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Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

kwigglebike.com

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Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#361

Post by MrKwiggle »

TulliusCicero wrote: post #26
avasylev wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think more people are familiar with riding bycicle and thus it maybe easier for them to go longer distance. But yeah scooter would be smaller and lighter,even electric powered ones. Longboard would be even lighter. It takes some practice to start, but for city commute it's quite good and can't beat the portability.

An electric scooter I'd expect to probably be heavier than a tiny portable bike like this, unless the range is really short. Longboards I think still have serious usability/safety issues compared to scooters and especially bikes.

Completely right. No comments.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#362

Post by bettysdiagnose »

kohlerm wrote: post #339
laurieg wrote: post #24

I'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…

Sure Brompton has the most experience with these kind of bikes, but a steel frame on a bike that is supposed to be carried around? If I would spend that amount of money I would probably go for https://www.r-m.de/de/bikes/birdy/ with additional benefit that it is a German manufacturer ;-)

Birdie, Birdie Touring, Birdie Rohloff, ab 12.9kg, 12kg, 13.1kg, respectively. Heaviest Brompton: 11.5kg.

So much for German engineering in this case ;-)

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#363

Post by bettysdiagnose »

gmac wrote: post #288
laurieg wrote: post #24

I'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…

I'm sure Bromptons are great, but the prices are just ridiculous, and their marketing grates. I really don't need my bike to be handmade in London. I have a Decathlon foldable. It doesn't fold quite as small as a Brompton, so I wouldn't want to be regularly taking it on public transport. But it's light and solid, folds easily and rides well at about one third the price.

Any bike that costs as little as yours does is probably in reality a pretty poorly designed and built bicycle. Bromptons are actually pretty cheap as far as bicycles go.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#364

Post by btbuildem »

I'm happy to see such a lively discussion of folding bikes / bikes as a mode of transport in general on here. So many different solutions! Given how small the wheels are, I'd love to see something that counters the consequent instability (very little angular momentum compared to a "real" bike).

For this particular one, what a unique way to mount the seat.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#365

Post by ridehelix »

jldl805 wrote: post #353
ridehelix wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I stand corrected. I did a relatively exhaustive search a couple of months ago and missed this.

Quoted post unavailable.

Definitely not spending any time on the internet soliciting business, you can check. Either the product speaks for itself or it doesn't, that's up to you - I have zero desire to market any wares. I read hn from time to time and saw a folding bike posts at #2 and thought I could enrich the discussion as there was no mention of Helix. If you're into folding bikes or cycling, why not find out about what else is available?

Also not avoiding any questions or intentionally lying. At the time I checked I missed the lower cost bike from PlanetX. Aliexpress would be cheaper as well, so I concede.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#366

Post by MrKwiggle »

btbuildem wrote: post #364

I'm happy to see such a lively discussion of folding bikes / bikes as a mode of transport in general on here. So many different solutions! Given how small the wheels are, I'd love to see something that counters the consequent instability (very little angular momentum compared to a "real" bike). For this particular one, what a unique way to mount the seat.

Thanks to the saddle device, you will get much more weight on the pedals and therefore ride easily very fast despite the smaller wheels.

The stability of the ride is achieved when you relax the handlebars and the Kwiggle adapts to your movement, not vice versa. That is the whole secret.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#367

Post by ridehelix »

gommm wrote: post #295
carabiner wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looks like some of your kickstarter backers have been waiting seven years for their bikes. Are your production issues ironed out yet?

One of the first thing I do when I want to buy a product from a newish startup is check if they've had a kickstarter and see the comments. If there are a lot of negative comments left unanswered like in this campaign, it's a massive red flag

A good rule of thumb I use for Kickstarter and startups in general is: is the world a better place with or without this product? If it is, expect that the process of getting an idea to market is very difficult and can get messy. I try to keep that in perspective. Platforms like Kickstarter help ideas come to life and having it as an option is a net positive for innovation.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#368

Post by sudosysgen »

jacquesm wrote: post #91
grzes wrote: post #65

so i bought a folding bike from decathlon about 1.5yr ago and never been happier since. its following model: https://www.decathlon.fr/p/velo-pliant-oxylane-120/_/R-p-120... they actually went up in price since then. swapped stock tires because they were rubbish and also bought better seatpost from upper model. removed all the unneccessary stuff like ringer or mudguards and this thing flies. im getting average speed a…

Hard to do proper disc brakes without hydraulics and hard to do hydraulics on a folding bike. The minimum bending radius of the brake lines is the limiting factor.

I have used hydraulic disc brakes and mechanical (wire) disc brakes. Yes, it's not the easiest to set up, but on my Hayes MX5, it works well enough that I have to seriously worry about locking my brakes :)

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#369

Post by MrKwiggle »

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…

Use cases: Traveling by train (Kwiggle fits under the seat), commuting everywhere, leaving Kwiggle in the car trunk with enough space left, because trunks are designed for handluggage size, and taking it for last mile, putting it in the camper van, in the sail boat in the sport airplane, in the boat, ...

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#370

Post by frakkingcylons »

kwigglebike wrote: post #281
bambax wrote: post #48

It looks absolutely amazing, but calling it "affordable" at €1600+ is a stretch. You can find non-electric folding bikes for under €200 that are quite sturdy and dependable (although not that small when folded). A few months ago I bought a used folding bike for €100, equipped it with a motor and battery that cost less than €400, for use on train trips. Nothing feels better than getting out of a long-distance train tr…

It is affordable for the workmanship and materials used. All stainless steel and aluminium.

If that’s what you mean, then think it’d be more accurate to describe it as “good value” rather than affordable.
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