Folding Bikes - full size folding bike IF mode

i wonder if anybody here has heard of these?

youtube folding video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD2lFgMfh2k)

official website here (http://www.pacific-cycles.com/product3.asp?cat1=1&cat2=4&pid=1)

i'm not really a folding bike lover mainly for aesthetic reasons. don't hate! *cower* but this easy folding full-size bike really appeals to me and i was wondering what the thoughts of folding bikers were around here. has anyone ridden one? if it helps, it was designed by the guy who made the strida.

if you can afford it, please let us know your thoughts after you buy!
I would say this is a cutting edge, largely untested, very promising design.
Cannondale is also producing a similar model.

Designed originally as the Swivelhead by Strida designer Mark Sanders, he says I can borrow an early prototype to take on the Velovision (http://www.velovision.co.uk) trip to Spezi (the specialist bicycle show in Germersheim, Germany) next month.
There are now three distinct versions made by Pacific including IF versions of their Reach folders.

I want one! LOL! :thumb:

i'm not really a folding bike lover mainly for aesthetic reasons. don't hate! *cower* but this easy folding full-size bike really appeals to me and i was wondering what the thoughts of folding bikers were around here. has anyone ridden one? if it helps, it was designed by the guy who made the strida.

Yeah if you search you'll find there have already been a couple of threads on this bike here. AFAIK no one has ridden one and I'm not sure if the manufacturer has even shipped any yet.

As far as our thoughts, I think you'll find that most of us died in wool foldies are pretty sold on the benefits of smaller wheels and aren't too keen on the idea of spending an extra $2000+ just for aesthetics. I'm sure the IF Mode is a fine piece of equipment, but at the end of the day it's just a two speed city bike and if large wheels are the main selling point then for $2500 you could practically have a $50 Walmart special waiting for you everywhere you go.

That being said, I really like the way it folds so flush with itself, but I just feel the benefits of the technology are squandered by the unnecessarily large wheels. Even IF Mode designer Mark Sanders himself admits that the large wheels are mostly a marketing gimmick for people like yourself who refuse to accept the superior small wheel format.

But everyone wants one! No chain maintenance, tight fold...

I can't see a 2 speed bike being at all useful and the shifter being in the BB. The general public is going to fall on their ass when they try to shift that.

... but I just feel the benefits of the technology are squandered by the unnecessarily large wheels. ...

Here is another approach, large wheels that fold

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1EDd94BZO8&feature=related

but then, you cannot roll the folded bike. Choices, choices ...

Agreed, I have enough to carry already. Making the bike wheelable-much easier on my back.

I have ridden the Swivelhead prototype briefly, the purpose of Mark's design is that it pulls the folding section into tension making it a very solid & stiff frame. Like another bike I had (& want another that is the right size for me) the Pedersen, it's frame looks spindly, but once you sit on it, it is pulled into tension & is immensely strong. One of these days I'll get around to a folding version of their 20" wheeler...............and the IF...........and Oh yes, the 2-speed Strida.... & then there's the GoCycle........Yee Gods! I need help! (all donations gratefully received! LOL!)