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Brake disk vulnerability

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Brake disk vulnerability

Old 06-30-21, 06:57 PM
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Brake disk vulnerability

I'm buying (another) folding bike that will be spending time folded, lying flat, disk brake down, in the rear of my SUV as I drive from home to trail/town. I was wondering how vulnerable to being bent/damaged the rear brake disk would be. Any thoughts/suggestions?
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Old 07-01-21, 08:30 AM
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Originally Posted by mkatz
I'm buying (another) folding bike that will be spending time folded, lying flat, disk brake down, in the rear of my SUV as I drive from home to trail/town. I was wondering how vulnerable to being bent/damaged the rear brake disk would be. Any thoughts/suggestions?
Hi Mkatz, I just have room to stand my Helix up at the side of the luggage area in my wagon. I have to load it upside down to be able to shut the tailgate. There's no room for the roller blind cover in the loadspace. I screwed an additional fixing loop to the side panel as high up as possible near the tailgate so that I could thread a luggage strap through it plus the two existing fixing loops on the deck to stop the bike falling flat when driving. I did it in this way so that there's still plenty of room for other items in the load area and I can still get access to the bike without unloading other stuff. The disc is not in contact with anything else when the bike is secured in place. Obviously this will only work if you have enough space between the rear seats and the tailgate of your SUV. I put the bike in a black bag and because the car has privacy glass rear windows the bike cannot be seen easily by passers by when the car is parked.
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Old 07-01-21, 12:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Jonesandrew
Hi Mkatz, I just have room to stand my Helix up at the side of the luggage area in my wagon. I have to load it upside down to be able to shut the tailgate. There's no room for the roller blind cover in the loadspace. I screwed an additional fixing loop to the side panel as high up as possible near the tailgate so that I could thread a luggage strap through it plus the two existing fixing loops on the deck to stop the bike falling flat when driving. I did it in this way so that there's still plenty of room for other items in the load area and I can still get access to the bike without unloading other stuff. The disc is not in contact with anything else when the bike is secured in place. Obviously this will only work if you have enough space between the rear seats and the tailgate of your SUV. I put the bike in a black bag and because the car has privacy glass rear windows the bike cannot be seen easily by passers by when the car is parked.
Thank you! Your comment, particularly about loading the bike upside down, is quite helpful.
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Old 07-02-21, 12:01 AM
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It depends how the bike folds.

If when the bike is folded the discs are on the outer side or not.

If you look at Helix, the rear disc is between the wheels and protected, the front not.

On the Birdy, both discs are on the two outer sides.

Note that besides the discs, the other fragile element is the rear derailleur.

On the Birdy, its protected (when Birdy was designed, there were no disc brakes, protecting them wasn't an issue but protecting the rear derailleur was).

On the Helix not.

Its always better (if possible) to store a folding bike vertical.

Last edited by Jipe; 07-02-21 at 12:08 AM.
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Old 07-02-21, 11:53 AM
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Even though I've had access at this point only to pictures of the bike to feed my concerns (), I know that you are correct with respect to component locations on the bike when folded; my concern about protecting the disk was informed by my greater concern about protecting the derailleur (). I think that the vertical positioning is best and will use that if I can figure out a reliable way of stabilizing the bike, perhaps using the "Jonesandrew" approach.

It's interesting that someone else suggested that I simply toss the folded bike flat onto my car's rear deck as he has done and not worry about "twerking" the disk. I'm too obsessive for that!

Again, Thank you!
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Old 07-02-21, 01:04 PM
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Wasn't your Helix supposed to be delivered in June?
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Old 07-02-21, 01:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Jipe
Wasn't your Helix supposed to be delivered in June?
Yes, but, not surprisingly, delivery has been delayed. Considering the steering post recall, the hydraulic brake cable length error and general (temporary) reported components shortages, I wasn't surprised by the delivery delay. I'm sympathetic towards the Helix company and currently expect delivery this month.
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Old 07-02-21, 10:50 PM
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Curious to have your feedback about it. There aren't many reviews about riding Helix (position on the bike, comfort, performances...) most feedback are about its design, weight, components, accessories.
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Old 08-02-21, 02:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Jipe
Curious to have your feedback about it. There aren't many reviews about riding Helix (position on the bike, comfort, performances...) most feedback are about its design, weight, components, accessories.
I'm curious about my feedback, too! Current estimate for shipment is mid August.
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