livefats
Active Member
Hi Dylan: I had the same question as you earlier in the season. I'm 5ft 11 and 14 stone (as far as my partner is concerned!)
I tried a number of folders: the cheapish ones from Halfords felt very uncomfortable to ride (sort of floppy!) and were often fiddly to fold - one salesman had to call two others to show him how to do it!)
Tried a Brompton - brilliantly made - but the small wheel felt too twitchy to me.
In the end, we bought two Tern Link folders. Heavier than the Brompton at 12 kilos, and not as compact folded. However, the 20 inch wheels (hence the folding size) felt much more secure on the road, and the folding mechanism is simplicity itself - no tools, and the claimed 10 seconds to fold or unfold is pretty close to the truth. The supplied rear rack is sturdy, and we've regularly carried gear and shopping with no probs.
We bought ours from Evans - no connection, just a VERY satisfied customer) who were great with test rides (of all their folders, including Brompton) and threw in £100 of accessories. A VERY keen price too! http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tern/link-c7-2013-folding-bike-ec032585
Ours have 7 gears - I had originally planned to buy a single speed for simplicity's sake, but as most of our cruising is around west coast of Scotland, the hill question was raised by my partner, so I succumbed. They have proved fine thus far.
Tern also do a bag, which is very robust but also very expensive (?£80??) - we bought a couple of cheaper bags from Halfords to fit the wheel size, and they've been great.
On our 30 foot Bavaria, they share the forecabin with two large dogs(!). With two of us without dogs they fit comfortably in our 260 Zodiac tender (don't ask me about Zodiac exploding rowlocks, 'though!)
After a season's use, they still look shiny and new. We're happy owners.
Good luck with your choice!
I tried a number of folders: the cheapish ones from Halfords felt very uncomfortable to ride (sort of floppy!) and were often fiddly to fold - one salesman had to call two others to show him how to do it!)
Tried a Brompton - brilliantly made - but the small wheel felt too twitchy to me.
In the end, we bought two Tern Link folders. Heavier than the Brompton at 12 kilos, and not as compact folded. However, the 20 inch wheels (hence the folding size) felt much more secure on the road, and the folding mechanism is simplicity itself - no tools, and the claimed 10 seconds to fold or unfold is pretty close to the truth. The supplied rear rack is sturdy, and we've regularly carried gear and shopping with no probs.
We bought ours from Evans - no connection, just a VERY satisfied customer) who were great with test rides (of all their folders, including Brompton) and threw in £100 of accessories. A VERY keen price too! http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tern/link-c7-2013-folding-bike-ec032585
Ours have 7 gears - I had originally planned to buy a single speed for simplicity's sake, but as most of our cruising is around west coast of Scotland, the hill question was raised by my partner, so I succumbed. They have proved fine thus far.
Tern also do a bag, which is very robust but also very expensive (?£80??) - we bought a couple of cheaper bags from Halfords to fit the wheel size, and they've been great.
On our 30 foot Bavaria, they share the forecabin with two large dogs(!). With two of us without dogs they fit comfortably in our 260 Zodiac tender (don't ask me about Zodiac exploding rowlocks, 'though!)
After a season's use, they still look shiny and new. We're happy owners.
Good luck with your choice!
