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Folding bike


The Dreamer

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Evening,

 

Had a Brompton for commuting, loved my Brompton, don’t want another!

 

In short, leaving a thousand quid bike in the well deck to rust and/or attract thieves, doesn’t appeal!  Even a second hand Brompton will st me back £700 or more, so that is out of the question too.  Nevertheless was wanting something that folds to about 2ft x 2ft x 1ft, and am reckoning to need to spend £300 (new, but am always open to good s/h) any suggestions?

 

I get the whole, buy the best and only cry once thing, but the best for this job, ain’t necessarily the best overall...

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I know you don't want a Brompton again, but I'd just like to say that mine lives inside the cabin, so no rust and reduced theft risk. It is teeny tiny folded up, so possible to find somewhere for it to go. The same could apply to another folder, but not many pack as small as a B word bike. The B word here for once isn't Brexit.

 

You just know someone was going to say get another Brompton didn't you!

 

Jen

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Have a Brompton but when I travel I have a Tern Uno padlocked on my cruiser stern. 20 inch wheels feel safer on the towpath, still folds quite small though obviously not as elegant as the Brompton. Single gear and a back pedal brake that takes getting use to but is a skill easily acquired, low maintenance and sturdy. Can usually pick them up on Ebay for around £200.

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Folding bikes with small diameter, thin-tyred wheels are supremely unsuitable for muddy towpaths in my experience. I use a Dahon Jack folding mountain bike and can thoroughly recommend it. If you didn't realise it was a folder, by riding it you would never know. 

 

205589424.jpg

 

Like this, but I've added mudguards to mine.

 

 

 

 

 

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3 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Folding bikes with small diameter, thin-tyred wheels are supremely unsuitable for muddy towpaths in my experience. I use a Dahon Jack folding mountain bike and can thoroughly recommend it. If you didn't realise it was a folder, by riding it you would never know. 

 

205589424.jpg

 

Like this, but I've added mudguards to mine.

 

 

 

 

 

Another vote for this style of Dahon. I've converted mine to electric as well.

 

Obviously more difficult to store but so much better to ride. 

 

Richard 

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1 minute ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

They are excellent for tarmac surfaces but I'd have thought they were quite difficult to stay upright in mud. 

One of the reasons they are so expensive is due to the time that goes into engineering the wheels to be 98% true, which means they roll like blue billio, but I agree, mud is likely to slow them down!  But as I say, don’t want another anyway!

9 minutes ago, bill brown said:

Tern Uno

These look like a good compromise...ta muchly...

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3 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Has anyone here actually used a Brompton regularly on a muddy towpath? 

 

They are excellent for tarmac surfaces but I'd have thought they were quite difficult to stay upright in mud. 

 

 

Good point. I have three bikes on board, which is not usual. The Brompton, a road bike and a mountain bike.  The mountain bike is the one picked for muddy towpaths. The Brompton copes with typical towpath surfaces, but only when they are reasonably dry. The limited clearance to the mudguards would be a problem and soon fill with mud.

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1 minute ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Good point. I have three bikes on board, which is not usual. The Brompton, a road bike and a mountain bike.  The mountain bike is the one picked for muddy towpaths. The Brompton copes with typical towpath surfaces, but only when they are reasonably dry. The limited clearance to the mudguards would be a problem and soon fill with mud.

Three bikes! ditch the MB and road bike and get a cyclocross bike and two sets of tyres.

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1 hour ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Has anyone here actually used a Brompton regularly on a muddy towpath? 

 

They are excellent for tarmac surfaces but I'd have thought they were quite difficult to stay upright in mud. 

 

 

 

Yup. You do need your wits about you on less good surfaces. I came off my Brompton on loose gravel on the towpath last year. This year's most difficult challenge was cycling along a muddy path steering with one hand and holding a carrier bag of Indian takeaway in the other!

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3 hours ago, The Dreamer said:

Evening,

 

Had a Brompton for commuting, loved my Brompton, don’t want another!

 

In short, leaving a thousand quid bike in the well deck to rust and/or attract thieves, doesn’t appeal!  Even a second hand Brompton will st me back £700 or more, so that is out of the question too.  Nevertheless was wanting something that folds to about 2ft x 2ft x 1ft, and am reckoning to need to spend £300 (new, but am always open to good s/h) any suggestions?

 

I get the whole, buy the best and only cry once thing, but the best for this job, ain’t necessarily the best overall...

You can get a second hand Brompton for less than £700, there are plenty of basic ones on ebay for less than £400. As far as storage is concerned the whole point of Bromptons is that they require very little space. We had two on our boat stored in a cupboard which was 60cm high, wide, and deep.

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3 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Folding bikes with small diameter, thin-tyred wheels are supremely unsuitable for muddy towpaths in my experience. I use a Dahon Jack folding mountain bike and can thoroughly recommend it. If you didn't realise it was a folder, by riding it you would never know. 

 

205589424.jpg

 

Like this, but I've added mudguards to mine.

 

 

 

 

 

Mine's much the same as yours but with suspension for the front forks (https://www.world-wheels.co.uk/zerog.htm  ) sadly I don't think they still make mine any more but it has been brilliant. I recall one of these works 'team building' days soon after I got it when we all turned up to the cycle tracks in Haldon Forest in Devon, the others laughed when they saw I was going to ride the tracks on a folding bike......they weren't laughing at the end of the day?

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19 hours ago, bill brown said:

Have a Brompton but when I travel I have a Tern Uno padlocked on my cruiser stern. 20 inch wheels feel safer on the towpath, still folds quite small though obviously not as elegant as the Brompton. Single gear and a back pedal brake that takes getting use to but is a skill easily acquired, low maintenance and sturdy. Can usually pick them up on Ebay for around £200.

We have Tern Link B7s more expensive that the Uno, but you have 7 gears and proper brakes.

 

Steve

 

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20 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Good point. I have three bikes on board, which is not usual. The Brompton, a road bike and a mountain bike.  The mountain bike is the one picked for muddy towpaths. The Brompton copes with typical towpath surfaces, but only when they are reasonably dry. The limited clearance to the mudguards would be a problem and soon fill with mud.

I also have the same three combination of bikes. Brompton for Brompton stuff - going to the pub, going shopping etc. - (and for riding around the Yorkshire Dales last year on a tour, which prompted me to buy the following...), gravel bike which I use for riding around the Yorkshire Dales, up and down the towpath when I'm out of town and need to get back to the office, and mountainbike for fun stuff and scaring myself.

 

I'm not sure who could live with any less than three bikes!

 

Wouldn't be using the Brompton in anything like muddy conditions. Did once (unintentionally), wouldn't do again. All the downsides of riding home after several pints (all over the place, no balance, no grip, falling off), none of the upsides (drinking several pints).

 

I actually used to have a Dahon when I was down in London. Great to ride, terrible to fold and commute with. If I just needed a folding bike and wanted to save a few bob, I'd get one again.

Edited by NB Caelmiri
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17 hours ago, David Schweizer said:

You can get a second hand Brompton for less than £700, there are plenty of basic ones on ebay for less than £400. As far as storage is concerned the whole point of Bromptons is that they require very little space. We had two on our boat stored in a cupboard which was 60cm high, wide, and deep.

I think the Bromptons on eBay under £400 aren't going to be £400 by the time the auction has finished. Also they're a good few years old. 

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I bought a reasonably priced folding bike from Bicycles4u. The bike was not very rigid and despite its relatively large wheels for a folding bike (20") it was hard work to ride on the towpath, even those that were well surfaced. In the end I ended up selling it on ebay. I wouldn't consider getting another. 

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