csisfun

Hello,

I recently got myself a foldable bike, and it's been really interesting to ride around with one. Clearly, it's a godsend, as I can take it along with me, so I don't have to worry about it having locked in public and then stolen (how contradictory), in addition to all the worry involved.

I'm intrigued by this picture:



Apparently, people have strapped their bikes to their back, and it would seem so much more viable then lugging the folded bike with two hands around. Would anyone have any experience to share about how I can tie my foldable bike to my back?

Thanks!

ReynoldsLugs

Those that have experimented with Strap-ons report mixed results.

csisfun

Hi ReynoldsLugs, care to elaborate? I'm willing to give it ago actually, but I'm not too sure about how one can attach a bike to their back. Searched around to no avail too...

Amuro Lee

You can find some interesting solutions here:
https://www.bikeforums.net/folding-bikes/494394-back-packs-ruck-sacks-foldaway-bike.html

Pocko

I see the beauty and simplicity of the idea. The photo is intriguing and obviously military in nature. Strapping a bike on one's back is practical through flights or stairs or any area where hauling a foldie would be too much work...

... but somehow I still can't get over the oddity of bikes riding people as opposed to people riding bikes?

.

chainstrainer

The irony is also there when getting pitched over the bars after hitting a deep pothole: the rider folds instead the bike.

Pocko

jakub.ner

Looks interesting.

I wonder if ripping out a frame from a backpack and then using toe straps to secure the bike to the frame would do the trick.

What is the source of the photo?

jakub.ner

Actually, at a second glance, these bikes are secured to a backpack.

So maybe if you carry a backpack on your bike's rack, after you fold you can strap it to the back pack and carry it. Once again using toe straps would be my choice.

I can't imagine you would do this at a train station or a store though .

Squall

I wonder if a folding bike will fit in your everyday backpack?

chainstrainer

This guy carries his folding bike on his back but is missing the uniform, carbine and natty plumage hat:

donheff

Those guys are probably in the elite Italian Bicycle Bersaglieri Corps.

makeinu

Eventually I plan on adding something like this to my Carryme:

Dahon.Steve

I want one so badly but it seem like accidents are quite common. In fact, there are quite a few horror stories out there from people riding them including broken legs, teeth etc.

Dahon.Steve

Strapping a folding bike on your back sounds like a good idea but it's not. Dahon used to carry a double ply bag that enabled you to carry the bike bike on your back. In fact, I still have that bag. However, the sharp edges of the bike dig into your back and it hurts! In order for it to work, the bag will need about 10 lbs of very soft cushion on top of the 25 lb bike and you're carrying 30 - 35 lbs on your back! That's heavy. Trust me, you do not want to carry that much weight for any great distance. My arms and lower back were hurting for weeks just carrying that bike 500 feet!

I agree that lugging a folded bike with two hands is worse and this is the big weakness of the Dahon folder. Folders that allow you to roll them like the Brompton or Tikit have a huge advantage in multimode commuting.

makeinu

Xootr scooters? Yeah, I don't feel safe on those things.

I think the two major problems are that:
1. They aren't as maneuverable as bicycles because they don't lean well, whereas on a bicycle you have two methods of control at your disposal (steering and leaning). The result is that on a scooter you can't adapt to the terrain as well and, subsequently, the small wheels and short wheelbases are forced to do what they don't do well: take more hits.
2. The center of mass is all wrong. While it's good that the dead weight is low to the ground. Body weight should be high so it can affect balance, especially with a short wheelbase which may need to be balanced in the fore-aft direction. So when those small wheels start bucking you lose balance and fall.

However, I don't mind using their strap idea for my Carryme. Sure the Carryme is heavier and slightly bigger, but IMO if you can skirt the worst case scenarios then the differences are minor. At present my folded Carryme can be:
-tucked in nooks and crannies as well as the best of them
-hung off a hook or table
-stand on its own
-roll either upright on a small tripod or tilted to roll fast on a big (8") wheel
-carried/grabbed from almost any point while staying locked together
-bagged and worn as a backpack
So I have excellent coverage for making sure that the package is as well suited as it can be for every scenario from full on storage through running up stairs. However, there's still a little gap at the end of the spectrum between holding the bike in arms briefly and wearing it as a backpack for longer periods of time. While of course neither is necessary for moving on smoothish floors, the former is tiring on the arms and the latter takes too long to setup (not to mention the fact that durable bags are heavy). So I think a shoulder strap would bridge the gap rather well.

Plus I lucked out because, for me, the stars have somehow aligned and the Carryme rides as well as any other bike (poor brakes excepted, but I'll be upgrading those eventually too). Clearances are tight for sure, but somehow I just feel perfectly balanced and proportioned on it like it's simply an extension of my body (like a shoe).

Now to decide if I should buy the Xootr strap or just make my own.

P.S. I just bought a pair of these on a 20% off christmas sale:

While I don't expect them to be a real substitute for cycling (especially when demountable skates involve compromises much like demountable bicycles), the tremendous jump in compactness (forget a backpack, these babies will go in your pocket!) intrigues me and in my prior years of skating experience the semi-natural paradigm of balance with inline skates is much safer and more maneuverable than a scooter. Besides, how bad could it be when the 24 hour record for skating (338 miles) is only about 35% shorter than for cycling (522 miles) (and this obviously with drastically different wheel sizes!)? I'll post back about my new skates once I've put in some miles.

P.P.S When are we going to hear more about your new Brompton Stevo (I hope you don't mind me calling you Stevo)? I must have wandered into some green ivy (or do I mean envy? ) because as much as I don't think the Brompton is for me I'm starting to feel an itch.

P.P.P.S. Abridged version in bold

jakub.ner

Dahon.Steve, sounds like your problem lies with Dahon's bag itself.

A framed ruck sack with appropriate supports allow you to go into woods with much more kit than 35 lbs. and be comfortable.

makeinu

And the salient aspect, I believe, is the shape of the bag (which is determined by the shape of the bike). Hiking sacks are shaped roughly like a human back and they don't stick out too far. Not many folders are of such a shape that can be supported evenly by all the back muscles.

Dahon.Steve

Right now, there's a foot of snow on the ground but I can only say positive things about the Brompton. It's the most beautiful folder I've ever had and the most comfortable. I will have an extensive review once the snow melts. Trust me.

rekall

step one, find a largish bag with backpack straps made of a tough ripstop nylon or canvas.
step two, locate or order a custom-cut of some nice foam to pad the bag so the bike doesn't dig into you.
i HIGHLY recommend www.knoxfoam.com they're one of the best custom foam suppliers i've dealt with for various purposes (pillows, mattresses, etc.) lots of options for material, sizing, covers, etc.

jakub.ner

I was actually wondering whether a framed portaging back pack would fit a bike. But, I'm thinking the idea here is to not put the bike in a bag but to carry your bike on your back. Hence the bag is filled with your kit. You put the bag on your bike and you ride. Once you stop, attach the bike to the bag, put the bag on your back, and hike. This is how I interpret the two soldiers in the picture.

chrome frame

Do you have a link for those rollerblades?

twink

I hope to skirt the issue of carrying my and my wife's folders; I recently bought a telescoping hand cart (about 3 pounds) called Magna Cart from Amazon. The plan is to carry the cart and bike bags on the bikes until we need to manually transport the bikes. Hope it works, 'cause I'm too old to lug things around like I used to.

rekall

i see these carts everywhere hauling paint cans, hardware, heavy loads of laundry, groceries...
should be just fine.

EvilV

For non-mechanised infantry of the mid 20th century, the bliss of being able to pedal for many tens of miles rather than walk carrying your gear under a hot sun would make carrying the bike on some occasions eminently worthwhile, I'd say. I've been walking across Spain in stages as a project. It gets damned hard on the feet. I have very much envied the cyclists who have breezed past me at twenty miles an hour when I was stumbling along downhill at 3 with a sore back and my gear chaffing at my shoulders. I think that pushing and even carrying the bike on some stretches would have been worth the trouble.



By the way - I was wondering why they weren't riding those bikes in that kind of terrain, but on reflection, and thinking about the era of the pictures, they were probably single speed bikes with a gear ratio of about 56 inches. You could't ride far cross country on that kind of gearing. My atb goes down to about 20 inches and you could ride that on such a landscape.