Folding Bikes - Giant Halfway

This is my first post here, so let me take the time and introduce myself.

I am a 30 year old forensic scientist getting ready to survive without a paycheck while attending graduate school. I used to be an adventure racer, doing short expedition races (24-48 hours non-stop) that could include up to 200 miles of road and off road biking.

The time for racing has now passed and it was time to sell my Specialized Stompjumper and get something that would 1) fit inside my sedan and 2) stay with me all the time while in class/lab.

The only folding bike available at the store I got my stompjumper was the Giant halfway, so that's the one I end up with after a little research online (that didn't give me a lot of info) and some comments from the dudes working at the bike shop (they insisted it was a solid bike, that you wouldn't feel like riding a folder).

For my surprise, here in the USA (I am in Florida) the only Halfway available is the one with a hardtail, different from the ones available in Europe and Japan.

To make the long story short, I got my halfway and I was VERY, EXTREMELY impressed with it.

Very solid bike. I did a little bit over 20 miles with it and the only negative thing I have to say about it is that the gear requires a little effort to stay above 18mph, but besides that, everything else is just a matter of adaptation (yes, I felt like a clown with those little wheels for the first couple miles).

Lucky me, I ended up finding one Giant halfway off of E-Bay, straight from Japan (the one with suspention) for 450!

Now I have a brand new US Halfway for my girfriend (Yes, I gave her the new, silver one) and a Japanese Hafway for me (white, with a VERY IMPRESSIVE suspension).

Since I did not find anything positive about the halfway out there, I decided to register into this message board and share my opinion with you.

Any other Halfway owners out there?

Yours,

Rafael

Smile while you ride.

i never knew a halfway was available with suspension.

That's why right after I posted I came back and added the picture. It's called Halfway RS. All the sites I found about them were in Japanese!

http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/users/4154fe22z5b65c24e/914b/__sr_/1295.jpg?phKMfCCBXPsKkMTO

I have two Giant Halfways, a single speed and the 7 speed. I am very happy with them. The suspensioned model is also available here in Thailand but they are not as popular as the 7 speed. They weigh more than the 7 speed model. I use Brooks B66 spring saddle on my 7 speed which make it very comfortable. I am 74, retired, and ride the 7 speed Halfway 20 kms. every day. Very well designed folding bike. I am very happy with them.

http://www.thaicycling.com/webboard/images/9156.jpg

Here's the picture of my two Giants.

http://www.thaicycling.com/webboard/images/9882.jpg

Removing the rack and fenders reduced the weight by 1 kg. It's now weigh 10.5 kgs. (23 lbs.) without saddle and pedals.

Does it rain much in Thailand?I guess you are willing to live with a streak up your back when it rains.

Interesting,

If you take a look at my pictures, you can see that both my halfways do have gears (7 speed) even the one with suspension.

I really like the red one though, even with no speed.

Thank you for your pictures, they look great.

"Does it rain much in Thailand?I guess you are willing to live with a streak up your back when it rains."

Yes, it rain 5 months from May to September, that when I'll use fenders.

We have the single speed and the one with suspension available here for 2 years. The 7 speed non suspension only available here this year. The one with suspension does not have single fork at the real so it does not fold as neat as the 'real thing'. As far as I know Giant only market the 7 speed no suspension model in 2005.

What made me interested in the Halfway was because of it's design. I used to own a Vespa scooter with cantilevered wheels and loved it. Easy to clean and change tires. I end up ordered a book, 'Bicycle Designe' by Mike Burrows, the British engineer who designed the Halfway. The book ia just as good as the bike!

Are those special hubs or can you use off-the-shelf hubs?

How is lateral stability?

Are those special hubs or can you use off-the-shelf hubs?

How is lateral stability?


They are special hubs designed to take cantileve loads. No problem with lateral stability. In fact the Halfway is a very stable folder. I could easily riding with hands off the handlebar.
http://www.thaicycling.com/webboard/images/10149.jpg

Now that I found another owner, here are my questions:

I would love to change my wheels for something like this:

http://www2.trekbikes.com/Assets/global/Bikes/Specialty_Bikes/Folding/F_600/asset_upload_file477_10069.jpg

Now that you mentioned that those are special hubs, is it possible to change into something like this?


Also, I noticed you have some nicer pedals, Are those foldable?



Thank you,

Rafael

"Now that you mentioned that those are special hubs, is it possible to change into something like this?


Also, I noticed you have some nicer pedals, Are those foldable?"

If the new rims have holes that match the Halfway hubs, I think you could replace them.

The folding pedals that came with the bikes are heavy and slippy. I replaced them with DeoreXT pedals from my Klein mtb. The Giant saddles that came with the bikes are also not up to the Halfway otherwise excelent design. I replaced it with Brooks B66 Champion. With the above modifications my Halfway is nesrly as good as my road bike.

http://www.brookssaddles.com/

I end up getting a Specialized saddle for US$10.00 from my local Bike store.


I also change the shifter for a "quick trigger", I wasn't really trilled by the rotating handle thing.

Now for the peddals....any folding pedals that are decent out there?


Thank you for your posts, they are really helping me.

Sounds and looks good. Thanks for the input.

Now for the peddals....any folding pedals that are decent out there?

If you found one please let me know. I can understand why Giant (and other folder manufacturers) use inferia saddles and peddles on their products. They use cheap plastic saddles to save weighs. They can claim their folders are lighter. The same with folding peddles, they can claim that their bikes folded into smaller packages.

I did not find the couple of inches wider of my DeoreXT peddles any drawback. I usually put the folded bike in my subcompack Honda and could not notice any differences between the folding peddle and the DeoreXT. But when biking on the road there are lots of differences.

I have both the MKS RR-2 Quick Release Road Pedals and MKS FD-2 Folding Alloy Pedals (here (http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/pedals.html)), both of which I used on a Bike Friday and now on a Brompton.

Of the two, the quick releases are lighter and elegant, but it is a pain having to pull them out every time you fold the bike (if you want to pull them out). The folding alloy pedals are wider and heavier, but I bought them because they're about the only folding pedals I've seen which accept toe clips. The only downside, besides the weight, is that I had to do quite a bit of drilling and sanding to get PowerGrips to fit which I prefer over toe clips. But now that it's done, I'm pretty satisfied with these folding pedals.

A couple other issues to consider, however: the cylindrical portion of the pedal lock sticks out because it can't fold, and when the pedal is folded, there is no friction preventing the pedal from swinging back and forth.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech/2001/photos/dec07tech/eggbeater.jpg

I tried the egg beater pedals for a while. They are light, small, and easy to clean. Also thieve proofed. Thieves without cleated shoes could not ride the bike!

Finally I switched and sticked to conventional cleat-pedal. They are a little bit bigger than folding pedals but not much. Much lighter too.

Nice, I will decide about the pedals this weekend.

Now, it is true and NOBODY else owns a Halfway or we just have a lot of shy people here?

Well... I want one :D. But I don't have the $500 USD or the justification for one! I already have a lovely Miyata touring bike for everything. Perhaps if I move to the city when I am finished with school - in that case, the Halfway will probably be my first choice... more expensive than the cheapest Dahons, but oh so much cooler!

I have a few questions for the Halfway owners out there, as I'm thinking of blowing part of my tax refund on a folder.

1. How is it for recreational riding? I know Bicycling said it wasn't meant for it, but can y'all offer a second opinion?
2. How hard is it to get? Do you just waltz into your friendly neighborhood Giant dealer and say "Hey you! Order me a Halfway!"
3. Has anyone flown with one before?
4. How do they behave on (nice, well-groomed) trails, etc?

Thanks!

I have a few questions for the Halfway owners out there, as I'm thinking of blowing part of my tax refund on a folder.

1. How is it for recreational riding? I know Bicycling said it wasn't meant for it, but can y'all offer a second opinion?
2. How hard is it to get? Do you just waltz into your friendly neighborhood Giant dealer and say "Hey you! Order me a Halfway!"
3. Has anyone flown with one before?
4. How do they behave on (nice, well-groomed) trails, etc?

Thanks!

Here is what I think about my halfways:

1. I use mine for recreational riding most of the time. They are similar with riding a good quality hi-brid or city bikes but can be folded and put into the trunk of a subcompack car.

2. Here I just phoned Giant's dealer and got mine within a few days.

3. I did not flown with them yet. But they came with nice soft bags with should have no problem with air travel.

4. Very wekll indeed! See below:

http://www.thaicycling.com/webboard/read.php?id=001449

1-It is perfect for recreational riding. I have over 10 years of "bike experience" and I can easly forget my halfway is a folder. It takes about 10 miles for you to get completely used with the 20" wheels if you are coming from "regular" wheel size.

2-Very simple, any Giant dealer will have the conventional Halfway for you in less than a week. For the suspension one, try E-Bay and pray hard.

3-Not yet, but as Ruchai said, doesn't look like it should be a big deal

4-Again, besides the wheel size, It is a very, very impressive bike.


Rafael Guerra

Thanks for the info, gentlemen. Great pictures, too.

I'm not really interested in the RS, but I kinda wish I could get one in blue (like yours, ruchai) to match my '03 Rainier. :)

Now for the peddals....any folding pedals that are decent out there?

The SR Suntour PL-NX150 (http://www.srsuntour-cycling.com/techspec.xml?goid=62&SID=1110538439_f515000000345f956e9a) looks like a really nice folding pedal.

I have experience of the two other Suntour folding models, which are cheaper but certainly not as good. (Lot of rotation resistance on the PL-NX50. and the rubber wear off on the PL-NX100.

The mechanism is good, just "kick and go"..

/Moe£

Thanks for the info, gentlemen. Great pictures, too.

I'm not really interested in the RS, but I kinda wish I could get one in blue (like yours, ruchai) to match my '03 Rainier. :)


The 7-speed Halfway for 2005 are only available in blue in Asia, black in Europe and silver in America. Why? I don't know.

Is that rack at all useful? I have a trunk bag that I might want to use on it.

In my opinion: No, it is not useful. That's why mine is gone.

I use the rack occasionally for shoppings. Usually I attached a basket to the rack. It supposed to be able to carry 10 kgs. (22 lbs.) load. Handlebar bag from Giant seems tobe more useful.

I'm fairly new to folding bikes, but I recently purchased a one-speed Halfway-f while I was in travelling in China. I'm planning on taking some long trips overseas and I was looking for a bike to travel with. Although it isn't as compact, this bike seemed much more stable and well built than the other folding bikes that I found available in Southwest China.

I'm now trying to figure out how to travel with this bike and what kind of bag to use. I would like to take only the bike and a backpack which will hold my clothes. I would like to arrive, set up the bike, and ride out of the airport with the backpack on my back. I only plan on riding in cities, not touring.

I don't think that it will qualify as carry-on luggage for most airlines, so how can I protect it if its going to travel as checked luggage? Mine didn't come with the bag that's included with the 7 speed models. I can order one from Giant, but is this bag more for use as a carry-on ? Do you think that bubble wrap or foam on the inside of the bag would protect it enough? I would like to avoid having to travel with another large piece of luggage, since I plan to cycle away from terminals. Any insight into suggested bags and how to pack for air, bus, and train travel would be greatly appreciated.

The owners manual was in Chinese so I wasn't clear on some things. Where do you attach the included velcro strap? Is this designed for carrying the bike or only for securing wheels?

Also, what kind of lock do you suggest and where would you secure it to the bike?

Thanks for any advice.

The velcro strap is for holding the Halfway in folding position. You wrap the lowest part of the stem to the front of the rack. It's shown in the English manual.

I do not think you realy need the bag. The one-speed Halfway does not have the deraileur so there is nothing to break.

So can anyone elaborate on the lovely looking 20" 406 Bontrager rims on that Trek Folder on page one of this thread? Where would one find them? Not listed on the Bontrager site it would seem.

I'd love one of those on my front of my Twenty, which currently sports very bottom-of-the-range diamondback BMX rims that look cool enough in black but arent exactly the best rims in the world...

I brought a brand new half way yesterday for £175.oo from a lady who had it as a unwanted present a bargain.. however it does not come with a bag and intend to take mine everywhere so have to buy a new bag.. also there is no instructiuon booklet.
Does anyone have a instruction book.. do i really need one ?
Mine is a silver 2005 model with six speed gears.
It is a good ride. My other bike is a trek mountain bike.
I intend to take this on London tubes and buses and as it takes no time at all to fold it is just what i need.
I have one dilema . i dont like rucksacks and have to attach a handle bar pannier.. is that going to make the steering difficult?

As soon as I get done with the "Speed P8 vs. Halfway" debate, then I'll buy. :)

Paired 20", 20 spoke wheels are available from www.velocitywheels.com look in the drop menu, under 'recumbent' wheels. The set you'll want will probably be the Uriels. In order to be sure you're ordering the right size, look to your current tire set as a guide. 20 x 1 1/8 (or other English fractional sizes) denote 451mm wheel size, whereas metric 20 x 1.5 style demarcations are 406mm wheels. Dahon Rolf and the-name-of-the-newer-set escapes me wheels will not fit most bicycles as they're axle flange size is for their propietary fork with a 74mm over the locknut dimension, in place of the more standard 100mm.

That said, Dahon Rolf wheels can be found at www.bikepartsusa.com and www.ahoycaptain.com (look under Dahon parts).

I brought a brand new half way yesterday for £175.oo from a lady who had it as a unwanted present a bargain.. however it does not come with a bag and intend to take mine everywhere so have to buy a new bag.. also there is no instructiuon booklet.
Does anyone have a instruction book.. do i really need one ?
Mine is a silver 2005 model with six speed gears.
It is a good ride. My other bike is a trek mountain bike.
I intend to take this on London tubes and buses and as it takes no time at all to fold it is just what i need.
I have one dilema . i dont like rucksacks and have to attach a handle bar pannier.. is that going to make the steering difficult?

If you can fold it then you probably do not need the manual.
I think the 6 speed is the 2004 model. The 2005 model have 7 speed.

Thanks to all for this thread, Great information.

I am taking a few trips this year and saw the need for a folding bike.

I was watching E-bay and calling dealers for bikes unseen, and thought that the Halfway was too expensive, but I got a great deal yesterday at my LBS which happens to sell Giants.

BTW ruchai, great pictures. Cool to see where others ride.

Now for the peddals....any folding pedals that are decent out there?


You might try checking out the Bike Friday accessories cataloge at http://www.bikefriday.com/DocumentLibrary/BFAccessories_cat_web.pdf

They list a couple of different folding pedals.

I'm looking for a few Giant Halfway owners to answer the questions on the ' Hitchikers guide to the folding bicycle' thread on this board. I'm trying to get a well rounded set of various brand owners to give the reasoning behind the hows/whys of ending up at their current bike choice. I think this will make great critical reading for newbies planning on purchasing a folding bike purchase.

Thanks,
DG1

Hello,

I just have bought a Halfway 2005 (although the user guide says it is a 2002 model), 7 speeds. I'm very impressed and happy with it. I'll use it to go to work and also for recreative activities ( there are alot of cycling pathway here in Ottawa). I pass easily other bigger bikes out there (although not racing one ;).

Your comments on this bike were very usefull to help me making my choice. I appreciate that.

Thanks and happy riding

Fredo

I've just purchased a Halfway, identical to the one in your picture except in an orangy-yellow color. I picked it up here in Taiwan for about US$400, but of course I don't know if it has the same specs as yours. One thing I'm curious about is the fold size. On the suspension model the two wheels naturally cannot get as close as on the mono frame model. However, I feel that the rear spindle (is that the right word?) is unecessarily long. It seems to me that if it were shorter or the design was just slightly different, the two wheels could come at least an inch closer. I know it doesn't sound much, but for carrying and storing purposes it would make quite a difference. Incidentally, I notice that the velcro strap supplied to me is on the short side and it's not easy to get a tight fit around the front and rear forks. It's almost as if it's expected that the wheels should get closer together! How do you use yours?

Shilun

P.S. Have you tried taking the bike on trains or buses yet?

Sorry! I'm new to this newsgroup stuff. I realize my message doesn't make much sense posted where it is. Actually I was attempting to post a follow-up to Message #8 by Rafael Guerra.

Anyway, here is another question for everyone. Do all Halfway handlebars fold in a south-easterly direction? Has anyone tried reversing the wheel and folding in a north-westerly direction. It seems that this would fold the handlebars down between the wheels. On bikes with rear suspension this might be a neater fit.

Shilun

This is my first posting, bear with me...just wanted to add my 2 cents on the Giant Halfway (couldn't find the "hitchikers guide). I think it is a great bike, for one with small wheels. It folds & unfolds VERY quickly, which is one of the main reasons for my purchase, along with lighter weight of aluminum & dual foldiing pedals.

Folding: probably under 30 seconds. One screw-down clamp at the handlebars, one-click mechanism for the frame, raise the seat with quick-release clamp, and I especially liked that both pedals would fold up, push in & fold up. The front fork is cantilevered...fork only on one side, so it folds up pretty flat & isn't too heavy to pick up, but I wouldn't want to carry it very far.

Shifting & speed: Mine has 7 gear twist shift and is pretty comfortable to ride at a leisurely pace, if you want speed, I think you'll have to have bigger wheels. The rack and fenders look nice, but are quite rattly on my rough pavement neighborhood. The steering I'm finding is quite sensitive.

I bought this bike to use as short distance transportation when flying small airplanes (piper cub cruiser, cessna 172) It fits in the back seat of the cub perfectly, the carrying bag is useful, but not padded, which I think would be nice for the carryee when trying to carry it.

anyway I hope this helps anyone considering the purchase.

Sorry for the Delay. Let me try to asnwer your questions Shilun:

All GIant Halfway that I own and see have the handlebars folding S.E. (Nice and intelligent way to describe it, I couldn't find a better way). One of the advantages is that , once folded, people cannot mess around with the bike (actually, the seat can't go up either, so it is a very protective system);

About the folding size: Honestly, besides the fact that it does not look that neat, the extra volume on the rear suspension model is a luxury that you should consider. I have both hard tail and rear suspension and the difference when riding the rear suspension one is as if the bike received a $800.00 upgrade.

In one way or another, I am still looking for something better for me than my Halfway and I can't find (maybe the trek 600 or something...)

Rafael

Thanks Rafael,

I picked up (as in lifted, not bought!) a trek 600 a couple of days and it felt considerably lighter than the Halfway. It also had an extra gear. However, I thought it looked rather staid compared to the Halfway. Right now, if money was no object I would opt for the Gobike, although they're not easy to find.

BTW, what is it exactly that you don't like about the Halfway?

Shilun

Hello,

I just have bought a Halfway 2005 (although the user guide says it is a 2002 model), 7 speeds. I'm very impressed and happy with it. I'll use it to go to work and also for recreative activities ( there are alot of cycling pathway here in Ottawa). I pass easily other bigger bikes out there (although not racing one ;).

Your comments on this bike were very usefull to help me making my choice. I appreciate that.

Thanks and happy riding

Fredo


Hey Fredo! Lemme guess: "Fresh Air Experience?" If so, I test rode your bike before it was your bike. ;)
Nice ride. Looking for a ride partner? I'm on a KHS folder...and I'm outta shape so I'm slow. ;)

Shilun,

The only thing I don't like about the halfway is the fact that due to the single sided front fork, your customizing cababilities get a little compromised. You can't just find a nice set of wheels and replace them. Besides that, there is another negative point: When folded, the halfway is not the most ergonomic thing to carry. It's kinda bulky and with no proper parts to hold. But for my personal use, this is not an issue, so the ONLY thing for me is that I can't play the "japonese kid" and customize my bike as I want.

8 out 0f 10 in my opinion.

Rafael

"I've just purchased a Halfway, identical to the one in your picture except in an orangy-yellow color".

You were talking to me!!! It's another Halfway RS, and I thought you were talking about Ruchai's hardtail Halfway.

Cool. I am so excited with the possibilities of making my great bike greater that I already made plans to take it down to south america with my girlfriend. Right now all we do is study ( she is finishing her masters and I am starting mine) and excercise, but This december I will bring pictures of our Halfways that will make all of you happy to own a folder.

Rafael

Hi my name is Greg. I recently bought a halfway 7 speed...very cool bike. Unfortunately it has rained here in NYC ever since I bought it, so I only had the chance to take it out 1 time. I was just wondering if anyone know of a good carrying bag (with shoulder straps) and/or case for this bike. It came with a bag, but it seems as if the bag makes the bike seem more bulky than it is. It seems like carrying it without the bag is more convenient. Please let me know. Thanks.

Halfway1,

If you find a good soft case for your halfway, please share with us. I am planning an international trip with my girfriend (and 2 halfways), and we do have the hard luggage needed for that. However, there are several short trips we have in mind (including some islands while overseas and Key West here in Florida) that a hard luggage is not viable but we must have the bike covered to be able to board the boats.

I am not really sure what to say except that there is a 2006 Dahon catalog (PDF file in German that the link doesn't work anymore but we all had a chance to see) with a nice, solid thick nylon bag for 20" that (so far) is the only thing I would consider.

The bag that comes with the Halfway is far from a convenience, I have to agree. On the other hand, I haven't seen anything much better out there. Maybe other members will get back to us about a decent carrying bag. So far, I still haven't found what I am looking for as a soft bag.

Rafael Guerra