9 = 40.83 gear inches. This means that the bike travels about 3.2 metres per crank rotation (15cm × π × 14 ÷ 8 × 35 ÷ 9 = 320.70cm).

[Binch Shin]

On the other hand, the lower Gear ratio could extend the life span of chains, especially the end-small chain. So I think it's a right decison..

Anyway, good research, Amuro

[Rob Friedman]

I came across two sites that talk about a Q-Bike an A-bike wannabe with 8" wheels (ok one just went down since yesterday..maybe because I sent them an email)

http://www.iq-mall.com/showpage.asp?id=18

so is this or isnt this the 8" abike?

Rob

[Amuro Lee]

http://www.iq-mall.com/showpage.asp?id=18
so is this or isnt this the 8" abike?

No, it is definitely not the genuine 8" wheeled A-bike.

[Job]

Here in the Netherlands I heard rumours about the official 8"wheeled a-bike too.

Great to see pictures of the thing!

Now I'm in doubt:
The 6"wheeled a-bike looks more elegant, and folds smaller and neater (more compact package):
I like the way it looks like it has no wheels at all!

The 8"wheeled version looks slightly larger, because of the extended steeringbar and extended plastic connections. So it will suit my 2.01meters (6ft7) better.
Also it will negotiate brick roads and potholes better because of the larger wheels.
And I suspect it will have improved speed / travelled distance per pedal move, at least if the gearing ratio is the same as in the 6" version. This will help cruising at a better speed without pedalling very quickly.

So it probably is more practical, but it looks slightly less elegant, less 'right'...

I guess i'll have to see and ride the two versions side by side to be able to decide.

Job

[Rob Friedman]

http://www.iq-mall.com/showpage.asp?id=18
so is this or isnt this the 8" abike?

No, it is definitely not the genuine 8" wheeled A-bike.

any opinions on it?? or shy away?

pss anyone have a 2 used handybikes here in the NY area??

[Guest]

8" wheeled A-bike [...] 3.3 metres

6" wheeled A-bike [...] 3.2 metres

Why are you sad that the 8" model is better?

[Garry]

I just received this announcement from Mayhem, the 8 inch wheeled A-Bike is coming this month!

http://www.abikecentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2008

[Job]

Gr8, I can't w8!

Suggestions for the name of the 8" version:
8-bike
A8-bike
Aight-bike

I'd choose A8-bike!

Job

[Stevbike]

I like the A8- bike name! It is nice to see a 8" wheel version being made at an offical level. It should get people interested in the A-bike design but not liking the 6" wheel size and not buying a copy version of the A-bike. I hope this version sells well.

stevbike

[Amuro Lee]

The 8" wheeled A-bike is now offically named as the "A-bike City".
http://www.a-bike.co.uk/?wpsc-product=a-bike-city



A-bike City

Ready to ride 'out of the box'.
Included: detailed instruction manual, quick start guide, full warranty and special A-bike City toolkit.

The new A-bike City has larger 8" wheels, carefully drilled to provide optimum weight and strength.

The A-bike City's drive system provides the smoothest A-bike ride to date and a softened remodelled saddle makes those longer journeys more comfortable.

The unique A-bike compactness and portability remain the same.

[Amuro Lee]

On the other hand, the lower Gear ratio could extend the life span of chains, especially the end-small chain. So I think it's a right decison..

Anyway, good research, Amuro

I wrote an e-mail to Mind & Life for asking why they chose that gear ratio on the 8" wheeled A-bike.

Clara of Mind & Life replied me very quickly and told me that the designer has tried 3 different gear ratios on the 8" wheeled prototypes:
14:8 and 35:9 (14 ÷ 8 × 35 ÷ 9 = 6.81)
14:8 and 34:10 (14 ÷ 8 × 34 ÷ 10 = 5.95)
14:8 and 33:11 (14 ÷ 8 × 33 ÷ 11 = 5.25)

According to the test result, he chose the lowest one which gives a better hill climbing ability and makes the bike a bit faster than the 6" wheeled models.