Daughter SeaDog is moving to Edinburgh, but will be renting a flat as opposed to sharing a house as she is now.
Her full size bike might be a bit impractical, what with secure storing, and getting up/down flights of stairs. She doesn't want to be leaving it locked up outside.
She's not averse to a folding bike, but probably doesn't need the full foldability of the Brompton. It's more about the practicality of carrying a bike up/down stairs.
I've seen Dahon getting generally positive reviews, what other brands do the STW massive appreciate?
Decathlon folder perhaps. A friend rated hers but she wasn’t lugging it up lots of steps
Used Mezzo for about £150-200.
Have both and the Mezzo is a better ride, a worse fold and lighter than the C-line. I also have a B-twin Tilt 100 running fixed wheel. Heavy but rides fine - wouldn't want to carry it up and down the stairs. For absolute theft proof, NOT a Brompton. Dahon and Tern are both nice to ride (and share the same DNA). But I would be sourcing something used by first intent.
If I wasn't too fussed about folded size, I'd be tempted by a tern byb - haven't actually tried one though.
Tern have a good range. The BYB if you want something super-compact, or they do a couple of sort of "half-fold" bikes too, slightly less compact. Plus loads of accessories like bags, panniers, racks etc and some have features like integrated lights - one less thing to lose / have stolen.
Used Mezzo for about £150-200.
I've got a Mezzo and I like it, but it's definitely in the folding bike category, rather than the bike-thst-folds category. If I didn't want to bring it on public transport/into random offices/pubs/shops, I'd probably opt for something different.
If you do opt for a Mezzo, you should try to find one with the correct luggage rack bag - it's awesome.
Cheers for the replies.
Probably look for a second hand and see how we go.
good luck. Apart from bromptons, most folding bikes are cheap. I don’t let my Brompton out of my sight. I’m much less cautious about the other three.
I had an Airnimal Rhino too and it was awesome. But you wouldn't want to carry it far!
Getting full size bikes up edinburgh closes is not a problem. Edinburgh closes are generally pretty spacious.
Like zero. Honestly just a lightish normal sized bike.
The streets are steep, the setts are uncomfortable and if they are wet they can be ****ing slippy.
Gears, biggish tyres and good brakes over foldability.
Bike theft in edinburgh is a thing for sure but being sensible and not leaving it locked at the bottom of the stairs or onto the cast iron railing of the close will keep it safe.
There's the Vello Rocky, with 10sp, discs and 20" wheels, for around C-Line money.
Or, there's the Brompton clones, Mint, Cranston, Litepro for around £600-700. They need to be bought from the likes of AliExpress, bur seem to get decent reviews
I use a Decathlon Btwin Tilt 500 for train commuting. Fast 20" wheels, minimal maintenance, easy to fold. Only downside is the weight if carrying upstairs.
I got mine for £150 2nd hand. Cost me about 10p per km so far and I could sell it for £100.
Bromptons keep their value so buying a decent second hand one and selling it again in the future will probably be less expensive than some of the other options. The brompton also folds small enough that you can take it many places, like into a cafe, where you would have to lock your bigger folder up and then worry about theft.
I had a Birdy which was great, but they are still heftier than the bromptons.
Dahons and Terns that fold in the middle can be a pia with creaking joints, or even failing ones.
From what I've seen more people love their bromptons than other folders.
small wheeled (and even better folding) bikes make a load of sense if you’re storing in a flat. They’re not necessarily lighter to carry up stairs though
we’ve had Bromptons for nearly 20 years and they’re a great city bike in terms of storage/security/convenience. The mezzo always appeared the best designed alternative to me - so it’s odd no one bought/licenced the design and kept making them.
I always wanted a birdy - I test rode them a few times and they ride really well but the fold isn’t as clean or elegant. https://www.cyclinguk.org/cycle/bike-test-compact-folding-bikes but more recently I’ve been listing after a Brompton g line (objective of both being a bike that rides better but still folds for secure “take in “ storage). But Heavy
There are quite a few non folding compact e bikes - b&w tinker, tern short haul, cannon dale compact - but not acoustic equivalents.
The mezzo always appeared the best designed alternative to me - so it’s odd no one bought/licenced the design and kept making them.
They were available for a while longer in other countries under the Ori brand, but I'm not sure if they still are.
Our Dahon was great and far more stable than the Brompton it replaced. Yes, it’s a little heavier, but honestly not much for a short hike a bike.
A couple pulled up on his and hers G-lines yesterday. They are nice, and I test ride one in London. They are, however rather heavy - Alfine hub and a big steel frame. Lifting in and out of the car is ok. Carrying upstairs might be a challenge!
Off to uni, I’d wait and see and probably go btwin for price. I’m sure there are second hand bikes in Edinburgh.
I'd be really tempted by a G line if they were anything close to a reasonable weight.
I'd be really tempted by a G line if they were anything close to a reasonable weight.
I test-rode one when they were new out. The weight isn't noticeable when you're riding it. I guess it depends if you're hauling it up 3 flights of stairs or on and off trains. It was a great bike, I did strongly consider the e-version but then ended up getting a full size e-gravel bike.
Obviously the G-Line will be few and far between on the S/H market because they've not been out long enough to have trickled through and they're expensive new.
I test-rode one when they were new out. The weight isn't noticeable when you're riding it.
People always say that about bikes, but take 4kg off it, and I reckon you'd definitely notice it.
I'm vaguely in the market for a fast folder, for longer "commutes" (up to about 30ish miles), where I want to be able to wear vaguely normal clothes and still be able to stash the bike inside places. I really liked the look of the G-line, but 15kg is completely ridiculous.
30 miles in ordinary clothes? The only folding bike I’d ride over that distance is an Airnimal. And their fold is pretty grim. I still have the case, but the bike was stolen. There are folders with full sized wheels like a Montague. Offers some benefits but it’s more storable than foldable.
If you fold it a lot, nothing beats a Brompton.
I've done 20ish miles on a Mezzo a fair few times, and it's "okay". I'd not want to do it every day - but I don't need to. I'm finding it a better compromise than a full size bike and changing clothes.
I've also got a Pacific Reach, which is great - would happily ride centuries on it. But yeah, in the same vein as an Airnimal, it's not really a folding bike so much as a packable bike.
I'm sort of looking for something in the middle I guess (not because I *need* something, just because n+1). Something a bit faster than the Mezzo, that I'm never going to take on public transport, but that I still want to be able to get into hotels/restaurants/pubs without too much fuss. Pretty tempted by a Birdy.
What you need Aidy is a Helix. Titanium, bigger wheels, decent fold. Yea please!
or a Vello. Same but not as neat a fold and “only” 10” wheels. My T5 is considerably faster than the Mezzo (i4) and weighs four kilos less!
Saw a Helix on eBay last year, still kinda regret not bidding on it. My Mezzo is a D10, and I've got a 56/11 top gear on it - which catches quite a few people out.
Now I have the T5, I was wondering how light I could make the Mezzo. Unlike a Brompton, everything except the stem is standard. So one could build up with carbon cranks, dura ace hubs and RD or some single speed tensioner, carbon rims, bars, seatpost…. The frame is light already. I think k sun nine kilos is possible. Sub eight hard.
See, I've been vaguely tempted to get one of the aluminium brompton clones to see how light they could go.
The Mezzo uses pretty standard componentry, but the brompton modding scene is well established. I had a look a while ago, but couldn't find a carbon post for the Mezzo. Mine sits at about 12kg, but that's with a dynamo, pump, two spare tubes, and a bit of a toolkit - so 10ish as a singlespeed feels like it'd be possible. I think getting much lower would be a struggle though, you could take the rack off, but the mudguards are substantial and integral.