Just your opinion and for your use case. Money's no object. Assume you can have this and one other bike in your fleet.

I tried to think of the most popular ones, but there's an option for other and write in to reply.

Tyrell XF titanium road race folding bike. (in stock, unique opportunity: 26% discount).

If I could have one bike, it would be the Brompton, for all that it can do, which others can't. That said, my Swift is more pleasant to ride. I also have a Zizzo, which I do not need.

If money were no object I might get Birdy GT but given that I have a love-hate relationship with suspension, I have not been able to bring myself to do it. I have had two Moultons in the past, but I parted with them.

Interesting question. Problem is, I haven't ridden most of the choices. I've been told suspension Birdys ride nice. Brompton is perfect for multimode. I don't like to put tons of money into a bike, but I know, that's not a factor in this. Two choices:

Brompton G (20"/406) with a Rohloff hub/transmission. Bonus points for titanium.

At far less money, a Dahon Archer bifold from overseas, 2x10 per stock but quick swap for a 50/34 double instead of the 52/42 as I think it has originally. Lovely frame with extremely smooth welds (uncertain on the process for those) and the improved New Jaws Hinge with tapered-wedge internal jaws. But as a brand only per the poll choices, Dahon has lost a good deal of appeal to me.

Possibly a Tyrell Ive with 2X crank. I like the style of it.

My use case is not frequent folder, it's more racked and panniered townie.

For small-wheel mini-velo cool factor, I think nothing beats a chrome or stainless Moulton space-frame.

DAHON 40th Anniversary Carbon Fiber

20" Brompton... I have no other comments to make

If coolest mean most versatile, for me the Birdy is the best:
- Rides very efficiently (with derailleur or Rohloff) due to rigid frame, efficient transmission, efficient full suspension, wide tires.
- Rides also on unpaved roads/trails.
- Very comfortable.
- Adjustable position on the bike due to height and reach adjustable stem, adjustable seatpost setback, two different stems (sport and comfort).
- Folds not as small as the 16" Brompton but very small.
- Offer the best possibility to carry things: rear folding rack for big side pannier, front rack for low rider, Brompton block adapter fro Brompton front bag.

True story. Last summer I was pedaling out of town for a ride when a pedestrian yelled, "Nice bike!" I said thanks and continued on my ride.

A couple of months later, it happened again. "Nice bike!" "Thanks!"

Then last fall I posted a photo of the bike in a local park - just the bike on its kickstand in front of some tall wild grasses. One of the first comments was, "Nice bike!" It was the same guy. So next time I hear someone yell, "Nice bike!" I'll be sure to stop.

I took a deep breathe a couple of years ago and bought the most expensive bike I've ever purchased - the Bike Friday All-Packa. There's something about the look of big volume tires on a smaller bike that makes people smile. My guess is that it's got a quasi BMW bike look to it that appeals. Just like week on New York City's Five Boro Bike Tour, a couple of fellow participants rolled up and said, "Nice bike!" One fellow was on a 16" Brompton and said that he would get the All-Packa instead of the 20" Brompton G-Line. He said that the G-Line fell into an uncanny valley for his use-case - too big when folded and too compromised for big adventures. I'm curious about the G-line too, but my use case is 200-300 mile weeks with panniers, hills, and plates of carbs. You can do that on any bike with enough gumption, of course, but the All-Packa hits a lot of the right notes for me and my needs.

That said, I've always admired the Moultons but at this point I don't think that I'll ever own one. The Vello looks super cool too, as do the Birdys. And if there were more/larger tire options for the Helix, that would be cool too. That Tyrell posted above looks super cool, and a well-kitted Pocket Rocket Pro would be nice to try out - there's one for sale locally in bad shape, looks like it's been sitting and rusting out. Would need to strip it down to the frame, check for rust everywhere, and then repaint and hand all new running gear on it. I think I'll pass and still with the All-Packa for now.

nice bike !!!

Duragrouch , you never said what you’d take. Pony up. You’ve only got this one fantasy opportunity. 😉

The Helix is still my dream bike. Big wheels in a small fold, and that titanium finish is very cool.

I had also forgotten about the Helix.

But if I had to chose based on the thread title of coolness, I gotta go with the Moulton, a high-end model, if considered a folder; If I recall, it's unboltable in the middle of the truss. Even if no other reason, I consider the frame to be a work of art, and it would be in a position of view in a tastefully-decorated residence, fitting in well with my other industrial-modern pieces of furniture.

Iconic


Creator: Adam Gasson Credit: Adam Gasson Copyright: Adam Gasson / Bespoked

There's a 1983 AM2 in the collection of the Museum Of Modern Art NYC.

The aesthetics of this one does it for me, but I'd like disc brakes as shown in the post above:

In the collection but not currently on display.

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/88855

I was a big fan of Mini Coopers and Buckminster Fuller's geodesic domes growing up; the Moulton was part of that era.

Coolest high-end folder (demountable)? PennyFarthing Dan's Fold-up.


Yes, you can buy one. Yes, riders fly with these to far-off cycletour destinations and rallies.

Watching that front wheel being assembled made me question my faith.

I don't see how the spokes were tensioned up. Not by truing via each spoke. My guess is each hub flange can rotate with respect to each other, hence my seeing long levers employed, because the tensioning up was instant.

There's prolly some kind of ratchet mechanism in there. The spokes are fiber and all the same length,so I'm guessing you can just crank it tight and they're good.

My memory of the video showed fiber spokes, attached to metal ends near the rim, I'm sure threaded with nipples; I'm sure they need that for truing the wheel. Those high-strength fiber lines like aramid and UHMWPE have the stiffness of steel and don't stretch a hair, so that truing job should be pretty stable. Although... when folded up, the spokes go loose, so the spoke nipples could easily move; They'd need a means to prevent that, maybe a small nut locked against the nipple on the inboard side.

I'm new to Folders but if I had $4500CDN burning a hole in my pocket I would order a Helix Ultralight.
Made in Canada is an added bonus.....

Brompton. Any of them. I finally got one last year (C line, 6 speed). It just makes me smile.
Now tempted by the G line. Will test drive one when the opportunity comes.
I want to cheer on Bike Friday, domestic cool manufacturer. But. Mostly, they don't fold. They disassemble into a pile of parts.
Most of their bikes are not legitimately "folding" bikes.

True. I consider them "travel" bikes, which is how their advertising was oriented, never commuting, for their original models. Their later 16"/349 Tikit, and then Pakit, were designed for fast fold and commuting.

Since forever, folding bicycles have existed on a spectrum between smallest/fastest/most compact fold and minimizing the ride quality compromises of smaller wheels. Manufacturers have staked out their claim along that spectrum, but if they...

1. Fold, and
2. are bicycles

Then by definition, they are "folding bicycles". They may not be your preferred type, but they still are folding bicycles.

Interestingly, there's been a lot of admiration both here and in the greater folding community for a folding bicycle that doesn't technically fold:




While bicycles that use couplers are generally not considered folding bikes:



Source: No. 22 Bicycle Company



Which just proves my father's old aphorism that the English language (one of three languages that he spoke) is not based on logic but rather usage and acceptance.

Well the seat tube and rear triangle fold. The stem has a quick release and could be called disassembly. They're MOSTLY folding.

Between Brompton and Bike Friday, it comes down to whether one would want the faster, more compact fold, or the more efficient bike once ridden. Here's a 34 second video of a Bike Friday New World Tourist being folded and then unfolded.


It's not a much slower fold than a Brompton, if at all, but it is bigger and the stem is left loose.

It's for those reasons that I'm leaning toward a Bike Friday for my next folder. It will still easily fit in a car trunk or soft bag for train travel, but then isn't such a drain to pedal as something with an IGH.