Folding Bikes - Possibly the strangest folder on the Planet!

Folderitus, it's worse than Swine Flu!

Here is a very strange and extremely complex and over-engineered child's folder, it seems quite old.

I have no information about it's name or who made it, anyone seen one of these before?

I have only managed a very partial fold so far as I still need to free off the many catches, levers, collars etc

I was lucky to be doing a gig in Exeter, where it was on sale (pick up only) and the auction finished @ 19.00, a half hour later the seller had delivered it to my bus.

Unfortunately, I couldn't finish folding it, to get it small enough to fit in my bike locker and my bus is crammed to bursting with three Metal bands & there gear. This meant that I had to phone Mick Pointer (Marillion) & Nathalie, his wife, they took it home with them to store it until we can meet up.

I'm itching to get it working properly, I'll keep you posted if I unearth any info :thumb:

The twin seat post idea appears on current Diblasi, but in series rather than in parallel.
It looks like a protype, or a home project.

What is the world? for a childs bike it seems overly complicated to fold even for an adult!

But you know this looks like a rubik's cube or one of those puzzle games where the end result of 5 minutes to turning and twisting will give you a folded bike and a candy comes out.

I think some engineer was on too much absinthe and thought it would be a cruel joke to design a bike that has a never ending fold! :roflmao2:

With all those industrial pipes and gears seems like if you add a few Victorian era design upgrades on there and it's going to look like one of those steampunk genre designs.

It will live to fight another day! I'm determined to get to the bottom of how it folds. I think it fill make a very small package once properly folded. We shall she! :thumb:

deff. re-habilitate it and keep us posted!
looks like the pedals come off?
that crankset is weird too!

Thousands of these bicycles were dropped by parachute all over the UK as part of a German invasion plan during World War II. The theory was that the populace would be so distracted by trying to figure out how to fold the bicycle (which, in fact, was not physically possible) that they would not look up and notice the invading army. The bicycles are now quite rare, most having been torn apart or thown into blast furnaces by frustrated tinkerers. What happened to the invasion plan is not known.

Thousands of these bicycles were dropped by parachute all over the UK as part of a German invasion plan during World War II. The theory was that the populace would be so distracted by trying to figure out how to fold the bicycle (which, in fact, was not physically possible) that they would not look up and notice the invading army. The bicycles are now quite rare, most having been torn apart or thown into blast furnaces by frustrated tinkerers. What happened to the invasion plan is not known.

:roflmao2: :roflmao2:

The pedals fold, locking in both positions using the lower spring collar, they are not QR.

Fascinating insight into the Monty Pythonesque historical version of events! LOL! :roflmao2: :thumb:

Very frustrated to have bought it, received it, oiled & played with it for 20 minutes & now it's at the other end of the Country, in one of Marillion's living rooms for at least a month (this tour finishes at the end of August)

I'm itching to get my hands on it again and delve into it's mysteries.

I imagine it will make a very small & low package when fully folded. :p

"Marillion and the mysterious folding bike", sounds like a great short story !

Thousands of these bicycles were dropped by parachute all over the UK as part of a German invasion plan during World War II. The theory was that the populace would be so distracted by trying to figure out how to fold the bicycle (which, in fact, was not physically possible) that they would not look up and notice the invading army. The bicycles are now quite rare, most having been torn apart or thown into blast furnaces by frustrated tinkerers. What happened to the invasion plan is not known.

this is so funny - ha, ha, ha, ha, ha....

As Viv Stanshall once said: Really wild, general!

As Viv Stanshall once said: Really wild, general!

Ah! Good old Viv Stanshall, he will be sadly missed, he was the quintessential eccentric Englishman, i still love all that Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band stuff. I'm sure he would have approved of my weird machines! :thumb:

God between the mad Chop and BWP's witty comment this thread should be elevated above the Brompton vs Tikit saga lol! This is what this forum section is all about it. Really made me smile reading all the above.

Chop you are mad lol!

God between the mad Chop and BWP's witty comment this thread should be elevated above the Brompton vs Tikit saga lol! This is what this forum section is all about it. Really made me smile reading all the above.

Chop you are mad lol!

I agree this is a better bike than either a Brompton or a TIkit!