This bike design is so bad, someone has written and recorded a mock commercial for it:
Inventor's Bike Folds Into Its Own Wheel
31–37 of 37 posts
Re: Inventor's Bike Folds Into Its Own Wheel
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
Fold up bikes are a great concept. There is one 'but' though, they are not nearly as robust as a regular bike and hopping a curbstone or a pothole can have serious consequences. The pedals are usually a little lower over the road surface than on regular bikes and the wheels are small. They are also less rigid. When I was a kid I would ride a fold up bike to school every day, for two years without incident, then one d…
Why are they a great concept? Non-folding bikes aren't particularly heavy or unwieldy. Finding a place to park/lock your bike isn't hard in most cities (I think). I guess I don't understand what problem a folding bike solves.
Probably in cities where crime rates are high. I've gotten 3 bikes stolen in SF already. The last 2 bikes used some heavy duty U-locks that almost cost as much as the bikes themselves. Some office buildings in SF don't let you carry a bike inside, but they don't care if you fold it up and stick it in a bag. Also, if you have a car, it's a lot easier to throw the folded bike in the trunk than taking apart the front wheel of a normal bike and squeezing it in the back.
Re: Inventor's Bike Folds Into Its Own Wheel
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why are they a great concept? Non-folding bikes aren't particularly heavy or unwieldy. Finding a place to park/lock your bike isn't hard in most cities (I think). I guess I don't understand what problem a folding bike solves.
Probably in cities where crime rates are high. I've gotten 3 bikes stolen in SF already. The last 2 bikes used some heavy duty U-locks that almost cost as much as the bikes themselves. Some office buildings in SF don't let you carry a bike inside, but they don't care if you fold it up and stick it in a bag. Also, if you have a car, it's a lot easier to throw the folded bike in the trunk than taking apart the front wh…
In Amsterdam a friend of mine observed that the combined weight of bicycle and a lock strong enough to ensure that it will not be stolen is a constant.
We still haven't figured out the depth of this observation, does he mean that the lock is so heavy that the weight of the bike is negligible or does he mean that as the weight of the bike goes down the weight of the lock must go up...
Re: Inventor's Bike Folds Into Its Own Wheel
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
Probably in cities where crime rates are high. I've gotten 3 bikes stolen in SF already. The last 2 bikes used some heavy duty U-locks that almost cost as much as the bikes themselves. Some office buildings in SF don't let you carry a bike inside, but they don't care if you fold it up and stick it in a bag. Also, if you have a car, it's a lot easier to throw the folded bike in the trunk than taking apart the front wh…
In Amsterdam a friend of mine observed that the combined weight of bicycle and a lock strong enough to ensure that it will not be stolen is a constant. We still haven't figured out the depth of this observation, does he mean that the lock is so heavy that the weight of the bike is negligible or does he mean that as the weight of the bike goes down the weight of the lock must go up...
Lighter bikes are more expensive ... so a larger/heavier lock is required
Re: Inventor's Bike Folds Into Its Own Wheel
#35I want to see the hinge that allows the front wheel fold up close. looks like a potential weak point. I wonder how much he spent making the prototype.
Fold up bikes are a great concept. There is one 'but' though, they are not nearly as robust as a regular bike and hopping a curbstone or a pothole can have serious consequences. The pedals are usually a little lower over the road surface than on regular bikes and the wheels are small. They are also less rigid. When I was a kid I would ride a fold up bike to school every day, for two years without incident, then one d…
There are exceptions.
S&S bikes have been mentioned, but they aren't really folders they're simply bikes that are relatively easy to disassemble for travel whilst still offering a full sized bicycle and the stiffness and qualities that gives.
There are some small bikes along the Japanese "minivelo" style that require only minimal disassembly. Such as the Moulton TSR which is a fantastic bike with a ride quality not far from a full bike.
The Moulton TSR can be found over here: http://www.moultonbicycles.co.uk/models/TSR30.html
However disassembly != folding. For folding I would probably still go with a Brompton first and foremost: http://www.brompton.co.uk/
And then after that a Bike Friday which has already been mentioned: http://www.bikefriday.com/
I would steer clear of the BSOs (Bike Shaped Object : http://www.outrider.org.uk/wiki/Bike_Shaped_Object ) that offer a folding bike for far too cheap a price. There's a reason those things ride like hell and don't have a good reputation.
Oh, and for credentials, I run this thing and am an avid cyclist: http://www.londonfgss.com/
Re: Inventor's Bike Folds Into Its Own Wheel
#36He doesn't have a chain connecting the pedals to the rear tire so its not really functional. Check out the video - he never pedals, and when he folds it you can see there is no chain. You can't have a joint that changes the geometry between the rear hub and the pedals. On this bike there is a hinge and they end up being next to each other. On current folding bikes the hinge is forward of the pedals - the locking mech…
You absolutely can have variable geometry between the axle and bottom bracket -- most all rear suspension designs do it, and then have clever linkages to cancel out the force of the chain.
Re: Inventor's Bike Folds Into Its Own Wheel
#37(Wowza, if this guy completes his proof of concept, it would rock the foldable bike world.)
I just wanna jump in here, while our brains are thinking about foldable bikes, and say I have a foldable bike, and in less than 3 weeks it has already changed my life for the better.
I don't even have the nicest foldable bike, and I'm not what you would call a bicycle enthusiast.
I just completely get off on the extra independence the foldable bike gives me.
Basically foldable bikes allow for a lot more spontaneity than regular bikes:
* They are allowed ON Amtrak (US train system), like regular luggage. (If you have a full-sizes bike, you need to check to see if there is a special bike car, or worse, a box you need to use that requires removing some bike parts to make it fit.)
* They are allowed on every public bus system that I've tried in Oregon and California. Usually buses make you put your bike on the rack in front (oh yeah, check to make sure your route HAS a rack, and there aren't special rules.)
* They can easily fit into your friends' small cars without disassembly.
* You can bike yourself to exhaustion without worry if you have the energy to make the round trip, just put bike on any of the methods of transportation listed above.
* Depending on the bike you get, you can carry it into places that you'd never get away with.
* (This one is good or bad, depending on how you look at it. I'm more introverted, so i wish it weren't so true.) Foldable are bikes are quite the conversation starter, young and old alike.