by Larry Lagarde

You may have noticed the "Out Of Stock" note at the top of the page for the Kent Ultralite 6 speed. Well, that note is there because Kent International (and RideTHISbike.com) are now out of stock on this model. Worse yet, Kent has notified me that they are probably not going to offer more of these extremely popular & economical magnesium-aluminum folding bikes in the future.

Why?
Although I am not Kent's spokesman, I can guess that there are a couple of reasons why Kent is dropping this line. For one, the Chinese government is ending a large subsidy it created to reduce the cost of the high tech facility needed to build the diecast, magnesium-aluminum folding bikes. The result has been a steady increase in manufacturing costs for this bike. Add to that the rising costs of fuel, materials and labor and the result is a huge decrease in profitability for this model.

Kent's president and general manager have both been busy making the rounds looking at several aluminum folding bike protoypes to take the place of the Ultralite 6 speed. In fact, it appears that Kent is moving forward with a welded aluminum folding bike that is similar in appearance to the fabled Aerlite magnesium folding bike. Kent's model is not magnesium; however, it is said to be quite light and strong.

While the Ultralite 6 speed was far from the perfect folding bike, it had many admirers and a strong following among New Yorkers and other urbanites. Despite the bike's quirks, I'll miss it.

If all the positive reviews of the Ultralite left you interested in the bike, you're not alone. Several people have already asked that I put their name down should more become available at some point. If you feel the same way, let me know. I'll be happy to add you to the list.

Labels: Ultralite-folding-bike