Going to be really inefficient and possibly unstable for anything that is longer than a few blocks or anything where the terrain changes. Bike wheels are large for a reason
Yep, steering is hard with small front wheels
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Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage
221–230 of 431 posts
Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage
#222I've spent a long time with folding bikes over the years. My advice: bite the bullet and buy a Brompton[1]. Yes, Bromptons are expensive. But they ride like a bicycle, have gears, a stiff enough frame, luggage racks etc. There's very little compromise. The fastest I've done on mine is 45 kph and I've ridden 70km in a day. I carry it on and off buses and trains multiple times a day without issue. In the past I had an…
A discussion about folding bikes would not be complete without mentioning Helix. Helix folds almost as small as a Brompton but has 24” wheels and standard bicycle components such as disc brakes, Shimano/SRAM drivetrain etc. Also the fold is the most compact possible, even more compact than Brompton in terms of maximizing the use of space. It also fits in a standard airline luggage without any disassembly which few ot…
I do have some questions: why don’t your bicycles have a spoiler above the wheels to prevent water and/or slush from spattering all over the rider? Are there attachments that can be separately added? Or are these meant to be used only in dry and clean(er) conditions?
Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage
#223Earlier quoted context omitted.
A discussion about folding bikes would not be complete without mentioning Helix. Helix folds almost as small as a Brompton but has 24” wheels and standard bicycle components such as disc brakes, Shimano/SRAM drivetrain etc. Also the fold is the most compact possible, even more compact than Brompton in terms of maximizing the use of space. It also fits in a standard airline luggage without any disassembly which few ot…
I do have some questions: why don’t your bicycles have a spoiler above the wheels to prevent water and/or slush from spattering all over the rider? Are there attachments that can be separately added? Or are these meant to be used only in dry and clean(er) conditions?
Mud guards are coming as accessories, see [1]. I believe they should be ready by this summer [2].
Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage
#224I've spent a long time with folding bikes over the years. My advice: bite the bullet and buy a Brompton[1]. Yes, Bromptons are expensive. But they ride like a bicycle, have gears, a stiff enough frame, luggage racks etc. There's very little compromise. The fastest I've done on mine is 45 kph and I've ridden 70km in a day. I carry it on and off buses and trains multiple times a day without issue. In the past I had an…
A discussion about folding bikes would not be complete without mentioning Helix. Helix folds almost as small as a Brompton but has 24” wheels and standard bicycle components such as disc brakes, Shimano/SRAM drivetrain etc. Also the fold is the most compact possible, even more compact than Brompton in terms of maximizing the use of space. It also fits in a standard airline luggage without any disassembly which few ot…
Amazing design, thanks for sharing!
Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage
#225I've spent a long time with folding bikes over the years. My advice: bite the bullet and buy a Brompton[1]. Yes, Bromptons are expensive. But they ride like a bicycle, have gears, a stiff enough frame, luggage racks etc. There's very little compromise. The fastest I've done on mine is 45 kph and I've ridden 70km in a day. I carry it on and off buses and trains multiple times a day without issue. In the past I had an…
Folding bikes to me have always been "fits in trunk of car". This is an interesting idea, but I wonder if it collides into the electric scooter market. I think dahon bikes are fairly nice, but I have not tried a brompton. I have a dahon mu n360 with a variable transmission that I like quite a bit. https://dahon.com/bikes/mu-n360/ However recently I bought two bikes direct e-bikes - pretty versatile and go off-road/to…
I have a Dahon Briza, with 24in wheels. The main thing was that a couple of them can be easily loaded in my car. Otherwise I just ride near my home.
I am not totally satisfied, but it is OK. I'll probably change the crank gear to be larger, the very lowest gears aren't useful right now because they are so slow.
I also can't ride it without having at least one hand on the handlebars.
Having fenders is nice, but they are very flimsy.
Price was a lot lower than a Brompton.
Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage
#226Earlier quoted context omitted.
They think its clever - I think most people would see through it and just be pissed. Not sure why companies think they can get away insulting the intelligence of their consumers (who, in this case, would have to be wealthy enough to afford their product and hence can be reasonably expected to be smart enough to spot it).
Because it's telling the customer that if you don't think it's affordable you're not the target market.
Maybe - I can afford it while also having enough awareness that it is not affordable for most folks in general - I just find the glibness off putting.
Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage
#227Earlier quoted context omitted.
A discussion about folding bikes would not be complete without mentioning Helix. Helix folds almost as small as a Brompton but has 24” wheels and standard bicycle components such as disc brakes, Shimano/SRAM drivetrain etc. Also the fold is the most compact possible, even more compact than Brompton in terms of maximizing the use of space. It also fits in a standard airline luggage without any disassembly which few ot…
Overall that looks really nice, so thanks for sharing. A bit of unsolicited feedback; listing the seat post options based on rider height (regular for shorter than 6’3”, and extra long for taller than 6’3”) is wrong. Seat post height is based on how long your legs are, not how tall you are. If anything, you should list that by inseam. As it is, I would have no idea which option is the most appropriate.
> Seat post height is based on how long your legs are, not how tall you are.
Thank you, just what I was thinking!
> If anything, you should list that by inseam.
What you want to measure is the PBH (pubic bone height). It is very precise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yxZkHpAB4g
Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage
#228No post body was provided.
Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage
#229Earlier quoted context omitted.
My understanding is that Brompton have a patent on their particular fold configuration and so no one can copy it. I’m very much of the opinion that that fold is the most compact while keeping your cycling position close to that of a normal bike. Every other compact folding bike is fighting for a design against that patent, and it can’t be done. This looks to me like one of those designs, if the designers had been abl…
No. There are lots of Chinese and Korean knock off Bromptons available. Our shop has noted that Brompton bottom brackets are low quality. Often poorly aligned to the frame and the threading frequently needs chased.
That confirms my point, the “knock off” makers are unable to optimise the design significantly further than a “real” Brompton. They have decided that the overall design as is perfect as you can get (other than component/manufacturing improvements).
Due to copyright regulations and court orders in the UK and EU the knock off can not be imported and sold.
Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage
#230If you're willing to develop a new skill, an electric unicycle is much better on several dimensions. The IPS i5 easily fits in backpack. https://www.aliexpress.com/i/4000043671440.html
If you ride those at anything like bicycle speed, how do you perform an emergency break without hurting yourself?