Your perfect folding bike..

[wafter]

Just musing off the back of the Brompton thread. I very much have a love-hate relationship with mine; it's given me so much, yet remains a constant source of frustration and bemusement.

So.. if you could spec your own folder, what features would you want to see incorporated?

Off the top of my head, I reckon..

- Similar fold format to the Brompton - they definitely got that right
- A rudimentary amount of suspension; again a Brompton-esque rubber bush is probably sufficient
- 16" wheels with potential for fat tyres (yes, I appreciate these probably don't exist currently)
- Ability to run tubeless if pressures are low enough
- Bloody good mudguards, offering as much coverage as possible
- Hydraulic disc brakes
- Internally-geared hub - perhaps a Nexus 8 of Rohloff if you're feeling posh
- Intrinsically corrosion-free frame material (probably stainlesS)
- Self-finished, corrosion-resistant fixings where possible
- Ability to be maintained with the usual basic bike-specific tools

Interestingly I think some of the above are already featured on the G-line; however for me the bigger wheels and ally fork rule it out from the off

 

[Gunk]

Full titanium frame, forks and triangle
Brompton fold
16” wheels with Hydraulic disc brakes
Rohloff 12 speed hub
Son Dynamo lighting
Brooks B17 Narrow saddle with titanium rails
Less than 10kg

 

[Drago]

My Carrera Disc 9.

Fast and stable like a big bike, superb brakes, 11.5kg actual weight, great acceleration, folds small enough for most practical purposes, bit most importantly...

...is inexpensive and hilarious fun.

Other than the colour I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[wafter]

Full titanium frame, forks and triangle
Brompton fold
16” wheels with Hydraulic disc brakes
Rohloff 12 speed hub
Son Dynamo lighting
Brooks B17 Narrow saddle with titanium rails
Less than 10kg

Seems sensible - especially good call on the dynamo lighting!

My Carrera Disc 9.

Fast and stable like a big bike, superb brakes, 11.5kg actual weight, great acceleration, folds small enough for most practical purposes, bit most importantly...

...is inexpensive and hilarious fun.

Other than the colour I wouldn't change a thing.

Wasn't at all familar but a quick search suggests they're capable and well-regarded

 

[Drago]

While we're on the subject, these have had some reasonable reviews and were £999 at one point. If your local Hellfrauds has any left in stock it's an absolute bargain..

https://www.halfords.com/bikes/elec...74YCLR1LHC9YW3Q7e9AaAmazEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[FrankCrank]

Main requirement for me is leaving it locked up in town, and being reasonably sure it draws no attention from light fingered folk.

For this reason, all my bikes, including 2 folders, are what could be described as low value clunkers

 

[FrankCrank]

While we're on the subject, these have had some reasonable reviews and were £999 at one point. If your local Hellfrauds has any left in stock it's an absolute bargain..

https://www.halfords.com/bikes/elec...74YCLR1LHC9YW3Q7e9AaAmazEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Looks nice. Had assumed a leccy bike ought to have disc brakes.
Nothing against V-brakes, but with the added weight and speed, would seem sensible for some extra stopping power.

 

[Drago]

Aye lad, if I were designing it there would be discs.

Nevertheless, even at the original price it's a lot of bike fo the money and the reviews have been almost overwhelmingly positive. Bargain there for someone.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

While we're on the subject, these have had some reasonable reviews and were £999 at one point. If your local Hellfrauds has any left in stock it's an absolute bargain..

https://www.halfords.com/bikes/elec...74YCLR1LHC9YW3Q7e9AaAmazEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I've got one of them
well - it's an older model - we got it at £200 off when it was end-of-line - and it is OK
Problems are that
a) you have to look after the battery - don;t let it run out of charge and use it every few weeks even in winter
b) there is naff all weight on the front wheel - so if you pedla hard to get away at the light then you are likely to lift the front wheel

It is also heavy - fine as a folder for storage and taking up less space in the boot - and for "being a folder" for trains if the cycle storage is full (i.e. it is just luggage) but it isn;t easy to carry around

over all though - I have done a fair few miles on it - on road and canal paths etc - and it has done well

 

[Drago]

In the interest of balance, a) applies to all ebike batteries, and b) to all,folder, the taller/more powerful a rider is the more pronounced the effect.

I've also heard that the eleftric contacts in the hinge require care when the bike is folded, else they may be damaged.

But no bike is perfect, and for the pittance they want its a capable machine.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Yes - good machine for the price
contacts do need looking after
it comes with a plastic cover for them when you fold it - they did get out of shape once but I spotted it and they bent back with some care

mine is an old Bafang motor with a 2 pin battery - it was replaced with a 5 pin battery, presumably the motor changed as well

It is great for what it does - reasonable range, I have done well over 20 miles on flatish roads and still had loads of charge left

 

[EckyH]

For me the perfect folding bike would be a steel frame Brompton with 4speed rear derailleur and 16" wheels for the sake of the folded size.
I'd prefer some upgrades:

• mechanical disc brakes if possible (space restrictions may prevent 160mm discs and do 140mm discs have enough braking power for the maximum weight?) for the sake of easy maintenance or at least v brakes
• 1 1/8" ahead headset
• fork dropouts like the C line electric has got
• drop bar
• more tyre choices available, eg. Vittoria n.ext tyres

E.

 

[Richard Fairhurst]

My closest-to-perfect folding bike is the one I have, which is a Bike Friday New World Tourist.

The Brompton G Line is so close to perfect. Tourable like an NWT, but with a Brompton fold. It could be perfect. But it's ludicrously heavy (15kg vs ~11kg for the NWT), expensive, and doesn't yet have a convincing luggage story for touring. I'm not particularly fussed about disc brakes on a folder though I could cope with them.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I used to have a folding mountain bike - a Rudge Bi-Frame - basically a Raleigh

calling it a mountain bike was pushing it a bit but this was the 1980s and the market was flooded with "Mountain Bikes" that were just normal flkat bar bikes with knobby tyres

This was the same but worked better - and folded - pivoting around the seat tube and with 5 locks to stop it folding when you didn;t want it to

It was pretty good for normal riding and riding on trails and such

quite big when folded - but not greatly
not as heavy as our current folding ebike!!!


Legally I suppose I still have it - last time I saw it was when I left my ex - it was in the garage.
It is probably in exactly the same place but never worth the hassle involved in contacting her to get it back!!

 

[geocycle]

I quite like my aluminium Dahon mu P8 with SRAM derailleur. Less than 10 kg and rolls well on 20 inch wheels. The integrated seat post pump is useful. But, the fold isn’t as good as the Brompton, it flexes a lot in the bars and the luggage carrying is limited. Something like this with the best of the Brompton would be my ideal. For me the weight of a folder is an important consideration, especially when carrying it folded.