Foldable Bikes

[Marbro]

I'm in the market for a foldable bike. I weigh 250 and stand 5 10". I'm 40 years old and want a foldable bike for ease in traveling overseas. I have a number of bikes in mind but the weight limit for most of these bikes is 230pds.

Bikes under consideration are: Dahon Zero G; Hummer Tactical Mtn Bike; as well as Mercedes and BMW foldable models. I'd like to stay under $1000 if possible but can spend more.

Thanks

[Brains]

2nd hand Brompton would be best

[Cipher]

If you already own a bike you are happy with, this may be an option...

http://www.sandsmachine.com/

[khuon]

Originally posted by Marbro

Hummer Tactical Mtn Bike; as well as Mercedes and BMW foldable models. I'd like to stay under $1000 if possible but can spend more.

As you probably have guessed, these bikes are usually not made by the car companies themselves. They're rebadged. Unless you're in love with having the brand name on your bike, I'd suggest, finding out who actually makes them and going directly to the source. You'll save quite a bit and get more bike for the money. For instance, Montague makes the Hummer bike and sells it for $200 less than what Hummer has listed. AMP Research used to produce the Mercedes bike but I don't think they do any longer. I'm not sure who does now. In any case, if I were you I'd also take a look at Slingshot . Yes... the same company that uses a design with a cable for the downtube. They've been around quite a while and they have a proven design.

[Jean Beetham Smith]

Look at www.airnimal.com. The chaemelon looks like an incredible bike for touring. How about a BikeFriday?

[MichaelW]

There are folding bikes designed for daily commuting, and bikes which take down or pack away for occasional travel. Generally, the commuting bikes compromise on performance or weight to achive quick or compact folding. There are quality commuter bikes like the Brompton and Birdy, but most others are fairly low performance, cheaply built machines.
Travelling bikes dont pack down as quickly or conveniently, but are usually lighter, stiffer, and better suited to longer touring rides.
Bike Friday and Airnimal are high performance folding bikes. Moulton is a takedown not a folding bike, but is a proven long distance touring machine. http://www.foldsoc.co.uk/tests.html

[Dahon.Steve]

>>>>>There are quality commuter bikes like the Brompton and Birdy, but most others are fairly low performance, cheaply built machines<<<<

At your weight class, I would stay away from Brompton, Birdy or any 16' wheel folder. In my opinion, you need to look at Bike Friday since they offer the most support for their product than any of the other brands in the U.S. BikeFriday will buid a bike to meet YOUR needs instead of the other way around. These are NOT commuter bikes but serious traveling bikes. This is a big difference since a commuter bike tends to be under geared or low quality which is not what BikeFriday is about. These bikes are not cheap by any standards but your're getting 21 or 27 speeds compared to a 3 speed Brompton.

I also recommend the Montague MX ($595.00). The only problem with this bike is your not getting the support you would from BikeFriday.

Steve.

[Anders K]

The Brompton T6 recieved 8/10 in a test october 2002, Cycling Plus.

Frame 8
Handling 9
Equipment 7
Wheels 8

I have no personal experience of this type of bikes, just recently read the test.

Good luck

[oscaregg]

Bike Friday will build bikes with 20 x 1.75" (BMX) rims and tires; wide rims and freestyle tires should handle your weight without problems.

[LET]

I recommend you go the route that I chose, a used Raleigh Twenty. I weigh 300+ and it's fine with me. You can pick them up on eBay and then have them throughly updated/upgraded and still be way under $1,000. I paid $125 for mine just a couple of weeks ago. You can stick with the Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub or upgrade to 7-speed hubs etc. You can read more about them on Sheldon Brown's web site. Good luck with whatever you choose.

[stumpjumper]

This seems like a terribly familiar thread...

[Dahon.Steve]

>>>>>I recommend you go the route that I chose, a used Raleigh Twenty<<<<<

The Raleigh Twenty isn't a bad bike but they are very old and the last thing you want during a vacation is for the bike to break down. There is no support for this bike and if something goes wrong, it could spoil your vacation. The bike he would get would probably be 20+ years old and you never know what your going to get with Ebay.

The BikeFriday looks VERY similar to the Raleigh Twenty and it's designed to fit in a hard case so you don't pay extra with a bike box.

Someone posted a good review on the Brompton. No question. The Brompton is a solid cycle. But not for this case.

Here's an individual who's about 250lbs and with loaded equiptment could exceed 275 to 300 lbs.

The Brompton is NOT designed for this kind of weight which is why he needs a more robust folder that is custom designed for his size. Folding time is not important for the traveler as it is with the commuter. An abundance of gears is critical for the traveler but not so with a commuter. The last thing you want on a trip is to find out your bike under geared and too small.