Folding bike advice please

Do these ever come up for sale? Are there any cheaper ones besides Brompton?

My son is looking for one but he’s 6’4″ with very long arms and legs. Can’t help feeling it’s asking for trouble!

He’s in That Lahndun if that helps.

Thanks as always. 🙂

Dahon do some decent ones – they don’t fold as small as a Brompton, but aren’t half bad.

I’m 6ft 4 and used to use a Dahon Jetstream P8 in London, bigger wheel than the brompton and front and rear suspension, got fed up with trying to fit on a packed train with it so now ride all the way.

Quick replies, thanks.!

rewski – can I ask whether you feel quite safe on it? My son isn’t heavy, just very tall! Is it harder to fold or just larger when folded compared to a Brompton?

Do secondhand ones exist?

A second hand Birdy with the Sport stem would be good for the tall as the seattube is long and the stem and seattube are both angled so the cockpit gets bigger as they are raised.

Plus it has 18inch wheels which fit with many train companies policies, the Dahon 20inch wheels do not.

They ride a lot better than Bromptons but don’t fold as well. As they are a monocoque frame they are stiffer and don’t creak like Bromptons and Dahons.

or you could go for one of these:

or the cargo bike version:

What’s your brothers budget for the bike?

😆

I really can’t get my head around my son riding one of these! I suspect it’s more to do with storing it in the office, he’ll actually be riding the whole journey rather than using a train as well.

I’ve had a quick look on Gumtree and there are a few.

Thanks again.

Nothing folds better than a Brompton

Once you get used to it, the ride is not that bad

The Birdies are a good ride, suspension front and back and with Big Apples on it is very like a full size bike.

I have cycled home 35 miles on it before when needed.

You can get a thin cover, like a pack-a-mac, to put over it when you arrive at your destination, which I used to do before taking it into the office and storing it under my desk.

I had a Dahon Jetstream the same as the one above and am 6’1″. It was a great little bike for the London commute. Not as easy to fold as the Brompton but far better to ride over longer distances.

The Dahon D6 I had before that had a side on smash from a motorbike who cut me up on the embankment. Took a dent to the frame but worked fine afterwards so I have no concerns about their durability.

Birdys (Birdies?) are great too but quite difficult to pick them up secondhand and are also quite a bit more expensive than Dahons. Also take a look at Bike Friday.

For some reason all folders seem to hold their value really well second hand so even if your son gets one and doesn’t get on with it, he should find it easy to recoup some of the investment.

Dahons have a 100kg weight limit, so might be ruled out which is a pity as they are the easiest to find cheap 2nd hand. I think the weight restriction on Terns is higher and Brompton may be unlimited(?)

I tried a Dahon for a while in London but eventually just got a cheapo 90’s MTB and made it singlespeed with slick tyres and locking skewers. Never got nicked despite being left all over the place.

@ cg – I felt perfectly safe, I’ve ridden a 30+ mile round trip no problem, it doesn’t fold as compact as a brompton, and there’s a knack to folding it, I used to part fold it and then wheel it like a unicycle. My only gripe was the brakes where a little weak, but to honest I’m used to formula r1 disc brakes. I sold mine s/h on ebay for £400.

Birdys (Birdies?) are great too but quite difficult to pick them up secondhand

I asked budget because I have two Birdies and will be looking to sell the second one soon – once the snow stops and I can give it the once over.

I have a Dahon Vitesse with Afline 7sp and it’s a most excellent tool. There are many differences between Dahons and Bromptons and you’ll either be in one camp or the other, I sit in the Dahon camp. I find Dahons are way more sturdy, can take a decent peddle stroke and transmit it to the rear wheel, they can carry a decent weight of handlebar bag and rear panniers and also, lastly, fold neatly. Yes ok they’ll never fold as tightly as a Brompton, but then you can still get them folded and tucked away in between train seats and or in between your legs (as I do). I take mine folded into shops and have never been told not too, this is a boon in Larndarn where I do not carry a lock because there is simply no need when you can take it everywhere. The only place I’ve been refused to take it in folded is one Office I worked in (briefly) where the swipe gates had glass over the top and I had to lift the bike almost over my head as the gates were incredibly tight.. but everywhere else, restaurants/bars/Waitrose/clothing shops I’ve always been welcomed. Thing with Larndarn now is, most commute/transport by bike and it’s accepted, so the stigma of folding bikes has almost ceased.
As for fitting taller people, well you can get stems to fit them with ease, seats can be rammed back on their rails but changing the post could be difficult as it forms part of the pump, but I guess you could fit a layback on it but then you wouldn’t get the full fold effect.
I see lots of Birdys, Dahons and other brands on the commute/riding but if I have to be honest I see more Bromptons, but then they’ve always been a Lardarn thing I guess.
Dahons are a bit expensive, I paid £900 for mine, but then I chose what I wanted, you can get them cheaper, less gears etc. but I paid for the sturdyness and ease of fold.

HTH

OK, been in contact with my son and his budget is £300, will be using the Tube sometimes. He’s asking about the Raleigh and Carrera ones, obviously been looking at the Halfords website. Any opinions on those?

TurnerGuy – any idea of how much you’ll be wanting?

Thanks again, very helpful.

Not sure about Carrera, but pretty sure the Raleigh folders are actually made by Dahon.

Bit above budget but what about this? Singlespeed but that’s all you really need for London – pretty light too:

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/48056/Dahon_Mu_Uno_Folding_2012_Bike

Or this is within budget:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tern/link-c7-2012-folding-bike-ec032585

Terns are only available through Evans – basically it’s a breakaway company from Dahon formed by David Hon’s wife and son. They left to set up their own company taking a load of Dahon designs, people and kit with them!

£300 is a little low for a 2nd hand birdy but the Mu Uno that us linked to above looks good if singlespeed is OK, as does the Tern but it doesn’t look as fun.

Closer to budget:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brand-New-Dahon-Mu-Uno-/160960821691?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item257a0339bb

Plus the SS Mu will be lighter to carry on the tube.

My vote would be for the Mu Uno too.

FWIW I knackered the rear mech on my Jetstream so fitted a tensioner and ran that in London as a singlespeed for about 3 years without any problems. The Mu is lighter so would be even better.

Just need some mudguards for it…

Thanks so much everyone, some really useful stuff. I think he’d be best with gears really. It’s all been relayed to my son now.

8)

You won’t find a Brompton for that budget. £300 will however stretch to a used Mezzo [/url]i4 (one on Ebay at the moment – item 251215374983). Some dealers have demo versions on sale for a little more. Folds almost as small and fast as a Brompton, lighter, not as good with luggage. Mountain bike heritage 😉

Buy it now. Thank me later.

I think he’d be best with gears really

tell him to MTFU then…

The Mu looks considerably less dorky than the Mezzo though, in case he in interested in that sort of thing…

I have seen of the Unos around now, they look pretty good.

Otherwise a Dahon Speed with mudguards and big apples looks like a good workhorse:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dahon-Speed-D7-Seven-Speed-Bike-in-Excellent-Condition-including-Helmet-Lock-/121055483867?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item1c2f7817db

but maybe in a better color…

There’s a Giant Halfway about to end, going for a good price:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Giant-Halfway-1-2010-folding-bike-/111000323527?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item19d82285c7

they are pretty nice, called a halfway because the fork and rear chainstay are only on one side, to make folding easier.

Not sure about how well they would work with someone tall.

Bit bigger, couldn’t get it on the tube:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rover-City-Elite-Folding-Mountain-Bike-MTB-Green-ATB-New-/200861583012?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item2ec44886a4

2nd hand Mu with gears

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dahon-Mu-P8-8-speed-Folding-Bike-Midnight-Blue-/181065648895?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item2a285a8aff

Another halfway:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Giant-Halfway-1-Folding-Bicycle-Brand-New-/271140795738?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item3f2140355a

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-dahon-jack-26-wheel-folding-bike