What sort of bike brands are under15lbs - and easy to fold up? Any carbon folders out there?

For awhile, I've been looking for a folder that is under 15 lbs. Something easy for a woman to carry and it only has to support a person under 130 (including pack). It does not have to be a "10 speed"

They exist, but let's say they're expensive.

I"m surprised at the prices $$$$ I was thinking that a bike that's ridden once in a while would run around $300-500. NOT!

The Dahon hammerhead 8.0 on another thread runs around 17lbs. Maybe a used light folder would be the way to go. Are there any big kid folders that would fit the bill?

I think the Dahon Mu Uno may come close, but it's not available yet.

Folding bikes generally are heavier than road bikes because of the complexity of the folding mechanism involved. But Swifts can get under 20 pounds; The Dahon MU SL is 19.4 pounds, basically the lightest compact folder around; a used Dahon Helios runs around 22 pounds.

Wow, 15 lbs that are 7kg. You are in the realm of super lightweight sport carbon bikes. Carbon is not very suitable for a "to be lugged around daily folder" at least so do the makers think, some here have different opinion. If you want 15 lbs that would be probably only possible as a "project"/custom made (like the link to Rob English's super light project Bike Friday) and those are expensive of course. Even 17lbs is a challenge. I have not seen any kids folders yet and kids bikes (to be abused and used shortly) seem to be rather cheap and therefore heavy in comparison.
The Dahon Mu Uno will be about 21lbs. The Dahon hammerhead weight is stated with 18lbs (8,3kg) and that's without pedals.

If you can arrange with 8,15 kg (18 lbs) and a bike that can be rolled when folded, look at the Carryme, the best "ultra small wheeler" imho:
https://www.pacific-cycles.com
Or look at the A-Bike said to be "the world's smallest, lightest bike - only 5.5kg!"

I won't expect the Uno to be *that* light. My singlespeed Dahon Mu is pretty much what an Uno is, with a couple of heavier bits (v-brakes, drop bar) and lighter ones (no coaster brake hub, lightweight saddle, lightweight seatpost) and it comes in at 22lbs with marathon racers. Even the Mu XXV registers somewhere near 18lbs. Could be even heavier now that they're swapping the Mg frame for Al.

No, if a folder is to get anywhere near 15lbs, it won't be a Dahon Mu.

I wouldn't say your expectations are completely off.

Problem is that when it comes to nonfolding bikes only high end bikes which are meant to be ridden a lot or even professionally are under 15 pounds. Since the main marketing strategy of most folding bike manufacturers is to emulate nonfolding bikes you'll find that most light weight folding bikes have the same characteristics.

There are, however, exceptions. There's the A-Bike which is 12 pounds and costs around $250. There's also the Carryme which costs around $400-$500 and although it weighs in at 17-18 pounds I think mine is now around 15 pounds after about $130 of upgrades. There's also the Mini125 and the Zerobike, but those will be difficult to get in the US.

Mind you, light weight bikes seem to always sacrifice comfort and the bikes listed are no different. However, in these cases for the folding ability you're also going to be sacrificing your expectation of appearance and for the low price you're going to sacrifice some speed.

The hammerhead doesn't fold and kid bikes are going to weigh more due to the cheap components. If you really don't plan on doing that much riding then one of the bikes listed above should be fit the bill.

Hello somnatash, I've just been reading some of your interesting posts on the BromptonTalk forum :-)

It looks like the Hammerhead 8 is only available in the Far East:

https://www.dahon.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=5603

I too would like one, as the 7 is really nice, but as has been pointed out, doesn't fold.

As I've posted before, I enjoyed my rather short ride (indoors) of a Carry-Me a year ago at the London Cycle show, but I'd need to ride it in darkness & pouring rain before deciding to buy it, so I'll be interested to read about your experiences with yours, & any puncture repairs you do :-)

How about something that easily rolls when folded, would that make up for the "easy to carry" part?

Really, its been long since I've been there.

Ah well, rain...
One problem with the Carryme is the rather poor braking power, which will be worse in rain. While eg. makeinu stripped the rear brake to save weight, I personally feel, I need the two of them urgently. I might even upgrade with magura HS33. Not sure how much improvement that could mean - where "the poor" derives from.

darkness: that should be doable with some strong battery lights, why not? Sudden pottholes and gravel are much better to handle than expected.

Have the bike shortly, nu punctures yet.

With > 40000 posts, it's taking a long time........ ;-)

You do still have your Brompton, or does your new CM cover all your needs?

Yes, it's important to know where a forum contributor is posting his experience from. My experience of North American weather is often vastly different from Northern Europe!

I have just under 200 lumens now with my 2 AA cells (but only for 90 minutes or so) :-)


That's what I was thinking about, so, good to know, especially with our rapidly shortening Northern European days!

That's good. Can you get spare tubes & tyres ok where you are?

???

Of course, the brompton is loved and used and actually my bromptonstable is growing and the Carryme is a different fellows altogether.

thats true, but there might be a tiny misunderstanding here, with "where the poor" derives from, I did not mean neither me nor makeinu but "the poor braking power". ..

The Carryme is a sweet bike and a light one, in so far I hope this was interesting for the threadstarter - but please cyclistjohn, feel free to pm me for further questions about the Carryme or Brompton, I dont feel to go too much off topic

That's disappointing - I was working on the principle that the MuSL is listed at 19.4 lbs. Removing the gears and all the extraneous stuff that goes with it should remove at least 3 - 4 lbs.

I was intending to buy a Mu Uno when they come out, (I prefer single speed bikes) but it sounds a bit lardy at 22lbs with 20" wheels.

Have you ever weighed the frame and fork of your bike?

+2

I was wondering when someone was going to question the assumption that the bike had to be carried

OP See: Mobiky, Strida.

Regards
T

Josef - some great pictures - any chance you could set up a thread saying what you did and how?

Ta

AFAIK it has to be folded up to go on the bus or get up several flights of stairs. I guess it can't get carried onto an airplaine then. So the 15 lbs would be nice.

no stock folder will be 7kg..you can try to modify one..dahon vitesse frame weighs around 2.4kg..use a single 12T cassette at the rear..55T and 50T chainring at the front..use shimano dura-ace track hub..and many many more..up to your own imagination and budget..

@datako: converting the Mu P8 gears to singlespeed drops 1kg (2.2lbs) from the bike. With the lightweight bits already on the Mu SL, it's probably closer to 600g. Also the Mu SL weight quoted on the Dahon site is without pedals. I've never stripped the bike to the bare frame, but won't be too far off foldie's Vitesse above.

@mroli: thanks for the comment. The drop bar thing started because the flat bar hurt my wrists on longer rides. After losing the kickstand, rack and fenders, the bike went down from 12+kg to a more manageable 11.3kg. I wanted to lose more weight though, and having owned a singlespeed folder before the idea appealed a lot. So off came the original transmission, and on came shimano BMX 14t cog. A DIY chain tensioner rounds the conversion. The bike now stands at 10kg with butchered seatpost from a Speed P8 and a lightweight(ish) Velo saddle.

Even with super-duper weight-weenie special components and brakeless fixed gear, I don't think you'll get near 7kg with a Mu. The Mu XXV is 7.6kg (quoted) without pedals, and the only (sensible) way to go lighter from there would be carbon bar and post, painful saddle, and fixed gear.

Where did you get that stat for the vitesse frame, foldie?

Posture when carrying the bike is just as important as the bike's dead weight. It is not always the dead weight of the bike that makes it easy or hard to carry. Its weight distribution when folded can be a large factor, when we're talking about a 15-30 pound range. Greater ease can result from using one's total body musculature and leverage, from not straining one muscle group, from being able to hold the bike closer to one's body, and so on.

You should try to carry some bikes and judge for yourself. Judging from weight alone could lead you down the wrong path. Take a look at this Mobiky video and at this Strida video or this one. The tall Strida can be rolled and/or held in front of one's body. The short Mobiky has a handle that makes it into a brief case for carrying at one's side. One could be a lot easier to tote than the other even if their weight were identical; it would depend on the person carrying.

Regards
T

You're right. I took a photo of the bits taken off my HammerHead when I converted it to singlespeed.

Looks like weight saving will be have to be done in other areas too.

Wow that Mobiky video really shows how portable the bike is....even in and out turnstyles.

>>You should try to carry some bikes and judge for yourself. Judging from weight alone could lead you down the wrong path. Take a look at this Mobiky video and at this Strida video.

To the contrary, the Mobiky video is enormously misleading. The Mobiky Genius is 30 freaking pounds! It's well heavier than any bike I have ever ridden on. Heck, my heavily loaded-down Tikit is 26.5 pounds. This is supposed to be portable?

Not exactly a bike, but it could be what you need depending on your commute. Xootr scooters are excellent for bimodal commuting, as long as the human powered leg of the commute isn't too hilly or long. It weighs around 10 lbs and it folds up easily to be taken aboard a train or bus. It is excellent here at the streets of Manhattan, as you can scoot fast on the road or at low speed on the sidewalk. I love mine (my family has 4!).