To sum this up: This 'bike' has neither a chain nor driveshaft nor belt, thus you can't pedal it. It also lacks the necessary structural integrity and -- as seen on reddit -- at least the rear brake most likely doesn't work. But hey: It has a neat design and you can pull it around when it's folded. What is this? A parody?
Inventor's Bike Folds Into Its Own Wheel
21–30 of 37 posts
Re: Inventor's Bike Folds Into Its Own Wheel
#22I 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…
It all depends on how much folding you want. If you just want to be able to travel with it a bit more easily than a full size bike, you can do something like this:
http://www.surlybikes.com/travelerscheck.html
Edit: After doing a bit more research, I learned that bikes built like this can fold into a case that's the size of their wheels:
So basically, this is as good as what's in the article, but available right now.
Re: Inventor's Bike Folds Into Its Own Wheel
#23To sum this up: This 'bike' has neither a chain nor driveshaft nor belt, thus you can't pedal it. It also lacks the necessary structural integrity and -- as seen on reddit -- at least the rear brake most likely doesn't work. But hey: It has a neat design and you can pull it around when it's folded. What is this? A parody?
No, it's a £10.000 competition.
Re: Inventor's Bike Folds Into Its Own Wheel
#24I did not see him pedling at all, deal breaker if it's just a scooter. Looks like a prototype that will never get further, the cost for that many high quality hinges will put the manufacturing price way past a reasonable price point.
What I did see were more cuts than in an average Bruckheimer flick. I'm skeptical.
Re: Inventor's Bike Folds Into Its Own Wheel
#25I 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…
I second KWD's recommendation of BikeFriday bikes. I have a Tikit folding bike. Its far more stable and durable than any other compact folder I've ridden and have taken it over curbs and through pot-holes without a problem. Basically the folding mechanism can't engage as long as there's weight on the peddles.
You will have some flex in the frame, but less in my opinion than other folding bikes I've ridden. All the issues with a lower slung frame still apply.
The killer features for me are: 1) I can fold it in about 5 seconds; 2) I can wheel it around while folded; 3) other than the frame it uses standard bike parts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQscBxx7wLE
http://www.memagazine.org/contents/current/features/origami/...
Re: Inventor's Bike Folds Into Its Own Wheel
#26Re: Inventor's Bike Folds Into Its Own Wheel
#27I 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.
It looks like he is using a modified S&S coupler. The S&S for strength with either a bungee (like tent poles) or a hinge inside.
edit:I see someone else has posted the S&S link already
Re: Inventor's Bike Folds Into Its Own Wheel
#28I used to have a folding bike made by Kama. Can't say it was very convenient. To get it inside an elevator, it took more time to fold it, than for the other kids to fit their regular bikes in. And the small wheels made the speed a lot slower.
Re: Inventor's Bike Folds Into Its Own Wheel
#29Earlier 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…
It all depends on how much folding you want. If you just want to be able to travel with it a bit more easily than a full size bike, you can do something like this: http://www.surlybikes.com/travelerscheck.html Edit: After doing a bit more research, I learned that bikes built like this can fold into a case that's the size of their wheels: http://sandsmachine.com/ So basically, this is as good as what's in the article,…
S&S couplers are necessary for bike travel these days. Bikes now incur a $175 surcharge on any domestic flight I've been on in the past year. If you can get the bike into a suitcase you avoid the charge.
However, couplers on a real bike are nothing like a strida, brompton or bike friday tikit. These bikes are designed to fold up and unfold very quickly. They are also much smaller and can fit on public transportation where you're not allowed to take a full sized bike.
Re: Inventor's Bike Folds Into Its Own Wheel
#30I 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…
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.