Folding Bikes - Just what I needed... a tactical folder.

The bike faeries dropped of a Montague tactical folder this morning and besides the fact you are supposed to be able to drop this from a plane it also came with a little electric assist as it was built for WaveCrest technologies.

At 80 pounds I am thinking it isn't a fold and go kind of bike.

http://www.myebike.com/bikes/images/M-750.gif

Its a full sized folder. That is - its a normal bike and rides like one but you can fold it for storage if you need to.

now that will make you really lose weight. 80 lbs to carry up and down the stairs..

The Mythbusters have one of those. So you can go and bust some myths with that one.

I'm in the market for a strategic folder, not a tactical one.

The 80 lbs here come with a nice electric assist motor! I suspect that's over half the bike's weight!

If you don't need it and you're a strong rider, it rides as I said, like an normal full-sized bike because let's face it, it IS a full-size bike!

Its a full sized folder. That is - its a normal bike and rides like one but you can fold it for storage if you need to.

No way !

:)

Seriously... already tested the mech and it folds up in a matter of seconds and understand it fits in a 30 by 30 case... and was designed to be dropped from planes.

Figure that if I stripped all the electronics and motor and fitted some decent wheels it might come in at a reasonable weight.

The one I have here is totally fredded up and even came with a Thudbuster seatpost and front and rear racks... am sure with all this stuff on it that it curbs out at over 90 pounds.

The gun rack is gonna add some more weight to this thing... heh heh.

That's the point - a normal bike is awkward to transport to a distant battlefield. I can see where a tactical folder would come in handy. Bike can be set up to ride in no time!

The 80 lbs here come with a nice electric assist motor! I suspect that's over half the bike's weight!

If you don't need it and you're a strong rider, it rides as I said, like an normal full-sized bike because let's face it, it IS a full-size bike!

I suspect the battery and motor are more than half the weight of the bike and don't need anything like that (yet)... frame is 7xxx aluminium and if I swapped in some LX / Mavic wheels and a Mars Elite fork I have (3.5 pounds) that would drop a lot of weight from whatever the Monty curbs out at stock.

My friend is an e-bike geek so will have to see what his thoughts are on the Wavetech drive system...

Okay! Help me out here. Are we talking about a bike that is used behind the front lines of a battlefield? When you say it can be dropped from a plane, I know you mean with a parachute right? Yet, I keep picturing you kicking the folder out of a plane, without one, just to see what happens.

How do they engineer it so it doesn't break into a million pieces on impact besides it being as maintenance free as possible?

Sorry for the basic questions, but I never heard or saw of a tactical bike.

If you look at World War I and World II pictures, troops were equipped with bicycles on the front. That was in the days before motor vehicles as transport become commonplace.

Sunny...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montague_Bikes

If you look at World War I and World II pictures, troops were equipped with bicycles on the front. That was in the days before motor vehicles as transport become commonplace.

I know they used bikes in WWI and WWII. Some armies also shipped horses too. It just seems so impractical, especially when the folder weighed so much with the electric assit. How did they charge it in the field?

Sisty-fiver - Thanks for the link. It explains the logic behind it at least.

Sunny - The Montague Paratrooper was used as the platform for the WaveCrest M750 (now discontinued)... I would like to explore the claims that the e version can hit speeds of 30mph (unassisted) but would have more fun with a lighter human powered version.

Apparently... the stock weight is 29 pounds which is not bad for a full sized folder that you can take off road.

The gun rack is gonna add some more weight to this thing... heh heh.

Just the right accessory for a New York City commute :)

Think I might use it to attack Portland in January... it should be the right bike to handle the winter weather there.

I live near a VERY LARGE military base (US Army) all kinds of interesting things occur there on a regular basis. I have a buddy ;) that was in a scout unit, and at one point they were all issued the Montague MTB he said it was amazing how much ground they could cover in a hurry on a one. They have also been trained to "acquire" local transportation...which includes bikes if the need arises.

Aaron :)

Hmm what does it say about the military these days that they need electic assist? :D

http://www.myebike.com/bikes/images/M-750.gif

looks like two wheel drive, no wonder 80#!!! where is the battery? In the tube? or in the second wheel?

I live near a VERY LARGE military base (US Army) all kinds of interesting things occur there on a regular basis. I have a buddy ;) that was in a scout unit, and at one point they were all issued the Montague MTB he said it was amazing how much ground they could cover in a hurry on a one. They have also been trained to "acquire" local transportation...which includes bikes if the need arises.

Aaron :)

A Montague w/o electric assist would probably weight in at a much more reasonable 30-40 pounds, not bad for a military bike.

A Montague w/o electric assist would probably weight in at a much more reasonable 30-40 pounds, not bad for a military bike.

Am thinking it would be a great zoo-bombing vehicle if one wanted to ride up the mountain instead of hike... :)

Hmm what does it say about the military these days that they need electic assist? :D

The military version does not have an electric assist... the WaveCrest Tidal Force M750 was the electrically assisted version that is built on the same platform.

Well, I'll definitely have to put this down on my Christmas list. It can be a possible gift for a friend of mine who lives in the South Bronx. Now all I need is a missile launcher and he's good to go.

look for the older 26" steel frame Montague Schwinns and what not, they are the best deal.

look for the older 26" steel frame Montague Schwinns and what not, they are the best deal.

You mean like this one? I picked this up a month or so ago on CL, and now that I've tuned it up it's one of my favorite rides.
I also like the way this bike looks, except for those super-wide bars. Those might get changed out or trimmed down. I had my eye on a paratrooper when this bike came along, and now I'm glad it did. I don't really care for the looks of the paratrooper.