Folding Bikes - My first post and my first folder-Is the flex normal?

Hi. I've been reading pretty much all of these forums over the last few weeks and finally decided to register.

I'm living in Seoul and I wanted a bike that I could pretty much take anywhere, with an internal hub, reasonably well built and an affordable price. I settled on a Raleigh folder, with a 3 speed Nexus and 20 inch tires. It has a fairly nice ride and I love the internal gears.

I found the handlebar flex rather disconcerting though. I've heard about Aluminium fatigue and though I'm sure it's engineered to last I'm still rather uncomfortable pulling on something which is moving a centimeter or two. My $50 Chinese beater MTB lookalike was perfectly rigid (I swear they just poured iron in a bicycle shaped cast) so it's a bit of a change.

Anyone had any issues with handlebar failure? How long should it last with regular on road use? I'm not going to be doing any stunts and I weigh 75kg with the occasional extra weight of my 4 year old on the back.

not to worry
you will get used to pedal more smoothly instead of pulling on the handlebar....

keep your butt on the saddle , keep the gear a little lower than you want to ( spinn faster) and voila : No more flex, higher speed, more distance ..... easy :-)

thor

Handlepost flex is a common.... "aspect" of many folding bikes, particularly ones with tall handleposts. It is more likely to fail if you pull back on the bars on a regular basis; if you can remember not to do that, it should be OK.

The Swift folder does not have this problem, it's solid as a rock. I expect the Pacific Reach will also feel very solid.

The Swift folder does not have this problem, it's solid as a rock. I expect the Pacific Reach will also feel very solid.Interestingly, my Swift is more rigid than SWMBO's Reach, even though the Reach stem riser is shorter and thicker. But perhaps the flex is in the entire steering assembly.

It differs from folder to folder, but I've never heard of a handlepost breaking-- I'm pretty sure they're designed with hard use in mind. My dahon boardwalk S1 also flexes. I've actually learned to use it to my advantage-- If you pull back while riding over rough surfaces, the tension makes the wheel free to move up and down a bit, like some sort of strange suspension.

Well I took it for a 10km roundtrip commute today and I was quite happy with it. I've lowered the handlebar stem to a bit lower than the seat(similar to the MTB I'm used to) and tightened it nice and tight. No play and the flex is much reduced. I'm also changing my riding style. I can't go up as steep a slope as before, but the only place where that's an issue is when I take it out of our basement parking. I think I can walk that 10 meters on a regular basis.

The internal gears: I love them. I'm never going back to derailers again for a commuter, or any bike if I can help it. Only an Nexus inter-3 but I found myself flipping up and down constantly according to the situation. Instant changing, especially coming from the cheap derailers I was using before. I've had better bikes in the past so I know a good set of derailers is just fine, but this is just neater and cleaner. The changing while stationary is invaluable in city commutes. (I usually ride footpaths and cycleways-it's legal and there's usually plenty of space.)

The fold isn't very fast or elegant, but I didn't actually buy this to fold it. I bought it because bicycles with internal gears, chainguards and fenders in this city are either all folders or $3000 imported specials. The fold is a nice extra to have as I travel all around Seoul for my job there willl be times that it's convenient to subway oneway and ride back.

All in all a very solid bicycle for a reasonable price. It won't give any of you high end Dahons, Bromptons or bike Fridays envy, but it's a good option for those on a budget.