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Folding Bike

Laurie Booth

By Laurie Booth
in Boat Equipment

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Peter-Bullfinch Rising Star

Peter-Bullfinch

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We have a Volt Metro folding electric bike. Heavier at 22kg than the Brompton but folds into almost the same space in the engine room. I wish I had bought one of these years ago. It tackles even steep hills easily, does 20 miles if you can't be bothered to pedal and 40 miles with light pedalling. It has all the extras like lights, mudguards, carrier rack, disc brake, decent gears, suspension seat post and front forks. Mind you...it cost £1000.... but its all good quality and lithium polymer batteries seem to be much lighter and more powerful than previous electric bike batteries. I tried out quite a few electric bikes before going for this one and even though a folder is a compromise, of course, it manages my fifteen stone and six foot height very well.

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NickF Rising Star

NickF

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20 inch is s pretty big wheel for a folder: of course bigger wheels have an advantage when moving (I've never quite worked out why) but this does limit how small the bike will fold surely

 

Brompton's are 13 inch I think...

I think bigger wheels are better because they are smoother over bumps,

 

I'd be interested to know if anyone buys one of these as that is a real bargain probably too go to be true.

 

80cm by 60 cm is pretty big for the folded bike. Bromptons are 58cm x 54 cm.

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

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20 inch is s pretty big wheel for a folder: of course bigger wheels have an advantage when moving (I've never quite worked out why) but this does limit how small the bike will fold surely

 

Brompton's are 13 inch I think...

No - Bromptons have 16" wheels - much smaller and it will probably have "My Little Pony" or similar painted on it!

 

20" is fairly standard on slightly bigger folders - many of the very popular Dahon models have 20" wheels, for instance.

 

Without making any comment on possible shortfalls this "cheapie", 20" wheels are a good compromise if you want something that is not absolutely the smallest, but can cope well with the average tow-path.

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Bigredbus4468 Contributor

Bigredbus4468

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Just bought today his and hers Dahon Vybe C7a. Folds really small even with 20" wheels, extremely low gears so very easy to ride but you are never going to get up much speed on it lol.... Superb build quality. £385 each from Partridge Cycles Kennford.

 

IMAG0105.jpg

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Ex- Member Veteran II

Ex- Member

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Dahon Espresso or Dahon Jack, superior Alloy folders 26" wheels. We currently have 2 Espresso's but I would prefer a Jack for myself, Lynn loves the Espresso though. IMHO 26" is the best wheel size for tow path's well the K&A tow paths anyway wink.png

Edited by Julynian
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Joshua Community Regular

Joshua

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We have a couple of Montague Navigators. http://www.montaguebikes.com/navigator-folding-commuter-bike.html

We spend far more time on the roads and around town than we do on the towpath but with 700c wheels they are good at both.

One thing I would add, whatever size wheel you end up with, handling and comfort on the towpath can be dramatically improved by simply fitting good quality chunky tyres.

Our Navigators came with thin road tyres through which we could feel every stone on the towpath, fitting chunky tyres transformed the ride.

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Laurie Booth Veteran

Laurie BoothDonate to Canal World

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Slightly off topic but has anyone ever used Mighty Deals- the Clic clac sofa bed isn't a bad price and some of the other products- hoses etc seem very cheap

I have used them, all OK but please check the delivery costs which always seems very high. Sometimes you can buy cheaper by shopping around.

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Jim Batty Proficient

Jim Batty

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If it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

 

TC

 

I can't tell what brand bike this actually is. So it is impossible to Google it further.

 

Here's a test: email them asking for a few more technical details -- What's its total weight? Who manufactures the rims? What's the seat post made of? Or similar. Or see if they can point you to some detail images, for example showing the folding lock mechanism (everything, quite literally, hinges on that) or the handlebar locking mechanism (this MUST be good), or the gears to see if they are cheaply stamped out metal or cast aluminium, or whatever.

 

I contacted another site selling folding bikes through a magazine and never received any reply to a couple of normal queries ... which lead me to believe they just wanted to unload them quickly to those more interested in the low price than the bike itself.

 

 

Here are some reviews & specs on a variety of higher end folding bikes to give further ideas of what people look for in them: http://www.bestfoldingbike.net/category/brompton-2/

Edited by Jim Batty
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blackrose Veteran II

blackrose

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We have a couple of Montague Navigators. http://www.montaguebikes.com/navigator-folding-commuter-bike.html

We spend far more time on the roads and around town than we do on the towpath but with 700c wheels they are good at both.

One thing I would add, whatever size wheel you end up with, handling and comfort on the towpath can be dramatically improved by simply fitting good quality chunky tyres.

Our Navigators came with thin road tyres through which we could feel every stone on the towpath, fitting chunky tyres transformed the ride.

That's fine if you're just using it on the towpath, but chunky tyres Will require more effort to pedal and slow you down the road, so whatever tyres you choose it's a compromise.

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Chalky Experienced

Chalky

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One thought is about the gearing. Dérailleurs may not give you a high enough gear - they can not gear up a ratio like a hub gear can. To get round this problem builders often fit a very large chain ring at the front which and affect how small the bike can fold. Also dérailleurs are prone to damage - something that is unlikely with a hub gear. Other issues with cheap bikes relate to the type of rear hub used is prone to axle bending and damage. On cheap folders the hinges aren't always well made which can give an "interesting" ride.

 

If you want a proper bike that can be folded then look at S&S couplings. These are fitted when the frame is made but allow the bike frame to be folded up.

http://www.bobjacksoncycles.co.uk/ss.php

Edited by Chalky
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Just Heaven Collaborator

Just Heaven

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Far too cheap for a bike let alone a folder in afraid. I'm looking at getting a couple of Terns from Evans cycles at the moment.

We bought two Terns from Evans. Very pleased with the bikes and with Evans excellent servic.

 

Steve

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WhiteSuit Collaborator

WhiteSuit

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You get what you pay for is never truer than with folding bikes. That is why Bromptons are the price they are. I was a cheapskate and bought a Dahon D7 which I have used regularly from car boot to work for about 18 months, it was on offer at Halford and half the price of a Brompton. I was impressed with it's build quality and ease of folding. I have not used it that much on the towpath but it has a good range of gears for on and off road. Having smaller wheels you have to have a higher tyre pressure which makes for a bit more of a bone jarring ride. A lot of the cheaper one's don't fold that small making it difficult to fit in an engine room.

 

Mark

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davey b Collaborator

davey b

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If it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

 

TC

 

I recently obtained a bargain - a Montague Paratrooper http://www.montaguebikes.com/folding-bike/ for $32 and a cup of coffee.

 

By the time I got it home, grit blasted, powder coated, went through the components under a kero bath, replaced worn components, replaced more components, bought wheels to replace the ones I couldn't transport back, updated some bits and pieces, upgraded some comfy bits, pretty muck built up an equivalent Montague X90 (same frame set), etc, etc, my bargain cost me pennies over £1300!

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