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The Joy of Folding Bikes

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Re: The Joy of Folding Bikes

#101

Post by fuzzythinker »

emptybits wrote: post #76

Piling on with the Brompton love here. Apartment friendly. Car trunk friendly. Motorcycle sidecar friendly. Their hardcase makes it airplane friendly. Theft-resistant, since it's carried and stored next to you more often than most bikes. The Brompton luggage system (its mount and low, forward position) is amazing. Bags can be massive and carry a lot of weight and the bike still feels great to ride. For pedals, I use…

Can you explain what makes the Brompton design genius?

Edit: the top comment (at this time) has a youtube link that shows it fold/unfold in like 8 secs. I can see the genius in it now

Re: The Joy of Folding Bikes

#102

Post by thih9 »

_vhdk wrote: post #97
thih9 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Decathlon btwin one second has been praised for its design and easy unfolding; it’s relatively cheap and still being produced. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XX2VSaXmAoo

I have consistently heard that the bikes by decathlon are very poor quality and fall apart easily. Is it a case of you get what you pay for?

Of course you get what you pay for. Note that this is not Decathlon’s cheapest folding bike.

Re: The Joy of Folding Bikes

#103

Post by clan »

tokioyoyo wrote: post #62
YawningAngel wrote: post #17

I don't fault OP for this, but it's pretty frustrating to me as someone who's quite attached to his non-folding bike that the main benefit of folding bikes is that, unlike regular bikes, they aren't banned from pretty much all public transport

Yeah, this definitely wouldn't fly in any country where a lot of people bike and use transit. Tokyo metro would be hell if full sized bikes would be allowed.

Copenhagen has fairly decent public transportation and biking is quite common.

Bikes are allowed basicly everywhere: https://dinoffentligetransport.dk/en/how-to-travel/bicycles-...

Caveat: Bikes are not allowed in the Metro during rush hours 07:00-09:00 and 15:30-17:30. But it is allowed the rest of the time and has 24H service.

You should also know that the greater Copenhagen area is covered by "S-Trains" which are running on dedicated (not mainline) tracks. So metro-ish.

The S-Trains have dedicated space for bikes: https://youtu.be/hgfOxNRAktI

So even bumblebees can fly if you let them.

Re: The Joy of Folding Bikes

#104

Post by ulf-77723 »

gloomyday wrote: post #89

I really wanted an e-scooter to help my shorter routes here in Germany, but the legislation is quite unfriendly to it now. I need insurance and can't carry it in public transport. Maybe a folding bike would be great.

There are also E-Bike Folding bikes, though the mentioned Brompton is very expensive when buying with a motor. A Carbon Folding Bike with motor under 15kg is really worth considering

Re: The Joy of Folding Bikes

#105

Post by delegate »

I use my Brompton in ways which are not on its label.

Besides rides in the city, I take it on long 100+km rides on the road, on gravel, forests, rocks, mountains.

It has taken me on every street of Barcelona and around it many times over. I've had it for 14 years.

Because of the small wheels it's extremely agile and allows you to go really slow without losing balance. This makes it like a sharp knife in the city but also off road on rocky trails, steep climbs, eg. in places where you'd never think of going with a Brompton.

If the trail is impossible, I can just lift it up and climb with it on my shoulder. Or I can fold it and carry it like a bag, on the metro, trains or in the trunk of the car.

As I understand, I'm not the only one using the Brompton as a gravel/mountain bike, so they released the G-line, which I still haven't checked out, but it's on my bucket list.

If I were to write one eulogoy for a piece of equipment in my life, the Brompton is definitely it :).

Re: The Joy of Folding Bikes

#106

Post by gloomyday »

IshKebab wrote: post #94
gloomyday wrote: post #89

I really wanted an e-scooter to help my shorter routes here in Germany, but the legislation is quite unfriendly to it now. I need insurance and can't carry it in public transport. Maybe a folding bike would be great.

> can't carry it in public transport That's a bizarre rule. What was their justification? Edit: apparently due to safety concerns about their batteries. IMO they shouldn't allow importing/selling them if the batteries are unsafe.

The battery concerns are just a ridiculous excuse. E-bikes are allowed in public transport.

Re: The Joy of Folding Bikes

#108

Post by rexpress »

mauvehaus wrote: post #49
jodrellblank wrote: post #14

My ‘low stakes conspiracy theory’ is that adults enjoy the Brompton more than you’d think, because it’s too small for them, so it feels more like a BMX for sensible professional adults who would never think to ride a BMX or want to be seen on one. I’ve been eyeing up Bromptons for years, especially the new G (gravel) line which has 20” wheels up from 16” and chunkier tires (for ride comfort on potholes and rough asph…

12" wheels would be sheer hell on anything less than perfect pavement. Source: I own a Brompton with 16" wheels, and wouldn't ride it more than about a block without cycling gloves. It's absolutely punishing on the wrists. The elastomeric block for the rear triangle makes it pretty tolerable on your ass, but the front end is rough.

Not sure which grips you're using, but I found using the stock foam grips gave me severe wrist pain quite quickly. I changed to Ergon GP1 grips (they have much better hand support) and now ride long distances without discomfort.

Re: The Joy of Folding Bikes

#109

Post by raffael_de »

aquir wrote: post #96

I agree with the article but "Never gets punctures"? How's that possible? OP installed some solid tyres?

https://www.schwalbe.com/en/blog/news/innovation/flat-less/

As a German it makes me tiny little bit proud that he mentions two German traditional companies. Schwalbe (tires, tubes) and Abus (locks) are basically the default choice other brands have to compete against. The primary competitor for Schwalbe is Continental which is also a German company.

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