I'm considering buying a folding bike. They come in all sizes, 16/20/26 inches wheels and with/out gears etc.
Also price varies widely from £90 to £300.
In near future, I shall be using it for going to station 2 miles from home and carrying it on train.
Any recommendation?
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How far at the other end?
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Something by Dahon would be in budget. They generally get a good name. www.wiggle.co.uk should give you some ideas.
Bromptons are 'the' name in foldies, and you could probably get a second hand one, but beware, the market goes ga ga over them.
Are you sure you want/need a foldie? A full-size bike would get you further, faster and fitter at weekends and such.
My commute machine is a Levante by Claud Butler; flat-bar hybrid, 24 speed, light frame and carbon fork, 26 x 700 wheels. I regularly come all the way back from work instead of going by train (19 miles) on this and I'm really feeling the benefit. Bikes 2U Direct had them recently for a sickening £260.00!!
{post reformatted to use the all of the text box window and not just a small portion of it}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 21/06/2008 at 22:06
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Look at what others on your train are using, visit a bike shop and try a few, read the buyers guide at www.atob.org.uk/ and try asking questions on the cyclists forum at www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/index.php.
Getting a full size bike on a train is becoming more challenging by the day.
All folding bikes involve trade offs between ease of folding, rideability, weight cost etc. The market response to the Brompton reflects the fact that at the moment, for linking transport modes and stowing under the desk, it provides the optimal mix. The Reise Muller Birdy is a better long distance ride, some alloy frames are marginally lighter and there are lots of cheap folders (some of which are utter carp). If you get the right saddle twenty mile on a B is quite painless. It's not a road bike or a tourer and you cannot treat it as such but it's no fairy cycle and easily holds its own in the London commuter melee. The front mounted panniers are flexible, capacious and actually help the handling.
You'll be very lucky to find a B in the price band you mention, they tend to hold their value (never leave one on the street; it'll be on e-bay before you've missed it! ). Avoid the entry level C3, and ask why you need anything not provided by the current M3L model.
I paid about £500 for mine in 1999 and it's earned itself twice over in bus/tube fares.
Dahon would be my secondary reccomendation but they don't fold as well as the B
Edited by Bromptonaut on 21/06/2008 at 21:11
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>>26 x 700 wheels
Are you sure? That's wider than any of my cars ;>)
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I've got a Dahon Mu P8 (07 model, blue) that is a really good ride - comfortable and quick. Especially impressive given I'm not a small chap.
It's a compromise though - bigger wheels make for a better ride (imho); but these don't don't make for a bike that folds as small as a Brompton - if you're getting on a train I'd say the Mu/Speed/Vitesse range will be too bulky. Dahon do a model called the Ciao which is better folded and also the tiny curve but unless you're 12 years old you're going to look weird on that.
If I were looking for a commuting bike I'd definitely go Brompton.
Had a look at the Giant foldables when I bought mine, they were pretty rubbish - Airnimals are great but again, don't fold all that well.
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It is worth checking on the rules that apply to the train company you use. Some companies only allow genuine foldables between say 6:00 am and 9:00 am, and 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm, because of overcrowding. A few of the foldables push the definition and could result in you not being able to continue the journey until after the rush hour.
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Thanks guys for the helpful info.
Any idea of this one? It looks good and price is attractive.
tinyurl.com/5hcgz8
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As someone who works on the trains, do not, under any circumstances get a full sized bike and then try to use it on rush hour trains... you will not be popular, especially with other commuters, they take up the space of at least three people and are guaranteed to injure someone when getting on and off!!!
Only bikes like the Brompton which fold right down to the size of a medium suitcase are classified by the rail cos as folding bikes and are allowed on any train... some "folders" aren't proper ones and will be classed as ordinary bikes 'cause they don't fold small enough, so check the overall size when folded and the website of the TOC who runs your rail service - the only other thing I've noticed with them to look out for is the speed of folding/unfolding which can vary a lot....
If you want to see a selection of them go on Oxford station between 0700 and 0900!
Edited by b308 on 22/06/2008 at 09:12
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Any idea of this one? It looks good and price is attractive. tinyurl.com/5hcgz8
It's big folded, quite heavy and I'd guess it will be hard work to ride, carry or fold. Even fulll size bikes at that price suffer form being built from the cheapeset components. Folders sold through caravan suppliers (and ship's chandlers) tend to be just good enough for nipping out for the bread on holiday. They're not really up to commuting.
Derailleur gears are hard work in traffic as changes have to be made while moving. An extra thing to think about and unplanned stops leave you stuck in high ratios.
At that price one could try it and put it on ebay when you find it does not suit.
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Have you considered two bikes?
One for home to station. T'other from distant station to destination. I know several people who do this, and as long as you're careful not to use 'nickable' type bikes it seems to work well.
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What's the pros & cons of derailleur vs shimano?
The other end of journey is at central London - I'll just catch tube to destination, so very little pedaling there [just tube station to office]
The reason I am looking for a folded one because I can carry in the car while on a leisure trip as well.
Now I'm tempted to park my car in station instead of cycling :) But £4.50 daily parking is bit steep.
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Now I'm tempted to park my car in station instead of cycling :) But £4.50 daily parking is bit steep.
Hasn't the station got bike parking facilities?
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Shimano is a brand name, it has the lion's share of the market for derailleur gears (offering a range from budget to ultra premium). They also do a range of hub gears.
The derailleur is simple and reltively light weight. The universal adoption of click to gear indexing has removed the old skill/guesswork from making smooth accurate changes. By changing cassettes and sprockets gear ranges can easily be adapted to suit different riders/conditions. On the downside everything is exposed to knocks, bumps and the elements. Regular adjustment may still be required and changes can only be made on the move.
Hub gears use a "sun & planet" set up within the rear wheel hub, everybody remembers the Sturmey Archer set up and the principle (and name) lives on. They're pretty much maintenance free needing just a tweak to the cable every six months to take up wear and maybe a drop of oil now and then. Great advantage on a town bike is that once stopped you can slip back into 1st for a quick gettaway. Downside is overall weight and drag in the less direct gears.
If you're planning to carry it on the tube you'll need to keep it covered and even the Brompton, a well balanced 11kg folded, is a handful on escalators etc.
What's the journey at the London end?
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foldsoc.co.uk has done a review on similar bike you linked to (by same manufacturer). Doesn't seem a bad review.
Edited by tack on 22/06/2008 at 13:21
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You need to be aware that smaller wheels magnify movements and hence the bike can appear to be fidgety. Bigger wheels give more stability, i.e. slower to respond to your handle bar control.
Obviously, a cheaper heavier bike will be harder work, but as your journey to station is only 2 miles it might be a moot point. But don't underestimate how heavy (and damned awkward) it can be to carry up/down stairs and short distances. You can wheel the Brompton along with it half folded as there are tiny plastic wheels fitted, so you use the raised saddle stem to push and steer it across station platform etc.
I have a Brompton and I adore it. I regularly take it out on 15 mile wanders around my local countryside. It is harder work than a full sized bike, but my heart benefits from the workout. The other benefit of a folder is it is easy to get into the car and may make you go off and explore other places (i.e. canal paths, coastal paths etc). I took mine to Brittany, and whilst my wife ran the Rance Canal, I cycled alongside offering encouragement.
Edited by tack on 22/06/2008 at 13:15
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A squillion years ago a friend who lived in Bath but worked in the City used to commute by train to London everyday. He used to leave a folding bike at the station in London ( Paddington maybe ? ) in a left luggage locker. At the Bath end he would cycle from home on a "normal" bike and leave it at the station.
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Its surprising (or maybe not) how the conditions of carriage and attitudes to cycles vary across the country since the railways got fragmented.
It seems that in London, the operators can refuse to carry you if you happen to have the 'wrong' sort of bike, even going so far as recommending certain brands as more suitable.
Lucky for me, I'm in Strathclyde, and First's conditions of carriage are surprisingly amenable;
no restrictions, no pre-booking, just turn up. And I rarely get grief from fellow commuters, more often than not a polite interest in my bike and a nod of recognition when the price of travelling by car comes up.
And I've never injured a fellow passenger- yet!
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It would be brilliant if my local service (National Express East Anglia) had a guard carriage to put a bike in. I'd even be happy to sit there with it for the 25mins journey into Liverpool Street. In fact, I don't know why the govt doesn't look into that idea to get more people on bikes when using suburban train services.
I agree with a previous poster about full sized bikes in rush hour train carriages. It ain't a good idea for packed routes into London, inconsiderate, impolite etc. (although in outer areas where commuter trains might not be so jam packed, it may not be so bad)
Edited by tack on 22/06/2008 at 17:56
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Think it rather depends on how busy the train is - the old "guards compartments" have largely gone on commuter trains which means that the bikes are put in the "passenger" section - if the train is quiet or you join early enough in the journey there isn't a problem, but some of the London bound trains get wedged and a full sized bike in a tight space is not a comfortable bedfellow!
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