wotayottie
Well-Known Member
got a brompton. It simply works. And space wise on a boat it is excellent. Dont worry about the image - it doesnt really have one outside the London commuter belt if there.
Folding Bikes, options?
- Thread starter Yellow Ballad
- Start date
bedouin
Well-Known Member
That was before W1A
Brent Swain
N/A
Love my old Swedish made Crescent.The two speed automatic back hub was great, until dust ate it ( on gravel roads , we ride thru clouds of grinding compound.) Put a 5 sprocket on a wheel, and made it into a 5 speed, with the shift lever under the seat. Welded 7/16th stainless bolts on for pedals, with 3/4 inch poly pedals. Unlike ball bearing pedals, they wont bind up when I am in the middle of nowhere, and will last my lifetime.
I have enough stainless to copy it in stainless, but then it would be more likely to get stolen.
I have enough stainless to copy it in stainless, but then it would be more likely to get stolen.
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ghostlymoron
Well-Known Member
I haven't surveyed available makes but am obviously familiar with the Brompton. I would say that the larger the wheel, the more comfortable the ride. I too would question the suitability of derailleur gears on a folder and consider hub gears much more suitable. Most 'boat bikes' are used for short trips to the showers and shops so don't need to be suitable for long rides - hiring makes more sense.
Solent sailer
Well-Known Member
We have two mezzo 9 speed following bikes, same wheels as the Brompton but Aluminium wheels and frame so dosent rust also half the price of the Brompton!
dgadee
Well-Known Member
Yes, hiring probably more sensible economically.
Just back from 2 hour exercise run on Bromptons. Derailleur seems to have a problem, so only 3 gears working. Easy enough on moderate hills with just hub gears.
Not sure whether wheel size makes much difference except that there is more work for arms - you can't just leave the handlebars uncontrolled.
Flica
Well-Known Member
Why a folding bike - I've an elderly Trek carbon fibre frame with Mavic wheels and Shimano gears - it cost me €960 in Cartagena, folds up to fit inside a small inflatable bag and weighs half as much as a Brompton and is twice as fast.
dgadee
Well-Known Member
Space and convenience perhaps? How long does it take you to put it together?
Flica
Well-Known Member
About 118".
Fit wheels, Fold out pedals, fit saddle stem.
Being a reasonable quality bike all the parts are quick release.
from observation it takes longer than that time to get a folding bike out of the bag.
as to space - the folding bikes I had, took an eternity to get out of a cockpit locker, were perilous (because of their weight) to get ashore and (as everyone seems to acknowledge) were prey to rust and just badly designed and made.
I've tried the Brompton and whilst fairly well made and designed it's only good for 2-3km trips.
On the Trek I can do 20-30km trips and average out @ over 20km/h. It does have one problem 23mm width tyres aren't the best for gravel yards and I have to use expensive Bontrager Kevlar tyres to avoid punctures.
in fact I've bought a cheap carbon-fibre framed bike, with entry level Shimano equipment for use in the UK. At least drivers in the UK less lethal than those in Italy (specifically Sicily).
Brits on small-wheel bikes are an occasion for wry amusement for most locals on the European continent.
With Boris in full flight, we need no further opportunities for condolence from our neighbours. However someone I know described his Brompton to other bikes as the Range Rover is to SUVs.
More a Mini-Moke as I see it. ;-)
dgadee
Well-Known Member
2 or 3km! I must be super human. We do 25km on ours every afternoon for a short bit of exercise.
Flica
Well-Known Member
No Regrets
Well-Known Member
Why would there be a difference?
My Wife runs half Marathons. I can't :nonchalance:
My Wife runs half Marathons. I can't :nonchalance:
dgadee
Well-Known Member
Too true. I lie in bed while she goes off to swim a mile.
I think you are wrong about distance. Cycling friend said some of his club members would do a summer Bromptons tour of a good few hundred miles.
fredrussell
Well-Known Member
Are you seriously suggesting a full size bike and just removing the wheels to stow it? Just how big is your boat??? Before you ‘dis’ small wheeled bikes, try a Birdy or a Dahon Speed. Easily capable of long rides - countless people tour on them.
SlowlyButSurely
Well-Known Member
The Brompton when folded is small enough to be taken on a bus or train or even into a restaurant. And two Bromptons will fit comfortably in the back of a Fiat 500.
Just a couple of the many reasons that are not immediately apparent that people are prepared to shell out for a Brompton.
Just a couple of the many reasons that are not immediately apparent that people are prepared to shell out for a Brompton.
Strolls
Well-Known Member
I also have a Dahon Vitesse, and if you mean as illustrated below, then I was able to adjust out the play on mine.
Inside the locking lever is a threaded armature (?) that can be adjusted shorter. It has a cross-headed screw, and I think you have to back off the long "nut" with an open-ended spanner first. It's a bit fiddly, but not bad.
To OP: Dahon's Speed and Vitesse are the same frame geometry, but the Vitesse has an aluminium frame. It has been sold, over the years, with hub gears (at least 3-, 5- and 7-speed) and also with derailleur. If there's no photo, a Vitesse D7 could be hub gears or derailleur - they didn't bother changing the name. If you're patient and find one near you, you can easily get a derailleur D7 for less than £150 (https://archive.is/Gln5W) or a hub-gears one for less than £250 (https://archive.is/4V3uB). I don't know what people are saying about unsuitable, I can easily cycle 5 miles on mine. Probably quite a bit more.
Tern was founded by Dahon's ex-wife and son, and they took half the business with them (it was 3 companies in the Dahon group, of which they controlled at least one, and he controlled the rest; there was litigation and a settlement). Terns are substantially similar to Dahons - I've read that in side-by-side tests some people prefer one, others the other; it's 50:50.
The only full-sized folder I'd buy is a Montague. The Montague Boston 7 and Boston 8 are now discontinued, but have road frames and hub gears; you occasionally see them for very fair prices on Gumtree. The current model Montague Boston (no number) is a single gear. Montague's folding mechanism is superior to any other on a full-sized bike.
A thread from earlier in the year: http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?475709
Garold
Well-Known Member
We have two Bromptons on board since mid summer and after the initial shock of the purchase price we have not regretted the purchase.
For yachtie use, a lightweight aluminium frame version would be better. They don’t seem particularly heavy except when trying to manoeuvre them into a small storage space on board, or when passing them down to the pontoon.
When new they also seem a bit precious and we are reluctant to leave them anywhere out of sight.
Garold
Ps. We tried other brands but this only resulted in my brother having two nearly new folding bikes for his caravan!
For yachtie use, a lightweight aluminium frame version would be better. They don’t seem particularly heavy except when trying to manoeuvre them into a small storage space on board, or when passing them down to the pontoon.
When new they also seem a bit precious and we are reluctant to leave them anywhere out of sight.
Garold
Ps. We tried other brands but this only resulted in my brother having two nearly new folding bikes for his caravan!
Flica
Well-Known Member
Yes indeed I am - folding pedals, saddle post out. Goes into the same spot as the Dahon I had and is much easier to stow, an infinitely better ride and overall easier to assemble, as it does not rust like the Dahon. Neither is it quite as lethal a ride as the Dahon, which tossed me off twice in Wales, once in Brittany and finally disappeared, together with the street sign to which it was chained, in Bayonne.
All the small-wheel bikes are, IMHO, dangerously unstable, difficult to pedal and carry little load.
The Trek takes 35kg in two panniers and a handlebar bag, seems to terrify waterside thieves and does not rust!!!
The Brompton I tried out was head and shoulders better than other small-wheelers, but still inconvenient for one who lives 6/12 on a boat, frequently anchored far from shops and is over 80 with quite severe arthritis, making more than 40m walk a major challenge. Besides it (the Brompton) was conspicuously poor value for money. Neither does one find many clean, 2nd-hand ones for sale.
Of course logic is unlikely to influence the seriously obsessed.
But perhaps one person out there isn't a lemming!!!
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SlowlyButSurely
Well-Known Member
But you can't get two full size bikes in the back of a Fiat 500. Or our rubber dinghy.
Strolls
Well-Known Member
Loads of them on eBay. My recollection is that secondhand Bromptons typically go on there for about the price of a new Dahon - e.g. https://archive.is/wuzT3 vs https://www.evanscycles.com/x-EV293505).
The Brompton price premium might not be worth it to you, but it's what the secondhand prices reflect.
I don't see why you shouldn't be able to buy any of these bikes secondhand, use it for a couple of years and be able to sell it for about what you paid for it, providing you keep it in good condition (sea air might hinder that, obvs).
I agree that the 20"-wheel Dahons can require some faith when going through a corner above walking pace.
