jefmcg

(for a little more details, see my introduction)

I'm trying to decide if I should get a folder. It should reduce my commute time by about 20 minutes, and save me the unpleasantness of a the tube or buses. It will also justify me acquiring a second bike, so my partner will have no excuse for not going on recreational rides with me.

On the downside, they are quite expensive, and what if it turns out I am not a "folding" person and it collects dust in my shed with the other bike? I'm a contractor, and I know in 3 months I will be working somewhere else (or looking) so what if my next place of work is not folding friendly and I have to leave it outside? Or it's in a location where no bike or normal bike makes more sense? Also, I'm currently walking about 4 miles most days: is cycling 9 miles (at a pace that I can do without getting sweaty) equal less exercise?

thanks for any input. as the clock is ticking on my 3 month contract extension, I'll either buy in the next week or less or wait until my next role.

joan

(I know which bike I will buy if I do, so if I go ahead with the purchase, matt52 will have a friend :-) )

vik 

You can get folders that are not super expensive. People's ideas of what is expensive vary of course, but I figure if you get a complete bike, fenders, rack and kickstand for under $500 that is reasonable. Biking is a very efficient way to get around so perhaps 9 miles of cycling is less exercise than 4 miles of walking, but you'll still get a good amount of exercise and you can always add some extra distance in if you feel like it. If you get a new job that you can bike to just get a bag for your folder and carry it in. I don't think many work places ban bags so you should be fine. Just about everybody I know has some environmental program going on at their company. You can always play the "green" card and that's hard to fight. The other thing you mentioned is that you want to have a second bike to ride with your partner so ultimately that is a great reason to get a folder regardless of what happens at work.

invisiblehand

Well, I am unfamiliar with the market in London. But I thought that there were subsidies for Bromptons which can be expensive otherwise. You can get a deal on a Merc I believe.

20 minutes is a lot of time in my opinion. Is that one way or round trip? Anyway, if you are generally a casual rider, I think that you will find the ride -- Brompton/Merc -- more than acceptable assuming that you are within the population size range.

I would suggest going without the rear rack but with the front mount. I would get fenders for a commuter. Make sure that you install roller wheels on the back. My wife thought that it improved her experience with the bike significantly.

wahoonc

From what I gather you are in London? or nearby? I have been watching the Brommies on GB Fleabay and they are going for 1/3 or so the cost of new. I would check them out. On the crowded trains, are they allowing covered folders or no bikes PERIOD? I don't have the luxury of commuting via mass transit...at least I haven't figured out a way to do it...I to work contracts and it can be 250-1,000 miles from one job to the next.

Aaron

SesameCrunch

What's the resale market like for folders in the UK? If you don't like them, you can always recover some of your money.

Here in the US, the resale market is pretty good. Folders retain their value well, and they sell pretty easily. I've sold and bought several used folders in the last couple of years.

LittlePixel

It's a good question and one to ask for sure. I used to do a daily commute of about the same distance (I freelance now so my travel is more bitty and less often sadly)

I think you could do a lot worse than one of these two options:
1) Rent a Brompton for a week and see if you like it. I believe you can this but I don't know the exact place that does this - this pdf might provide some leads though:
https://www.lcc.org.uk/documents/bike...0london(1).pdf

2) Pick up a low to midrange bike like a Raleigh Parkway or a Downtube for around £150 and see if it's floating your boat. I don't think that's a crazy amount of money and it'll be a capable bike - just not high end, and if it's something you really do like you can upgrade it or sell it and get something that suits better. I'd really advise against some of the cheap asian imports on eBay though - I think they might be a false economy and end up putting you off.

Hope that's some help!

Cholmeleian

2nd hand Brommie would probably be the safest option. Should get most of the cost back if you don't like it. I wouldn't try many of the US designed folders on a UK train, they are too big and bulky - it just has to be a 16" wheel.

EvilV

Those kinds of distances that you mentioned in the Intro page are very doable on a folder and they don't have to cost a lot of money. I'd say that the bike will require a bit less effort to ride 9 miles than to walk 4. I reckon you'd need to ride 12 miles to equal the energy output of walking 4. This is easily solved though - take the longer scenic route on the way home, or get off at a different station and ride further if you need more exercise.

People above are right about the alternatives. Many folders are just a touch too big to take on a crowded commuter train. You also need a bag so as not to risk soiling your fellow travelers on a dirty wet day.

I unashamedly promote the Merc here. People have read it all before from me so rather than be more boring than I already have been, I'd suggest you contact me by pm if you want the goods and the bads about that particular bike. I've done a lot of miles on one. They cost £330 and they are deliverable in about two or three days. You won't find that with a new model of the bike its a close copy of.

PM for more.

chainstrainer

Joan, just go for it, otherwise you'll never know. Why suffer angst over a bike? Wondering if a folder is for you is not like committing to marriage, is it? Unlike a mate, you can sell the thing if doesn't work out for you.

werewolf

I just got my first folder a couple of weeks ago. So far I am regretting it. I'll wait and see how the seller deals with the problems before writing anything further.

PDR

I bought myself a 20"wheel folding bike last November and it has proved to be a great success.

The decision to buy a folding bike was made when my Toyota Hilux Surf went for its MOT on the 6th October and failed on the exhaust…. a new one had to be ordered direct from Japan as mine is the very rare V6 Petrol version. This took over three weeks to arrive, so in the mean time I had to use the trains which work quite well. It was just the walk either end that was a pain (I was still getting over a damaged heel from rock climbing).

I live on the Wirral, between Chester and Liverpool so the bike is ideal for visiting Chester at weekends, just park up outside the city and ride in.

I work in Liverpool and with the bike/train combination it costs me £4.60 per day whereas if I use my gas-guzzling truck (16 mpg) and pay the petrol, Mersey Tunnel toll and University parking it costs me £11 per day…. so apart from being “green” and feeling the benefits of some exercise, I’m also saving over £140 per month.

With petrol & diesel prices around the £5 mark I really think that folding bike ownership in the UK can only increase and judging by the number of people who stop me and ask about my “cool” bike, folders are no longer seen as strange or eccentric.

jefmcg

Well, I took the plunge.

I've been reading all the comments and doing some thinking but yesterday I had to queue for 15 minutes just to get onto the tube platform, and then today (urk!) I had to queue for 15 minutes, and when I got on the platform they announced the line was closed!

Fed up with London transport, I went out at lunch time and bought a bike. I'm about to pick it up and ... hopefully I've made the right choice.

More to follow.

Thanks for all the help!

joan

invisiblehand

Congratulations Joan. Welcome to the fold.

Brompton/Merc?

jefmcg

Well, the clue was in my original posting - matt52. I had tried both a brompton and a mezzo, and liked the feel of the mezzo better. But really I just wanted a not-brompton Brompton's a pretty ubiquitous here. Sometimes there are three of them in the doorway of the train (and this isn't a special carriage, there are 16 identical doorways on the train) but I wanted something that folded as small. The store did have a one I could take for a few days, but there was a special on the D9 and a tube strike threatening so I made the leap - I didn't want all the folders in london to disappear when the strike was announced and I was still in a meeting.

The first couple of rides have been interesting. I'm not dealing well with london traffic. My skills are rusty, and I keep placing myself in the wrong lane as I don't know the roads that well. Car free areas are ... covered with pedestrians, so they are not always a better choice. I guess the next week will be a process of learning the best routes and improving my traffic skills - if I don't get knocked down in the meantime.

The bike itself? Loving it. The fold is a little complicated, so I put the video onto my ipod and watch it on the train. I think I've got it now, but it takes me about a minute. Surprisingly, the small fold is most required at work. We have airlock-style security doors, and me and the bike just fit in. The ride is nice, but when I found myself on the south bank I realised that cobblestones require suspension. I'm not sure how much use the rear rack would be, because having to take something off that before folding and then having to carry both of them would be pretty inconvenient. For now I'm using a backpack.

Though the real reason I didn't want to travel on the tube anymore, is when I got messed around I ended up sitting next to someone reading Shopaholic and baby <shudder!>

vik 

Congrats nice looking bike... You'll get the handle of riding in traffic. It is a skill that needs practice to become second nature, but 6 months from now you'll wonder what the big deal was.

invisiblehand

Great! Glad you enjoy the ride. As with most folds, you will get better with time.

14R 

Nice bike! Welcome to the family.

folder fanatic

I am happy to hear that there is another folder fan in the UK now. I am glad that everything is working out for you. For heavy duty suspension that is not too expensive, I use simple non cushion firm sprung saddles similar to Brooks. See: https://www.flickr.com/photos/world-of-folding-bicycles/289511363/in/set-72157594461421431/ Since it is Southern California, I outfitted all 4 of my bikes with what is known as cruiser beach bike style saddles which work nicely here as far as suspenion needs are concerned. The rear rack is very useful. 2 of my bikes have one. I use them for very bulky type of items or strap a duffle bag with small loose items to the rack. I still use a backpack since I need to keep the same items on all 4 bikes (3 folding, 1 nonfolding). Happy riding!

jefmcg

Just thought I'd take some time out to reply to all the responses.

I did have to spend more than that, I think. The ones at that price range (in the UK) were heavy and messy folds - I don't think I would have found them easy to take on the train, though any folder is allowed, it's often crowded and you don't want to take up too much more room than you would on your own.

Thanks for that. I'm only 168cm/5' 6", but I found I needed the extended seat post on a brompton. The bike I bought can't take bigger wheels, but so far I am finding it easy enough to carry, so that's not a problem.

The 20 minutes is theoretically one way - I haven't proven that yet, as I'm still refining my trip, but as it is I am definitely arriving at work with more of a bounce in my step - or that might just be because the days are getting longer and warmer. I was able to get the bike VAT and tax free, so that helped!

The good thing about being in london (and one of the reasons I am here) is that you can always find work within reach.

In the UK you can take folders on any transport (including the underground) at any time. No need to cover. Normal bikes can be taken on most London lines outside peak, but I think you need to book a place on country services.

They don't ban them even on really crowded trains - but you just won't able to board. If you are already there with your bike, they don't kick you off.

As for price, a colleague recently got a brommie from ebay. He paid exactly 2/3 of retail - but I guess he'll get all of that back at the end.

Actually, because of the tax breaks, I guess I could sell it at a profit now .... though technically that would be some sort of small scale tax fraud :-)

Thanks for the advice. I think the rental would have been a good plan, but I had my eye on a bargain and didn't want to miss out (I've got an over developed bargain gland). But just in case anyone else in london wants to try it:

Action Cycles on the embankment will lend you a Brompton for 15/day or 50/week, refundable off a purchase within 30 days. Cycle surgery has a Mezzo (at least) which you pay a deposit of the full cost of the bike and if you like it, swap it over, otherwise they charge 30. Evans also have folders to lend, but I don't know their deal.

Agreed. Sometimes I get on a train and someone has one of those full sized bikes folded in half. Fits the letter of the law, but is as big a problem as an unfolded bike.

Thanks. Scenic route can wait until it's light when I leave work! The bag doesn't seem necesssary. I see folders on my train almost every day, and never noticed on in a bag. Or being removed from or put in a bag.
That's a great analogy! Because I've been living with someone for more than a decade, so I guess I'm even more afraid of marriage!

How is that working out? What's the problems you are having?
I am not going to save anywhere near that much. I'll just save 30 a month on tube travel, but some of that will disappear if I travel to london without the bike. It's more the saving of my soul that I'm working on (peak tube/bus travel is sooooo depressing)

Thanks guys. I used to cycle commute, but never through this sort of traffic. I will get better, but I think the big factor is my route. I'm refining that daily, so every trip is better. Now I just need to get a watch to find out how long it's taking me :-)

I won't be needing suspension. The bumpy part of my ride is alway a tourist/pedestrian area. It's busy in February when it's dark, it will be hell in summer, so I will be sticking to the roads.

As for UK folding fans - there may not be too many here, but they are out on the streets of london. Lots of Bromptons, some Dahons and assort others. I've only noticed about 3 mezzos since I first started noticing a month or two ago, and none since I bought mine.

Thanks again, everyone!

bhkyte

How do you find the gearing?

vincentnyc

can u elaborate why are u regretting it? what kinda folder do u have and what is wrong with it? how long you ridden before you got the folder and how often? maybe this is your first time riding in the traffic since you were little and the traffic scare the crap out of u?