Folding Bikes

A good friend who lives on a 35 ft. catamaran is asking about a new
bicycle. He currently has a mountain bike of some sort and is lusting
after a folding bike and asked me what was best.

Since I know nothing about folding bikes does anyone have any words of
wisdom that I might pass on?

I have heard that some makes have a weakness in the steering but
nothing beyond that.

As I said, he lives on a boat and if you do that you really want a
bike to ride for transportation around the marina and maybe short
trips to town. Not all day cruises.
As for storage, he has had the mountain bike for several years and
toted it around the world and a 35 ft. cat has a considerable amount
of storage (for a 35 ft. boat) so that isn't a major difficulty. I
think he takes the wheels off to stow the bike.
--
Cheers,

John B.

we talk...

if the distance is short you could walk with a granny cargo hauler

if you're into touring...tour. big difference tween short riders and tourers. short ride frames are a struggle touring town.

but if you're hauling then haul.

is there a hauling cargo folder ?

I haven't seen one.

boat people, motor/sail......

is there a 50cc foldable cargo hauler ?

On Wednesday, November 20, 2013 8:20:30 AM UTC-5, John B. wrote:
A good friend who lives on a 35 ft. catamaran is asking about a new
bicycle. He currently has a mountain bike of some sort and is lusting
after a folding bike and asked me what was best.

Since I know nothing about folding bikes does anyone have any words of
wisdom that I might pass on?

I have heard that some makes have a weakness in the steering but
nothing beyond that.

Choosing a folding bike is significantly more complicated than choosing a non-folding bike (and even choosing a non-folder isn't necessarily easy). With folders, one has to balance many aspects of ride quality vs. speed of folding vs. compactness of fold vs. price vs. reliability & repairability, and probably other factors. Also, weight is often more important with a folder, because you typically end up carrying it quite a bit.

Also, there's much greater diversity in design of folding bikes. Some are so close to conventional bikes that you have to look twice to realize they fold. Others are spit out by the "Innovation!" wing of the artsy product design world, and barely qualify as bicycles.

I test rode many before I bought two Bikes Friday. I also own an old, old Dahon. I have a friend who owns a modern Dahon (bought when she was driving long-haul trucks, to keep in the cab for when she wanted to explore cities). And I once had a long conversation with two boaters who bought their folders for precisely your friend's reasons, and detested the ones they ended up with!

If he's not interested in doing long rides our touring with the bike, I'd recommend staying away from the Bike Friday New World Tourists that we bought. They're very nice bikes and ride very well (including for long tours), but the fold function is secondary to the ride quality. The folded bike is a loose, rattly package - at least as we configured ours, with drop bars. Straight bars make it a bit better at folding.

Bromptons are very well regarded, and fold amazingly quickly. I didn't like the ride as well as that of the Friday NWT, but that may not matter to your friend. People tour on Bromptons, but they seem to be best at city work..

Dahon makes an amazingly wide range of bikes, and makes them under license for lots of other companies. Some are quite good. Their ride quality (and general quality) has greatly improved over the years.

I should mention, Bike Friday (or Green Gear) has other models. Their quick folding street bike is the Tikit, and folds at least as fast as a Brompton. There were some Tikit reliability problems for a while, but they seem to have been resolved. They also do sport bikes, and their bikes are made to order, so you get precisely the fit and accessories you want.

Here's a source for lots of reading material:
http://www.atob.org.uk/folding-bikes/

- Frank Krygowski

On 21/11/13 00:20, John B. wrote:

A good friend who lives on a 35 ft. catamaran is asking about a new
bicycle. He currently has a mountain bike of some sort and is lusting
after a folding bike and asked me what was best.

Since I know nothing about folding bikes does anyone have any words of
wisdom that I might pass on?

I have heard that some makes have a weakness in the steering but
nothing beyond that.

As I said, he lives on a boat and if you do that you really want a
bike to ride for transportation around the marina and maybe short
trips to town. Not all day cruises.
As for storage, he has had the mountain bike for several years and
toted it around the world and a 35 ft. cat has a considerable amount
of storage (for a 35 ft. boat) so that isn't a major difficulty. I
think he takes the wheels off to stow the bike.

Your friend might consider buying a bicycle with a steel frame and
having S&S couplers installed.

http://waterfordbikes.com/w/coupler-travel-bikes/

--
JS

HOW we forget abt SS couplers... !!!

SS with a long trail cyclocrosser with solid racks or a trailer...

On Wed, 20 Nov 2013 11:39:59 -0800 (PST), Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On Wednesday, November 20, 2013 8:20:30 AM UTC-5, John B. wrote:
A good friend who lives on a 35 ft. catamaran is asking about a new
bicycle. He currently has a mountain bike of some sort and is lusting
after a folding bike and asked me what was best.

Since I know nothing about folding bikes does anyone have any words of
wisdom that I might pass on?

I have heard that some makes have a weakness in the steering but
nothing beyond that.

Choosing a folding bike is significantly more complicated than choosing a non-folding bike (and even choosing a non-folder isn't necessarily easy). With folders, one has to balance many aspects of ride quality vs. speed of folding vs. compactness of fold vs. price vs. reliability & repairability, and probably other factors. Also, weight is often more important with a folder, because you typically end up carrying it quite a bit.

Also, there's much greater diversity in design of folding bikes. Some are so close to conventional bikes that you have to look twice to realize they fold. Others are spit out by the "Innovation!" wing of the artsy product design world, and barely qualify as bicycles.

I test rode many before I bought two Bikes Friday. I also own an old, old Dahon. I have a friend who owns a modern Dahon (bought when she was driving long-haul trucks, to keep in the cab for when she wanted to explore cities). And I once had a long conversation with two boaters who bought their folders for precisely your friend's reasons, and detested the ones they ended up with!

My mate's comments about many of the bikes carried by cruisers: "Much
better than some of those yachtie folding bikes that make you look
like a circus trained bear."

If he's not interested in doing long rides our touring with the bike, I'd recommend staying away from the Bike Friday New World Tourists that we bought. They're very nice bikes and ride very well (including for long tours), but the fold function is secondary to the ride quality. The folded bike is a loose, rattly package - at least as we configured ours, with drop bars. Straight bars make it a bit better at folding.

On a boat the folding properties are not that important as you usually
unfold it once you arrive and than re-fold it just before you depart.
The rest of the time it sits on the jetty in front of the boat.

Bromptons are very well regarded, and fold amazingly quickly. I didn't like the ride as well as that of the Friday NWT, but that may not matter to your friend. People tour on Bromptons, but they seem to be best at city work.

Dahon makes an amazingly wide range of bikes, and makes them under license for lots of other companies. Some are quite good. Their ride quality (and general quality) has greatly improved over the years.

I should mention, Bike Friday (or Green Gear) has other models. Their quick folding street bike is the Tikit, and folds at least as fast as a Brompton. There were some Tikit reliability problems for a while, but they seem to have been resolved. They also do sport bikes, and their bikes are made to order, so you get precisely the fit and accessories you want.

Here's a source for lots of reading material:
http://www.atob.org.uk/folding-bikes/

- Frank Krygowski

I'll pass on your remarks. thanks.
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Thu, 21 Nov 2013 08:32:45 +1100, James
wrote:

On 21/11/13 00:20, John B. wrote:

A good friend who lives on a 35 ft. catamaran is asking about a new
bicycle. He currently has a mountain bike of some sort and is lusting
after a folding bike and asked me what was best.

Since I know nothing about folding bikes does anyone have any words of
wisdom that I might pass on?

I have heard that some makes have a weakness in the steering but
nothing beyond that.

As I said, he lives on a boat and if you do that you really want a
bike to ride for transportation around the marina and maybe short
trips to town. Not all day cruises.
As for storage, he has had the mountain bike for several years and
toted it around the world and a 35 ft. cat has a considerable amount
of storage (for a 35 ft. boat) so that isn't a major difficulty. I
think he takes the wheels off to stow the bike.

Your friend might consider buying a bicycle with a steel frame and
having S&S couplers installed.

http://waterfordbikes.com/w/coupler-travel-bikes/

Yes, there is that although I don't believe that he is that
enthusiastic about bicycles. Cruisers are generally "boat nuts" rather
than "bike nuts" so the bicycle is very much an accessory, rather than
a necessity for life, as is evidenced here :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Wednesday, November 20, 2013 8:13:40 PM UTC-5, John B. wrote:
... I don't believe that he is that
enthusiastic about bicycles. Cruisers are generally "boat nuts" rather
than "bike nuts" so the bicycle is very much an accessory, rather than
a necessity for life, as is evidenced here :-)

That's perceptive, but for one error. It's not "a" bicycle that's a necessity for life. It's a fleet of the things! ;-)

- Frank Krygowski

John B. wrote:

Yes, there is that although I don't believe that he is that
enthusiastic about bicycles. Cruisers are generally "boat nuts" rather
than "bike nuts" so the bicycle is very much an accessory, rather than
a necessity for life, as is evidenced here :-)

Since nobody else mentioned it, I suggest looking at Strida:
http://www.strida.com/en/main/

I rode one briefly. It felt odd coming off a 27" Cannondale but
it certainly worked and the folding scheme was very clever. Mostly
corrosion proof, to boot.

bob prohaska

On 11-20-2013, 08:20, John B. wrote:
I have heard that some makes have a weakness in the steering but
nothing beyond that.

I can't imagine why the folding feature on any I've ever seen in person
or in picture would have any effect on steering.

The one I owned was VERY heavy, but I suppose they could be made
lighter. Folding it didn't made no difference in its total volume of
course. Half the length, but more than twice the width. It did
however, allow it to fit in a car trunk (but even then, not easily).

I also owned a folding tricycle. Folding that allows it to fit into a
minivan, just barely, and only if you also remove the seat, stem, and
handlebars!

I think your friend is better off getting a GOOD bike, and moving a few
things around to clear a space for it. If the boat is big enough to
live on, it surely has room for a bicycle.

A tiny little Bantam has on each side, a space 2.5 meters long, 2.5
meters high, and about 300 centimeters wide. And LOTS of space on top.
See drawings at the bottom of http://tinyurl.com/kulbl6n

--
Wes Groleau

You always have time for what you do first.