Hello!

I have limited space, and want to try off road cycling.

The Airnimal Rhino is marketed as an off roader, and it folds. So maybe..?

Well, seeing how I can’t find one to demo, and I’m a beginner with nothing to compare one to in the first place..

I’d rather hear from people who actually own them, tell me what they think, what they liked and didn’t like etc.

What I assume so far:

1. It has small wheels, so won’t ever be as good as a proper 26”+ bike
2. It folds, but it’s a faff and won’t be THAT small
3. um.. it is expensive?

Cheers!

It was my introduction to off-road. I took it around swinley on numerous occasions and enjoyed it. The limiting factor was finding good 406 off road tyres.

It’s not a great folder. And I just took the front wheel off for the first fold.

All that said, it’s more capable than people realise, lots of fun, and will get you noticed. The Alfine is a heavy lump on the back.

Mine was stolen (with six other bikes). I miss it, but I didn’t replace it. I actually went for a 29er SS.

I don’t have much to add on that particular bike, but if you have concerns over it not being all that small, would it be worthwhile considering just running a full size 26er and taking the wheels off it to reduce the storage size?

With 15 and 20mm hubs you’ve less to worry about as far as wheel removal and replacement is concerned. No faffing about aligning brakes and such.

It does seem like a lot to lay out for something that maybe compromises quite a lot. That amount of cash would get you a very nice ‘proper’ bike.

Edit: Welcome!

Airnimal bikes are more about being packable than quick folding – aimed at tourists whole take the bike apart to get it into plane luggage at the beginning and end of a holiday rather than commuters who are looking for a quick fold and reassemble.

The upside is they have better handling and long-ride comfort than fast folders, the downside is they don’t really save space if you’re using them daily as you’ll never bother to do that full strip down. My brother used to have one and it was a nice ride. At the time they benefitted from being a bit more customisable and upgradable than conventional folders with fewer weird proprietary parts (regular bars/stem/mtb forks etc) but I don’t know if in these days of tapered headsets etc whether that’s still the case

@TiRed —

Thanks for sharing your experience.

So the Rhino is quite capable, even if the fold is a pain (it’s not exactly a Brompton.)

Sorry to hear yours was stolen :-/

What kind of off-road terrain could I expect to handle with the Rhino?

Actually, that’s part of my problem —

I don’t yet know how to match the different types of terrain out there to the right type of bike.

There’s plenty of hills around me, with rocky paths, lots of grass, tracks etc.. and this time of year there will be plenty of mud as well… and I’ve not a clue what kind of bike is suitable for that.

E.G:

I THOUGHT I needed suspension, but a local bike shop said a fixed “cyclecross” bike would be ideal (and showed me a drop-bar bike that had thicker tyres.)

I was surprised to hear that.

Mind you? I really do have limited space, so a folding bike is preferable (and suspension is surely a good thing to have when you’re on small wheels..)

@demelitia —

would it be worthwhile considering just running a full size 26er and taking the wheels off it to reduce the storage size?

Possibly!

Although the Rhino fully folded looks to be quite a bit smaller still (would be interesting to compare though.)

It does seem like a lot to lay out for something that maybe compromises quite a lot

True. I think I’d hold on and wait for a used one to pop up on eBay or gumtree, rather than buy new (though I might be in a for long wait in that case..)

@maccruiskeen —

Airnimal bikes are more about being packable than quick folding

That makes sense. Good point..

Well, I’m not going to commute with it. It’s purely for off road exploration and fun.

I reckon I’d use the bike maybe 2-3 each month, unless I really get into it..

Thus the faff involved in folding it is not worrying me at this point.

It’s capable for what you want to ride. Trail centres were fine. I keep my wheels on the ground. It’s not particularly light and the Alfine hub is a bit draggy (compared to a single speed!), folding it is a pain – I seldom did.

I liked it, but graduated to other bikes. The rhino was then used as a commuter along a towpath – again it was very good for that kind of riding too. Small wheels benefit from suspension.

The black finish is anodized not painted, it marks very easily.

Have you thought of using a bike bag for storage? Both wheels can be taken off and the handlebar sideways. Would also add that there’s nothing wrong with storing bikes in the bedroom or lounge.

For what you’re wanting, or think you’re wanting, I’d buy the right bike for the job and not make do.

I’ve got one, derailleur rear rather than the alfine. Ride wise you can’t really compare it with other folders, it’s solid and doesn’t flex and creak, and can be banged over terrain that will break other folders into bits. Like others have said, folding is actually more like 5 minutes of assembly rather than a few clicks and seconds.

Or depending on the space you have what about getting some S&S couplers fitted to a normal frame? I think Bencooper off this forum retrofits via his bike shop (forget the name) but given Airnimals aren’t exactly cheap you could probably get something from Shand (for example) with them fitted from new. Pretty sure I’ve seen an S&S bike on Shand’s instagram.

Or a montague paratrooper.

Plenty of options for storage. You will of course have to clean it before storage 😉

Right, I’m off to read what a “S&S coupler” is..

Thanks for the ideas!

Perhaps it would help to describe the space I have:

It’s an open plan flat (bedroom, living-room, kitchen.) And a bathroom. Inhabited by a rabbit, a cat, me, and the wife 🙂

It is maybe-possible to store a bike in a cupboard downstairs in the building, just need to confirm who owns it..

Otherwise, the bike is on display inside the flat.

And.. yeah, when it gets dirty I have another problem! Maybe a storage bag is in order..

This is Ben Cooper’s shop, I have no connection to him whatsoever but he frequents the forum a fair bit…

Retrofitting S&S BTCs

Clearly I am big fan of bikes but even I wouldn’t want one sitting in an open plan flat so something that folds/dismantles. And yes to a bag, even a dry ride would have the bike picking up dust and stuff which will drop on the floor of your flat.

Ha, I was reading down this and was about to suggest a bike with BTCs 😀

First set I fitted were to my old Cindercone, it meant I could put two halves in the car or cupboard. I never bothered doing the full dismantle, I left wheels on, but it is possible to pack the bike down a lot if you need to.

The advantage is that you have a full size bike that rides exactly the same as before. Downside is you have two parts to carry about.

For storage the Airnimals are grand – as far as folders go they ride well (I’ve had the Joey, Chameleon and Rhino at various points). They’re not fast folding but if you’re going to clean etc before parking in the flat then speed of fold is borderline irrelevant.

But they’ll always be somewhat of a compromise – I’ve no experience of couplers as a conversion but have a Moulton spaceframe that splits into two. It’s a fiddle with cables etc but that’s about the extend of it.

<notsostealthad>
I’ve got a black Airnimal Rhino frameset in the loft that I keep meaning to stick on the classifieds…
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<notsostealthad>
I’ve got a black Airnimal Rhino frameset in the loft that I keep meaning to stick on the classifieds…
</ad>

How interesting 🙂

Tell me more!

3. um.. it is expensive?

You weren’t joking! 😯

Is it the ‘space’ aspect of storage that’s more of a concern, or the fact that it would be on display? Any chance you could just string it up on a bike storage hoist from the roof?

I remember seeing this a bit back; might give you some insight on the couplers.
https://www.on-one.co.uk/news/teams-and-riders/q/date/2010/05/24/the-man-who-cut-his-inbred-in-half

Some of the Montagues actually look OK
https://www.montaguebikes.com/product-category/mountain-bikes/

Or maybe
https://changebike.co.uk/

And some money no object options….
https://www.bikerumor.com/2015/11/12/pbe15-fenix-flies-with-full-size-folding-27-5-and-27-santos-mountain-bikes/

Folding 29er Mountain Bike

Wow, the Change Bike looks pretty ideal! Nice find, cheers @mick r

799 for the entry moutain bike, 13.5kg, not terrible for a full size folder?

Not a clue what they are like – just other things that popped up on Google images when I was looking for the English. Have fun and report back!

How interesting

Tell me more!

My email is in my profile (or should be) – it’s a black Rhino, no forks fitted but rear shock included. Has been used, stripped for parts etc and then taken apart and stored. I really wanted to build it up but being brutally honest with myself it’s never going to happen. If you’re interested let me know and I can get pics over to you.