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The Joy of Folding Bikes

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Re: The Joy of Folding Bikes

#131

Post by Waterluvian »

throw0101c wrote: post #59
Waterluvian wrote: post #43

I dunno about elsewhere but in Ontario the legality of a bike being on a sidewalk is based on wheel diameter to permit kids bicycles. So there ends up being kinds of adult bikes with intentionally tiny wheels, and it creates a real menace to pedestrians. Some municipalities also have age restrictions to combat this. What are the more legitimate reasons for little wheels on bikes? I guess the goal like with this one i…

> I dunno about elsewhere but in Ontario the legality of a bike being on a sidewalk is based on wheel diameter to permit kids bicycles. There is no Ontario-wide law, per the Highway Traffic Act , §185(2): > (2) The council of a municipality may by by-law prohibit pedestrians or the use of motor assisted bicycles, bicycles, wheelchairs or animals on any highway or portion of a highway under its jurisdiction. R.S.O. 19…

Naturally, Ontario is just Toronto and London.

Re: The Joy of Folding Bikes

#132

Post by bluebarbet »

_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?

This is what a lot of people want to be true, but in fact is not. I believe it can be mostly explained by the "IKEA effect": any given model is bought by so many people that the inevitable design defects are quickly found and remedied.

Re: The Joy of Folding Bikes

#133

Post by jodrellblank »

CalRobert wrote: post #91
SeanLuke wrote: post #70

I own what could possibly be the coolest folding bike ever made: the Bike Friday Tikit Hyperfold. It has a folding mechanism with an extremely high nerd quotient. It has a reputation as the fastest bike to fold and unfold, requiring no latches, safeties, or adjustment at all. But more importantly, unlike many other exotic folders (ahem Brompton) it largely uses standard parts. You can fit it with whatever drivetrain,…

For nerdiness there’s also the bike sat-r-day, a folding recumbent! http://cycle.atnak.com/SatRDay/index_e.html

The ICE Trice is a folding recumbent tadpole trike! https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d9/85/10/d98510f35c1aa63b8384...

It folds the rear wheel “triangle” (red in the picture) underneath to make it shorter to fit in a car trunk, and quick-releases the seat IIRC. Also has squishy rubber-lump suspension because the rear wheel pivots.

(ICE being Inspired Cycle Engineering in this context).

Re: The Joy of Folding Bikes

#134

Post by jdietrich »

Gigachad wrote: post #32
shric wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have owned a AU$7,000 (US$5,000) ebike in Sydney, Australia for a few years and have parked it everywhere without worrying about it getting stolen. It has a built in lock that blocks the front spokes, an alarm and I use a $200 chain lock around the frame to fix it to something.

For me, just having a $7,000 bike parked on the street would be too stressful even if it didn't get stolen. I've had bikes stolen in Australia and there is basically nothing you can do about it. The thieves have hoodies, masks, and battery powered grinders that will cut any lock. The only defense is storing your bike inside. And then you get karens on the owners corp whinging that you aren't allowed to take bikes ins…

>battery powered grinders that will cut any lock

Not any more. A new generation of locks have an abrasive-filled plastic layer that aggressively wears down angle grinder discs. They aren't completely immune to angle grinders, but the better locks will take 20 minutes and multiple cutting discs to defeat.

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/group-tests/wrecked-and-rated-...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5tuFesVtAA

Re: The Joy of Folding Bikes

#135

Post by raudette »

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #127
aquir wrote: post #96

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

Schwalbe Marathon tires are amazing. I went from getting a puncture every two weeks to having two over the last six years.

Same experience here. Was getting flats all the time on my commute, bike shop recommended Schwalbe Marathons, haven't had an issue since.

Re: The Joy of Folding Bikes

#136

Post by jimnotgym »

I used to catch a train with a cheap folding bike every day. I was always envious of this other guy with a Brompton who took the same train. The worst thing about mine was that by carrying it by the only convenient place, you got oil on your cuff from the chainring!

Re: The Joy of Folding Bikes

#137

Post by jodrellblank »

Lio wrote: post #130

Over the years I’ve acquired road bikes, MTBs and time travel bikes. Of all of them the only little kids regularly tell me is “sick” is my Brompton. It paid for itself in saved fuel and parking fees in the first year I had it.

I’m a Brompton admirer but if your kids rate it higher than time travel bikes they have no taste.

Re: The Joy of Folding Bikes

#138

Post by paperboy10000 »

I've lived in the UK as a student in 1997 and it was hell owning bicycle then. People threw stones at me from cars while I was biking on the side of the road.

Glad to hear biking has gone mainstream. Don't forget to pay respects to many of us pioneers, some whom survived some who didn't.

Re: The Joy of Folding Bikes

#139

Post by jodrellblank »

interloxia wrote: post #100
jodrellblank wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> " You can't really use them for hauling heavy loads, so forget bicycle touring or pulling a little trailer for kids or other things " Eh? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzRqKP0XmhQ - Brompton with Burley Travoy trailer while the guy moves house. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocMRuUBUFrU - Bromtpon with Cyclone trailer while grocery shopping. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvBA1K8oFmQ - Brompton with child trail…

https://global.brompton.com/s/article/What-Is-The-Recommende... What Is The Recommended Maximum Rider Weight And The Recommended Maximum Load? Rider + load 110kg-130kg(G line)

Load meaning bags and rucksacks weighing down on the tyres, not trailers being pulled.

That’s another reason I like the G-line and am suspicious of the “just buy a cheaper folding bike from Ali express with a Brompton style tri-fold”. Idk how much I would trust a bike to take a 100kg person if it didn’t explicitly say a carrying capacity.

Re: The Joy of Folding Bikes

#140

Post by SeanLuke »

thih9 wrote: post #95
SeanLuke wrote: post #70

I own what could possibly be the coolest folding bike ever made: the Bike Friday Tikit Hyperfold. It has a folding mechanism with an extremely high nerd quotient. It has a reputation as the fastest bike to fold and unfold, requiring no latches, safeties, or adjustment at all. But more importantly, unlike many other exotic folders (ahem Brompton) it largely uses standard parts. You can fit it with whatever drivetrain,…

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

Praised by whom? The btwin folder is a low-rent and low quality version of a Dahon-style Chinese fold-in-half folder. That folding design is about 95% of the folding market, and has no clever design features whatsoever. It is simple to manufacture, has no patents, and is pretty bad in general riding use. It is neither fast to fold nor compact, and is very bad in customization, particularly with regard to the rider's reach. And it is really, really boring. Dahon and Tern have some okay bikes of this design, but the entire rest of the design category is dominated by bikes of quite poor quality, including the btwin.
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