boatbum
New member
Can anybody recomend any good folding bike manufactuerers?
TIA
Boatbum
TIA
Boatbum
Folding Bikes
- Thread starter boatbum
- Start date
Metabarca
Well-known member
Sorry, no, but if you look in Scuttlebut, there's plenty of information about folding chandlers...
tcm
...
haha
Brompton bikes are good, not cheap but not as flexy as many.
oh and a question for metabarca - where can i find itallian northern west coast weather forecasts?
Brompton bikes are good, not cheap but not as flexy as many.
oh and a question for metabarca - where can i find itallian northern west coast weather forecasts?
webcraft
Well-known member
Check out
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.foldingbikes.co.uk/index1.html>http://www.foldingbikes.co.uk/index1.html</A>
For more info than you can shake a stick at.
<font color=blue>Nick</font color=blue> -
BlueMoment.Com
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.bluemoment.com/>http://www.bluemoment.com/</A>
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.foldingbikes.co.uk/index1.html>http://www.foldingbikes.co.uk/index1.html</A>
For more info than you can shake a stick at.
<font color=blue>Nick</font color=blue> -
BlueMoment.Com
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.bluemoment.com/>http://www.bluemoment.com/</A>
pandroid
Active member
After trying as many as we could find at the Southampton Boat show we bought Di Blasi. They aren't cheap, but IMHO we found them more comfortable than the (more expensive) Brompton and fold up easier and smaller than the cheapo's (Compass et al). They have 5 gears, come wiv lights, and you can get a case to stop scratching that luvly gelcoat. It depends what you want. Folding bikes have small wheels so you want to get something you find easy to ride.
Some chandlers stock Di Blasi's, but so many are going bust now, or you can go direct to the importers, Concept Edge (address if you need it)
Some chandlers stock Di Blasi's, but so many are going bust now, or you can go direct to the importers, Concept Edge (address if you need it)
nicho
Well-known member
Do NOT go for the cheap Chinese imports - we recently bought a couple and they are rubbish.
Metabarca
Well-known member
Re: request from TCM re Italian weather
I think your best bet is to go to: http://www.meteoliguria.it/frcmirl.html. Here, there are forecasts in English too, although there's far less detail than in the very good Italian section.
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.kwmeteo.kataweb.it>http://www.kwmeteo.kataweb.it</A> isn't bad, but their 'seas and winds' section always indicates 0 knots of wind and 0 sea conditions nationwide. I know it ain't the Southern Atlantic, but still!
'Forecasts' in Italian is 'previsioni', of course.
Hope this helps.
I think your best bet is to go to: http://www.meteoliguria.it/frcmirl.html. Here, there are forecasts in English too, although there's far less detail than in the very good Italian section.
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.kwmeteo.kataweb.it>http://www.kwmeteo.kataweb.it</A> isn't bad, but their 'seas and winds' section always indicates 0 knots of wind and 0 sea conditions nationwide. I know it ain't the Southern Atlantic, but still!
'Forecasts' in Italian is 'previsioni', of course.
Hope this helps.
cynthia
Member
Anyone know why these are so expensive? You can get a good quality VTT bike for 20% of the price!
mdrifter
New member
We've been doing a lot of cycling in France this year and have used cheapo Cruisermart c. £100 per bike - added folding pedals and softer saddles and they have been really great - cycled on quite rough terrain where we were possibly the only ones using such small bikes but they do have 20" wheels which we think is the minimum if you intend, say, covering Ile de Re's cyclepaths. De Blasi may well fold smaller and be lighter and more expensive but would you want to use them to go beyond the boulangerie? No thanks!
Buy cheap for starters to see how much your going to use them and if it adds another dimension to youir cruising/sailing then think about something more up market with more than 3 sturey archer gears!
Buy cheap for starters to see how much your going to use them and if it adds another dimension to youir cruising/sailing then think about something more up market with more than 3 sturey archer gears!
colin_jones
New member
If you have the space, go for the full mountain bike option with the 26" wheels, which enable you to cover a lot of ground and to take on rough cliff paths etc.
If you remove the front wheel, saddle and pedals, they fold down into a realtively small package.
We stow our in a couple of 'body bags' made from a [polythene sheet. It takes 4 minutes per bike to assemble or dismantle.
Add a ten quid cycle computer and you will have a loty of fun and can find all the shops, PO, filling station in a new location much fastr than walking it ... to say nothying of being able to get at the (often) better and cheaper supermarkets in the out of town commercial centres.
If you remove the front wheel, saddle and pedals, they fold down into a realtively small package.
We stow our in a couple of 'body bags' made from a [polythene sheet. It takes 4 minutes per bike to assemble or dismantle.
Add a ten quid cycle computer and you will have a loty of fun and can find all the shops, PO, filling station in a new location much fastr than walking it ... to say nothying of being able to get at the (often) better and cheaper supermarkets in the out of town commercial centres.
JamesS
New member
Go for a Brompton.
Until you have a close look and better still a LONG ride - you don't realise just how good they are. The engineering is first class.
Bought a pair a couple of years ago, one of the best things ever bought for the boat.
We regularly take them to France and when in the 'parked' position, they never fail to draw curious looks from passers by.
Not cheap though - just a tab under £500.
Until you have a close look and better still a LONG ride - you don't realise just how good they are. The engineering is first class.
Bought a pair a couple of years ago, one of the best things ever bought for the boat.
We regularly take them to France and when in the 'parked' position, they never fail to draw curious looks from passers by.
Not cheap though - just a tab under £500.
kingfisher
Well-known member
<font color=white> test </font color=white>
Group of people on the pontoon: skipper is the one with the toolbox.
http://sirocco31.tripod.com
Group of people on the pontoon: skipper is the one with the toolbox.
http://sirocco31.tripod.com
MapisM
Well-known member
Gunfleet
New member
The Brompton is a great bike but if you go for a Brompton make sure you get the handlebar upgrade. Ours broke when my son was riding earlier this year, he fell and gouged a hole in his leg right next to the femoral. It was terrifying.
Twister_Ken
Well-known member
Brompton
Brommies (http://www.bromptonbicycle.co.uk/) are the folding bikes that most serious cyclists choose - unless they are paying really silly money. If you have room for something that dismanltles rather than folds then the Moulton (http://www.pashley.co.uk/moulton01/apb.htm) is a good choice.
In the silly money category Bike friday (http://www.bikefriday.com/bikecat99.cfm?cat=5) is pretty top notch.
Brommies (http://www.bromptonbicycle.co.uk/) are the folding bikes that most serious cyclists choose - unless they are paying really silly money. If you have room for something that dismanltles rather than folds then the Moulton (http://www.pashley.co.uk/moulton01/apb.htm) is a good choice.
In the silly money category Bike friday (http://www.bikefriday.com/bikecat99.cfm?cat=5) is pretty top notch.
TonyMS
Active member
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Re: Brompton
The 2 choices you have to make are wheel size - 16 0r 20 - and price range. 16 is fine for shopping, but choose 20 if you want to go for day-long rides. It's worth spending enough for really easy folding, otherwise it's too much hassle to use it.
I currently have a 20 in Giant Halfway with 7 gears, that cost £450, and I had to alter the gear ratios because they were too low. But the result is worth it - lovely bike I can ride all day, and it folds nearly as quickly as a Brompton.
The 2 choices you have to make are wheel size - 16 0r 20 - and price range. 16 is fine for shopping, but choose 20 if you want to go for day-long rides. It's worth spending enough for really easy folding, otherwise it's too much hassle to use it.
I currently have a 20 in Giant Halfway with 7 gears, that cost £450, and I had to alter the gear ratios because they were too low. But the result is worth it - lovely bike I can ride all day, and it folds nearly as quickly as a Brompton.
Caronia
New member
Re: Brompton
A chum of mine has bought a Brompton. I have ridden it and think it's wonderful, and my normal day-bike is a hand-built Mercian Vincitore with Campagnolo Gran Record. A measure of the worth of the Brompton is their absolute rarity on the second hand market. Indeed .. if anyone should know of a second-hand one .. please let me know.
A chum of mine has bought a Brompton. I have ridden it and think it's wonderful, and my normal day-bike is a hand-built Mercian Vincitore with Campagnolo Gran Record. A measure of the worth of the Brompton is their absolute rarity on the second hand market. Indeed .. if anyone should know of a second-hand one .. please let me know.
milltech
Active member
I bought that Cruisermart one too, in one season it was solid, half my fault and half the elements. Cheap, but not really marine quality.
John
John