Folding bikes - Brompton, Dahon, Mezzo etc - recommendations and chat

[editor]

Umm masking tape? Spray paint? I've disguised all the logos on my mountain bike, sprayed it pink and put disney kitten stickers on it thus rendering it less desirable to thieving scrotes.

No, I don't want to put money into Hummer's coffers.

 

[Crispy]

I've seen a similar folder design from another company anyway. Name escapes me.

 

[Cobbles]

You can back all that "3rd world wage slave" stuff up, of course, yes?.

From the Dahon website:

"We are headquartered in Los Angeles, California and our bicycles are assembled in our factories in Taiwan, Macau, the Czech Republic and China with parts sourced from the leading component manufacturers from around the world."

I'm not so sure about the Czech Republic but China (of which Macau is a part) and Taiwan aren't exactly known for their employers' enlightened human resources practices are they?


This made me howl:

"We are proud to say that a majority of our 700+ worldwide employees travel to work by bicycle, public transport, or a combination of both."

They missed out a bit - because on the poverty wages they get for bolting together our bitsas, they can't afford any other mode of transport...........

Curious how you think advertising military vehicle manufacturers with a dire environmental record is somehow a positive thing. Still if it shuts you up going on about Edinburgh's buses for a while, it can't be all bad.

Dripping wet folding bicycles just waiting to oil up my silk/wool suiting - yet another reason to avoid public transport whenever possible.

 

[editor]

I'm not so sure about the Czech Republic but China (of which Macau is a part) and Taiwan aren't exactly known for their employers' enlightened human resources practices are they?

So you don't actually know anything about their employment practices and just made it all up in an attempt to score cheap, topic-disrupting points?

Thanks for confirming what I suspected.

 

[editor]

I've seen a similar folder design from another company anyway. Name escapes me.

It's made by a German firm.

 

[editor]

Mind you, look at this drool-worthy beauty:

A snip at £2,200!
http://www.foldingbikes.co.uk/airnimal_chameleon_ultima_buy.htm

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

"We are headquartered in Los Angeles, California and our bicycles are assembled in our factories in Taiwan, Macau, the Czech Republic and China with parts sourced from the leading component manufacturers from around the world."

Just like 99.9999% of all bicycles and bicycle components then. Unfair to single out Dahon.

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

Mind you, look at this drool-worthy beauty:

A snip at £2,200!
http://www.foldingbikes.co.uk/airnimal_chameleon_ultima_buy.htm

When you conisder this has a Dura Ace groupset costing about £1100 its actually not that bad value wise.

 

[editor]

Just like 99.9999% of all bicycles and bicycle components then. Unfair to single out Dahon.

Damn right.

I'd imagine that Dahon are better than some too.

 

[sir.clip]

Bromptons

Anyone ride a Brompton bicycle ?

I'm not sure if I should buy one off these,
I've never Ridden one & I'd like some advice please...
I need to get a folding bike & these are by far the best design.
But what are they like to ride & how do they rate against a road bike ?

 

[editor]

Bromptons are great for pootling around town but those small wheels means that they're not going to be the most stable of bikes and with most only having limited gears, they're not too good on longer runs.

Dahons offer more 'road worthy' bikes, but at the expense of being a bit larger and not quite so easy to fold.

Maybe you should list your requirements and needs first?

 

[zenie]

why dont you go to a shop and try one out? Just an idea

 

[sir.clip]

Maybe you should list your requirements and needs first?

ok.

1)Needs to fold up and be carried up & down a two flights of stairs, once in the morning & once in the evening.
2)Needs to cover 20 miles a day across Londons deadly road network.
3) Needs a minumum of one gear.
4)Needs to be able to take a panier for sandwiches,spares, puncture repair kit
5)would be good to have back rack to fit a small tool box on.

I currently ride a road bike with flat bars.. But need to down size to something as compactable as possible.. I look at the middle folding range of bikes like dahon & alike, but they really do not look like they fold as clean & as simple as a brompton Or a birdy...
I would hesititate at the stability issue If Bromptons are unstable?
I would not sacrifice that crucial piece of saftey over the folding capability of a more stable ride..

why dont you go to a shop and try one out?

Yes this is a plan i will put into full swing. I guess evans is the biggest stockist, So this afternoon i'll pop down to investigate.... Cheers

 

[beeboo]

you need a Dahon Cadenza!!

I had pretty similar requirements - needed a folder to get up and down stairs and store in the flat, but my commute is just shy of a 20 mile round-trip.

I was quickly steered away from small-wheeled folding bikes in the shop as I was told they weren't really suitable for such a long commute - they suffer much more wear-and-tear for a equivalent journey than a full size bike and I was told I'd be constantly replacing parts.

The Cadenza is a decent road-equipped hybrid which happens to fold in half. It's a bit bulky for getting up and down stairs, may depend on how narrow your staircase is - I manage on our narrow Victorian staircase but it's a lug.

 

[Brixton Hatter]

i think the bromptons are well over-priced - they start at about £400 or £500 IIRC. There must be other, cheaper, fold up bikes.

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

i think the bromptons are well over-priced - they start at about £400 or £500 IIRC. There must be other, cheaper, fold up bikes.

There are - but they're made in the far east. Bromptons are made in Britain and there are labour, environemnal and health and safety overheads. 500 quid is a fair price for one IMHO - there is a 6 month waiting list so somebody agrees with me

 

[fjydj]

I don't think the brompton has the best ride, its best feature is its small size and easy fold. I have a dahon, which rides really well, but if I had more money I'd get a birdy. This guy had a similar wish list to yours

http://www.k12converge.com/?p=219#comments

My desire was simple: ride a bicycle to work. I’ve done it for my last three positions (and college before that), so I wasn’t going to stop now. More importantly, I don’t feel like I know a city until I’ve really cycled it. The solution to this simple desire, however, was very complex.

snip...

Then I saw the Brompton bike ads– this amazing British bike that folds into a small suitcase size in 30 seconds and goes on the bus with you, or the train or the tube, or into your office and under your desk. Or up three flights of narrow stairs to our flat.

A few hours of web surfing later, and I was at a bike shop ready to test ride a Brompton (only 660 pounds sterling). Disaster. The one-size-fits-all didn’t fit me– too short in the cockpit, only three gears, and a poor ride for my size. I test rode another type of folding bike, called a Mezzo, and it was a better fit but still a flaky ride for a $1,500 bike.

Sensing my anguish, my wife went to London’s uber-urban cycling shop (Velorution), and test rode a German-made Birdy and super high-end Airnimal (only $3,100), and she reported back that I had to try the Birdy folding bike. Today I did, and bought it, and rode it home from Oxford Circus.

It was the most fun and invigorating ride I’ve had in a long time– I hand copied a 28-turn recommended cycling route from the London Transport web page (our new printer hasn’t arrived yet), which had an estimated ride time of 21 minutes. When I rode it with penciled notes and the London A-Zed map book, I got lost 2 dozen times and was out for almost an hour and a half. And it was a blast.

 

[beeboo]

That guy was only looking at a 20 min commute though.

 

[sir.clip]

I went to see if I could test ride one yesterday afternoon at Evans, But drew a blank. The guy told me I needed I.D in the form of my passport, a utility bill with my address & a letter from my Mum.
Still no worries..
I was advised that Herne hill Cycles stock the Brompton so I'll try these guys on my pedal home today..

The Bike friday Caught My Eye but it seems elaberate.. The Birdy Is good looking ( a bit to much so for the london magpies), But with all the working parts I would fear the maintinace would be high..
But Like Sigmund says Bromptons are built in Britain, Much Like myself.. so i'll procede with that knowledge & trust for now..

Just need the privalage of trying one..

 

[AnnaKarpik]

<note to self; back away from the shiny new bikes!>

 

[beeboo]

Some blurb from Brompton's website:

as on other lightweight machines, aluminium alloy is used in the construction of the Brompton, and this material has a finite design life before failure. In normal use, the risk of aluminium fatigue failure is remote, even after many thousands of miles. However, the risk of failure increases with use, especially with hard riding or other severe loading. As such a failure could cause injury, the hinge clamp plates, handlebar and chainset should for safety be replaced every 5,000 miles (more frequently on any machine subjected to hard use)

I don't know how that compares with other bikes

 

[Slow Hands]

I don't know how that compares with other bikes

Bromptons didn't used to use aluminium - they were considerably heavier than some competitors as a result which is a good thing when you're riding but not so good when you're carrying

I don't know where there is a waiting list for them, most places I've seen have a small stock of Bromptons now including different colours (minty blue anyone???)

But don't get a folding bike if you are tall, if you're much over six foot it looks and feels like a bmx!!!

 

[editor]

Here's my folder: Dahon Jetstream P8.

 

[soulman]

Here's my folder: Dahon Jetstream P8.

Maybe it's the photo but the rear derailleur looks really low on that.

 

[editor]

Maybe it's the photo but the rear derailleur looks really low on that.

It is pretty low. But maybe not as low as you think.

 

[soulman]

Careful now, what size tires you got on that?

 

[sir.clip]

I tried A brompton C-type Last night...

They are ok..I see how they could be a little unstable, But not as bad as i thought. The brakes are a little flakey, So when I buy, i'll change the levers to something a bit better & maybe fit dual pivot brakes. And maybe switch the 3 speed to a grip shift changer...

So come end of November I'll hopefully be investing in a second hand model to upgrade over time....

 

[Miss-Shelf]

my ex had a brompton - it does feel a little unstable after a road/hybrid but gets better with practise

he used it to commute all round london and even on some longer rides out of london

it folded up really easily and carried really well

it did seem to suffer a larger amount of punctures repeatedly than a road or hybrid

when my employer gets the cycle to work scheme going I'm going to get a brompton to share with my daughter - its the pink frame that's got her interested and the cute factor ...

 

[co-op]

I've got a Brompton on extended loan at the moment and it's brilliant for some things of course; I have to go out to the sticks a couple of times a week and it's great for changing trains at Clapham Junction in the morning, things like that - but I wouldn't want to do a 20 mile commute on it. It's just too rubbish basically if you're used to a decent road bike. Also the saddle doesn't go up far enough if you're tall - I'm over 6 foot and it's too low for me.

 

[slainte]

Any one try the ridgeback series of folding bikes they currently have 3 in the range from £449 down to £199

Dunno but I believe that the whole ridgeback series was started by a guy commuting about london so maybe the said folding bikes might be better suited to london...what do you think?
http://www.ridgeback.co.uk/

Just select the folding bike section.