Are you commuting on a folding bike?
 

I am generally on the Folding Bike sectio of BF, but I a curious to know how many are commuting on folders, and what you see as advantages or disadvantages.

i have a stable of 3 bikes that i commute with, one of which is a 2007 Dahon Speed P8 folder (20" wheel).

my folder doesn't get ridden as often as my fair-weather road bike or my foul-weather hybrid, but it does come in handy when i have after work commitments that don't leave me enough time to get home first. today is a perfect example of a time when i ride my folder. i have dinner plans tonight at a friend's house and i will be heading there straight from work and meeting my girlfriend who will be driving straight there from her job (she's not a bike commuter). after dinner i can simply fold up my bike and throw it in her trunk and we'll drive home together. this is ideal because she is a very light drinker, and hence a great DD, whereas i have more than a small inclination for drinking ;).

my folder is noticeably slower than my other two full-size steeds, but it does come in handy when i have to rendezvous with my girlfriend somewhere or when i have to be someplace where i would otherwise have to street lock one of my other rides (chicago is one of the capital cities of bike theft and i hate leaving a bike unattended on the street). my small 20" wheel folder can always be folded down and brought inside the vast majority of places that i go to.



in a nutshell:

folder advantages - maximum FLEXIBILITY. i can go wherever i want without forcing one of my other bikes into the role of thief-bait. i can hop on an el train with it at any time i want (like getting caught in a storm). i can throw it in the trunk of my GF's car or a taxi whenever the need may arise.

folder disadvantages - it's marginally slower, has a less comfortable geometry for me, it's not as rugged and robust as my other rides.

I don't currently own one, but I will be following this thread.

Normally no...but I had a rather vicious leg injury and the doctor said no biking for six months. I cheated by using a folding bike (Raleigh Twenty); it has easy stand over and the size makes it easy to hop off if an incident were to happen. It's too heavy and large to really use as a folder, but I like it enough that my curiosity for this genre is definitely piqued!

"folder disadvantages - it's marginally slower,"


How much slower are we talking about here? JW

Just for reference, on a 53 mile ride I'll average about 18.5 mph on my folder vs 21 mph on my mid 80s Nishiki road bike. On my commute which goes through metro Louisville and includes a lot of traffic lights, there really is no difference in my commuting times.

**Note** - the folder I'm talking about is fitted with 20X1.95 Maxxis Hookworm BMX/Park tires as opposed to 700X23 Gatorskins on the road bike.

I do, but my commute is very short at a bit over one mile. The folding bike is nice because I can fold it up and take it into NYC office buildings without drawing attention. Full size bikes have to go on the freight elevators and it's a hassle for me since I work 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM while most office building freight elevators only work during 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM.


They also take up less space if you suffer from N+1 which allows me to have....

Apartment - (3) folding bikes & (3) full size bikes (one of each does belong to the wife:))
Office - (1) separable & (4) folding bikes

maybe 2 or 3 mph slower than my road bike, effort for effort. the geometry is more upright than my road bike (less aero, less power into the pedals).

i can put it in simple terms: on my road bike yesterday, my 15 mile ride into work took 53 minutes; this morning on my folder (similar wind conditions) the same ride took me 63 minutes.

my Bike Friday P Llama has become my commuter..
but I don't fold it .. hinges are for travel packing.

advantage : the travel bike frame is functionally a step thru.

heavy rider version has a front triangle so quite easily lockable .

I thought I would, but it turns out I don't. Here's why.

The regular bike is sitting there ready to go - I don't need to unfold it, and refold it at the other end.

On hot days, I coast to work trying not to sweat too much, and barely managing, and if I had to fold and maybe bag the folder and lug it inside, that would be enough to really make me sweat.

The folder is more valuable than the regular bike.

The folding bike would be easier to steal, and also has more quick release parts, so easier to strip.


("new" 2007 Bike Friday New World Tourist vs "vintage" 1984 Trek tour bike).

I commute (when in Florida) with a Dahon Speed 7 folding bike that I keep down there for just that purpose. It allows me to commute to/from the Tri-Rail station in Boca to the Tri-Rail station at Commercial and then To/From Work and occasionally go out for lunch. It also allows me to avoid renting a car and having to drive in a community where no one should be allowed to operate a motor vehicle...

Thanks, that folder hauls considerably more ass than I thought.

from my experience, the biggest ingredient in bicycle speed is the engine. yes, effort for effort, a light-weight aerodynamic road bike will go faster than an upright dutch beast, but a lot of the time in my daily riding, my speed is more a function of how many green lights i catch, how much traffic i have to deal with, etc., as opposed to flat-out, balls to the wall, 110% exertion, maximum power output riding. so on my daily commutes i'm giving the bike a pretty decent amount of power, but it's by no means extreme, so i'm in that zone where the speed differences from one bike to another aren't gonna be as great as they would be to a pro racer (ie. a pro racer could make my road bike go A LOT faster than i can make it go).

Well, if you're planning on taking a train or catching a ride with a normal car as a part of your commute, then a folder is pretty much required for reliable transportation without hassle.

I have a 2006 Dahon Mariner (7 speed, modern geometry) and a 30 mile mixed commute with 4 miles of cycling each way. It rides on 95PSI slicks and doesn't seem to give up much speed (if any, really) to my non-folding companions' bikes. The only real speed issue with these folders is the upright stance your body takes on the saddle: there's no cheating the wind on one of these.

There are some other minor issues with riding fast too: folding pedals aren't compatible with cleats/straps/strapless shoes, handlebars are normally flat for folding so there are less hand positions, and expect a folder to weigh a few pounds more.

Still, none of these issues detracts from the enjoyment I get from my folder every day. I think the 2mph I might lose contributes to perhaps an extra 90 seconds on my commute each way. At most. Big deal.

-Warr

I used my folder for commuting even though my commute never needed the folding feature. It just happened to be the bike with the best luggage characteristics for commuting (extra large saddlebag over the small rear wheel and a rear rack). Mine is a Bike Friday with drop bars which gives me the same position and aerodynamics as my road bikes and AFAICT, the same speed as well on my fairly flat commute. It's a tiny bit slower on hills due to a few extra pounds of weight.

+1. Well put. I would never attempt to race any of my folding bikes but then I don't race anymore and ride at moderate speeds to get from point A to point B and have fun doing so... my folding bikes are just the ticket (Tikit for some of you ;) )

yeah I just get too impatient when I ride. I only know one speed - as fast as my legs can handle (which is often times not fast enough)

Ditto. I have a 2007 Dahon Cadenza (26" wheels, 2" Big Apples & Shimano 8spd IGH) that I occasionally use as a fair weather commuter when I don't have to pack much, if anything, with me. Dahons have a 230lb weight limit and I weigh in around 210lbs so the Cadenza gets used for light days where, as Steely mentioned, I have some post-work commitment that precludes safe, secure storage facilities. I love having the option of bringing the bike with me.

You'd have to mount a pretty whopping 60t chainring to get even 101 gear inches out of a 20" folder, while a typical road bike can offer 116 GI or so for you to mash. Given the same RPM, that's a significant speed difference. Most stock folders seem to offer a more modest 88 GI or so, so unless you're really crushin' the cadence, they give up a lot of speed to a 700c.

The folder that I mentioned above (451 - 20" wheels) does have a 60t chainring and an 11t small cog which gives it a maximum of 109 GI which happens to be the same as my other road bike (622 - 700c wheels) with its 52t chainring and 13t small cog. But frankly the gearing is not what limits my speed on either bike except for a few downhill stretches or with a terrific tailwind.

It's easy to increase the highest gearing - the Schlumpf 'highspeed drive' BB will multiply the GIs by 2.5 and there are plenty of internal hub gears that can provide just about any range of gears you may want. The limiting factor is whether you have an appropriate engine to drive such high gears.

Of course the engine is the limiting factor once you've got equivalent gearing, but the fact is most stock folders will have not only lower max GI, but lower GI throughout the range, than will a typical road 700c setup.

My point is merely that folders are not any slower than 700Cs of necessity; if they're setup right, geared right, or the rider can spin like a pro sprinter, they're just as fast. They are slower in practice, generally, because they are not geared for speed, nor set up for aero efficiency.

Sure, you can get yourself a 73t, or a Schlumpf BB, but you have to be aware of the issues first.

I just bought a 3 speed Brompton and tried commuting with it but for me, I have better bikes for commuting. I like larger wheel bikes. With the small wheeled bike I find myself spending too much time looking for potholes, cracks and being extra careful around street car tracks. With my larger bike and 32c tires, they just roll over most everything. The Brompton is twitchier while riding, which I am sure in time I would get use to but why? Again my other two bikes are better.

Folders can be advantageous to some but in my case it just isn't. I don't do multi-modal commutes and bike theft which is a concern, is well taken care of by my multi-lock secure bike compound at work. I don't need to bring my bike in to be safe.

Some posters have talked about efficiency of a folder, but it is not something I notice and even care that much about, as I am commuting not racing.

If my circumstances change maybe the Brompton will be the bike I take but until then my single speed Masi Speciale Commuter with FSA Metropolis bars is my bike of choice and my Masi with Ultegra 9 speed with Rivendell Albatross bars and porteur rack is my second.

do you ever stop off at other places on your way home from work like running an errand or meeting up with friends? i don't multi-modal commute and i have secure indoor bike storage at work, but it's those other ancillary stop-offs while in the course of commuting that really make me appreciate the theft prevention feature of my folder.

i too prefer to ride my regular 700 wheel nonfolding bikes most of the time, but if the choice is between street locking one of my other rides or riding the folder when i have after work stops to make, i'm gonna choose the folder every time because a bike that isn't left on the street can't be stolen. taking a bike indoors with you is a billion times more secure than any lock on the market.

I keep three Kryptonite U locks at work with one being the mini U lock. I also keep two Krypto cables there. When I want to make a stop on my way home I use the mini U lock and a cable. It certainly is good enough for locking purposes and it is small and light enough not be a burden.

I did use the Brompton this weekend bringing it into stores for the simplicity of not having to lock my bike every time, just to give that a try. The bike is a pain to lug around because of the weight. The size is fine but it still heavier than I would like. Small aisles in stores made bringing the bike in difficult and it was much more trouble than it was worth.

I have to say without a doubt buying the Bromptons for my wife and I was a bad decision. I know they are great for some but for me, it just isn't my kind of thing. I may grow to like it but I am not holding my breath. I am glad though it works for you.

I switch between my Mezzo and Salsa Vaya frequently to commute. The folder is great for hopping on downtown and going to lunch. I keep cool, can ride in dress pants/clothes, and shave a few minutes off the walk. I don't fold it to go inside. It is a nice riding bike and much better getting around in downtowns (easy to maneuver). It is a little slower than the Vaya, but I don't care. I can simply fold the rear under, using it as a kickstand, and I don't worry about it being stolen (when I watch it - I would never leave it unattended).