Folding Bycycles

captaina said:
We bought two Mezzo D10s. Fantastic.

Ask most people who have folding bikes why they have them, and the answer is that they use them to commute short distances...2-4 miles, mostly on the flat...so Brompton do bikes with 3 gears, and they fold in the middle. Two results: they are very under-powered on hilly and they are quite bendy.

The Mezzo D10 has 10 gears and folds near the front wheel - way better up steep hills (and that's what you get going away from harbours!!!) and far stiffer.

Expensive but outstanding...all other yotties are jealous when they see our Mezzos!!
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I have a three gear Brompton, it is not in the least bit bendy ! And I can't say I have ever found it underpowered on hills either.
 
I am on my third-and simplest-Brompton. 3 gears, no dynamo, no rear rack. Tall seat post essential if, well, tall innit.
You can hang 8 Tesco bags on the handlebars or 12 bottles of wine, perfect boat bike:):)

TBH I never really used the 6 gears.

Small wheels are superb for hill climbing.
Whatever bike the OP gets, I cannot recommend Kevlar puncture resistant tyres enough for care free holiday cycling away from the boat and toolkit! And a wee 12v pump is very handy to get the full recommended 6bar pressure into the tyres.
 
Timely thread for me, someone stole my bike while I was away, and I wondered about a folding bike that I can take with me or stow in the back of my car, rather than wheeling a larger bike through the house, I've googled Halfords Tesco and Argos who all do cheap folding bikes, anyone experience of those?
 
Chrissie said:
Timely thread for me, someone stole my bike while I was away, and I wondered about a folding bike that I can take with me or stow in the back of my car, rather than wheeling a larger bike through the house, I've googled Halfords Tesco and Argos who all do cheap folding bikes, anyone experience of those?
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we have an Apollo Transition ally folding bike that does us.. light, fairly compact and seems well made http://reviews.halfords.com/4028/351072/reviews.htm
 
Had a supermarket folding bike for two or three years until it got stolen. Similar in design to the Dahon one. Wasn't too impressed. Handled okay but far too awkward to fold and actually stow on the boat. Rather heavy as well. Kept it in the marina instead, started rusting. Later the crank fell off and I never understood how to adjust the brakes properly. In my experience you don't really need lots of gears for driving around town. Cross country? Get a real bike instead!

While I'm quite convinced that e.g. Brompton bikes are a joy to ride and all, they're just too expensive for me. 1000 quid, that's a lot of taxi driving (two thousand actually for the typical sailing couple)! You could of course rent a proper bike instead, that way you won't have to worry about storing it, keeping it clean from salt water etc. Glad it wasn't a Brompton they nicked!
 
Test ride a Giant Halfway as well if you can, larger wheels and a very sturdy ride for a folder, good choice if you don't want to spend Brompton money. But Bromptoon is king and you'll get £600 for it on ebay if you sell it on...
 
Strida. All aluminium and stainless steel bits. Belt drive so no chain. Very clever design. Probably not the best for steep hills as only single gear but there is a two speed version. Very fast from folded to riding.
 
I bought a couple of those small wheel folders and found that I am unable to ride them because my knees are alwas banging on the handlebar.

I now have a montague and the 26" wheels and full size frame make this a much nicer riding experience. It needs a bit more disassembly to fold small, but when in its bag is not a lot bigger than the smaller folders except somewhat higher in the bag (due primarily to wheel size).
 
This one has good road holding :D
clip_image001.jpg
 
IMHO Bromptons are exceedingly overpriced** and not particularly good. They're a classic one-trick-pony in that they fold very well but aren't much cop when ridden as a bicycle. Their components are quite cheap (look at the gear changers). But they're 'British' -- a bit like a Seagull outboard -- so that must be OK then.

There's lots of alternatives. In the small sized wheels 16", there's the Mezzo. These come with the superior derailleur gears, as opposed to inefficient hub gears, which means they have a much wider spread of gearing and will be easier to ride. Mezzo bikes fold similar to Bromptons (back-wheel folds under), but have a short wheelbase, so can feel twitchy to ride.

I do a lot of riding on folding bikes, around three thousand miles a year, and have settled on 20" wheels as these give a much better ride and a fold in the frame as this gives a full-length wheelbase so are more simple and therefore more reliable. You must make sure the joints are properly adjusted.

Dahon, and the offshoot Tern, are by far the best bikes I've found. For around £500 you get a bike that's compact enough to keep out of the way, but a full-length wheelbase with decent wheels, gears and components. This means that you really can tackle the odd 70+ miler without problems (OK, body permitting!).

My own bike is the recently discontinued Dahon Jetstream P8 which has a good spread of gears, the best brakes I've ever had on a bike, and best of all full suspension. Riding through London on that is so much better than my previous Mezzo I4.
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/dahon/jetstream-p8-2011-folding-bike-ec022577

I like this bike so much that I use it in preference to my full-sized tourer (Dawes Super Galaxy) or mountain bike. I love the convenience of a pretty fast bike that I can take on a train, chuck in the back of a taxi (beer, cycling, not a good mix), or ride the 50 or so miles to the London office if I'm feeling really brave/stupid/masochistic.

It's also extremely easy to push in its folded state, e.g. through an office, when you push it on it's wheels whilst folded. Contrast that to the Mezzo which was a right PITA to carry though an office. As you can fold it, you don't need to worry about parking it outside. Even pubs have never complained when I leave it under the table.

Folding a Dahon takes 10 seconds; flick two clips, move the cranks in the the right position, and fold. Unfolding takes even less time! They also stand up on their own.

I like the Jetstream so much that I've bought another one "for the wife" (i.e. I've a spare:-)

When on the boat, I put the bikes in a generic Dahon "el Bolso" bag. These bags fit any folder (including the Mezzo) and enable you to carry it on your shoulder and pass through the companionway. For stashing on the deck or cockpit (I've a Contessa 32, so there's very little space for anything) I keep them in their bags and wrap them in a barbecue bag to keep them dry.

I would recommend that you avoid the really cheap folding bikes as the components; gears, brakes, etc. really aren't up to much. It's far better to get a second-hand older but better quality bike than a new cheap one. If you're looking at Bromptons, don't. You'll get a much better bike for the same money.

You can also get some decent full-sized folding bikes. Obviously they take up more room, but will be great fun to go off-road or through the rough stuff. Small wheeled bikes are rubbish for this. Even my 20" Jetstream with suspension is not good off-road as the wheels are just too small.

Have a look at the folding bikes on
http://www.evanscycles.com/categories/bikes/folding-bikes
They seem to have the best range.

I do hope someone finds this 'review' useful.


** Currently Brompton are doing a special at a mere £1475 for a two gear bike. Fools, please leave your money over there...
 
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GlennG said:
Don't these need the front wheel to be removed to fold them in a narrow state? E.g. the bars don't hinge -- or do they?
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yes and no, you can do it with the front wheel on and it will still fold or take it off and it all concertinas into more or less the size of a wheel, in a bag its surprisingly small.
 
GlennG said:
IMHO Bromptons are exceedingly overpriced** and not particularly good. They're a classic one-trick-pony in that they fold very well but aren't much cop when ridden as a bicycle. Their components are quite cheap (look at the gear changers). But they're 'British' -- a bit like a Seagull outboard -- so that must be OK then.

There's lots of alternatives. In the small sized wheels 16", there's the Mezzo. These come with the superior derailleur gears, as opposed to inefficient hub gears, which means they have a much wider spread of gearing and will be easier to ride. Mezzo bikes fold similar to Bromptons (back-wheel folds under), but have a short wheelbase, so can feel twitchy to ride.

I do a lot of riding on folding bikes, around three thousand miles a year, and have settled on 20" wheels as these give a much better ride and a fold in the frame as this gives a full-length wheelbase so are more simple and therefore more reliable. You must make sure the joints are properly adjusted.

Dahon, and the offshoot Tern, are by far the best bikes I've found. For around £500 you get a bike that's compact enough to keep out of the way, but a full-length wheelbase with decent wheels, gears and components. This means that you really can tackle the odd 70+ miler without problems (OK, body permitting!).

My own bike is the recently discontinued Dahon Jetstream P8 which has a good spread of gears, the best brakes I've ever had on a bike, and best of all full suspension. Riding through London on that is so much better than my previous Mezzo I4.
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/dahon/jetstream-p8-2011-folding-bike-ec022577

I like this bike so much that I use it in preference to my full-sized tourer (Dawes Super Galaxy) or mountain bike. I love the convenience of a pretty fast bike that I can take on a train, chuck in the back of a taxi (beer, cycling, not a good mix), or ride the 50 or so miles to the London office if I'm feeling really brave/stupid/masochistic.

It's also extremely easy to push in its folded state, e.g. through an office, when you push it on it's wheels whilst folded. Contrast that to the Mezzo which was a right PITA to carry though an office. As you can fold it, you don't need to worry about parking it outside. Even pubs have never complained when I leave it under the table.

Folding a Dahon takes 10 seconds; flick two clips, move the cranks in the the right position, and fold. Unfolding takes even less time! They also stand up on their own.

I like the Jetstream so much that I've bought another one "for the wife" (i.e. I've a spare:-)

When on the boat, I put the bikes in a generic Dahon "el Bolso" bag. These bags fit any folder (including the Mezzo) and enable you to carry it on your shoulder and pass through the companionway. For stashing on the deck or cockpit (I've a Contessa 32, so there's very little space for anything) I keep them in their bags and wrap them in a barbecue bag to keep them dry.

I would recommend that you avoid the really cheap folding bikes as the components; gears, brakes, etc. really aren't up to much. It's far better to get a second-hand older but better quality bike than a new cheap one. If you're looking at Bromptons, don't. You'll get a much better bike for the same money.

You can also get some decent full-sized folding bikes. Obviously they take up more room, but will be great fun to go off-road or through the rough stuff. Small wheeled bikes are rubbish for this. Even my 20" Jetstream with suspension is not good off-road as the wheels are just too small.

Have a look at the folding bikes on
http://www.evanscycles.com/categories/bikes/folding-bikes
They seem to have the best range.

I do hope someone finds this 'review' useful.


** Currently Brompton are doing a special at a mere £1475 for a two gear bike. Fools, please leave your money over there...
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Great post except you tell us your favourite choice is no longer available. What would be your 2nd best? I like the idea of larger wheels having tipped over backwards trying to cycle up the pontoon ramp!!
 
I have a Mezzo with a 4 speed internal hub which makes it clean, robust and very low maintenance. I've been using it most days for a couple of years and I think it's satisfactory. There are 2 main design flaws, poor brakes (which I think they may have improved) and you may need to replace the nut and bolt on the handle bar pivot point to ensure the steering stays precise (took me a couple of minutes once I figured out that was what I needed to do). The Mezzo is much lighter than the standard Brompton and in my opinion rides better. It has the advantage of having an aluminium frame which I think is better suited for marine use than steel. I did not pay full price for the Mezzo, I got mine for 50% of the price of the equivalent Brompton.
The folding on a Brompton takes longer but is easier to make more compact which should be be compelling for storage if you need to stow 2 bikes. Bromptons are also pretty rugged. They are also now insanely overpriced.
I agree with the comments of the contributor who advocates a Dahon, I will probably eventually replace this bike with a Dahon as I would prefer the larger diameter wheels for ride comfort. I don't have any intention of putting the bikes on my boat however so I have not considered how small the Dahon folds compared to the competitors.
In the bike shop they told me that they have had issues with after market care from Dahon but I do not believe them, they have incentives to sell certain brands.
 
Sailfree said:
Great post except you tell us your favourite choice is no longer available. What would be your 2nd best? I like the idea of larger wheels having tipped over backwards trying to cycle up the pontoon ramp!!
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I'd go for any of the Tern 20" bikes. They all use the same frame, so the difference in price is component quality and 'bits' such as mudguards & racks. I've seen a lot of Tern bikes around in London; given they've only been available for less than a year, they're definitely selling well.

Personally, I'd look at the P24 as the greater range of gears is really useful. However any of their deraileiur bikes will be fine.
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tern/link-p24h-2012-folding-bike-ec032581

(A small point is that changing a rear tire on my internal-geared Mezzo is a lot of work as taking the wheel off needs proper tools -- deraileiur geared bikes tend to have quick releases).
 
WestwardBound said:
...In the bike shop they told me that they have had issues with after market care from Dahon but I do not believe them, they have incentives to sell certain brands.
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There have been problems as the Dahon company have imploded as the board (a family firm) split up and the son & mother went off to form the Tern company. Apparently Raleigh are going to take over the spares distribution in the UK for Dahon.

However, aside from the frame, most components are bog-standard so you don't need to worry about specialist Dahon spares.

Mezzo aren't particularly helpful either. I've had problems trying to source the handlebar stem -- in the end I found out how to adjust it.
 
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