matt52

Over the last year a few people on this forum have talked about the value of creating a wiki-guide to folding bikes, to which we could all contribute - not least to help the considerable number of people who come by here looking for advice on where to start when buying a folder. Having just looked at the truly dreadful guide to folders on AtoB's website discussed at https://bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=294598 , I thought it was time to get one up and running.

The wiki can be found at https://foldingbikes.wikispaces.com/ - its not looking that fancy at the moment, but given time will hopefully grow in content and appearance.

The intention is that front page should be not much more than an index leading to a page on each major folding bike manufacturer, with pages below that for individual models where appropriate. Pages on individual models would follow the format

- bike name
- photo
- brief description
- pros
- cons
- recommended useage
- ave price new/used ($/£)
- links to relevant discussion threads on this forum.

Its going to be a couple of weeks before I have time to start working on content, but if in the meantime (or subsequently) any of you guys fancy contributing, please go ahead - in fact without your contributions it won't work as a resource at all!

jur

Good idea.

LittlePixel

It's a very good idea - I've been working on a Raleigh Twenty one myself for a bit, but me being Mr Anal means I'm not sure it's not quite ready for consumption yet; I look forward to adding to yours though - wikis are just the best for collating this kind of information...

Dahon.Steve

Also include

- Bike weight
- Luggage capacity (Rear racks/bags)
- Transit capability - Is there a hard case option for airlnes? Can this bike fit in trains or the bus?
- Rolling Capability - Can the bike roll or do you have to carry it long distances.
- Lights and fenders

matt52

I always thought the best approach with a Wiki was to slap something up as quick as poss and rely on others to help with content. The biggest hassle is the formatting; humility dictates that others will be better qualified than me to contribute most of the words (although I will have a go where I can)...

matt52

Good thoughts - will build in. Though can foresee some arguments re weight - official/unofficial/with rack and saddle/without/etc

I also thought a folder matrix, that picked up and summarised most of the key attributes of the top 20-30 bikes in a single table would be a good thought.

matt52

OK - so the structure of the wiki is now falling into shape, which is the important bit.

East to handle folders by companies with only a few products. But what of the monster that is Dahon? If the wiki is going to cover - say - the 10 most common/relevant Dahons, what would they be? Any ideas?

EDIT - have now adjusted permissions so ANYONE can edit/create content.

Fear&Trembling

Looks like a good platform.

What do people think about makes/models that are currently no longer available?

Incidentally, Trek seem to have bowed out of the folding bike market.

rhm

This is a great idea, and I look forward to using it.

I'm not sure if this would work in the wiki-guide format, but one thing I'd like to see is information about the reviewer: how tall are you, how much do you weigh, how/where do you ride the folder? If you have other bikes, when/why do you prefer the folder, vs. when/why do you use others?

matt52

Hmmm - I guess that main criteria must be the extent to which discontinued bikes continue to be used/traded. So I'd guess that the Raleigh 20 deserves a page, but maybe not the Bickerton?

Perhaps best approach to content as we get the resource up and running - and thanks to whoever put in material on the Dahon Speed today - should be "do you care enough about the bike to contribute material on it?"

keithnyc

Matt-
I added some info (on the Speed), but I can't adjust your title (e.g., you didn't include my version, which is the Speed D7). You may want to include model year (but that's being picky). The only other general idea of handling the huge assortment of Dahon types and sub-types would be to somehow create a further nesting folder (as in hiearchal folders, not bike folders... )within the model selection which allows for a further breakdown of various models and their pictures (e.g., P8, D7 etc.). Great start and thanks!

matt52

Keith - good idea, but I guess given the huge range of Dahon bikes at least initially has to be kept manageable as a task. That probably means for now keeping the site to three levels - home page, manufacturer and model, rather than nesting further. I know nothing about Dahons, so hoping someone will come back on my plea for a list of the Dahons we ought to include on the site - I don't have a problem with listing multiple speed models if that works. But again begs the question - what models ought we to include?