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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

#401

Post by wolverine876 »

jldl805 wrote: post #385
wolverine876 wrote: post #379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> lie Can we do better than this? It is not welcome here, per the HN guidelines, and poisons everyone who sees it. It's also an accusation without evidence, and therefore meaningless in regard to the accused.

I truly think it's the most clinically sterile word to describe what he (and his company... this isn't just a HN issue) are doing and continue to do. In his own response he didn't even challenge the statement that he is lying, but doubled down and says he's not soliciting new business even though he dropped in on a different bike thread to hawk his bike (er.... "down payment for theoretical hypothetical bike in the f…

Where did he lie in this discussion? Where is actual evidence?

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#402

Post by locallost »

brudgers wrote: post #392
locallost wrote: post #387

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a funny list considering bikes were described as a compromise with floor space. As it's possible to park 10 bikes for one car. As for the rest, I lube my chains rarely and they are rusty on extreme occasions only and stand in the rain often. Belt drives also require no lube at all. A bike can be dried up in 5 seconds or you can use a seat cover which costs around 50 cents on average unless you get it for free. Y…

I don’t need to park ten bikes because I only have one and it folds up and fits in a closet or can roll behind me somewhat like a carry-on suitcase. I don’t disagree with your experience regarding maintenance. Mine has been with a bike in Florida rain, where the streets run yellow with pine pollen in spring, and where the fog is of the Pacific’s salt air. With my folding bike, I just find a place to park the car and…

If you only have one then I especially don't understand what kind of compromise you need to make in relation to the floor space. It's the most efficient transit vehicle with regard to space, folded or not.

Your use case is ok, I have a friend that does something similar when his wife takes their car for the day. But even without a folding bike it would be trivial to put a rack for the bike on the back of the car.

Take care.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#403

Post by Leherenn »

valarauko wrote: post #388
Leherenn wrote: post #327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue with bicycles in public spaces is that they get stolen all the time, even the shitty ones. Folding ones neatly avoid that since you can rather easily store them somewhere safe wherever you go.

Honest Q: where though? If storing outside on a bike rack isn't an option, where can the folding bikes be reasonably stored while out and about? If I go to the store, for example, I see no option but to lug the bike around with me the entire time. At work, sure, I could stash it in the office during the work day, but outside of that I'm not sure storage really works.

I would say home/the office is already pretty big. You're right, you probably won't store your bike in the shop, but if you're shopping with a bike, you probably won't stay there for a long time anyway so the risk is quite lower. For what it's worth, I've seen people put them in some corner at the gym for instance, so it's sometimes possible.

I'm not saying it's perfect, but I certainly see the appeal for commuters, especially as a last mile option. You usually can't go with a full bike in public transports during rush hour anyway, so the usual alternative is to have one bike at each end, where they are outside all the time.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#404

Post by gmac »

bettysdiagnose wrote: post #363
gmac wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

To me, this comes across rather condescending (and appears to be based on a reference category of: very rich people and/or major cycling enthusiasts).

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#405

Post by hgomersall »

yupper32 wrote: post #391
hgomersall wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Genuine question, do you seriously worry about that? I mean, what are you concerned about? That people would think you uncool? What sort of people would think that? People you want to think highly of you? Your position seems so strange to me, I'm just trying to understand it.

I mean it's the same as fashion for me. I could wear poorly fitting clothes and poorly matched items of clothing, but I don't. I care about how I look and present myself. That's not exactly unique, and it doesn't have to be strongly tied to me caring if people think I'm "uncool".

I'm not suggesting it's unique, I'm saying I don't understand it. If you don't strongly care, why does it matter? Are you suggesting your opinion on how to present yourself is not influenced by others? In which case, how do you decide if something is good?

This is not at all like poorly fitting clothes. The bicycle is clearly used as designed.

I suppose what I don't understand is that I embrace unusual. Something that raises a discussion is partly what makes something interesting and worth doing. It seems to me you present the question around fashion as one of fitting in, and that seems a somewhat depressing view of the world when laid out so starkly.

Even though of course I care about what people think about me, I would never admit that as being the reason I would dismiss something a priori. It's that bit that puzzles me most - your openness to being subject to the whims of fashion.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#406

Post by gommm »

ridehelix wrote: post #367
gommm wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Oh, I am very forgiving of campaigns running into issues and do expect a percentage of campaigns I back to fail. I don't treat kickstarter as a preorder. In the past when some campaigns failed and I could see from the update that they made a clear effort, I didn't ask for a refund even if they offered one.

I'm not so forgiving of campaigns running into issues and not replying to comments. In this case, I see that this campaign had a last update in 2017 and people complaining in the comments with no response I can see in the last 4 years. And this kind of lack of communication that's shown in Kickstarter is not a good sign of the integrity of the company (and doesn't look good for prospective buyers).

Logistic problem are understandable, rising costs make sense but in that case, publicize it. I've seen some kickstarter campaigns that had such issues, had a lot of delays and had to sell retail in order to have enough money to deliver their backers reward but they were transparent, published the updates in kickstarter and even made it visible to everyone.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#407

Post by Schroedingersat »

ridehelix wrote: post #359
SeasonalEnnui wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why titanium? In my experience (and maybe you'll correlate), all materials involve compromise; there doesn't tend to be a case where a material is outstandingly better in all categories. Comparing titanium vs. the best steels, it's half the weight but also half the modulus of elasticity and half the tensile yield strength. I wouldn't expect there to be much weight advantage when comparing two tubes with roughly equal…

There were many reasons to choose Ti over steel, aluminum or carbon fiber. Steel would have significantly thinner wall thickness and would be less durable. Folding bikes get handled a lot, they get banged up, fall over, experience crushing forces etc. Carbon fiber is also less durable for this use case and aluminum would have been heavier for our design. Ti leaves no compromises other than cost of manufacturing but t…

Would you be open to an entry level version in steel with single speed targeting 12kg or so? This would solve many of the manufacturing and part shortage issues.

Hell, I'd probably buy one without any parts which were standardized and likely to be customized anyway (saddle, brakes, bb and cranks, levers, chain, freewheel) and just move them over from a current bike.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#409

Post by Schroedingersat »

ridehelix wrote: post #205
tbabej wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Been a fan for a long time, in fact, my dream bike is a helix with a belt drive (and possibly a mid-drive motor). I do understand a belt drive might require a tensioner, but a man can dream! My current folder has a belt and it's a joy to ride on. Additionally, I saw there are some electric options coming up in Q3, would you spare a moment to share your thoughts about possible future developments (i.e. if you see belt…

Wow, a fan here on hn! Belt drive is possible but it makes for a heavier bike as it usually is paired with an internal geared hub. Also all of the innovation in cycling where maximum drivetrain efficiency is the goal is still firmly footed in chain drive (shimano/sram/campagnolo and a growing group of others). Also right now it’s not a priority as we have a lot of open projects: accessories, electric, scaling manufac…

I feel alfine (mushy, inefficient, wears out in not much longer than a chain drivetrain) as the only igh option (and explicitly making choices that prevent a rohloff being used) and no belt drive is a deal breaker for anyone with the kind of money to blow that is seeking something as convenient and premium as possible.

A bike that is always clean, never needs you to mess around finding a secure lockup and almost never needs service is the dream, and stopping 90% of the way there for want of 3kg seems so strange.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#410

Post by ridehelix »

gommm wrote: post #406
ridehelix wrote: post #367

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Oh, I am very forgiving of campaigns running into issues and do expect a percentage of campaigns I back to fail. I don't treat kickstarter as a preorder. In the past when some campaigns failed and I could see from the update that they made a clear effort, I didn't ask for a refund even if they offered one. I'm not so forgiving of campaigns running into issues and not replying to comments. In this case, I see that thi…

We do our updates on our own customer portal. Last update was about 3 months ago. Our portal has much better ui/ux, has a forum, access to the customers purchase history, one login vs two and some other benefits. Overall it's a far better experience for the customer.
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