Originally Posted by
caro13
Could definitely stretch my budget for something like this, especially considering I'd have to put in a couple hundred extra for the Dahon Mu to add in a carrying case, aber hallo, rear rack, etc. And the size is perfect. But unfortunately, from what I can tell, the Pocket Crusoe is just able to be disassembled to fit into a case, but cannot be folded/unfolded on the spot? Having trouble finding much info because it seems to be an older model that is no longer available at Bike Friday.
So the way these bikes work is, yes, they disassemble easily for travel. I had the NWT before my pakiT - basically same model. The base of the seat mast has a QR. Open it and the rear triangle rotates under the main tube. You use a piece of velcro to hold it in place. Very quick - 15 seconds. Then, the stem mast (with the handlebars attached) comes off with a quick release. It fits over the main tube and hangs down and you secure it within the same piece of velcro that holds the wheel. That is called the "quick fold". Takes maybe 45 seconds to do it once you get the hang of it. It's fine for popping in a trunk, hiding in a back closet in the house, or picking up and putting in a grocery cart. It's not something you would want to do every day, especially multiple times a day, which is why I got the pakiT - I fold somewhere between 4 and 6 times a day. But if you are mostly using it as a "mini velo" and folding at home with the infrequent fold elsewhere, it works just fine. At 25 lbs it's pretty light weight, too, and has some nice components - Deore, Avid BB7, etc. If you're interested, I can get an email address from the poster on the forum so you can get in touch - no commitment, you can ask all your questions. here's a pic of a Crusoe in a Tesla trunk =) and a video on how they fold is here:
and also there's a pic of my Bike Friday NWT (Crusoe is similar) folded quickly to go in a car. The one big advantage is you never have to reset your seat height since it just folds. Even with the pakiT I have to reset the seat each time I fold; it's a bit annoying after using this system. Brompton/Dahon also require resetting the seat length.