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Lights for helmet and bag

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    #32
    tomasrojo
    Registered Users Posts: 11,760 ✭✭✭✭tomasrojo


    elvis jones wrote: »
    This is the folding bike i'm looking at now ?

    http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=55558
    foldsoc.co.uk do reviews of folders. I can't see any mention of that model and only one passing mention of Oyama bikes at all.

    It's certainly quite cheap.

    The only folder I've ever cycled is my own, which is a three-speed Brompton with front-mounted luggage. So it's very slightly above a basic model, and I think with the standard saddle and seat post, you could get that in Cycleways for about €800, which is way more than that Oyama. You can get single-speed Bromptons, and they may be cheaper than the three-speed. I certainly imagine they are.

    For the extra money, you get a bike that folds down very rapidly -- ten seconds or so on a good day -- and forms a very compact and stable package that stands up on its own when folded. It also handles well as a bike, and is quite fast. I love it, I have to say, and if it were stolen, I'd buy another.

    I was put off slightly by bike-shop staff here saying that it wasn't worth the money (not Cycleways, obviously, as they sell them). I rather think it is worth the money. If you're repeatedly folding the thing, a fiddly and bad fold will drive you mad within a month.

    Some Dahon models are cheaper and many get good reviews on foldsoc.co.uk. Maybe have a glance around there?

    This site is helpful too:
    http://www.atob.org.uk

    See:
    http://www.atob.org.uk/Buyers'_Guide.htm
    Other manufacturers - notably Oyama and Merc - have tried to copy the Brompton, but the results are a bit laughable as yet. Recently, reviews elsewhere have questioned the Brompton's place at the top of the pile, but we can see no viable challengers.


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    #33
    Gavin
    Registered Users Posts: 4,676 ✭✭✭Gavin


    The comments about Heuston being the mecca of bike thieves are a little exaggerated. I commuted via the train for 6 months or so, leaving a bike locked up in the Heuston park during the evenings and weekends.

    A small kryptonite ulock and a good chain did the job. I saw a lot of poorly locked, good bikes there which remained there. And if someone does come to rob, they'll go for those instead of yours.


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    #34
    blorg
    Registered Users Posts: 15,989 ✭✭✭✭blorg


    I agree with Gavin. Get a second-hand hybrid for €100-200 and look at it as an expendable... if it lasts a year you have saved on the bus fare. If it gets stolen buy a new one. You would have to have a hell of a lot stolen before it would get to the cost of a Brompton. I've parked in Heuston frequently myself and with a "poor" lock albeit only over the weekend.


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    #35
    tomasrojo
    Registered Users Posts: 11,760 ✭✭✭✭tomasrojo


    Good points about a cheaper bike with a very good lock. If I didn't have the Brompton, I'm not sure I'd buy it just for this particular journey.

    Actually, maybe I would. It's very nice to have it. It's also handy to have a spare bike that can be stored in a press.


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