A little update on this one. Had intended to be able to put the folded bike in the boot of the car, but only possible with the back seats down. Combination of a not very good fold on the bike, and a small boot on our Mazda. Anyways, a sorta plan B. Decided to convert the BB to a regular cartridge type, just using stuff I already had to hand
The newish chain wheel fits nicely with the old chainguard.
Next, I decided the rear brake was next to useless, so have gone with a coaster instead
So now it's just a single speed, but there are also no cables running across the two halves, so just a case of undoing the 2 bolts, and it separates completely. With the seat and handlebars pushed down it fits nicely in the boot. Also removed the pedals to make a neater fit, have got some cheap folding ones but too squishy to be viable. Here's another shot of how the bike looks now
The front brake is not brilliant either, but will do for now. Next time I spark up the welder, I might add some V-brake bosses front and rear, and then I can play with other options. I've got a SRAM 2-speed auto hub to try out at some stage, and of course still got the 3-speed SA wheel already to throw back on should I wish.
Expect some may be wondering why not just get a folder from
Decathlon or some such, but the thing is I've had 4 other folders to date, and all have the same issue - flexing. These old shopper bikes just ride like a full sized bike, strong and sturdy, so for me it's a no-brainer.
One other thing, it's way easier to lift just half a bike at a time into the back of the car