Sueh Q1 Folding Bike Review – Can Cheaper be Better?

There are just a few choices when you are looking for a sub-$200 folding bike. Sueh Q1 is probably the newest bike available in the low price range and we had a chance to test it in the last few weeks. Following is the insightful review.

Specifications & Features

• Colors: Black, White and Orange
• Speeds: 7
• Weight: 30.53 lbs (13.85 kg)
• Folded Size: 32.28″ x 23″ x 13″ (82cm x 58.4cm x 33cm)
• Frame: Steel
• Fork: Steel
• Stem: Steel, adjustable
• Seatpost:40mm x 510mm, adjustable
• Handlebar: Steel 54cm
• Shifter: 7-speed SUEH
• Brake Levers: SUEH
• Brakes: Hui Hong disk system
• Derailleur: 7-speed SHIMANO
• Crankset: Steel SUEH
• Cassette: SHIMANO 7 Speed
• Chain: SUEH
• Pedals: non-folding plastic
• Rims: Steel SUEH 28 holes
• Hubs: Steel SUEH
• Spokes: Stainless Steel
• Tires: Zhao Yang 20″
• Tubes: Zhao Yang
• Rider’s recommended weight: 242 lbs (110 kg)
• Rider’s suggested height: higher than 4.5 feet

Image Gallery

Performance

I had a very confusing and somewhat difficult experience with this bike. I ordered the bike on Amazon, and it arrived in two days with my Prime membership. The box came in damaged condition with a large rip in one side. I hoped that the bike was fine, and it turns out it was. Upon opening the box, I found that there was only a single layer of cardboard and only parts of the bike were wrapped in bubble wrap. Thankfully, there was no damage to the bike itself during shipping. I had to install the one piece handlebar, and upon inspection, I found that the handlebar stem was proprietary in that it had a groove that matched the head-end of the bike frame. I understand that the groove design was done to prevent twisting of the handlebar stem and to keep the handlebar exactly perpendicular to the axis of travel. I immediately thought that was a bad design because aftermarket handlebars would not be able to be installed on this bike, given the proprietary design. Also, if there were any damage in the future to either the handlebar or the stem, the entire thing would have to be replaced because it is a one-piece design. Other higher-quality bikes have a handlebar stem with a clamp on top, which accepts a separate handlebar.

Now on to the pedals. The bike came shipped with non-folding pedals, even though the picture on Amazon at the time clearly showed folding pedals. A folding bike that has non-folding pedals takes up more space in the trunk of my car, and I was not happy with this surprise discovery. The pedals were also hard to install, as the threads on the crank were not well-machined. It took a lot of effort to get the threads started so I could screw the pedals all the way in.

As for the folding mechanism, this has the standard two folds (one being the handlebar and the main body folding mechanism. First the handlebar fold was a bit dodgy, as I folded it up and tried to apply the clamp, it took a lot of effort to squeeze the clamp and I was not sure if I was going to cause damage to the clamp or not. Finally I was able to successfully clamp the handlebar in the upright position, and apply a second plastic retainer clip to keep the clamp from accidentally coming loose during riding. The main body folding mechanism uses a cheap bolt that swings into place and a dodgy-looking spring. Certainly not high-quality compared to Dahon folding mechanisms, but only time will tell if this design holds up.

The brakes needed the usual adjustments for a bike straight out of the box, but those worked fine.

Lastly, I do have to complain about the customer service that I received. The bike was sold by a distributor named Blasani, who uses Amazon for fulfillment. Therefore, I had limited options when it came to getting assistance with the non-folding pedals. Amazon gave me the choice of sending the whole bike back or keeping it, as it was not “sold” by Amazon. I then posted a review on Amazon’s site with pictures attached, showing how the bike was advertised as including folding pedals. The distributor, Blasani, replied to the review and blatantly disputed my statement that this bike should come with folding pedals, but said that they would send me replacement pedals as a gesture of goodwill. I waited two weeks and did not receive any pedals, or any follow-up communication from Blasani. I also checked Amazon’s website and my review was mysteriously removed from the bike’s product page.

Conclusion

Pros

• Very low price
• A variety of colors
• Good riding experience

Cons

• Bad customer service
• Cheap components
• Unreliable folding mechanism

This is actually an acceptable folding bike for the price. I would have kept the Sueh Q1 if they had followed through on their promise to send folding pedals, but I ended up returning the bike to Amazon.

Buy Sueh Q1 Folding Bike on Amazon