So, I’ve a lot of work in that there London, but need to get between sites, so quite fancy a folding bike.
Apart from Brompton, is there anything/ anyone else I should be looking at??

Anyone got one?
What do you make of it?

Folding bike = Brompton
Folding bike = Airnimal

Seriously, if you’re nipping between sights and sites in London, in and out of places, shops, pubs etc, just get a Brompton M3L.

I’m a cheapskate so I bought a Halfords (Carrera) one for £300.

It’s pretty good mainly, but it folds down to the size of a house.

Dahon and Tern also worth a look at imo, i commuted for about 6 years on a Dahon and it was more than up for the job, was still going strong when I sold it on after I started working some where where it wasn’t required.

Dahon for me. Managed 126 miles on it around lake geneva.
Good solid lock up and clasp mechanism. It won’t fold up as small as a Brompton but only you can decide what’s important.

I’m a Brompton fan but if it’s all within the cycle hire zone, just pay the £90/year and be done with it.

Halfords have a 7 speed Dahon for £479 which seems pretty good to me, not quite a Brompton in the fold but half the price and decent to ride.

Dahon here too, more of a bike that a Brommie. If folds uber important then the Brommie wins, if it’s riding in a straight line and the ability to stop then anything other than a Brommie 😆

The S2L Brompton I have now is far far better than the Tern I had before. It was twice the price but on the plus side the re-sale should I ever get rid of it seems pretty good. Also, depending on how you get to London/Office etc the Brompton Docks maybe worth a look. I used them for a while when testing out the feasibility of a folder and its a good system. The brommies are the M3L model with rack and dynamo lights.

Also look at Birdy – not much larger than a Brompton when folded, but full sus alu frame and normal components.

My Brompton stops just fine, thanks.

SwissStop pads! And, the new brakes are excellent anyway.

I went for a Mezzo D10 – mainly because it has proper components, a good spread of gears and I wanted to occasionally get off a couple of stops early and meander through the countryside on the way home. Its also the same weight as the titanium brommie but half the cost

Folds quicker than a brompton too but not quite as small – still small though.

Dahon mu xl for sale if interested excellent condotion 2011 model £900 new take £250

I have a Brompton. The fold is great, but now i’ve used it a bit, i’m discovering the reliability isn’t that so good. It seems to require a disproportionate amount of servicing.

The latest thing is the headset seems to have gone notchy and worn out. There’s a lot of leverage on it, but not many ball bearings in there (they are caged).

The cables also seem to need a fair bit of maintenance, especially the front brake cable, which forms a U-shaped loop so it gets water trapped in there.

The gears are also wearing out much quicker than I expected (I guess because its only a 13t sprocket or something).

The pedals were also useless, so they’ve been changed for some Wellgo QRD ones from eBay.

If you need it to fold small, its the best thing to get, if not, i’d look at Tern’s/Dahon’s/Mezzo’s etc..

I’ve had the original 6 speed Brompton since 2003. It got heavily used for the first couple of years, then occasional use until recently returning to daily commuter duty. Probably done 10,000 miles odd. Other than sprockets, chain ring, chain, cables, pads, spokes, front mud flap, saddle and a rear rim it’s still on all the original parts. Just got the longer seat post for it, which I’d recommend if you’re over 5’10”. My maintenance routine is shameful but it seems to tolerate it…

Birdy for the one piece monocoque frame so no creaks, unlike dahons/terns etc.

And sport stem so riding position is similar to a mountain bike.

Fast and fun bike, easy to cover a lot of distance on one if needed.

Bromptons ride like clown bikes compared (to just about anything…)

Cheers All. 🙂

Check out Dahon – a huge range with varying degrees of foldness/bikeness*, also Birdy for teh niche.

* from a folding FS MTB to a Brompton-sized package.

When I worked in a bike shop as a mechanic and the Dhaon where not a patch on a Brompton. They just about ok, but I would rather buy a second hand Brompton than a brand new Dhaon. At least with a second hand Brompton you would get your money back.

Id go brompton, esp if you need the small fold, they aren’t perfect riding machines but are fun. Quality shits all over Dahon/Tern.

You can’t carry a folded Dahon/Tern in the same way.

In town I ride a Brompton, I take it on trains, on the tube, into other people’s offices, into pubs, shops, restaurants. I never have a problem.
My S2LX is now needing new cogs/ chain, but then it’s done about 15,000 miles.

Bromptons ride like clown bikes compared (to just about anything…)

Really? What are you comparing it to? It handles much better than my Trek dog road bike, I can’t believe people ride them they handle so badly.

My S2LX is now needing new cogs/ chain, but then it’s done about 15,000 miles.

I know you are proud if your galactic mileages, but Brompton transmissions wear like any other. Mine is 1% worn after 1-1,500 miles (yours will be a few % more than that, your chainring’s likely gone too).

Sprockets are £5 odd, chains £11, cheap as.chips and worth keeping on top of.

If you’re bringing in by the train check their rules on wheel size. Some companies (I’m looking at you South West Trains) have a maximum wheel size that rules out some folding bikes, not that they ever stopped me.

FWIW I have a Dahon Helios which is fine for the amount of times that I need a folder

Another Brompton user here.

Got mine 3 years back – went round all the shops, and couldn’t get a good report on anything BUT brompton. I had a look at quite a nice Dahon – Ultegra 11 speed etc – felt like a proper bike to sit on, but the fold was appalling.

Thing is – even a Brompton, although lightish for a bike, it is a lump as a piece of luggage, and likewise. Although its by far the neatest fold, when you start trying to get on a packed train with it, it still takes up a surprising amount of space.

The ride is OK – mine (S2L) has spds on and gets a good thrashing. Its fast off the line and very nimble for throwing around in heavy traffic. The biggest downside is the quality of the componentry. A lot of it is real tat – shifters, chain tensioner/mech, the ‘M’ bars are terrifyingly flexy. Things are getting slightly better – the new brake levers are stiffer and the new cranks look a bit nicer. Despite my best efforts with levers, compressionless cables, V-brake noodles etc, the brakes are still gash.

We bought a Dahon Vigor a couple of months ago that my wife uses to commute on. Tried loads of different bikes and this rode substantially better than the cheaper dahons. A lot more solid and less flexy than of others and with a decent set of gears. Really can’t fault it after it being used daily and my wife loves it. Mud guards were easy to fit. Seems a decent quality bike and pretty light weight. Some folders weigh an absolute ton.

http://dahon.com/mainnav//single-view/bike/vigor_d9.html

Winstanley cycles do them at a cracking price of £420

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/67919/Dahon_Vigor_P9_Folding_2014_Bike

Brompton s3l here. I’ve got a longer Ti post on than stock and some ergon grip bar ends. Weirdly it took me ages to get exactly the right position on it. Especially the ergon grips helped to get some leverage off the line. Mine’s just 6months old (so newer brakes) and just does the mile to the station, then 3 miles across London to the office. Getting off and on trains regularly the size of fold is the most important to meet. With Brompton size wheels it’s never going to be the best bike to ride.

Really? What are you comparing it to? It handles much better than my Trek dog road bike,

to the Birdy for one.

However the birdy with the comfort stem, and other folders with similar head/stem angles, also ride a bit funny and almost like a sit-up Amsterdam bike, which I don’t like in London traffic as it feels a lot less stable and safe than the more normal position with the stem sloped forward and therefore a longer cockpit.

The biggest downside is the quality of the componentry. A lot of it is real tat – shifters, chain tensioner/mech, the ‘M’ bars are terrifyingly flexy. Things are getting slightly better – the new brake levers are stiffer and the new cranks look a bit nicer. Despite my best efforts with levers, compressionless cables, V-brake noodles etc, the brakes are still gash.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/pqWzia]Rohloff Disc Bromptons[/url] by Ben Cooper, on Flickr

Rohloff hub, disc brakes, SON Edelux lighting, custom stainless rear frame and integral carrier, Cinq5 shifters, bottle bosses,…

😉

My colleague has a Brompton and it constantly seems to break. Though I don’t think he ever does any maintenance work or gets it serviced, so that may be why.

Anyway, I was just browsing around and spotted this – http://www.cyclingdeal.com.au/buy/hasa-full-carbon-folding-foldable-bike-9-speed-20/MINIMAX-C
if I was after a folder I’d have one of these in a heartbeat – £900 seems like a bargain to me! You would obviously have to get it here from Aus…

google Brompton dock , cages outside rail stations where you can hire a brompton for not many quids, to try one out,