Folding handlebars
 

I know folding handlebars have been invented (at least 20 patents on government website) but does anyone know a manufacturer who has them on their normal bikes (not folding)? I have tremendous trouble storing my bike, if i had handlebars that turned 90 degrees, parallel to the frame, and i also used folding pedals, my bike would only be 6 inches wide - and a whole lot easier to store. Is there such a bike?

Can you not just carry a hex wrench and loosen, twist 90 degrees? It wouldn't take much more than 30 seconds.

Hi
I could, but it would mean setting the handlebars each time. The patented ideas i have seen let you turn the handlebars with just the pull of a lever or similar, with no resetting (they automatically return to the original setting. Its just so frustrating that the ideas are out there but i cannot find a bike that has one on it.

The Dahon Hammerhead seems to have this feature, but I haven't quite figured out how it works. Maybe you just take the stem off? But look at the pictures, it's interesting.
http://www.dahon.com/intl/hammerhead.htmhttp://www.dahon.com/intl/hammerhead.htm#

rhm and toThinkistoBe, thanks. Not really what i was looking for though, although both have potential as a compromise. The handlebars i have seen rotate around the headstock axis and, in an ideal world this is what i would rather have. My search continues :/

Do some browsing in the Folding Bikes forum, going back a year or so... I'm pretty sure there are other options. I suspect there's a way to adapt a folding bike's stem to your purposes. One problem, of course, will be that those stems give way too much rise; another will be that those stems are hard to buy without a whole bike attached.

Will do. I have gleaned a lot of info from the sites passed to me so far, thanks. I am curious as to why a mainstream manufacturer has not addressed this issue before now, if a normal bike could be folded flat it would be a lot easier to store and transport. I know that there are folding bikes but they are such a compromise. Am i the only one who has trouble with storing and transporting my bike??

I have looked but I can't find it. There is a bicycle security item that uses a key in the headset.
You turn the key to one position and the handlebars lock in place at a 90° angle to the front wheel, (for riding).
You turn the key to another position and the the bars move freely, (so nobody can ride off with your bike).
And the last position locks the bars down parallel to the front wheel, (for storage or shipping).

I'm pretty sure I saw it here on BF about a year and a half ago, but I can't, for the life of me, remember what it was called.
I think it was either made in the UK or Holland, (or at least marketed there).

Sounds good, just what i'm looking for! What puzzles me though is that it sounds like a great idea that solves storage problems and helps security too. I wonder why is it not common knowledge and being mass produced?

Oh, they're not such a compromise! I mean, yes, compromise is involved; but you can chose where you're going to compromise. At one end of the scale, if you need a bike that folds up extremely small, it may not ride quite like a 'normal' bike: the Strida is an excellent example (but it's a great bike, by the way). At the other end of the scale, the Swift has a ride that's pretty much indistinguishable from that of a 'normal' bike. It doesn't fold up small enough for my purposes, but it may be perfect for you. Somewhere in the middle is my commuter bike, a somewhat customized Downtube Mini, which folds up small enough that I can take it on the train twice daily, and still rides just fine in NYC traffic, rural NJ roads, and the towpath of the Delaware and Raritan Canal. It's not very good in snow or on sand, though....

How about these handlebars?

They seem to fold back the way you want, although they may not be the style you're after.

How about normal bars on an NVO stem so you can rotate your bars about the steerer column without touching headset adjustment.

Aley, thanks but no thanks :) you're right, they are not the style i'm after. MW, these are really interesting and come closest to what i am looking for, thanks to both of you. I still will not give up my search for a set of handlebars that just rotate on the headstock with no bits left to carry and no tools to operate.

Whilst i have been waiting for other replies i have been in contact with the person who has one of the Patents i mentioned in my initial thread. He said that although lots of people have told him his idea is a good one (inc manufacturers) no one is willing to take it up because they do not believe there is a market for it. I would like to conduct a poll, on this forum, which will either give him something to take to another manufacturer or make him realise that there is no market for his idea. I will post it as a new thread, please take part.

I don't think that loosening the head bolt and turning the stem is a good idea. If you did that when transporting a bike on vacation or something like that, once or twice a year, sure. But I don't think those parts are really designed to be loosened and tightened on a daily basis.

The system does not work by loosening the headbolt and it seems the movable part is designed to be moved frequently. Please see thread - POLL yes or no?

Loosening the bolt and tightening it again is not a problem by itself. What becomes a problem is that it's easy no adjust your headset too tightly or too loose, especially if you're not too mechanically inclined.

The NVO system can essentially be duplicated by installing a collar or a second lower stem at the top of the stack and keeping that one tight all the time. Then the upper one may be moved around as you wish without having to readjust the headset.

ok I thought I saw this feature on the 2009 Mongoose Sabrosa but cant seem to find the article again.

turning the bars is clearly the simplest way to save space. there must be some sort of quick release for this? I talked to Mongoose, they said that one of the Asian suppliers must make it for that specific bike but would not give me much more info about it.

its like the Yetti... we KNOW he exists but few have actually SEEN him.

I was used to popping off my front tire, enabling me to turn the handlebars to save space. I used ot have the Swiss Bike LX which had a "Clix Wheel Release System", and with disk brakes, you dont even have to undo the brakes, making this a piece of cake!

It was my first introduction to Quick Release, so I thought they were all like that UNTIL...

I just bought a pair of Giant Seek bikes. They are wheeey better bikes but they have QR but NOT the Clix QR! What a pain! I didn't realize that "regular Quick Release have to twirl the leavers to get the right position! That's not QR alt all! So Im planning to get a set of CLIX QR's for the new bikes -- unless we can come up with a QR for the handlebars.

Resurrecting this old thread, because I'm interested in it too.

the Gocycle seems to have what you're looking for: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPLX_...eature=related

Here's a design that bends the handlebars down the middle, much like the Strida: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISWQAR3aw8o (He isn't manufacturing them yet, so far as I know).

Just use a threaded type stem. Loosen the nut to realign the handlebars. If that's not quick enough then add a quick release to the top.

This is how one of my folding bikes does it. Nothing fancy; just a normal threaded stem with a quick release bolt.

I'll have to look into that. I wonder if there is a way to put limits on it. So that you could quick release it, spin it until it stops (so that its aligned along the body). Then when you want to ride, quick release it, spin it and have it stop perfectly so that its perpendicular to the bike. The idea here is speed and accuracy.

I can do it in about 15 seconds with a 6mm allen wrench. I think you are way overthinking a very simple problem. Threadless headsets are a little more of an issue though.

http://www.oredon.com/content/en/produits.php?id=26

I think this is the closest thing on the market that I've heard of. Not sure how well executed these Oredon products are, but it's a cool idea. I like their locking skewers too. I've got the Onguard/Pinhead version, but the Onguard ones don't have the freely rotating collar around the security nut, like PitLocks have.

Those german bars are dope!

exarkuhn15

http://www.oredon.com/content/en/produits.php?id=26

this IS the best yet!

a quick release would also be great but I have not seen a generic QR for handlebars - only the custom ones for GoBike etc.

I had several folding bikes over the years but I found that, for communing or general purpose, you need a standard frame, with like 700series wheels (IMO).

I have been removing the front wheel with a "Clicks Quick Release" in order to be able to turn the handlebars. my bike lives beside my car in te garage, so thats all I need it to be able to turn the handlebars -- even transporting several bikes on the rack - turning the handlebars would really be great!

I dont know that we need a lock like the FreeLock product but if that's all that is available right now, so be it.

ALso want to make sure that this is a good product. I mean if you are neck and neck with a car, going downhill at 60k, the last thing you want to see is the quick release handlebar coming loose. That would really ruin your day.

"Yu picked a fine time to leave me loose wheel" :lol:

I've never seen one in person, so I can't speak to quality. I'm not sure if these are actually available in the states. They should be though!

I find myself always wanting a folding bike, but I know that if I had one, I would probably rarely fold it in half, since usually just turning the bars 90 degrees would make the bike take up very little space. A bike that was long but thin (like a bike with the bars 90 degrees from the normal position) would probably be easier to store for many people than a bike that folds in half so that it's not long like a full bike, but still fairly wide.

Well it looks clever, but in fact these are not folding, but adjustable. Once set, you leave them alone.

There are a series of screws that have to be fiddled with to get the adjustments set.

So they are more of a custom setup than a folding set up.

See the PDF at the website to see what I mean.

The Raleigh 20 has what the original poster wants. It has a quick release which allows the stem to turn or to be moved up and down. A wire loop around the caliper brake bolt prevents the stem from being removed and limits the top height to a safe position. The bike is a folder but the ride is like that of a conventional bike due to a stiff steel frame. It has been out of production for a couple of decades.

You're right he is overthinking it. On the folding bike I have with the QR threaded stem I can fold the whole bike in 15 seconds including the stem. You really don't need any sort of stops, but if it bothers anyone then rubber band a couple dowels to the head tube to catch the horizontal part of the stem.

Then you are the perfect candidate for most folding bikes because except for the really small ones most folding bikes are still rather huge when they fold and, therefore, only really appropriate for people who rarely fold them. IMO the best way to view most folding bikes is that they give you options. I hardly ever fold the frame of my 20" wheeled folding bike (and I hardly ever turn or fold the bars either), but I still prefer to ride it because the compromise is small enough that it's worth having these options just in case.

IMO the problem with the folding bike market is that most customers are completely wrong in estimating the level of compromise for any given bike. They look at typical models and think "that is probably 50% as good as a real bike, but is also 50% more convenient" when in fact it's 95% as good and only 5% more convenient. So the customers looking for 50% more convenience get disappointed when they buy bikes which are only 5% more convenient, the customers looking for 5% more convenience don't buy them at all, and folding bikes get a bad rap.

This also sounds like a QR on a regular threaded stem.

A QR bolt is a very simple object. So even if you can't find one of appropriate dimensions, it shouldn't be that hard to make one.