Are folding bikes any good?

Ok so the wife would like to bike half way to work. her intention is to drive 2 miles. park up and then cycle 2.5 miles to work. She is very inexperienced on a bike.

Unfortunately the cycle parking at her work is outside and just a rail so theres no chance she can use one of the mtb’s as they wont last 5 mins.So were looking at the possibility of a folding bike. Ive never ridden one that i can remember but im worried they will be unstable. so my questins are

Are they unstable

Are they suitable for Calderdale hills (she will be going up salderhebble hill

Bromptons are amazing – best bike ever.

The Brompton can feel a bit twitchy at first but the front pannier helps stabilise that.

You can get reduced gearing Bromptons – or even an eBrompton.

The fold and unfold in about 30s. When I got mine, 20 years ago, I regularly had to demonstrate this to a crowd in the town centre.
Do check your wife is strong enough to lift whatever folding bike you get. I often just put mine sideways into the rear seat so it’s not much of a lift.

Also do look into Bikeability courses – there may be free training.

In Stirling this is done via Recycke-a-bike.

A folding bike is as good as the bike – both at folding and at being ridden. There’s plenty of scope to be shit at either or both. They can also be good to ride. And they also can be good to fold. There can be a trade off between the two – some of the bikes designed with the best dynamics in mind are really bikes made to be be dismantled for travel (half an hour dismantalling to get then in a suitcase rather than a 30 second  fold for commuting by rail)

If she’s not a regular / experienced rider then on the upside she’s not comparing the handling /behaviour of a bike to one she’s used to or seeking to push the envelope of their performance and handling.

I’ve followed my sister in law on her Reiss and Muller Birdie along sections of the red at Mabie.

If you don’t need it to be VERY small, I’d be tempted to have a folder with bigger wheels than a Brompton.  20’s Are much nicer to ride than 16s.  I’ve had a Brompton, a Dahon D8 and an Airnimal.  The D8 was the best all rounder.  The Brompton was the best folder.  The Airnimal was the best bike.

I love my 6 speed Brompton, though it seems to need more chain/gear cleaning/general maintenance than my MTBs. Rim brakes, the 2x derailleur is a bit Heath-Robinson, most exposed nuts and bolts rust if you ride through winter.

The lowest gear is pretty low so should be good for winding you slowly up most inclines.

If you get one the only must have accessory imo is the largest bag to go on the front.

A friend commuted on a decathlon folder, she said it was fine for seven or so miles with the caveat that she didn’t have to carry it very far. It also had eight gears iirc. If she had needed to lug it around it was quite heavy. I have a Brompton and they are great but you do pay a Brompton tax

No judgement, but why the car split?

Imagine it would take as long to park up/unpack bike as the extra riding time.

Basically what I’m getting at is, will the car portion end up getting ditched really quickly? And would that change which bike was best suited?

Hi, thanks for the feedback so far.

So the issue is the NHS are loosing their carpark at calderdale for the foreseeable. Im also moving location so the wife would like to pick the daughter up from school on the way home. To do this she needs a car. It would be far far easier for me to buy her an ebike and just ride all the way but its absolutely not what she wants.

Ive seen some folding ebikes (like 400 quid) on ebay, good plan or deathtrap?

I had a 20′ dahon for a number of years. Lots of fun to ride.

Tyre volume made a lot of difference. Bigger the better.

If wanting cheap, look at the Decathlon bikes – they don’t sell rubbish ! You don’t really want to be spending Brommie money just yet.

Decathlon Tilt 120 has gears, the 100 not. £279.

I had a go on an ado air electric folder. Belt driven, handled well on the car park that I rode it on. I’m 5ft9. I might get around to getting one at some point.

I did have a cheap £150 folder years ago which was hard to ride. Short cranks and odd riding position.

The cheap Decathlon tilt is a decent bike. It’s heavy and has a simple fold. A low car boot SUV would be a big help lifting it out. A Brompton is a lovely thing, the electric one will help up a hill. Is there somewhere safe to leave it at work? They are an absolute theft magnet that a cheap Decathlon bike will not be. Buy on bike to work if available to make the cost a little more tolerable.

I have three folders and have owned many; Brompton, Airframe (niche indeed), Airnimal Rhino, Tactic Panache, Mezzo and a Decathlon single speed. Of the list, the Brompton had the best fold but is surprisingly heavy (T excluded), the Airnimals don’t really fold well but ride beautifully (mine regularly went around Swinley), the Tactic is nice quality and very light (in its fixed wheel incarnation) but 20 years old now, the Mezzo rides nicely and folds almost as well as the Brompton – I use it daily. But for shear value, the Decathlon is hard to beat if you can lift it out of the car!

BTW my tilt is a single speed fixed wheel. I replaced the stem and added drop bars with V brake levers. It’s doing service in Dublin and is a really nice ride on Marathon plus tyres.

I have the brompton a line, 950 quid, bought the mudguards from brompton and folding pedals from decathlon.  It’s got the reduced chain ring on by default, 3 speed.  It’s brilliant for cities and lives in car boot, any spare time waiting I m out on it.

It is heavy lugging it about, trick is to wheel it to final destination and fold it in situ on train, cafe etc.

Also, never leave it anywhere, always take it in bank, supermarket (inside trolley), cafe under table etc.

Commuted to and from London using a Brompton both ends to and from the station. The fold is good, it’ll fit in the boot easily, and at work will easily slide under the desk out of the way. Handling is fine and she’ll get used to it. (MTB felt utterly enormous at weekends). No real hills for me tho

The fold is important, Bromptons are compact and will fit on train racks by the doors. Other folders looked like they’d been folded by a car crusher, didn’t stand up easily, and took up lots of room.  (Things may have improved….)

Bromptons are an acquired taste in hilly areas. I’m not a big fan tbh, my Dahon handles way better at speed down hills and over longer distances. My Brompton is a good short-haul city bike.

Ive seen some folding ebikes (like 400 quid) on ebay, good plan or deathtrap?

I’d avoid. You may be lucky and find a useable one but most of the ones I’ve seen from Chinese factory catalogues are junk.

I’ve had a carrera crosscity folding ebike for 6 years. It’s not refined (a little wobbly but fine if you ride it how it’s designed). It’s great for commuting as I can arrive not sweaty or comfortably wear waterproofs (without sweating) if the weather is bad. The only downside is that’s it’s heavy, so definitely try walking it folded. I’ve made it much easier with a bungee cord to hold it together when folded and just wheel it along.

Next time I’d consider a folding bike with disc brakes and add a switch ebike kit, (but this would be twice the price!).  I’ve added a rear disc brake and I’m looking at swapping out the front fork to allow for a front disc brake.  You can go quite fast if it’s an ebike!

I have a Brompton, great bikes, well made etc and great fun! I did have a play with their E option, again very nice, but i don’t need it.

A good few years ago i did a time trial race around Smithfield market with a hundred or so of other folding bike owners. Nothing to do with the thread, but it was a good day out!

so not he absolute deathtrap i was expecting, nice to hear some positive thoughts

Shame it looks like Halfords have ditched the Carrera (Intercity?) folders introduced ~2 years ago, the blue 9-speed hydraulic version for ~£300 in sales looked great value, the red 8-speed with mechanical disc brakes wasn’t that much cheaper.

her intention is to drive 2 miles

WTF

would like to pick the daughter up from school on the way home. To do this she needs a cargo bike!

FTFY

Decathlon have a fairly decent long tail e-cargo bike.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/electric-cargo-bike-rear-loading-longtail-r500/_/R-p-329177

This is the solution to your problem.

Except the bit where there’s nowhere secure to store it.

Except the bit where there’s nowhere secure to store it.

That’s a real shame, if it wasn’t  for that this would almost be a perfect case study for a cargo rig.

I use a Carrera Intercity around London. It has hydraulic discs and it’s lighter but bigger than a Brompton. I think it is great. A real pocket rocket!

You probably aren’t going to do that much better than a Brompton. Pricey unless you buy 2nd hand. Holds its price well.

Folds a lot smaller than most of the competition.

And they’ve got those tiny wheels, which mean its over the bars should you unfortunately ride into a pebble.

A good few years ago i did a time trial race around Smithfield market with a hundred or so of other folding bike owners. Nothing to do with the thread, but it was a good day out!

Years ago applied for a place on the Brompton race they would do at Ride London around St James. Didn’t get in, but watched it. It was a gas for all concerned. I think David Millar was the victor that day.

The Brompton crit was resurrected last year and ran last Friday. Now course closer to Kings Cross. I rode the fixed wheel crit two years in a row. I have never been so terrified in a race in my life!

@andybrad it might be worth asking Dieter what he’s got in at Happy Days. They got a warehouse full of return stock and stuff so have different stock to usual. Pretty sure there are some e-bikes in there. And often he has donated folding bikes – your wife could ride a few options up and down by the Puzzle where it’s quiet.

I’ve locked my bikes up at Calderdale hospital by the main entrance a bunch of times – I generally just use two locks. Smaller wheels are tricky on cobbles and canal spillways – might depend what route your wife is planning as to whether it feels feasible. And the partial cycle infrastructure that’s in at Kings Cross right now would definitely not be the place to start if she’s not a confident rider! I nearly had a little cry there the other day.

I had a Ridgeback Attaché for a while, on loan before I got a Brompton. I believe it was a rebadged Dahon Vitesse. Bigger wheels than a Brompton, Nexus 7 speed gears, it rode really well. The fold was ok, not great, but for a fraction of the Brompton price it was a good bike.

Council and local charities may offer cycle training and route planning.

A mate got a second hand folding bike so he could park for free and cycle 2 miles in to work. Paid for itself in a month.

@andybrad it might be worth asking Dieter what he’s got in at Happy Days. They got a warehouse full of return stock and stuff so have different stock to usual. Pretty sure there are some e-bikes in there. And often he has donated folding bikes – your wife could ride a few options up and down by the Puzzle where it’s quiet.

thats an excellent idea ill pop down with her next week

So a bit of an update.

We popped down to happy days and John sorted us out a folding bike he had in. Despite my concerns the pure fact that its something shes picked is the winner here. A quick ride up and down the street and she came back beaming ?

Since then she’s been to work 3 times on it. First time the front brakes failed (the noodle seems to have split apart) but she didn’t notice so all is good. Shes come home sweaty and smiling every time shes rode it.

So far so good!!!