Hello,

Someone I know who bought a Link D8 is having a difficult time moving the bike folded, and is looking at the Trolley Rack. Unsurprising, but a Brompton was a bit overbudget.

I notice Tern also offers the Rapid Transit.

Has someone tried both and could offer some feedback?

Thank you.

Rapid Transit is a hugely improved experience and a better rack in general. The rolling part is just like comparing a pull behind suitcase vs a spinner type suitcase. The Trolley Rack can only be rolled when the bike is in the widest orientation which is often less than ideal and especially if trying to use public transport. The Rapid Transit can be used in any orientation (thin/wide) and can be pushed in front or next to you or pulled in a similar way as the Trolley Rack.

Another negative to the Trolley Rack is that it requires the seatpost to be removed in order to use comfortably. The Rapid Transit comes with an extra little handlebar grip for pushing around. Also, the Rapid Transit offer full support for panniers on both sides of the rack, whereas the Trolley only has one side, which is also the same side as it has to lean, so making that the worst side to mount a pannier unless you are okay to remove it every time you want to use the trolley feature. This only applies to larger and/or floppy panniers since the support tubing on the non-drive side does support smaller or more rigid bags.

Wow, it is good to see the use of spinner wheels for rolling! I pondered the use of such wheels with Brompton, but basically, like here, you need to build a rack around them from scratch. I wonder whether the Rapid Transit could be used with Bike Friday 20" bikes, though.

Thanks much Nightdiver for the feedback.

2_i : Besides the SideWinder that you reviewed here, there is this solution: https://mygorack.com/

I 3D printed my own seat post roller. The wheel costs about $2 on eBay. And the printing cost me maybe $1 in material and electricity. I haven't tried to roll it for longer than a few seconds though, so I can't tell you how well it works for longer distances. It's simply pushed in lightly with some friction keeping it in. It was not meant to stay in permanently while riding the bike. It would be pulled out before riding the bike.







I had another design with a permanent locking mechanism to keep it from falling out.

Nice.

There's also
the Qbicle Folding Bike Roller Wheel
DAHON LANDING GEAR and SMART WHEEL

Link to the complete rack,... Racks and Mudguards

I found the dahon landing gear on a local site for cheap. I decided to order it. I guess it's more convenient than having to adjust the seatpost height all the time, and then I can keep the seatpost clamp locked with my security system, so that I don't have to undo it each time I want to fold.

I tried installing the landing gear on my Dahon bike. But it's quite short, about 10cm above the ground when extended and the bike is unfolded, so when you do fold it, the bike will tilt forward until the landing gear touches the ground. It is mounted towards the left side of the BB shell, which helps a little with balance, but because I have my bike locks mounted to my handlebar stem, the extra weight will cause the folded bike to fall sideways since the bike is tilted forward. So you have to hold it still. If you don't have weights stuck to the handlebar stem, I guess the landing gear could balance itself, although it would have been better if it were longer.

I also thought that I wouldn't need to lower the seat tube when I have the landing gear installed, which is partially true, if you fold the handlebar stem. At least on my bike, because I rotated the stem backwards to bring the handlebar closer to the saddle, the saddle and handlebar overlap when folded, so either the seatpost or the handlebar stem have to fold. One of my bike locks makes it difficult to fold the handlebar stem, but I could take off the lock and then fold the handlebar.

Well, so although the landing gear does what it's supposed to do, it doesn't do everything that I want it to do. It's also 200g. I might just leave it on for the the few cases when I need it.

Can you share STLs with me?