After weeks of product comparison and contemplation, my wife and I decided to pull the trigger on the Croozer 535, a 3-in-1 bicycle trailer. It seems like the market for bicycle trailer is very small. So you will either get something good or worthless. Anything in between is still questionable. I’m not saying you have to spend hundreds of dollars to get a good one. But you have to be careful in your selection because some manufacturers claim a bunch of features on their trailer but don’t work in the real world.

When we decided on a bicycle trailer, we said that we would require a few things from it. First, it must accommodate two kids without them being cramped inside. It should be able to attach to our bikes without any hassle, unlike the old one that we got for $5 from a garage sale. I know it’s only $5 but it works except for the trailer arm. The trailer should also be able to handle rough terrains when used as a trailer and a jogger. That means, the trailer must come with a front jogger wheel. We also wanted to ditch our bulky tandem stroller so the trailer must be able to convert and function as a stroller. Since it’s going to be used as a stroller most of the time, it should look like one and not as a trailer. It should be easy to fold and load in the van.

I know that we are asking a lot from our wish list above. But guess what, there are actually a couple of bicycle trailers that feature what we wanted. When we were looking for a trailer, there are only four brands that we considered as they were the most popular ones and most reviewed. They were the Burley, which is the Britax of bicycle trailers, Chariot, Schwinn and InStep. The Burley D’Lite is the most expensive one but it’s built to last. The Schwinn Joyrider is the first that we considered buying because it almost has all the features that we need except that it doesn’t come with the jogger wheel and I wasn’t too excited about the overall look and design. Then the InStep trailers, which are the most affordable ones and they’re not bad looking either. But  the saying you get what you pay for holds true with this brand. There are some bad reviews specially when converting to a stroller. I think the InStep is the best bang for your buck if you just wanted a bicycle trailer.

While reviewing the Schwinn Joyrider, I saw the Croozer 535. They offer the same features but the Croozer has a better built and design. It comes with a jogger wheel which is perfect for my wife when she wants to run. The separate bucket seat is also nice so my two kids will have their own space inside the trailer. There are not too many reviews and videos but I was sold on the demo video from Croozer Designs. It has everything that we were looking for and it looks very nice on the video.

So the bicycle trailer was delivered in our door on Friday. I was happy to see it because I didn’t expect it will get here on time for the long holiday weekend. It comes in a big box like a regular bicycle would. The only things that needed assembly were the front bumpers, the wheels and the handlebar. I didn’t even need to read the included manual to assemble the whole thing. A phillips screwdriver, a small hex wrench and allen wrench are needed to attach the front bumper and two reflector lights. The rest are installed via the lockable pins. My favorite is the side wheels which are easily attached and detached by pushing a button, no need for skewers! My only gripe is the handlebar which is a pain to attach. They made it look easy on the video though so I’m guessing I might have gotten a bad one. After the assembly, my 2 1/2 year old daughter jumped inside and settled her self on one of the buckets. She likes it. There’s plenty of room for her. Then my wife seated our 10 month old and they both looked comfy inside. I only tried pushing the stroller inside our house and it seems smooth and easy to push. Folding is easy but storing it in the garage or the van is too much hassle just like any other bicycle trailer because you have to take of the wheels (or you can just leave it if you have plenty of room).

Overall, my wife and I are very happy so far with our purchase but the real test is when we bring it in the park/trail. From how it stands, with all its lightweight aluminum materials and durable fabric, I have no doubt that it will perform as it was advertised.

Yet again, I pulled the trigger today on a Santa Cruz Superlight mountain bike. I got it from Sun Bike Shop in Milpitas and I have to give two thumbs up for my first purchase experience with them.  I was initially just going to replace my frame but since my wife needed a bike anyway, I decided to get a kitted one. I’d like to think that I got a good deal on this bike considering that most of the local bike shops don’t even carry them all the time and Santa Cruz takes a long time fulfilling orders for them. This bike I bought is built with the “R xc” kit (a manufacturer spec) so the components were upgraded. In addition to that, the fork was also upgraded to a Fox 32 F-120R instead of the RockShox Tora Air. The best upgrade was the rear shock. The original kit only came with Fox Float R and they upgraded it to Fox Float RP23 with 3 ProPedal positions and an on/off switch. I didn’t care about the rear shock before but reading the reviews and advantages of the RP23 over the R, I told them to keep it on the bike. If I didn’t get the RP23 now and decided to upgrade to it in the future, it’s going to cost me at least $400 for a new one.

Originally, I wanted to get a small frame because of my height but after test riding the medium, I thought it was the perfect fit for me. The reach is longer and I don’t feel cramped compared to the small one. The stand over height is not bad and the medium is only about half inch difference from what I currently ride. In fact, the Santa Cruz site says that the medium will fit a 5′5″ to 5′10 person.

This Saturday will be my first trail experience with this bike so I hope I’ll get my money’s worth

Fortunately, the new frame that I’ve been eyeing on (Sette Ace) has an ETTL of 57.5cm, which is perfect. I’m also looking at the Santa Cruz Blur XC Carbon and Superlight with an ETTL of 55.3cm. But the Santa Cruz is more money, but…but… it’s a freaking Santa Cruz I’m also interested on the Specialized Epic but I just learned that their small frame has an ETTL of only 54.5cm. So among the three, if I decided to not care for a pretty sticker on my frame, I might just go with the Sette Ace. At least, that name still starts with a big “S”

I did a 5.2 mile loop today around my neighborhood – Nieman to Yerba Buena. It’s mostly uphill but not too steep. Next time, I’ll try the opposite direction. Yerba Buena is about 1.5 mile climb.

Groesbeck Hill is a great exercise and physical park. It sits on a 26.6 acre land with 9 picnic tables, 1 basketball court, 3 tennis courts, 1 soccer field, a volleyball court and exercise course. The walking/riding trail has two steep paved hills and a dirt hill that crosses the park.

I just did 2 loops and the dirt hill. I gave up, it’s too hot and the bottled water we brought was not enough. I didn’t want to get a heat stroke. But I’ll definitely come back to this park since it’s only 10 minutes away from us.

The Package:

The bike came in a big box. It has Motobecane’s name on it and instructions on how to stand it up. There’s a small rip on the side but when I checked, it didn’t look like it damage anything inside. I give bikesdirect an A+ for a very well done packaging. All the parts are securely and nicely arranged inside the box. I didn’t see any scratches on any of the parts. The brake and shifter controls are already mounted to the handle bar and the cables are also wired up. The quick release skewer for the front hub is zip-tied to the detached front wheel. The seat is also detached but its already mounted to the seat-post. The small box contains the free pair of Gravity clipless pedals and a white reflector. The box also comes with a bunch of parts manuals and a generic owner’s manual that I didn’t bother to use.

Inspecting The Bike:
Before I began assembling the bike, I thoroughly inspected the bike first because some parts are zip tied and locked. I didn’t need to do this yet but it’s easier to work on something when everything else is freely moving. Besides, I might even forget about them and who knows, they may do some damage to the bike.

Plastic caps on front wheel hubs

Plastic cap on rear wheel

Plastic cap on rear wheel

Crank arm is zip-tied to the wheel

Plastic fork stand

Assembling The Bike:
As you can see from the picture above, the bike is about 90% assembled. All that’s left to be done is mounting the hydraulic brake to the fork, attaching the front brake rotor to the wheel, mounting the handlebar to the stem, installing the seat post and the pedals. Bikesdirect made it really easy for online customers to assemble the bike. It’s almost RTR (ready-to-ride). You don’t even need to set the hydraulic brakes because it’s already bled and set unless you want to adjust it to your own taste. It’s really that easy to assemble this bike. But if you prefer a fully assembled bike without putting any labor on it, you can take it to your local bike shop and they’ll do it for about $50 to $70. To those who wants to get their hands dirty, you might find the following instructions useful.

Tools Needed:

• Allen Wrenches
• Torque Screw/Nut Driver (required but I say its optional)
• Pedal wrench
• Cutter (this is really just for cutting the zip ties)

Assembly

1. Start by removing all the plastic caps, zip-ties, paper wrap and rubber bands.

2. Mount the handlebar

Use a 4mm allen wrench to loosen all four bolts
on the faceplate of the stem clamp.

Position the stem clamp directly in the middle of the handlebar.
Rotate the handlebar until you achieve a relax position of your wrist.
Once set, secure it with the front plate and four bolts.

3. Remove the quick release skewer from the front wheel.

4. Attach the brake disc/rotor to the front wheel.

The disc package comes with 6 bolts and 2 zip ties
for securing the brake cable to the fork.

Lay the disc to this side of the hub. Left side of the wheel when mounted.

Make sure that the disc facing up has the markings on it.
You’ll also notice the directional arrows on the disc.
This is how the disc should be rotating when the bike is moving.

The bolts are applied with the blue thread lock coating
so that they don’t come loose during bouncy rides.

If you have a torque driver, torque the bolts at 55in-lbs.
Or you can just do it by feel

Try to use a criss-cross pattern when tightening the bolts
for best equal torque distribution.

5. Install the quick release skewer. The cam can be positioned on either left or right.

6. Mount the front caliper to the fork

Remove the red plastic tab and save it for later
when you need to service the caliper.

The caliper already comes with the right bracket for the fork.
Loosen the two bolts on the caliper and bolt it to the mounting tabs on the fork.
Torque the bolts to 80 to 90-lbs.

7. Mount the front wheel and make sure that the disc seats properly between the caliper’s pad. Tighten the skewer and lock the cam by pushing it towards the wheel. Secure the brake cable to the body of the fork by using the provided zip-tie.

8. Install the seat post and adjust according to your height or your desired position. You can also adjust the seat by loosening the bolt underneath. I found the top tube on the fantom elite to be short for me so I slid my seat backwards.

9. Mount the pedals and your bike is now complete and ready to ride. Make sure to check if the brakes are all working properly. You may also need to inflate the tires. On-road, I normally inflate my tires between 50 and 60 psi and for off-road, it’s between 35 and 40 psi.

First Impression:
Honestly, when I first saw the bike on the website, I wasn’t too impressed with the frame’s design. I also wasn’t digging the black frame. But now that the bike is in front of me and fully assembled, my pessimistic view about this bike all went down to drain. The 16″ frame actually looks better than the larger ones. The gap between the top tube and down tube when they meet on the head is not apparent anymore. And the matte black finish… it’s gorgeous. I really love this bike now. The welds are beautifully done. I just wish they spend more time in smoothing it out. The pre-assembled parts looks pretty good to me. It seems like they were put together well except for the stem which I have to align, but this is minor.

Now for the cons. Let me start it off with the front brake cable. Out of the box, the cable is kinked. This is not something that I can ignore because this is a hydraulic cable. It actually affects the braking. It’s inconsistent and seems to lose pressure every time I squeeze the brake lever. I already emailed bikesdirect about this and I’m just waiting for their reply. The top tube is also short for my taste. I had to slide the seat backwards so I can get a better seating position. The free pedals are ok but I would definitely get something better. Oh well, it’s free! And lastly, this bike is quite heavy. It weighs approximately 29.5 lbs on my bathroom scale. I’m sure there is still room for improvement but I need to loose my own baggage first before I put this baby on a diet.

Overall, it’s not a bad bike for under $1000. But the real test has yet to come. I’ll probably just break her in on a smooth pavement for now then we’ll make her eat some dirt later.

If you are not picky about brand names, I suggest to check this bike out from bikesdirect.com.

Awesome! Now it’s a waiting game. UPS, please be careful with my baby.

So I ordered a Motobecane Fantom Elite from bikesdirect.com, which is the online retailer for Motobecane USA. Don’t mistaken Motobecane USA with the dissolved French bicycle manufacturer Motobecane. They have no affiliations at all or whatsoever. MB’s frame are either made by Kinesis Industry or Alu-Mate Material Industry, both based in Taiwan. Kinesis makes frames for other major bicycle brand such as DiamondBack, Felt, GT, Schwinn, Jamis, K2, Raleigh, Trek and Kona.

Honestly, I’m not a big fan of the Fantom Elite’s frame. It looks old school compared to the frames from other brands. But for the components that I’m getting with this bike, it’s too hard to pass it up. I probably would have spent over $2K if I had gone with a Specialized bike. So with the money I saved, I can always get a nicer frame later on. Looking at a geometry of the frame, it’s on the conservative side. It’s meant to be an AM (all mountain) bike but more on the XC side. I was originally looking at the Fantom Comp but for $200 more, I could get a better fork, better derraileurs and shifters, and better hydraulic brakes. The fork alone is almost a $200 upgrade.

I’m excited about this bike. I can’t wait any longer. I need to go back riding soon and hopefully, I’ll be able to take it to my local trails too.

Before I can test ride the bike, I had to fill out the waiver form and hand them my driver’s license and a credit card. The store has a nice back lot and a pretty good height loading dock in their delivery area. Did I jump the bike? Well, not in the loading dock but they have slabs by the doors and that’s where I had fun. The bike was awesome and good looking too. The front-end was kinda heavy for some wheelies but I was still able to lift it. The Avid BB5 brakes are nice, plenty of power. The 17″ was actually perfect for me because I normally fit on a 15″. I think this bike runs small. And this beast is pretty heavy. I guess its typical for a full suspension bike with disc brakes on it. Overall I’ll give it an 8 for first impression. Riding it on the trail is where you can really appreciate this bike.

Like I said, I had fun jumping the bike over the slabs. What I didn’t tell you is I made an error. I miscalculated and I ended up hurting my wrist. I also bruised my hand under the brake lever, ouch. It looks like I won’t be able to ride my motorcycle nor my bicycle for a while. Oh by the way, the bike was ok. No damage at all!