Prodrivefoldingbike Reviews 19

Following my initial review, Prodrive reached out to offer a set of reflectors. While I appreciate the gesture, offering a plastic bracket for a £5,334.52 bike is like offering a band-aid for a structural failure. My technical analysis since then has revealed much deeper, more systemic engineering compromises:

1. The Motor Mismatch (Manufacturer Convenience Over Utility)
My single-speed bike is fitted with the Zehus Halos MY24 motor. This motor is designed for 4-9 speed cassettes. The superior choice for a single-speed setup is the Horizon MY24, which includes an intelligent slope sensor. It appears Prodrive chose the Halos simply because it fits their legacy carbon frames without requiring the structural reinforcement (closing bracket) that the smarter Horizon motor demands. You are buying a mismatched powertrain because they didn't want to update their frame design.

2. "Blind" Assistance & Safety Risks
Because the Halos lacks a slope sensor, it relies strictly on cadence. On inclines, when your pedaling slows, the motor reduces assistance—the exact opposite of what a rider needs. Furthermore, the 40 Nm of torque is delivered abruptly without granular control, causing dangerous swerving in urban environments. The regenerative braking (KERS) is also unstable on these small wheels without the Horizon’s sensor management.

3. The "Ready Frame" Deception
I was promised a "ready-made frame" for speed, yet it still took 4 weeks—their standard lead time. This time was clearly not used for quality control or component compatibility checks.

4. Quality Control Failures (Original Issues)

Mudguards: Fundamentally incompatible with the folding mechanism. The left support arm was omitted to allow folding, and the right arm arrived bent. Folding the bike now warps the tire and mudguard.

Accessories: The CatEye light strap snapped immediately, and the provided reflectors do not fit the oversized seat post. The "experts" who spent 3 weeks assembling this failed to measure basic tube diameters.

Conclusion:
Prodrive has prioritized manufacturing convenience over customer safety and product functionality. You are paying premium prices for a "handicapped" bicycle built around a legacy frame. A £5k bike should understand gravity; this one only understands how to save the manufacturer money on R&D.

I have ridden the Single speed bike for a few months now and have to say what a pleasurable and stable bike it is to ride. Nice and light to carry as well!

took a while until I got it, but it’s a an awesome bike, easy to fold, lightweight. Single speed is perfect for cycling in the town. Cost for customs are high because it comes from outside EU

Wonderful team who do everything possible to accommodate client wishes. Bike is awesome.

I ordered a bike and the company confirmed receipt of the money/order 10 weeks ago. Website states 2-4 weeks. I have still to receive the bike. My emails go unanswered. I ordered an accessory. Likewise. Nothing. I email. No one answers. One promised delivery time came and went weeks ago with nothing. No update. Silence since. My advice? Problem of modernity: powerlessness like this, and all it needs its good communication. Even a long wait is kind of OK if explained. Sorry guys but I’m sure you can do better.
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Coming back to this review the following year. New head of sales reached out to me and explained much and offered a really kind invitation. I think I was just a victim of bad timing when Hummingbird was being taken over fully by ProDrive … my bad. In a world of corporate anonymity the personal approach was very impressive and when I’m in the market for a foldable I will be back. I am very impressed. Thanks Dafydd. So what I can provide to would-be purchaser is the confidence that the company are amazing. Others will review the bike itself. On that score there’s a lot of great stuff on the web to guide you. Happy trails!

Great fast service! Very pleased

Waited 3 months to test ride the new Hummingbird before writing this review.

Took about 3-4 weeks to arrive upon order to Singapore.

Aesthetics:
There were very minor paint cracks on the bottom bracket area due to the folding mechanism of a hummingbird which actually force the rear triangle rubbing against the bottom bracket.
The paint job on the frame was indeed flawless and beautiful and glossy. The hummingbird logo and wording was also well protected with finishing paintwork over it.

Riding experience:
From a brompton user, I am amazed with hummingbird‘s performance, it was really smooth and to my surprise, the hummingbird perform slightly better on road humps than a brompton with stock suspension block.

Service :
Service from Charlie was superb, I broke one of the bar end clip and asked if I could get a replacement, immediately without hesitation, Charlie shipped it out and received within days.

Pros :
Weight
Design
Service

Cons :
- Pressfit bottom bracket and crankset are rubbing against each other which affects performance ( what I did, release the crankset and loosen the crankset cover - Fixed ) but would be perfect if bottom bracket and crankset to be changed to a better set that spins freely.

Website is fairly easy to navigate.
Emails were returned, questions answered.
Notified of expected date of arrival in aust
All easy.
on arrival of course I have to pay Aust GST

We thought Humming bird is a very reputable company.
with very high standard of management and product quality.
But we were disappointed when we received the 2 cartons from DHL in good condition outwardly.
When we open the 2 cartons we found missing gel saddle and damage of seat holder. they deny all responsibility ,said they not responsible from transit.
how can it be damaged and items lost in transit, when both the carton outwardly were in good condition, sealed and without damage.
We are very very disappointed.

Poor delivery plan schedule:
1. 06/08/2021 : Informed delivery between 4 - 6 weeks.
2. 16/09/2021 : Informed delivery further delay additional 4 weeks (6 + 4 = 10 weeks).
3. 12/10/2021 : Informed delivery further delay again additional 12 weeks (6 + 4 + 12 = 22 weeks).
No initiative to share delay schedule ahead but replied passively after a few email to chase for it.
This poor handling is misleading the consumer.

Super Excellent service support.

Very kind communication.

Many thanks for the gift that I got from Hummingbird for this purchase.

Many thanks and I love Hummingbird bike.

Regards,

Andrian from Indonesia

Hummingbird bikes are beautifully crafted and eye catching. They also ride pretty damn well. Recent purchase was for the bike bag which was promptly delivered, is practical and provides good protection for the bike when travelling.

Cannot award 5 Stars as my order had some teething problems ,which were quickly resolved by the company.
I found the staff very professional and friendly and it’s nice to know they are only a phone call away if I have a question or problem.
The Hummingbird is a beautiful piece of engineering and I am appreciating the bike the more I use it.
Thank you
All at Pro- Drive

Like the bike and had a few questions about the folding to the smallest size i.e, with the front wheel off and attached to the frame somehow as shown in your manual. Found the gear sizes much larger than quoted in your description. I’ll check the gearing in more detail tomorrow. What not impressed with your courier selection. I.e. DHL. They appear to be using out of date delivery processes.

Dan

The Hummingbird is super fun to ride. However, stay away from this one if you want to fly under the radar. This bike is a major head-turner and conversation starter, no doubt about it.

A big THANKS to Charlie!! He is patient, helpful, and a delight to work with. Never pushy, just gently nudges you in the right direction and provides plenty of insightful feedback throughout the process.

IMHO, if Brompton took the folding bike mainstream; Hummingbird takes it to the future.

I bought one of their electrical foldable bikes and it is a joy to ride around. It gets a good amount of looks.

Chose the bespoke colour option and they were patient and very helpful in designing the bike, sending me several mock ups so I could see what the bike would look like before confirming the design. The result was even better than the mock ups!