Gorgeous Folding Bike Places Form Far Above Function

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like,” Steve Jobs once mused, “design is how it works.” With that criteria in mind — because Jobs is a notorious bicycle fanboy — we looked beyond the aesthetics of the iF-Mode folding bike. The short of it: Despite a relatively smooth ride and some really clever design touches, we’re not certain this visually-arresting two-wheeler is worth $2,500.
Yeah yeah yeah, Mark Sanders won an iF Gold Award in 2009 for the bike—the same year El Jobso was honored for the iPhone 3G, Nano, iPod and Macbook Air. With its sleek aluminum monofork, hidden chain, and minimalist 26-inch alloy rims, the if-Mode certainly looks different from every other folding bike we’ve ever had the pleasure or displeasure of riding. The “integrated folder” boasts a fairly smooth and efficient folding mechanism: One lever frees a dual-hinge at the frame’s mid-point, allowing the bike to collapse, literally, in half. Magnets hold the wheels together. The pedals and handlebars also fold to create a pretty narrow footprint. All of this makes the bike easier to stash, but not necessarily carry.
This eye candy is a whopping 32 pounds! And that’s not our only beef.
Despite the BMX vibe, the iF-Mode is actually a dual-speed, not single-speed. Not a huge help on mega-hills, but appreciated. Ingeniously, the shifter is integrated into the bottom bracket, requiring you to heel-kick either the left or right side to change gears. It’s a unique design, but not easy to master. Even after a week, we found it a tad difficult to hit the sweet spot without looking which, of course, takes your eyes off the road. We can’t speak for Jobs, but we’ll go out on a limb and say running the bike into a parked car while shifting gears qualifies as one demerit on the ol’ “how it works” scorecard.
WIRED Solid integrated stem/fork instead of a flimsy, adjustable post. Disc brakes stop on a dime. Twenty-six-inch tires and thick aluminum monocoque frame distract from the bike’s folder-ness.
TIRED $2,500?! For a plastic crankset?! Pleather saddle and handle grips that look cheaper than a Cracker Jack prize. Out of the box, handle bar folding mechanism was beyond finicky and, well, defective (ours stopped working after five or six folds).