Oops I bought another weird bike

[inconsistant]

I haven’t bought a bike for ages, and after the interest caused by me fooling you all into thinking I was buying a Volvo when I got this bike:

Itera Plastic Bike 

I thought I’d do a thread on what is currently between my legs as I head home after collecting it.

 

it’s a Puma Biomega Boston folding bike. Yeah I know! Dates from 2005 when they were sold for a few years. 
ridden it about 10 miles so far and it's a nice ride, 8 speed hub gears but stuck in 2nd so it’s been slow going. More to follow.

[wuvvum]

Is that a Nexus hub?  Didn't realise they made an 8-speed Nexus that far back.

[inconsistant]

 

 

 

[inconsistant]

2 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Is that a Nexus hub?  Didn't realise they made an 8-speed Nexus that far back.

I can only see this, but haven’t had a proper look over it yet. 

[FakeConcern]

Very interesting!

When I first saw the pics I thought it was a Slingshot...

[inconsistant]

Also this was just around the corner from where I bought it

 

[wuvvum]

5 minutes ago, inconsistant said:

I can only see this, but haven’t had a proper look over it yet. 

Must have had a replacement rear wheel at some point - according to Wikipedia Alfine didn't even exist in 2005.

[inconsistant]

 

Looks like Alfine launched in 2006 so I guess it’s possible the bike could be 2006 not 2005. 
Not sure what years this bike was available but I understand most of the early ones were single speed, later ones were 8 speed like this one. Odd info I’ve found on the web says the 8 speed came with the Alfine hub like mine but as you say pre 2006 ones might have been different.  All pics I’ve seen of 8 speeds have the Alfine shifter. Mine is broken so meed to get a replacement ordered. . Will investigate these bikes further today if not too busy. 

[wuvvum]

What's it like weight wise?  It looks like it'd be rather less of a pain in the arse to fold than my Dahon Matrix, which needs you to carry a 6mm Allen key at all times.  Hub gears also a bonus on a folder (when they work).

[inconsistant]

I’ve got a Dahon Matrix too, which I love but remembering to take the tool is a pain, but for a full sized bike it does fold quite small if you drop the saddle and lift the handlebars off. 
 

I’d say this is about the same/a bit heavier, although is aluminium too. I got a puncture on the way back yesterday so got rescued with a lift. Folded it’s quite clumsy, and only just fitted in the estate car boot. Although I could have taken the saddle & quick release front wheel off to make things smaller. Handlebars are quite big so it won’t fold up conveniently whatever.  Both pedals fold and are spring loaded so pop back into position easily. I’ll take some photos of it folded. 
It’s got 24in wheels which is an odd size between my Dahon (26in) and my Brompton (16in) but it rides really smoothly. The wheel size makes it look short and tall. sits you quite upright, but felt nice to ride. Mine’s got a non standard big bum lady saddle which is really comfy. 
the big trick with these is when you fold it the cable that’s on place of the down tube unhooks and with the key (mine is missing) you can use the cable as a lock. The idea is that if a bike burglar cuts through it to steal it they make the bike unrideable. 
Interesting idea but a cable lock is probably less agro.

[Supernaut]

What's going on with that down tube?

If one can even call it a tube.

EDIT: Ah you explained just as I posted

[inconsistant]

On 08/08/2024 at 08:47, wuvvum said:

What's it like weight wise?  It looks like it'd be rather less of a pain in the arse to fold than my Dahon Matrix, which needs you to carry a 6mm Allen key at all times.  Hub gears also a bonus on a folder (when they work).

Sorry @wuvvum it's taken over 6 months to answer this. I took some comparison photos last summer and just realised I forgot to post them!

Here it is folded:

 

 

[inconsistant]

Here it is compared to my Dahon Matrix. The Matrix, despite having 26in wheels would be more convenient for taking on a train, or putting in the boot of a car, because with the tool you need for folding the frame it's easy to remove the handlebars at the top of the stem so it's much flatter. The bars of the Biomega are quite wide so it makes it clumsy whatever you try to do.

 

[inconsistant]

And here it is compared to my Brompton:

 

[inconsistant]

Folding pedals and close up of the folding mechanism:

 

And the broken gear selector.

 

I've replaced the gear and brake cables, inners and outers since those photos, and fitted a. new shifter and it looks and rides really nicely, although I think I'll need to do some adjusting of the gears because there's no drive in 4th gear. 

I'll take some new photos and add them soon...

 

[Rustybullethole]

Cool as that. Never seen one before. 

[Cavcraft]

On 10/04/2025 at 14:56, inconsistant said:

Folding pedals and close up of the folding mechanism:

 

And the broken gear selector.

 

I've replaced the gear and brake cables, inners and outers since those photos, and fitted a. new shifter and it looks and rides really nicely, although I think I'll need to do some adjusting of the gears because there's no drive in 4th gear. 

I'll take some new photos and add them soon...

 

Have you tried aligning the gears at the back? I think they're designed so that once the two yellow marks align (has to be in 4th gear, I think, which might be tricky if it's not there!) they should all work.

[inconsistant]

Thanks @Cavcraft I did sort the problem back in the spring after a bit of a google, I seem to be missing an update and photos of the fix from then.

Like you say, I put it in 4th gear and adjusted until the white markers lined up, and hey presto all gears now work really nicely.  With new gear and brake cables, new white outer cables and the broken gear shifter all replaced it looks a lot sharper and proved to be a really nice bike to ride about at an unhurried pace, it keeps a good momentum and is a nice smooth ride. Done several 8-10 mile rides back from work. It's a nicer ride than my Brompton, but it's heavier and feels it. I reckon the gear range is about the same.  It's just a shame it doesn't fold very conveniently as I'd be taking it to work on the train and using it a lot more. 

[Cavcraft]

I took the handle bar shifter off a similar one, couldn't see where the cable went so decided to see what happened if I separated it. Half the bits are probably still two miles down the road somewhere! Not sure how you've found actual shifting, but fairly slowly and gently seems to be the order of the day.