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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

#91

Post by jacquesm »

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.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#92

Post by jacquesm »

personalityson wrote: post #83
paulpauper wrote: post #75

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

And risky too, obstacle resilience goes up rapidly with bike wheel size. This will get you killed on the first tram track that you try to cross.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#93

Post by gnufx »

daleharvey wrote: post #13
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…

From a British perspective it's quite often public transport, bikes are banned on the tube afaik and taking them on trains can be hit or miss, some routes require a specific (and hard to get) cycle booking, most local buses are a non starter and even intercity buses are a big problem (they will often require your bike be dissembled / be in a hard case bike bag thing). There are none of those nice bike racks on the fr…

And even on train lines that do allow bikes, like the Liverpool-Manchester line, you probably won't get a full-sized one on at rush hour, and even feel anti-social with a Brompton. At least in the past; I haven't done it for two years. They're also handy for putting in the car for riding from where you park it, like on the city outskirts.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#94

Post by jacquesm »

usrusr wrote: post #72
jbverschoor wrote: post #33

What’s so special about it? It looks like any other folding bike

The seat is attached to the front column, not to the bottom bracket like on most other bikes (folding or not). This seems to give them a better portability return for sacrificing wheel base than other designs. So that's what they did, apparently: the side views look like on the brink of a wheelie from even the slightest acceleration or incline, all while not getting the CoG all too far from stoppie tipovers. The adve…

> The advertised 25 km/h will feel maddeningly fast.

Fortunately 45 degree descents and tailwinds don't coincide that frequently.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#95

Post by ketzo »

gnufx wrote: post #80
lisper wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Bromptons are expensive Half the price of a Kwiggle [1]. Seems like a bargain to me. [1] Comparing apples to apples, the base Brompton is a 3-speed for 850 euros. The 3-speed Kwiggle is 1690.

In which country can you get (a new) Brompton so cheaply?

When I go their website right now (from the U.S.), I see the base model on sale for 850 pounds.

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#96

Post by bambax »

gorbypark wrote: post #59
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…

Did you use a conversion kit? I have an older Dahon I'm thinking of converting. Any tips?

Yes, a motor + battery kit. It's really simple -- depending on the bike. For a folding bike you need to think ahead of where the engine and battery are going to go when folded. Mid-drive motors are much preferable, if possible (at the center of the bike, between the cranks).

There are two Chinese brands for the engines: Bafang and Tongsheng. Bafang has a better reputation; I used a Bafang for my first conversion (a regular MTB). But Tongshengs, in addition to being a little more affordable, are true pedal assist: power is proportional to the force you put on the pedals. It's a different experience from Bafang, but pedal assist feels better on a small folding bike, IMHO.

You can buy them on Aliexpress; look for vendors who have inventory in your country, which allows for faster shipping.

Here's the final build:

https://i.imgur.com/TBHHOc1.jpeg

... and on the road in Marseilles:

https://imgur.com/a/B2mJ17E.jpeg

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#98

Post by m463 »

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…

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 parks:

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/e-bikes-elec...

I wonder how people use their folding bikes?

Re: Folding bicycle small enough to fit in hand luggage

#99

Post by ChuckMcM »

I've owned a Bike Friday[1] gnu since 2007 and my wife has both a Tikit and larger touring one which I don't think has a name (Edit: she reminds me it is a 'new world Tourist'). (they are basically custom bikes). I carried mine on Caltrain while commuting, it folds quickly and even if the bike car is full you could easily just stash it in the luggage rack car. They even had a Samsonite suitcase that was the correct size so that you could fold it, put it in the case, and check it as luggage on airplane flights. We both really enjoy them.

The Tikit (which is closest to the Kwiggle which is linked here) is similarly quick to fold and unfold, and quite portable. Before the scooter craze people were leery of riding a bike with smaller wheels but for most things it is fine.

My general impression has been that if you are worried about how you are going to store your bike when you get where you are going, folding bikes can be a big win.

[1] https://bikefriday.com/

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