Originally Posted by owenfinn
Yesterday, I passed small bookshop and did a double take when a saw a very cool looking HandyBike parked inside. It was the store owner`s - I was dying to try it out, but my Japanese is still not so good. He did let me pick it up (- it`s extremely lite) and he told me where I could buy it ($250 US at Tokyu Hands Department Store for those here in Japan - $200 on Internet dealers). At around $200 US it seems like a good deal- a no brainer maybe, especially if this one gives me a little more knee clearance.
So has anyone ever ridden a HandyBike?
I like the other bikes you mentioned but they are over my budget.
Link to a Japanese HandyBike dealer:
http://www.cso.co.jp/bikeshop/bridge...andybike8.html
The JD Bike I mentioned looks very similar to the Handybike and I think it's even cheaper.
Was the Handybike you looked at the 6" or 8" version? I considered the 6" handybike, but I decided that wheels smaller than 8" would be too dangerous (actually, I would have preferred 12" wheels even, but there don't seem to be any lightweight bikes with this wheel size). This might not be as much of a problem in Japan (where I hear you can play billiards on the pavement).
The 8" Handybike, on the other hand, weighs about as much as a Strida and doesn't have the nice rolling and upright standing features of the Carryme. Still, it's much cheaper than either the Carryme or Strida and I might have bought it if it were available in the US.
Then there's the Sinclair
A-bike, which is also quite a bit cheaper than the Carry-me. I seriously considered this one too, but there were a number of things which ultimately made me decide against it such as the 6" wheels, the umcomfortable saddle, and the fact that even though it's lighter than the Carryme, it still seems a bit too heavy to lug around without any kind of rollers or stand. Although I don't think you'd be interested in the A-bike as it looks a bit more cramped than the Carryme (though I've never ridden an A-bike).