We’ve never been particularly fond of the 16- inch Di Blasi bicycle. Certainly, it has a clever folding action, but at 14kg it’s on the back-breaking side of heavy, it has too many wobbly joints, and it simply doesn’t stand up in comparison to your typical Brompton or Dahon.We’ll hold fire on the newer 20-inch version, which might perform better.

For some years, the company has also produced a trike, which looks absolutely fascinating on paper. Now, at long last we can answer a few questions about the hardware. Yes, it really is a full-size trike (albeit with 16-inch wheels), and yes, it really does fold into a Brompton-style package in a matter of seconds. Of course, there have to be a few compromises with something this complex, and at £800, is this really a viable product?

Folding & unfolding

Even experienced engineers will marvel at the Di Blasi trike.We can’t begin to explain what individual rods, linkages and hinges do, but fold the pedals and release a catch down by the saddle stem, and the back of the machine folds inward and curls up, like a frightened hedgehog. Release a second catch on the handlebar stem and the front folds forward and in, allowing the front wheel to disappear between the rear wheels. If you wait long enough with a saucer of milk, it might come out again.

The process is wonderful to watch, and results in a rectangular package sitting neatly on its rack, and a crowd of oohing and ahhing spectators. Even more remarkably, this rectangular block that was once a tricycle measures only 27cm wide, 62cm long and 66cm high.That’s 111 litres, or if you prefer (as we do), 3.9 cubic feet. So, yes, this large tricycle has wound up smaller than almost any folding bicycle you care to mention, with the exception (narrowly) of the Brompton.

…Even experienced engineers will marvel at the Di Blasi trike…

Is it easy to do? In theory you just push a couple of levers, but there are a few pitfalls for the unwary. The front wheel must be pointing forward, or it can jam as it tries to rise (or fall?) between the rear wheels, and if you don’t start with the pedal cranks in a vertical plane, everything can get fouled up. Otherwise, yes, it is very easy. And, if anything, unfolding is easier – the machine just sort of flips out, and provided the catches have re- engaged and the pedals have popped out, you can ride straight off.

And now, having got enthusiasts for folding and metamorphosing things all steamed up with excitement, we must qualify the more amazing bits.Try lifting the trike, and you’ll discover that it’s a lot heavier than a Brompton – 20.2kg to be precise (Di Blasi, rather unnecessarily, suggest 21kg), whereas a typical folding bike weighs 12kg or so, which most people can manage, at least over short distances.Twenty plus kilograms really is too heavy for the older or frailer folk who might want a trike. A young, able-bodied person might be able to carry it, or lower it into a car boot for you, but on your own, you’ll be stuck.We found a lightweight sack-truck useful for moving the Di Blasi about, but this won’t negotiate steps. Di Blasi do sell a neat bag with a shoulder strap that would make carrying easier and give some disguise on the bus.

Strangely, few concessions have been made to weight. Besides the cranks and wheels rims, the trike is almost entirely steel (even the rack) and some of the joints and brackets are pretty chunky.We think a weight of 15kg would be feasible with better use of materials, although this would obviously cost more.

Back with the good news, you can take the Di Blasi just about anywhere. Folding bicycles are allowed on all trains and most buses these days, but trikes are more or less universally banned.Technically, the Di Blasi is banned too, but we just walked aboard. Like a Brompton, the folded Di Blasi is both train and bus-friendly, but you need to plan your journey to avoid stepped bridges and long corridors, and it’s a good idea not to let the bus driver count the wheels…

Riding

The first special obstacle with the Di Blasi is single (left) wheel drive, which allows the trike to manoeuvre with great dexterity to the right, but rather hinders things when turning left.Try to pull away in what might be termed a spirited manner, and the drive wheel loses adhesion and slips like mad. Perhaps surprisingly, the Di Blasi has a relatively wide track, at a shade over 67cm, but it’s still narrow enough to lift an inside wheel on corners and adverse cambers, and (provided you lift the unpowered right wheel) you can ride for some distance in two-wheel mode. Incidentally, we’d suggest deliberately finding these limits somewhere soft and car-free before riding any trike in anger. Once you’ve got it on two wheels, you’ll begin to get a feel for avoiding it in future.

All this applies to any trike with two wheels at the back.The Di Blasi exhibits a few oddities of its own, against more traditional trikes.The wheelbase is a bit short, which can make the ride a bit choppy and nervous, and there’s a degree of free play in the numerous linkages and pivots that make the thing fold so wonderfully.This results in wheel track and camber angles that are only nominally correct most of the time, and some slightly odd handling traits, plus a few clicking, clonking and squeaking noises on the move. At very low speed, none of this matters, but you wouldn’t really want to ask too much of the machine at speed.

Unless you’re into leaning out, motorcycle sidecar style, cornering has to be a rather sedate affair, and there are more surprises in store when it comes to stopping. Bikes and trikes are obliged to have two independent braking systems, but the Di Blasi (quite legally) has both systems on the front wheel – drum brake on the right and band brake (plus a useful parking lock) on the left. In a straight line, the brakes do a reasonable job – .42G from the rather ‘woolly’ drum and .52G from a powerfully self-servo band brake (see A to B 42). But a crash stop with the band brake leaves the front wheel scrabbling for grip. Use both levers and the trike will stand on its front wheel, which can be most exhilerating.We managed a respectable stop of .63G with all three wheels just on the ground.

…Use both levers and the trike will stand on its front wheel… On a corner, forget it

On a corner, forget it.There you are, spinning cheerfully down a steep curvaceous road, and a car pulls out in front.Your only hope of braking and staying upright is to pull up in a straight line because any sort of panic brake application while cornering will flip the trike over. In marked contrast, braking on snow and ice would instantly lock the front wheel, resulting in no brakes or steering at all.

In reality, you won’t be spinning, leaning or flipping, the Di Blasi, because it’s not meant for high speed.This is a suburban shopping and commuting trike, with seven derailleur gears giving a range from 23 to 50-inches. Normally, we’d say that was laughably low, but in this case, a 50-inch gear is quite high enough, giving a top speed in the region of 10mph, which is adequate for its intended use. Higher gears and speeds would be dangerous, and lower gears would be impractical, because when climbing a steep hill in first, the front wheel tends to skid to the right with each pedal stroke, as the single driven wheel pushes the trike sideways. If you stand out of the pedals to put some extra weight over the front wheel, the left driven wheel just skids (see acceleration).

For those who still want to ride long distances at speed on a folding trike, it might just be possible to fit 349mm wheels and Primo tyres, and the little Shimano Capreo derailleur set would give some nice high ratios.

This is all hypothetical, of course.The vast majority of Di Blasi trikes find homes with little old ladies looking for safe, ride-to-the- shops transport, and provided you don’t do anything silly, it does this very well.The narrow track allows the machine to nip along surprisingly narrow pavements, and once at Sainsbury’s, the small wheels and short wheelbase help it manoeuvre into all sorts of corners, the trike easily turning (to the right, at least) in its own length. If you are up to looking suitably frail and harmless, you could probably get away with riding through pedestrianized areas banned to bikes and thus – like Aesop’s hare – reach the door of the supermarket before the motorist has parked, and the cyclist has chained his bike to a stand down the mall.This is where the Di Blasi really wins – it can get away with doing most of the things a disabled trike can do, and sprint home with the bacon at 10mph. And don’t be too concerned about all the talk of flipping, rolling and skidding.We showed the Di Blasi to an experienced trike user and she was impressed, so as trikes go, it’s clearly not particularly unstable.

…Within days, the lovely chromey bell had shrugged off most of its chrome like dandruff

Equipment

Considering how tiny the package folds, the Di Blasi trike is exceptionally well equipped. Full mudguards in chromed steel (weight no object, once again), a halogen dynamo lighting set, attractive chrome-plated bell and a substantial rack.This measures 28cm by 45cm and sits more or less over the rear wheels, so it should carry a good load. We rode for some miles with Alexander on the back; this low-slung 20kg human load actually improving the stability.The maximum recommended load (rider plus luggage) is 100kg, so we would have no qualms about putting 30 or 40kg on the rack, or better still, slung from panniers either side. Any weight here would tend to make the bike more stable and improve the grip.

Passengers are a no-no, officially at any rate.The rack is fabricated from cross, rather than longitudinal bars, so a conventional rack-mounted child seat will not fit. Di Blasi make no recommendation for carrying children, but we think the trike makes a jolly good platform for that sort of thing.We’d suggest a side-facing child seat, although it would need a quick release mount if you don’t want to compromise the easy foldability.

As with too many Italian products, the Di Blasi is rather let down by the quality of some components.Within days, the lovely chromey bell had shrugged off most of its chrome like dandruff, and some of the threaded components seem to be made of putty. Unusually the headset is a plain bearing, which might cause problems after a while, and other silly things spoil the look of the trike, like the Di Blasi letters on the frame, which peeled off before our eyes. Elsewhere, particularly for safety-related items, the finish and general quality seems to be very good.We managed to bend one of the chain links, but suspect this occurred whilst folding, as the chain is obliged to do some odd things.

Reader Denise Rayner (see box) tells us that the ubiquitous Selle San Marco saddle fitted to the trike is particularly uncomfortable in, shall we say, a critical area. Unfortunately, it’s welded into a special cradle to suit the twin seat tubes, so fitting an alternative would be difficult. Saddle height is adjustable between 83 and 96cm, locked by two quick releases at a choice of four heights, at least one of which should suit most people. if you want a custom setting, the tubes can be drilled, but there’s no escaping those maximum and minimum heights. Height adjustment should be easy, but the tubes tend to jam on the lower settings, which can be very annoying. Handlebars are fixed at 100cm – a bit upright for some, but then wind resistance shouldn’t be a great problem at 10mph.

Reader’s Experience Denise Rayner “Suffering from MS, I needed a trike.The Di Blasi is heavy – lifting it into the car was difficult, but manageable. Riding made me nervous at first, but within three minutes I was whizzing round our local park, and I ended up doing 12 circuits – about three miles. I was ecstatic to achieve 12mph. Like anything else, folding is easy when you know how, but because I was tired I found it very hard. I haven’t used the trike as much as I would like because I really need a ‘Bike Buddy’ to ride with.” (Anyone willing to share gentle rides in London can contact Denise at sunray7@blueyonder.co.uk)

Conclusion

What can we say? Trikes are rare enough anyway, and this compact folding version is probably unique. Ride two-up and you get cheery waves from Hell’s Angels on motor tricycles, while car-drivers – barely familiar with bicycles in most cases – just stare open- mouthed. In some ways, you have to be a bit of an exhibitionist to ride something like this, but you don’t necessarily have to look or feel like a complete banana, as we willingly do in, on, and sometimes under the more unusual forms of A to B transport.

If you have the space, a Powabyke electric trike costs the same, and does much the same things, with the bonus of whizzing up hills. On the other hand, if you need a compact folding trike, the Di Blasi is the best (and only) member of its class…

Specification

Di Blasi folding trike £800 . Weight 20.2kg . Gears Monsoon 7-spd . Ratios 23″ – 50″ Folded Dimensions H66cm W27cm L62cm . Folded Volume 111 litres (3.9 cu ft) . Test Duration 30 miles . Manufacturer Di Blasi web www.diblasi.it . UK Importer Concept Edge web www.conceptedge.co.uk mail info@conceptedge.co.uk tel 01895 850455