So, I’ve got a new [Pegoretti – ed.] road bike and I’m signed up for a sportive in September. But I’m not very fit and struggle to find enough time in the saddle to get fit. Could a Mezzo D9 folding commuter bike be the answer, or at least part of the answer?

It’s a few weeks in and it’s working. Each day I spend an extra hour cycling to and from the station and an hour less on the whole commute.

So that’s five hours extra a week pedalling and five hours a week credited to my notional leisure-time bank account – which, if I choose, can be spent on my new road bike doing some proper training. (Except my leisure-time account is in my wife’s name and she keeps the PIN secret). Am I really convinced that introducing a Mezzo D9 into my life will get me sportive-fit? Yes, in a way. 10 half-hour rides a week is probably doing very little for my fitness but that’s not the point. The leap from ‘sedentary commuter’ to ‘committed trainer’ is a big one and a little bit of activity woven into my day makes the prospect of longer training rides much less grim. I almost look forward to them.

On to the bike itself: The Mezzo’s surprisingly nippy. It’s got proper gears, it’s certainly not overly-weighty and there are no hinges on the aluminium frame so it feels pretty stiff. If you really go for it and, like me, you’re childish enough to want to do it, you can very occasionally overtake a Bianchi on Blackfriars Bridge. The fold-up, ‘Transformer’ bit is pleasingly quick and simple and it folds down small enough not to illicit tuts and dirty looks from commuters on busy trains. Looks-wise, it’s the most serious-looking of the contenders in my view. It shouts ‘my other bike is made of carbon’ [No it’s not, it’s steel – ed.] rather than ‘my doctor said this might give me another 10 years’ like some of the other fold-ups. My only gripe is that the chain is a little tricky to get back on – but apparently there’s a knack to that.

All in all I’m delighted with the whole experience. I’ve got more time and feel a little bit more up for it. The hardware works well and its ‘good looks’ make it the most acceptable fold-up for the image-conscious and vain – like me. Buy one, tuck your strides in your socks and race across Blackfriars.

More at www.mezzobikes.com.