Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

kwigglebike.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

121–130 of 431 posts

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#121

Post by sbierwagen »

Swizec wrote: post #27
yupper32 wrote: post #16

I don't think I could ever get over the look of the small wheels. It seems like the fanny pack of bikes: pretty useful but you gotta look dorky if you want to use it. It's vain but I'd find it hard to believe I'm alone here.

My penny board fits in carry-on luggage, is allowed on airplanes, can be ridden inside airports, and looks cool as heck when you ride in the city. Plus it weighs like 3lbs and costs $100. But it’s a little more work to ride than a bicycle

What airports are you skateboarding in?

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#122

Post by throwaway81523 »

mattl wrote: post #113
Asooka wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ugh, disgusting. Guess I'm never giving money to Brompton.

You find them copyrighting their work disgusting? Do you use CC0 for all your own work?

I think the dismay is about trying to use copyright to slither around the expiration of a patent, if that is what is going on.

I like the Brompton and tried one in a shop, but decided I couldn't see springing $1400+ for one unless I was sure I would use it a lot, so I would possibly start with a lower cost folding bike and see how I liked it. That was pre-pandemic so I put the whole thing aside.

I'm not concerned about travelling with the bike. The attraction of a folder to me is just an easier time getting it in and out of an apartment for commuting purposes.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#123

Post by Yoofie »

If portability is the ultimate goal then its probably better to go with learning how to ride unicycle instead of buying a intricate folding bike with a lot of compromises.

Sometimes the the problem can't be fixed with a technical solution and the user simply needs to learn to use a new tool ;)

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#124

Post by prmoustache »

yupper32 wrote: post #16

I don't think I could ever get over the look of the small wheels. It seems like the fanny pack of bikes: pretty useful but you gotta look dorky if you want to use it. It's vain but I'd find it hard to believe I'm alone here.

More than the look, I'd be more worried about going over the bars at the first deep pothole.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#125

Post by bambax »

frankfrankfrank wrote: post #116
bambax wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bromptons are fantastic but there are many folding bikes with gears for much much less money. Decathlon Oxylane 120 retails for €289, with taxes, for example. It's not a Brompton, but for 1/4 of the price it doesn't need to be.

What am I missing. I looked at the Bromton and it’s ~$3,800 or roughly 1/12 of the Decathlon.

The Brompton 1-speed starts at £850 (in the UK); the C line is £1350.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#126

Post by ghostly_s »

mzs wrote: post #100

You can't actually bring any of these folding bikes on an airplane as carry-on can you? I wasn't able to bring a tent cause of the thin poles after all.

Apparently you are allowed to bring X-Acto knives(!) on-board so long as the blade is not installed in the handle[1] when you board so I have given up on making and assumptions about TSA security theater.

1. https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPd5YV7A6/

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#127

Post by Woberto »

yupper32 wrote: post #16

I don't think I could ever get over the look of the small wheels. It seems like the fanny pack of bikes: pretty useful but you gotta look dorky if you want to use it. It's vain but I'd find it hard to believe I'm alone here.

Many types of fashions or styles have appeared dorky at some point in time and cool at another point. Maybe you can be part of the group that helps transition these bikes from dorky to cool!

Personally, I have a folding bike with small-ish wheels; yeah, it looks quirky, but it works well and fits in my closet, trunk, etc. so I don't care. I'd maybe buy the kwiggle too if I could afford it

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#128

Post by mattl »

caslon wrote: post #120
mattl wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You find them copyrighting their work disgusting? Do you use CC0 for all your own work?

The concern is obviously not that copyright is inherently immoral, or whatever you're insinuating, even though there are valid objections against the current status quo of multi-century copyrights. The concern is that they're double-dipping. They had a patent. Patents expire after 20 years, but give you exclusive right to use an invention in the meantime. After a patent expires, what's supposed to happen is that anyo…

UK has design copyrights to basically permit the double dipping.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#130

Post by newacc9 »

histriosum wrote: post #11
mi100hael wrote: post #4

Intriguing design and it looks like they've sold enough to see some real-world success, but I can't help but think the headset must be under extreme torque with a 150+ lb person sitting on essentially a large lever. That and the small wheels don't inspire confidence dealing with the typical curbs & potholes that one is likely to encounter in an urban environment. What's the use-case for folding bikes like this? Is th…

I've been looking at folding bikes like this.. in my case, I'm a private pilot, and I'm looking for ways to solve the last mile issue of getting from my destination airport to somewhere fun to go - ie a nearby beach, or into town for dinner, etc. Size and weight are important in my use case, since general aviation aircraft don't have alot of cargo space. This bike looks like it would be a decent fit, but I'm not sure…

Rollerblades will take care of that 1.6 mi commute in Cadillac in about 10 mins.
Post reply on HN