johnmflores

photo of a silver folding bicycle with 20" wheels, a basket up front with a red bag in it, and a pair of plastic panniers attached to a rear rack

Farewell Zizzo Liberté

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Photo of a silver folding bicycle locked to a wrought iron railing on the sidewalk of a downtown area

My great nephew is heading off to college in the fall, so I gave him the Zizzo Liberté to zoom around campus with. I tried to de-nerd it before giving it to him, taking off the racks and old man kickstand and stuff, but the reality is that I have no idea what cool is to a person born in the 21st century. Heck, I don’t even know if the word “cool” is cool anymore.

Photo of a folding bicycle folded up and on the floor of a train station. Behind the bike is an old wooden bench where there's a blue backpack with a bicycle helmet sitting on it.

The bike was purchased in the December of 2019 so that I could bike/train/bus/bike my way to Washington DC when my partner was living there. We were committed to making a long distance relationship work, which meant frequent multimodal trips. I had other bikes but it seamed like a folding bike would be easiest to transport via train and bus.

Photo of a folded up folding bicycle in the below storage area of a bus. The bike is surrounded by luggage. A man is placing his luggage in the storage area.

I had not heard of the Zizzo brand before (they had been launched a couple of years earlier as EuroMini. But Costco was selling this 23 pound folding bike for less than $300 so I gave it a try. It came in a box and seemed to be a good product. The headset was a little tight, so I adjusted it. The 8 speeds shifted ok and the brakes were ok too. It wasn’t a high-end bike but it was nimble (when compared to 700c bikes) and fun.

Photo of a folding bicycle with plastic panniers parked outside a home improvement store. On the rear rack of the bicycle is a round grill and a bag or charcoal briquets. They are tied down with straps.

Then COVID hit and there was a bike boom and bike shortage at the same time. Prices went up and haven’t really come down since, even though the bike boom is gone and the bike market is contracting. New Libertés now cost twice as much, so I’d say that I got a good deal.

Photo of a folding bicycle locked to a street sign in winter. The bike is sitting upon an icy snowbank. There are warming pogies on the handlebars

The Liberté opened my eyes to smaller-wheeled folding bikes. They’re often a little slower and can feel a little skittish at first, but once I got used to it I had no problem. I liked the convenience of small wheeled folding bikes enough that I bought three more!

Photo of the rear half of a folding bicycle with plastic bucket panniers. On top of the rear rack is a large box held down with a wide strap. The box has a photo of its contents - a manual push reel mower.

Over the years, the Liberté has been the workhorse of the fleet, outfitted for local errands when my partner left Washington DC and moved closer. Front and rear racks, bucket panniers, rear-mounted kickstand. I’ve carried 25# sacks of rice, reel lawnmowers, charcoal, campfire wood, bags of Italian coffee, olive oil, flowers, pizzas…you get the idea. I have other bike that may have more miles on them, but the Liberté has the most trips.

Photo of the rear of folding bike with a rear rack and bucket panniers. On top of the rack is a 25 lb sack of rice that is strapped to the rear rack

A couple of years ago, I tried putting on wider 2.4″ tires – much wider than the stock 1.5″ tires and much wider than you’re supposed to put on narrow rims. I had to deflate the tires in order to squeeze them between the rim brake pads, but once they were on they transformed the bike. Every road instantly felt 20% smoother and it gave the bike a tougher stance. I’ve got Slime tubes on there too, and haven’t had a single flat in 6+ years of riding.

Photo of a folding bike locked to the pole of a street sign. Attached to the rear rack is a blue bag.

I hope that my great nephew (who really is great in multiple ways) gets some good use out of it. Or if not, it will hopefully land in the hands of someone who could use a bike. That’s the thing about bikes – they can last a long time with regular maintenance, and even if they’ve sat in a barn for a couple of decades, they often can be brought back to life pretty easily. As a renewable and sustainable vehicle, they can’t be beat. We just need to build and live in communities that support utility and errand biking.

Photo of a silver folding bike locked to a wrought iron rail. In the front basket is a helmet. In the rear plastic bucket pannier is a bouquet of flowers.

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