Which folding bikes for the boat?
- Thread starter Quandary
- Start date
Rigger Mortice
N/A
A friend who had a knee replaced was specifically advised to not cycle (both before and after the operation). It may be worth checking with your consultant/doctor.
Quandary
Well-Known Member
Thanks, I did discuss it with him, the op. I had (arthoscopy) involved just trimming the damaged cartilage, unfortunately there is no cartilage left at the back so the bones are grinding together which is causing the pain. He is willing to do a knee replacement but says, as you suggest, I would then be very restricted in my activities, if I did not want to wear it out before I turn my toes up. So I am trying to manage it with anti-inflam. and painkillers, as he says that I can not damage it much more: cycling, sailing, whatever is only limited by my pain threshold. The great thing is that so far the pain stops as soon as I lie or sit down.
Trop Cher
Well-Known Member
PBO test
PBO recently (May 2012) tested folding bikes. Their best buy was bike-in-a-bag costing £200, and best on test was Brompton M2LX costing £1,290, quite a difference in price! Although I'd also be tempted by the one at Compass24 which is cheaper again and wasn't part of the test.
PBO recently (May 2012) tested folding bikes. Their best buy was bike-in-a-bag costing £200, and best on test was Brompton M2LX costing £1,290, quite a difference in price! Although I'd also be tempted by the one at Compass24 which is cheaper again and wasn't part of the test.
Trop Cher
Well-Known Member
Just had a look again at the Compass24 site and the bike priced at £125 doesn't appear to have gears, which means that you are looking at £230 to get 20" wheels and gears.
sailorman
Well-Known Member
TonyMS
Well-Known Member
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- 16 May 2001
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- Winter St Ives, Cambs; summer Ionian
I also have a Giant Halfway. With its 20" wheels it's great to ride - I've done some serious trips on it, including in the Alpujarra (the southern foothills of the Sierra Nevada) and the Parque Peneda-Gerês in Portugal. It is pretty corrosion-free, only requiring a few bolts to be replaced with SS. The components themselves don't seem to deteriorate.
Also have a Birdy Blue, bought s/h from an ad in A to B for £300. Very different ride, but also excellent, and suitable for serious trips. It has 18" wheels, which in practice feel more like 20 than 16.They cost as much as Bromptons new.
I've damaged both on public transport - buses and planes. They need strong protection (as do full-sized bikes).
Tony MS
Also have a Birdy Blue, bought s/h from an ad in A to B for £300. Very different ride, but also excellent, and suitable for serious trips. It has 18" wheels, which in practice feel more like 20 than 16.They cost as much as Bromptons new.
I've damaged both on public transport - buses and planes. They need strong protection (as do full-sized bikes).
Tony MS
Playtime
Well-Known Member
Take a look at the Dawes Jack
- 20"wheels
- Alloy frame
- Shimano gears (6)
- Shimano brakes
- Around £300 with discount
- Made by Dahon.
starboard
Well-Known Member
Quandry.......your Son is dead right, if you want the best folder available the Brompton is the only one to consider.....I own an M3 and an S3, for the best folding experiance this is the only way to go, from fully folded to ready to cycle in 4 easy moves taking only 30 seconds or less...as for the ride I would not chose to ride it too far,to say the least the steering is twitchy due to the position of the handlebars directly above the front wheel, as for the ride that is very harsh unless your on a super smooth surface and there are not many of those up here in Scotland, the small wheels with tyres running at 100psi dont help!! The cost is expensive, about £800 for the cheapest though there are some great 2nd hand Bromptons to be had on Ebay but still expect to pay £350 plus.
I went for the M3 and S3 because I reckoned the internal hub gears would be less exposed to getting bashed lifting on and off the boat than the derailur system...to be honest the ratio's are perfect for general cycling.
One other option would be to take a look at http://www.ternbicycles.com they are an offspring of Dahon after the owners Wife and Son of dahon Director chose to go off in competion to him....they do some great bikes with internal 7 speed hubs!!.......if you want to give a Brompton a try and you ever over in Ayrshire give me a PM and will let you try one of mine..........as for your knee SNAP, I have had 2 keyhole procedures over the last 8 years, I am 57 years young....kneedles to say I am left with bone on bone contact now, my specialist says it the worst case he has ever seen but to be honest I can still walk,cycle and kneel despite the pain....unable to take pain relief due to a dodgy tummy...my plan is to hang on as long as I can tollerate the pain, after all they say a new knee joint will not necessarily get rid of the pain and for sure movement could be severely restricted..so as they say with both knee and bike, you pays your money and make the choice....lets hope the choice is the right one...
I went for the M3 and S3 because I reckoned the internal hub gears would be less exposed to getting bashed lifting on and off the boat than the derailur system...to be honest the ratio's are perfect for general cycling.
One other option would be to take a look at http://www.ternbicycles.com they are an offspring of Dahon after the owners Wife and Son of dahon Director chose to go off in competion to him....they do some great bikes with internal 7 speed hubs!!.......if you want to give a Brompton a try and you ever over in Ayrshire give me a PM and will let you try one of mine..........as for your knee SNAP, I have had 2 keyhole procedures over the last 8 years, I am 57 years young....kneedles to say I am left with bone on bone contact now, my specialist says it the worst case he has ever seen but to be honest I can still walk,cycle and kneel despite the pain....unable to take pain relief due to a dodgy tummy...my plan is to hang on as long as I can tollerate the pain, after all they say a new knee joint will not necessarily get rid of the pain and for sure movement could be severely restricted..so as they say with both knee and bike, you pays your money and make the choice....lets hope the choice is the right one...
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LadyInBed
Well-Known Member
Another point worth consideration - the big names are more attractive to thieves
Quandary
Well-Known Member
Update
My thanks to all who contributed, I have followed up the advice given and spent a very wet and windy morning while the half drowned sailors worked the locks out front looking at sites and specifications, the next thing is to find a shop to try a couple for comfort.
My current short list, in descending order of price.
Dahon MuP8 at about £450, Tern Link D8 (£425) Dawes King Pin (£360) Claud Butler Nimbus (£305) all mail order discounts but I hope someone in Glasgow can match them.
All are 20" wheels, steel forks, Shimano gears, with branded hubs, brakes and bits on branded tyres, the weights range from 11 - 12.5 kgs. they all use similar versions of the same Dahon quick folding alloy frame and have a good range of easy seat and handle bar adjustment
I have discounted any who do not specify the details of gears tyres etc.used in the build and there are quite a number which look similar but do not give this information or say 'shimano type' etc. I have also gone for derailluer type gears rather than the cleaner Sturmey Archer 8 speed hub, the only one of these I know off has given trouble from new and I worry about drag and durability.
I looked at the Giant Halfway recommended but just could not come to terms with one fork and rear bracket, the Brompton was again ruled out because of the price, (though my wife, as usual, was quick to point out that I could get two for the price of a sail, everything in our house tends to be costed by this yardstick) the smaller wheels and tyres and the risk of buying a stolen one if I went for second hand from a remote seller. Gumtree and Ebay are fine for you city folks. I will probably buy the two separately, evaluating the first before ordering the second.
In the spirit of sharing info. on the forum I will endeavour to come back with feedback if and when I make a purchase.
My thanks to all who contributed, I have followed up the advice given and spent a very wet and windy morning while the half drowned sailors worked the locks out front looking at sites and specifications, the next thing is to find a shop to try a couple for comfort.
My current short list, in descending order of price.
Dahon MuP8 at about £450, Tern Link D8 (£425) Dawes King Pin (£360) Claud Butler Nimbus (£305) all mail order discounts but I hope someone in Glasgow can match them.
All are 20" wheels, steel forks, Shimano gears, with branded hubs, brakes and bits on branded tyres, the weights range from 11 - 12.5 kgs. they all use similar versions of the same Dahon quick folding alloy frame and have a good range of easy seat and handle bar adjustment
I have discounted any who do not specify the details of gears tyres etc.used in the build and there are quite a number which look similar but do not give this information or say 'shimano type' etc. I have also gone for derailluer type gears rather than the cleaner Sturmey Archer 8 speed hub, the only one of these I know off has given trouble from new and I worry about drag and durability.
I looked at the Giant Halfway recommended but just could not come to terms with one fork and rear bracket, the Brompton was again ruled out because of the price, (though my wife, as usual, was quick to point out that I could get two for the price of a sail, everything in our house tends to be costed by this yardstick) the smaller wheels and tyres and the risk of buying a stolen one if I went for second hand from a remote seller. Gumtree and Ebay are fine for you city folks. I will probably buy the two separately, evaluating the first before ordering the second.
In the spirit of sharing info. on the forum I will endeavour to come back with feedback if and when I make a purchase.
doris
Well-Known Member
I had a full replacement knee 3 years ago. I have skied once on it, it was excellent but the surgeon, upon hearing, gave me a right telling off. Cycling on the other hand, excellent. Get pedalling soonest, best aerobic exercise a new knee chap could have. This is from the surgeon who did the Queen and her mum. Best I could find.
I now pedal about three times a weeks with a usual time of an hour. Things look good so far so new knees and bikes are not contradictory. IMHO of course.
wotayottie
Well-Known Member
He's right - they really are very good. And you can buy one on EBay at £300 to £500 as I did. Which is reassuring since all my old road bikes had to be scrapped since there was no second hand market.
One big plus about Bromptons is the size when folded - mine fits happily into a cockpit locker
dratsea
Well-Known Member
Did a lot of research a couple of years ago. Brompton or brompton or ?, we got three Bromptons, yellow, blue and green. mine's the yellow one. Delighted. Pinnacle of British engineering.
Rigger Mortice
N/A
A discussion a few weeks ago between me and the chap in the shop where I bought my Brompton. They also sell other makes of fold up bikes.
Me. "I've been looking at the Dahon bikes. They've got a fantastic range and it does look as if they are way ahead of the Bromptons now"
Him. "The Dahon's are nice bikes, but in two or three years they wear out. Your Brompton will be going for years."
My Brompton is 10 years old and is used nearly everyday.
Me. "I've been looking at the Dahon bikes. They've got a fantastic range and it does look as if they are way ahead of the Bromptons now"
Him. "The Dahon's are nice bikes, but in two or three years they wear out. Your Brompton will be going for years."
My Brompton is 10 years old and is used nearly everyday.
Quandary
Well-Known Member
Folding Bikes, what we bought in the end.
I usually like to report back on the outcome of advice given here, in case anyone else would benefit from the thread. Despite all the recommendations I did not go for a pair of Bromptons, we did meet a cruising couple on Gigha a week or two back who had acquired two second hand through the winter, they were from down south where the choice on Ebay or Gumtree is much greater and while the bikes were in very good order they had spent the winter looking and still spent over £500 on each. I decided that for our typical terrain we needed min. 20" wheels a max. all in weight of 12.5 kgs. and for marine use we wanted all alloy with stainless spokes, nothing to rust. I tried to buy a Tern demonstrator on Ebay but was outbid, I then ordered a new 2012 7 speed Dawes Kingpin (a rebadged Dahon) from a company in Dulwich (Discount Bicycles) at £420 for my wife, but they turned out to be a disaster to deal with, evasive about stock and unwilling to respond to queries, so that was cancelled after a couple of weeks and we found a lightly used second hand one in Glasgow on Ebay, bit pricy 2010 model at £220 but convenient and available. For myself I bought a new but 2010 model Oyama Rockaway from J. E. James. This is a lovely bike, 9 speed Shimano Nexus, Alex rims, all great gear in alloy, light, as a feather and as quick along the towpath as my Ridgeback roadster. It has smooth racing tyres and will eventuall benefit from a change to a pair of Schwalbe Marathons for our rough island tracks. It was £280 reputed to be less than half price. I expect both to meet our needs for the rest of our time sailing but if they do not we can buy two more and still have a saving over a pair of Bromptons. Oyama is in Taiwan like Dahon and Tern and are regarded as Dahon rivals in the U.S.and their bike is better specced than anything I looked at from Dahon or Tern at £600. I also looked at Land Rover, Viking Raleigh and other cheaper makes in places like Halfords but they were heavy, components were unbranded or cheap rubbish and spokes etc . were not promised to be rustproof in a salty environment. Some of the 'buy it now' prices on Ebay were silly compared to the big online dealer offers.
My conclusions, unless you must have a Brompton, the best value in a light 20" is last years remainig stock by Tern, Dahon or Oyama (particularly Oyama) from Evans, Winstanley or J. E. James, (avoid Discount Bicycles unless you can get to their shop). Dawes and Claud Butler are sometimes better value than a real Dahon badge. The model choice narrowed very rapidly as they sold out while I was searching.
Now all I have to do is decide what can come out of the big cockpit locker to make room.
Thanks to all who offered advice and assistance.
I usually like to report back on the outcome of advice given here, in case anyone else would benefit from the thread. Despite all the recommendations I did not go for a pair of Bromptons, we did meet a cruising couple on Gigha a week or two back who had acquired two second hand through the winter, they were from down south where the choice on Ebay or Gumtree is much greater and while the bikes were in very good order they had spent the winter looking and still spent over £500 on each. I decided that for our typical terrain we needed min. 20" wheels a max. all in weight of 12.5 kgs. and for marine use we wanted all alloy with stainless spokes, nothing to rust. I tried to buy a Tern demonstrator on Ebay but was outbid, I then ordered a new 2012 7 speed Dawes Kingpin (a rebadged Dahon) from a company in Dulwich (Discount Bicycles) at £420 for my wife, but they turned out to be a disaster to deal with, evasive about stock and unwilling to respond to queries, so that was cancelled after a couple of weeks and we found a lightly used second hand one in Glasgow on Ebay, bit pricy 2010 model at £220 but convenient and available. For myself I bought a new but 2010 model Oyama Rockaway from J. E. James. This is a lovely bike, 9 speed Shimano Nexus, Alex rims, all great gear in alloy, light, as a feather and as quick along the towpath as my Ridgeback roadster. It has smooth racing tyres and will eventuall benefit from a change to a pair of Schwalbe Marathons for our rough island tracks. It was £280 reputed to be less than half price. I expect both to meet our needs for the rest of our time sailing but if they do not we can buy two more and still have a saving over a pair of Bromptons. Oyama is in Taiwan like Dahon and Tern and are regarded as Dahon rivals in the U.S.and their bike is better specced than anything I looked at from Dahon or Tern at £600. I also looked at Land Rover, Viking Raleigh and other cheaper makes in places like Halfords but they were heavy, components were unbranded or cheap rubbish and spokes etc . were not promised to be rustproof in a salty environment. Some of the 'buy it now' prices on Ebay were silly compared to the big online dealer offers.
My conclusions, unless you must have a Brompton, the best value in a light 20" is last years remainig stock by Tern, Dahon or Oyama (particularly Oyama) from Evans, Winstanley or J. E. James, (avoid Discount Bicycles unless you can get to their shop). Dawes and Claud Butler are sometimes better value than a real Dahon badge. The model choice narrowed very rapidly as they sold out while I was searching.
Now all I have to do is decide what can come out of the big cockpit locker to make room.
Thanks to all who offered advice and assistance.
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