Which bike to buy? Suggestions?
Hello,
I live in Antwerp (Belgium). Because our (little) house has a very narrow hallway (where we put our bikes) I am thinking of buying two new bikes for me and my girlfriend. The bikes whe own now take up too much space and block the entrance. So most important feature of our new bikes should be that the handlebars and pedals can fold (or handlebars that quickly turn 90 degrees so the bike is flat).
I can put folding handlebars and pedals on our bikes. But folding bikes often have these options and they are smaller, so they take up even less space. And we like the possibility of taking them on public transport (although we don't need to on a daily basis). We do use our bikes every day in the city and Antwerp has a lot of bumpy roads.
I have read a lot of info on the internet.
For me I like the Pacific Reach but also a Brompton S, Downtube and Dahon p18 look like possibilities (and Birdy, but it's is a bit expensive)
My girlfriend also likes Brompton, but also the Dahon vitesse, Giant Halfway and Airnimal Joey are possibilities. And it woul be nice that (in time) an extra seat for a child could fit on the bike.
My question: what do you advice. Does anyone heve any very good or bad experiences with these bikes? I am pretty tall (1,88 metres) is that a problem for these bikes? I wish I could test them all. But in Belgium I can't seem to find bikes such as Pacific, Airnimal, Downtube (we do have Brompton and Dahon). So I was thinking about buying online in the UK (foldingbikes.co.uk). Thanks for your suggestions!