Foldy uppy jobs.

brianthebard

I'm thinking of getting a bike for uni,folding due to space constraints.How much would a decent one cost?Are they any good/much different to a normal bike?Are they suitable to tall people?I'm 6 ft.Thanks in advance.

Stark

They're dog slow compared to a normal bike. They're really designed for getting you to the nearest public transport stop. I'd say you're better off getting a normal bike and maybe taking the wheels off and putting it in a bike box when you want to store it at home.

brianthebard

Hmm well i could prolly walk almost as fast in that case.Its not just space in the apt,its bringing it upstairs as well.I might check if theres any place to put a bike in the car park.Cheers for the info.

RedTea

As someone with the fold up with 20" wheels, i'd have to disagree that they are 'dog slow'. Yes, you do lose some of the advantages of full size wheels but there are some pluses. can fold it up to put on the bus/train or throw it in the cupboard.

You have to decide what your priorities are - there's an obvious trade-off between rideability and compactness when folded.

You're not going to be doing the wicklow 200 on an A-bike
http://www.a-bike.co.uk/store/home.php

Take a test ride on a couple and see how it feels. Dahon, brompton are the best known brands but don't come too cheap.

brianthebard

Its just something to get me to lectures quicker and make it less easy to skip them.Won't be doing huge mileage.

penexpers

Stark wrote: »

They're dog slow compared to a normal bike. They're really designed for getting you to the nearest public transport stop. I'd say you're better off getting a normal bike and maybe taking the wheels off and putting it in a bike box when you want to store it at home.

Care to qualify that statement? I ride a 20" Dahon and it's plenty fast and I've done 25km on it before in one go. It has proper road gearing. Only thing that slows it down is the suspension.

blorg

They are not necessarily dog slow at all but the ones that aren't will tend to be a fair bit more expensive than a normal bike. (Your Dahon retails at £800 you know.)

penexpers

blorg wrote: »

(Your Dahon retails at £800 you know.)

Ah yes, I keep forgetting that

LadyMayBelle

brianthebard wrote: »

I'm thinking of getting a bike for uni,folding due to space constraints.How much would a decent one cost?Are they any good/much different to a normal bike?Are they suitable to tall people?I'm 6 ft.Thanks in advance.

Funny that, so am I (not 6ft tho. considerably smaller) . A friend of mine got one in Galway but said it was a lucky second hand find, but I have found a few on www.preloved.co.uk . Not sure about the delivery etc but worth a look.

the_syco

LadyPennyworth wrote: »

Funny that, so am I (not 6ft tho. considerably smaller) . A friend of mine got one in Galway but said it was a lucky second hand find, but I have found a few on www.preloved.co.uk . Not sure about the delivery etc but worth a look.

Tempted to get the ferry over to pick one of the ones listed on http://www.preloved.co.uk/fuseaction-adverts.listadverts/86aa5dc1.html

Remember talking to a gent on the bus. He had a WW2 jobbeh. A full size bicycle with bits half way which allowed it to fold over (the ones that the lads jumping out of the planes would have). Seemingly a place on the Naas Road does them. His one cost €600

blorg

the_syco wrote: »

Remember talking to a gent on the bus. He had a WW2 jobbeh. A full size bicycle with bits half way which allowed it to fold over (the ones that the lads jumping out of the planes would have). Seemingly a place on the Naas Road does them. His one cost €600

Montague do a modern folder for that very use, jumping out of planes. Full size otherwise. Dahon also have a few nice full size folders such as the Cadenza.

jamescarr

You could try using the free classifieds site www.adflyer.co.uk - I sold my claud butler on there so definitely worth a go.

rflynnr

blorg wrote: »

They are not necessarily dog slow at all but the ones that aren't will tend to be a fair bit more expensive than a normal bike. (Your Dahon retails at £800 you know.)

They are expensive but this one case where using your LBS (local bike shop) is definitively financially suicidal. I bought a Dahon MU SL (I suspect the same bike Blorg refers to since it has the same retail price in the UK) at Christmas. However I bought it from a dealer in the US for $900, (then €625) and had it sent to a friend's address in NY and then waited for someone to go over for a business trip and bring it back.

As for dog slow, I use it mainly a particular 15k commute which takes about 40-45 mins (and I'm not a particularly fast rider). Admittedly, I wouldn't be eager to take it for much long spins without putting drops on it but for shorter rides - i.e. 5 k or less - it's my favourite ride: lightweight (less than 8kg even with mudguards and a carrier), pretty stiff for a folder and a 9-speed gear range that can handle anything in the Dublin urban and suburban area.

If you have €600 to spare and can wait until someone's travelling stateside I highly recommend them.

jman0

They are not all dog-slow.
Some guy rides these in Le Tour.
http://www.airnimal.eu/News/Home.php

chillyspoon

Absolutely agree with the inaccuracy of "dog slow".

Some folding bikes come with 26" wheels.. it's all a matter of balance between your portability needs and how compact you need the bike to fold.

Similarly with gears - they can come with everything from single speed to as high as a "regular" bike.

Dahon suggest rider heights of 4'8" to 6'4" for most of their 20" bikes which are nicely geared. E.g. the Dahon Vitesse P18.

http://www.foldingbikes.biz/html/dahon_vitesse_p18.html

Or, as I've just bought, a Dahon Jetstream P8 with a SRAM geared hub added, giving me 24 gears.

BostonB

This looks nice...http://www.airnimal.eu/Joey/Sport.php