Folding bike

gerbear1

Soon I'm going to have a commute to work of about 4km. I plan on cycling this, however I would also have the option of taking the DART a couple of stops. What I would like is to have a bike that I can fold, should I take the DART home one day instead of cycling for example. Some of the folding bikes I see around town or from just searching online have really small wheels, so I'm thinking they might not be the nicest to cycle everyday.

I've seen a few full size folding bikes, for example:

http://www.montaguebikes.com/swissbike-xo-mountain-folding-bicycle.html

Anybody have any advice for me on this? Any pros or cons about folding bikes in general? Or any recommendations?

tomasrojo

If you want a bike you will fold only occasionally, the Airnimal range have a good press. Never used one, but it has large-ish, though not full-size wheels, and handles well, by all accounts. I considered buying the Airnimal Joey at one stage.

http://www.airnimal.eu/News/Home.php

(If you want a bike you fold all the time, the Brompton is excellent, and I do own one of them. The small wheels don't make much of a difference, in my experience, though it is more tiring to cycle longer distances -- i.e. more than about 10km.)

blorg

4km is not far at all, breaking up a commute that length by taking the DART would make no sense. Get a normal bike.

dayshah

blorg wrote: »

4km is not far at all, breaking up a commute that length by taking the DART would make no sense. Get a normal bike.

Agree, you'd do 4km in about 20min.

Also, folding bikes cost about twice as much for an equivalent normal bike, and are inherently less solid. I'd only get a folding bike if I didn't have a safe location for a proper bike.

Also, Bromptons make you look like a yuppy (sorry tomasrojo )

Lumen

dayshah wrote: »

Agree, you'd do 4km in about 20min.

That's 12kph. I don't think anyone cycles that slowly. 20kph is a completely normal unrushed commuting speed, and that makes 12 minutes.

penexpers

Lumen wrote: »

That's 12kph. I don't think anyone cycles that slowly. 20kph is a completely normal unrushed commuting speed, and that makes 12 minutes.

+ time for stopping at lights, slowing down for pedestrians etc..

Lumen

penexpers wrote: »

+ time for stopping at lights, slowing down for pedestrians etc..

Most people who cycle slowly don't stop for red lights or pedestrians.

Dermot Illogical

That looks fairly nice for a folding bike, but with a hefty price-tag too!
I agree with previous posters that it's not a worth journey breaking up. You'd cycle it in the time spent waiting on the platform.
You probably already know that you can bring any bike on the dart off-peak, but in case not.. http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/news.asp?action=view&news_id=987

Can't help on folding bikes in general. My sister had an Eska as a kid is as much as I know

gerbear1

blorg wrote: »

4km is not far at all, breaking up a commute that length by taking the DART would make no sense. Get a normal bike.

I know it's not a long distance but I'm asking about opinions on folding bikes. As said, I want to have the option to take the DART, plus being able to fold it and have it take up less space is a bonus, but the vast majority of the time I will be cycling to and from work directly.

I've seen a bike like this:

http://img1.classistatic.com/cps/kj/110614/869r1/3600dm0_20.jpeg

It's got 26" wheels. Can anybody give me some advise on folding bikes with large wheels? Or anywhere you'd recommend I go to buy one or any other feedback?

Lumen

gerbear1 wrote: »

I've seen a bike like this:

http://img1.classistatic.com/cps/kj/110614/869r1/3600dm0_20.jpeg

It's got 26" wheels. Can anybody give me some advise on folding bikes with large wheels? Or anywhere you'd recommend I go to buy one or any other feedback?

Obviously the larger the wheels the larger it's going to be folded, and the more problems you're likely to have on the DART. I have seen someone regularly take a 26" folder, like full MTB size, on the Longford-Pearse line, so I guess it's allowed.

Anyway, avoid suspension, because it's heavy, slow and unnecessary.

Dahon have a 26 inch range:

http://www.dahon.com/category/wheel-size/26-inch-wheels

I really don't understand why you'd buy a folder for 4km though. Why would you mess around with the DART when you could cycle it quicker?

dayshah

gerbear1 wrote: »

I've seen a bike like this:

http://img1.classistatic.com/cps/kj/110614/869r1/3600dm0_20.jpeg

It's got 26" wheels. Can anybody give me some advise on folding bikes with large wheels? Or anywhere you'd recommend I go to buy one or any other feedback?

A mountain bike/folding bike just sounds odd to me. A mountain bike is meant to take a lot of impact, exactly what folding bike are not suitable for.

Grolschevik

Lumen wrote: »

I really don't understand why you'd buy a folder for 4km though. Why would you mess around with the DART when you could cycle it quicker?

To have the option of going for a few pints after work, perhaps?

tomasrojo

Grolschevik wrote: »

To have the option of going for a few pints after work, perhaps?

Or maybe to get the DART home when it's raining?

I agree that 4km is not a distance I'd use public transport for. Quite walkable distance, apart from anything else.

If storage is an issue, as you say, the Brompton takes up no room, and is a perfectly good cycle, though the steering is a little twitchy.

Basically, with folders you have two criteria, and the more you satisfy one, the less you satisfy the other. One criterion is an enjoyable ride, and other is how well it folds (ease of fold and compactness of final fold). The Brompton scores highly on the second, and modestly on the first. Airnimal scores highly on the first and very modestly on the second. Not sure about the other brands you've been looking at. Airnimal does a mountain bike as well, if that's what you're really looking for, but, like others here, I'm not getting a clear link between the journey you're describing and the bike you seem to want.

http://www.foldingbikes.co.uk/airnimal.htm

Lumen

Grolschevik wrote: »

To have the option of going for a few pints after work, perhaps?

Fair enough, but then do you stagger to/from the Dart carrying the folded bike? Or unfold it and push? Seems a bit messy.

A small folder could presumably be kept in the office, so you wouldn't need to worry about taking it out for beers. Securing a nice bike near a pub never feels safe (in my experience).

blorg

A folding bike will add weight and expense while compromising the ride.

If you want to get the DART some evening just leave your bike in work and get the DART back the next morning.

For a commute that short I would be looking at a secondhand hybrid around €100-150 personally... which will probably ride better than a folder 5 times the price.

gerbear1

tomasrojo wrote: »

If storage is an issue, as you say, the Brompton takes up no room, and is a perfectly good cycle, though the steering is a little twitchy.

Basically, with folders you have two criteria, and the more you satisfy one, the less you satisfy the other. One criterion is an enjoyable ride, and other is how well it folds (ease of fold and compactness of final fold). The Brompton scores highly on the second, and modestly on the first. Airnimal scores highly on the first and very modestly on the second. Not sure about the other brands you've been looking at. Airnimal does a mountain bike as well, if that's what you're really looking for, but, like others here, I'm not getting a clear link between the journey you're describing and the bike you seem to want.

http://www.foldingbikes.co.uk/airnimal.htm

Thanks, this is the kind of info I wanted. I've never cycled a folding bike so didn't really know what to look out for.