The Joy of Folding Bikes

Posted by pavel_lishin 3 days ago

The Joy of Folding Bikes(blog.korny.info)

130 points | 73 commentspage 3

Waterluvian 5 hours ago|

I dunno about elsewhere but in Ontario the legality of a bike being on a sidewalk is based on wheel diameter to permit kids bicycles. So there ends up being kinds of adult bikes with intentionally tiny wheels, and it creates a real menace to pedestrians. Some municipalities also have age restrictions to combat this.

What are the more legitimate reasons for little wheels on bikes? I guess the goal like with this one is to have the least amount of bike as necessary?

throw0101c 4 hours ago||

> I dunno about elsewhere but in Ontario the legality of a bike being on a sidewalk is based on wheel diameter to permit kids bicycles.

There is no Ontario-wide law, per the Highway Traffic Act, §185(2):

> (2) The council of a municipality may by by-law prohibit pedestrians or the use of motor assisted bicycles, bicycles, wheelchairs or animals on any highway or portion of a highway under its jurisdiction. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 185 (2).

* https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90h08#BK286

London:

> 2.12 Motor vehicle - bicycle - on sidewalk - exceptions No person shall, without lawful authority, either by himself or by permitting others, operate a motor vehicle or bicycle along a sidewalk. This section shall not apply to a person who, […] or (d) being under the age of 14, operates a bicycle along a sidewalk.

* https://www.trekbicyclestorelondon.com/about/cycling-law-lon...

Toronto:

> Chapter 950-201 C(2) of the Toronto Municipal Code states that “no person age 14 and older shall ride a bicycle on a sidewalk of any highway.”

* https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/streets-parking-tra...

Nothing about diameter/radius.

theteapot 5 hours ago||

Yes. Hence the folding.

alfg 5 hours ago||

I love my Brompton. I've had mine for 12 years that I bought back in LA and brought it with me when I moved to Tokyo. It's such a great commuter for getting around the city and easily fits in my trunk when I want to take it with me for a trip.

Tokyo also has a couple of great Brompton shops for maintenance and parts.

dunconian 7 hours ago||

One of the fun things about these bikes is you’ll get many curious onlookers in the US and delight them by showing them how it folds up. Kids seem to love the demonstration and it’s cool explaining how bikes work, especially the hub gear.

drzaiusx11 6 hours ago||

As someone who rode a folding bike for several years as their primary mode of transportation, I personally found no joy in it. It was simply the only option for being allowed on the commuter rail into the city during "rush" hours. I eventually got fed up with it and gave it away and chained up a full sized beater bike at the city limits and rode that the last few miles after getting off the rail. I'd prefer to never ride one ever again tbh

drzaiusx11 6 hours ago|

That said I love my fixed gear beater and I would take that thing over the fanciest folder in existence.

davidhunter 7 hours ago||

I cycle 60 mins per day along the tow path in London on my Brompton, put it under my desk in the office, and then get the train back in the evening. No issues handling that distance.

rickcarlino 8 hours ago||

I extracted a lot of utility out of a folding bike during university in Korea. The smaller wheels are indeed a tradeoff for space vs. comfort but all in all it was a useful purchase.

WillAdams 6 hours ago|

There are a couple of companies doing full-size, or nearly full-size wheels on folding bikes --- very glad of my Montague Swissbike X50, and considered a Change Bike, and still want a Helix.

tromp 7 minutes ago||

I should really try out a Helix ( https://helix.ca/ ) next time I visit Canada.

kofd 6 hours ago||

I love my Brompton, expensive as it was. Every time there is a break-in in the bike storage room, I am grateful I can store mine inside.

Still, even though I've had it for years, I always feel awkward about bringing it in to a cafe or similar, and almost never do it.

spenrose 7 hours ago||

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Gualdrapo 8 hours ago||

I'd like to try a folding bike but (1) bromptons around here are filthy expensive and cheaper options (that can be found around 1/20th the price of a brompton) are really low quality, and (2) none of them come with big gears that I'd need to get home, with sections that can reach 22%

mauvehaus 5 hours ago||

If you don't know if you need a folding bike, you probably don't need a folding bike. It's kind of compromised as a bike, and if the (admittedly huge) utility of it folding isn't painfully necessary, it'd be hard to justify owning one.

Once you get to the point where a folder is unavoidable, you may as well get a good one, be it Bromptom, Dahon, or whoever. At that point it's definitely a buy-once-cry-once kind of purchase. As much as I love mine, I wouldn't recommend anyone buying one who isn't already really into cycling for transportation rather than sport and doesn't really need a folding bike.

And yeah, the low end of the market is pretty crap, much as it is for regular bikes.

teleforce 7 hours ago|||

I've the BTwin Ultra Compact by Decathlon and I'd recommend it as alternative to the popular Bromptons [1].

It cost less than half of the equivalent Bromptons bike that's featured in the article.

[1] BTwin Ultra Compact 1 Second Light:

https://road.cc/content/review/btwin-ultra-compact-1-second-...

gpm 8 hours ago|||

> that can be found around 1/20th the price of a brompton

Where in the world are you finding a not-stolen bike for less than a hundred dollars!?

> none of them come with big gears that I'd need to get home, with sections that can reach 22%

Personally I'd recommend getting a bicycle with a motor.

mh2266 4 hours ago|||

maybe I'm missing something, but just put a smaller chainring on? or do you need something like MTB cassette amount of range?

given the tiny wheels, a chainring that would be "normal" on a 700c 1x gravel bike should be very easy for climbing on a folding bike.

28304283409234 8 hours ago||

Expensive? I bought mine for 1200 or so in 2006. Still use it daily. It is a steal.

jackyinger 7 hours ago||

A quality bike can last a really long time.

dheera 2 hours ago|

I've used a Dahon Speed P8 extensively in Asia. In China you can just put a folding bike inside a large tarp bag and just get on any high speed train and then bike away when you reach your destination. It's awesome.

The only "gotcha" is how you deal with luggage. I've used a seatpost rack, but I've also had a seatpost rack fail on me one time.

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