Folding Bikes

[lifgun]

Polux - as an architect I like the design and to be honest it works great and depending where you use it - everybody will know you after few rides :-))

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

P.S. -- all the folding bikes I've ever used are extremely awkward to pick up and handle when folded. Whatever part you pick it up by, will allow the other parts to swing away. And the protruding bits and shape of the folded bike is also terrible.

Someone who invents a folding bike which makes a nice, stable, manageable package when it's folded, without all kinds of stuff sticking out of it to catch ropes and so forth, will be doing us all a big favor.

Brompton has been making the bike you desire for many years.

[Madwand]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

P.S. -- all the folding bikes I've ever used are extremely awkward to pick up and handle when folded. Whatever part you pick it up by, will allow the other parts to swing away. And the protruding bits and shape of the folded bike is also terrible.

Someone who invents a folding bike which makes a nice, stable, manageable package when it's folded, without all kinds of stuff sticking out of it to catch ropes and so forth, will be doing us all a big favor.

https://youtu.be/T-yF3xlGFoU

[Leo Ticheli]

Here's the perfect folding bike for boats. Lios Folding Bike :: LIOS Nano Monaco

The only problem is the price. £5000.00.

Oh well...

Fair winds,

Leo

[double u]

that's the stuff to expand your horizons:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtpRTDzR_1g

[Kelkara]

Originally Posted by thinwater

Even a thrift store beater is a better bike than any folder. It's simple physics.

This is patently wrong. Simple physics is why the world speed record for an un-paced, upright bicycle on flat ground was made using a bike with 17" wheels.

A thrift-store beater is a worse bike in every possible way bar one than a *good* folding bike. That one way is cost. And if you ride the bike a lot, even that cost advantage may become a false economy.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Brompton has been making the bike you desire for many years.

I've ridden Bromptons, and they are lovely. And certainly far better packaged and easier to carry than my bike. But they are not quite the right purpose for my use -- they are urban tube commuters not made for stretching your legs on country roads. So I prefer the very stiff alu frame, 27 gears, strong brakes, and full suspension of my present bike, for my particular use. Just wish it were less awkward to fold up and carry, and were maybe a little lighter. And less expensive.

[babaluey]

My wife and I always carried our Montague folding mountain bikes on our one or two week vacation cruises here in the PNW. She always complained though, that every ride started out uphill - an inescapable reality when you are starting at sea level. I would still carry them for such trips, but wouldn't bother for blue water cruising as the space they take is too valuable.

[double u]

I'll watch anybody riding their Bromptons around Moorea, Raiatea, Huahine, Tahaa & Bora Bora or from Nukualofa harbour to the trilithon & the blowholes...

[Kelkara]

Originally Posted by double u

I'll watch anybody riding their Bromptons around Moorea, Raiatea, Huahine, Tahaa & Bora Bora or from Nukualofa harbour to the trilithon & the blowholes...

Not sure what you are suggesting - I'm not familiar with these places...

Maybe the hills are too big, or the roads are too rough, or there's too much sand.

- yeah OK, a Brompton really isn't ideal off road or on bad gravel, there are other folding bikes much better suited to the terrain - But then I've seen plenty of cheap "mountain" bikes with little cya stickers saying "not to be used off-road" - but my brommie still gets me there - AND it folds up smaller than a suitcase.

[Cheechako]

The bottom line is what's right for you, is right for you. -If you want to just step off the bike and let it go when that foreign taxi driver runs you off the road get a 20" or a Brompton etc. -if you passion is riding get a bigger one, but be prepared to launch yourself to the gravel if the occasion arises. -If you want to run errands on rough muddy gravel roads as well as paved ones get a 20" or bigger.

[Kenomac]

Done the road bike thing on our boat in California for two years, they took up too much space and rust became an issue.

The mountain bikes on our present boat were a disaster in every way. They completely rusted up bottom brackets, chains, cables and handlebars after only three years, they weighed a ton and took the two of us to transport on the dinghy.

The folding bikes (Bromptons) have worked out the best by far. Easy on my back, easy to transport, fold up the smallest to be kept inside in a padded case. We really haven't found a downside. When compared to road bikes (we own 17 all carbon Cervelos), the folding Brompton is a bargain for what it offers. It took about one day to get used to, it even works well on dirt roads,

At home on the roads I ride maybe 4000 miles per year on a 12 pound Cervelo which cost $15k, but on our boat the Brompton wins hands down for the maybe 2000 European miles.

Like most things in life, you get what you pay for. Buy a cheap folder, don't be surprised by poor performance, heavy weight and awkward folding. Leave a bike on deck, then don't complain about rust.

[jongleur]

Originally Posted by iancoombe

We don't have bikes but we have seen these in action and suffered envy.
https://youtu.be/K_leJulA1ck

Oh, yeah, this is now on my want list.
Thanks!

[jongleur]

I have an earlier version of this:
2016 Folding Roadster -

It folds up surprisingly small. Have
never put them on my boat, but I carry
two of them inside my compact car,
with 2 people and all our luggage for
extended trips. No need for racks.

[Brob2]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

(we own 17 all carbon Cervelos)
At home on the roads I ride maybe 4000 miles per year on a 12 pound Cervelo which cost $15k

Thank you for propping up the Canadian economy. Almost singled-handedly, I would say.

Some bike case manufacturers say their travel cases/bags are waterproof. Could they not be stored on the aft deck during passages to keep a good bike dry, or is 'waterproof' just a marketing tag?

I suppose you have Dura-ace Di2 on some of those puppies too?