Folding Bikes - How about you?

I have spent many hours and dollars and micro adjusting to get my Brompton to the point where it is a close second only to my Surly LHT in comfort. I can ride it literally miles upon miles with no discomfort.
While i was out riding it today it got me to thinking if i could have only one bike period, i would have to say it would have to be a folder of some type for all the reasons most of us folderites already know of.
How about you? One bike only, would it be a folder? If you wish to name the brand go for it.

A folder with a IGH. Small fold and all the gears I could get into a hub.

Right now, I am most enamoured by my Moulton APB, so that would be my only bike if forced to.

That's a toughy. My only uprights are all folders, but all my bikes are so different from each other that there's no way I could replace them all with a single folder. Now whether or not I actually need such a tool chest of bikes is another question.

'Tis a hard choice. The One True folder for me is perilously close to the Dahon D7 Vitesse, or the Downtube IX FS, with all the disraylias I can cram onto it. I've had expensive folders, and one is afeared to leave them anyplace where the paint will get scratched.

A Moulton would be nice though.

One bike only? .. my V-Brake Moulton TSR .. comfortable full suspension for long rides .. able to take a variety of tire sizes to accommodate most terrains.. separates to fit smallish spaces .. lots of drivetrain choices .. very appealing to my eye.

I refuse to answer this question. The thought of only having one folding bike makes my head explode....

IMPOSSIBLE!!

I need:

2X tandems for road and off road for my blind stokers
3x road bikes for racing and training, wet days and for classic bike ride days
1x MTB for MTBing and rugged off road touring.
2x Folders for pootling, commuting and touring
I need a MOULTON.

ONE BIKE?

IMPOSSIBLE... HERESY!!

Life is too short to have just one bike.

It didn't take me long to make my S6L my most comfortable bike. Stubby bar ends, and turning the pentaclip upside down, and it's perfect. So good that I sold my other bikes (moving from a medium sized house with a garage into a tiny flat had nothing to do with it). For about 6 months it was my only bike, but then I discovered a need for more luggage carrying abilty. So I bought an M6R, which is slightly less comfortable, the bars are too high. But the T-bag fits. The S6L can barely carry a teabag.

Life is too short to have just one bike.

Sage words from the wise seer

Serious cyclists don't have just one bike.

And remember the other one... folding bikes are like chocolates... one is never enough.

Life is too short to have just one bike.


Serious cyclists don't have just one bike.

And remember the other one... folding bikes are like chocolates... one is never enough.

Yup that is my take on it too. But IF I were to be limited to one bike it most likely would be an IGH version of the Bike Friday NWT.

Aaron :)

Of the ones I have, I'd take my NWT with Dual Drive. Can be made to fit a lot of situations and is bullet-proof.

If I were a commuter (don't have to do that when you are retired) it would be a tikit or Brompton.

(I haven't been bitten by the Moulton bug yet.)

Lou

Heresy! Why have only one bike?!?!?!

But like I mentioned in the deraily-thingymabob vs. infernal gear hub thread, the one promised bike for me would be a Brompton with Rohloff (http://www.kinetics.org.uk/html/rohloff2.shtml). Of course, I'd still have to have a classic Moulton (I think this summer I can finally do some of the restoration work on mine! Joy!), and probably a MuSL or Speed TT.

I guess my suspicions were right it looks like most of us me included, find it impossible to have only one bike. I did entertain the thought as i said in my OP but then again im seriously considering the Moulton TSR2 when it comes out and i cant part with what i have now. However if its not a separable frame model then i would be less tempted.

I think I speak for most of us obsessive bicycle owners here, who have after many self-assessing sessions, whilst gazing into the mirror, having come to the conclusion that the ONLY answer to this sickness is to........

BUY ANOTHER BIKE.

i think i speak for most of us obsessive bicycle owners here, who have after many self-assessing sessions, whilst gazing into the mirror, having come to the conclusion that the only answer to this sickness is to........

Buy another bike.

:thumb:

Between a shift to apartment living in a big city and just wanting to get rid of stuff I dropped down to one bicycle. I commute, I do long day rides and some overnight tours, and I like to take a bicycle along on business trips. I'd rather be riding than spending time on maintainance. And where I live it is a big plus to have a bike that uses mostly stock parts so I don't have to wait for deliveries or maintain my own inventory.

A Tikit with an IGH has been the one bike -- fantastic for the commute and taking along on trips, pretty good for training and light touring. Mostly I like that it fits me, it's fairly low maintenance, and it minimizes situations when I cannot use a bicycle -- so for me it's the mileage maximizing choice of a single bicycle.

There are plenty of situations where I think "hmmm, bicycle X would be better right now" -- but then I remember that having bicycle "X" would require real estate I don't need to own, maintenance I don't really want to do, and money spent on a bicycle I don't really need. And I go back to riding.

and turning the pentaclip upside down,

Why did you turn the pentaclip upside down?

[QUOTE=brommie;10935308]Why did you turn the pentaclip upside down?[/QUOTE

You can gain some extra saddle height (about 1.5 inch) by moving Penta Clip right to the top of post and flipping it over to get the saddle rail grooves on top, above bolt instead of below bolt.

I am a one bike person. I cannot afford the time and hassle of taking care of more than one bike. I am using a TSR27 and it fits my needs very well. I can store it my small car's trunk, it has a wide gear range which I need to climb hills, it rides very well on roads (I am using Kojak tires) as well as on moderate dirt roads, it is stiff like hell and with the day bag I can carry road tools, camera, food and still have spare room.

Like you I micro adjusted it and I can not think of any other modification. All is left for me to do now is to keep those pedal turning.

I also have a DualDrive NWT laying around but I am not using it anymore. I plan to sell it or if I will not find a buyer, to trade for a super folder (Tikit, Brompton, Strida, etc).

.. having bicycle "X" would require real estate I don't need to own, maintenance I don't really want to do, and money spent on a bicycle I don't really need. And I go back to riding.

+1

I could not say it better.

'..I've had expensive folders, and one is afeared to leave them anyplace where the paint will get scratched.

There is simple remedy for this. Take your new bike and scratch it with a nail.

(it's from the 5th century book "Zen and Folders").

Kam

There is simple remedy for this. Take your new bike and scratch it with a nail.

Kam

You stay away from my bike, or I'll sick Chucky on you. He's not been fed for a week.
:-)

I HATE scratched bikes and cars. I'm anal about the paint on both.

Between a shift to apartment living in a big city and just wanting to get rid of stuff I dropped down to one bicycle. I commute, I do long day rides and some overnight tours, and I like to take a bicycle along on business trips. I'd rather be riding than spending time on maintainance. And where I live it is a big plus to have a bike that uses mostly stock parts so I don't have to wait for deliveries or maintain my own inventory.

A Tikit with an IGH has been the one bike -- fantastic for the commute and taking along on trips, pretty good for training and light touring. Mostly I like that it fits me, it's fairly low maintenance, and it minimizes situations when I cannot use a bicycle -- so for me it's the mileage maximizing choice of a single bicycle.

There are plenty of situations where I think "hmmm, bicycle X would be better right now" -- but then I remember that having bicycle "X" would require real estate I don't need to own, maintenance I don't really want to do, and money spent on a bicycle I don't really need. And I go back to riding.
Yeah you put into words better than i can, exactly what im starting to think. Im looking to be moving into a much smaller place next year when i go from my condo to bachelor suite (seniors residence) and semi retired to completely retired. Probably will only have room for a folder. Will probably have to get rid of quite a bit of stuff actually.
Getting older and want to simplify my life, maybe travel a bit more although as a trucker ive seen alot of North America over the years.. Have a aunt in England i hav'nt seen since she came here 10 years ago. I hav'nt been to the UK since the 50's, would love to see it again. No real need for more than one bike,but its gotta be my folder.

You stay away from my bike, or I'll sick Chucky on you. He's not been fed for a week.
:-)

I HATE scratched bikes and cars. I'm anal about the paint on both.

Hate to laugh at Chucky's expense but that was funny,nearly choked on my coffee.:roflmao2:

Yeah i hate scratching them too,but my bike which is 2 years old now has a few nicks so not so anal now. Lucky for me its matte black so easy to touch up almost invisibly.

Nah, Chucky's Ok, honest.

Re the response from The Trucker above, I met an old guy the other week retired to the coast, had a Brompton, got folderitis, bought a Dahon. Kept one in his neighbour's apartment and one in his own. One is never enough.

Birdie,

with a change of set ups for road and off road. ie two wheel/tyre sets. However I would still like to switch from drops/bullbars to straight so even this would require two bikes.

I run two mezzo's for this reason.

Moulton would also be nice, but birdie better fold.

Can I borrow a bike from someone?
My Daughter used my Curve.My son my Onza......

Tough question! I'd be tempted to say my Birdy, since it can do practically anything I need to do. But in practical terms I'm very reluctant to leave it locked up in some areas of town, and although the fold is compact it's still too bulky to take inside many places. But to go along with this thought experiment - if I HAD to have only one, I guess I'd go with the Birdy (and if it got stolen, I'd get a Brompton and fit a wide range hub gear).

Nah, Chucky's Ok. Vive le difference.

Re the response from The Trucker above, I met an old guy the other week retired to the coast, had a Brompton, got folderitis, bought a Dahon. Kept one in his neighbour's apartment and one in his own. One is never enough.

Hmmmmm food for thought. That might work,keeping one in neighbors place. I still like that TSR2 that Moulton is coming out with,would go good with my Brompton.

Though I certainly wouldn`t mind having a microfolder like a Carryme, or a speed demon like a Pacific Reach or Tyrell - I can`t really justify buying another bike when the Curve SL, while not the fastest, smallest or most compact, certainly is one of the best all-around folding bikes. It`s really perfect for my needs anyway.

Plus my wife would shoot me.

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