Hello,

I fly for a living and get to go to lots of cool places. And usually these are great places to ride a bike, except I don't have one with me. I've thought for a while that it'd be great to have a nice folding bike I could take with me but hadn't really looked seriously.

I ride roads, I don't do anything off-road or unpaved trails.

What companies should I look at? I've been perusing the forum and have looked at Dahon, they seem to have some nice folding road bikes.

A few other questions. None of the bikes I've seen have drop bars but a few have TT bars. Can I put drop ends on the flat bar bikes? What about the pedals? I'd like to put on clip-less but 1) Some of the bikes have special, folding pedals and 2) How far would the pedals stick out from the folded bike?

Bike Friday make the Pocket Rocket and Pocket Rocket Pro with drops and STI. They use very good quality components like Shimano, Campag and Sram and the build quality is good. The fold is not as small or quick as other brands.
Other companies like Birdy, Swift and even high end Dahons are worth a look, but most come with flat bars, Moulton and Pacific make bikes with drops.

Yes you can use drop ends on flat bars, but there are some issues you need to consider.
1: If you retain the flat bar shifters and brake levers you will not have brake levers on the drops, which if you are a serious roadie might feel odd and might take time to get used to. If I was to to this I would install a set of tandem stoker "dummy" hoods so I could use the extra reach that drops provide.
2: You can change to STI so you can use drops, but if the bike comes with Vbrakes as a lot of Dahons do, you will have use travel agents to get enough "pull" on the brake cable for effective braking.

If you don't need to fold the pedals then clip less are OK.

The possibilities are endless...well, almost!

I suggest you start here

https://www.bikefriday.com/node/1667

Try the quick release pedals too. They may reduce your bike footprint further.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/pedals.html#folding

I'll get one for myself soon.

I second the MKS quick release pedals.

And if you want a small fold, flat bars are tough to beat. I put a set of Ergon grips on my Birdy and it helps a lot on longer rides.

https://www.ergon-bike.com/gb/en/product/gr2

That said, I don't think I'd be happy riding the Birdy more than 40 miles or so at a stretch. There's definitely something lost in riding a small wheel bike, at least in my experience. (Moultons or some of the more touring oriented Bike Friday's may be a different story, but they don't fold like a Birdy or Brompton.)

I fly for a living too and have had two folding bikes for weekend layovers. It's an awesome way to pass the time and great transportation when your airline sticks you in a hotel far, far away from everything.

I presently use a Bike Friday Pocket rocket.
.
https://s164.photobucket.com/albums/u11/bicycleflyer/

It is equipped with Shimano 8-speed/triple using barcons. The drop bars split in the middle for packing. The whole bike fits in a samsonite 30" suitcase to which I fitted a luggage strap. I can roll all my luggage on that samsonite and I carry my 4 jepp case on the top. I can asseble the bike, or pack it in about 10 minutes.

I am sure you have learned from years of traveling experience "Less is more". Take the same approach to your travel bike. Keep the crap to a minimum. The less you have installed, the less you have to remove, or reinstall each time you pack the bike. If you can do without a computer, do it. I use a basic forerunner 101 as my cyclocomputer. Don't bother with water bottles.. just go with a hydration pack. The size will depend on how much water you wish to carry and how much cargo space you need. I use a camelbak HAWG, it supplies all my water and cargo needs and it packs completely flat for easy packing. As for cycling shoes, do you really need to carry another pair? I prefer to use the aforementioned MKS quck release pedals. I use powergrip straps and just use my street shoes. The powergrips are as close to clip-less as I have ever used.

I can go on and on.... but I will stop here. If there is something specific you want to know, just ask.

there's also the possibility of S&S couplers

When I researched it in 2007, the only popular bikes that fit a suitcase and duplicated road bike geometry were Bike Friday and Swift. I got a Friday with drop bars. It is set up like my tour bike with handlebars at seat height, but they could easily go lower. They build it to your specs. I test rode a Bromptom but it was too upright for my taste - however it probably is easier for mixed mode commuting since it rolls like carry-on luggage when folded. The Bike Friday takes 10-20 minutes to assemble or disassemble for suitcase packing, but can also be fast-folded in 30 seconds to pop in a car trunk or closet.

I have folding platform pedals. I prefer platforms anyway, since I am mainly a commuter. It seems from an earlier post (above) that you can also get folding clipless pedals. One risk with non-folding pedals, is that you have to remove them to pack the bike, and each time you reinstall them, there is a slight chance of accidentally stripping the crank threads. I know, I did it.

I have a Swift with some Sakae randoneur drops, Big Apples, LP brakes, and Suntour barend shifters. It takes 5-8 seconds to fold, and it rides really nice. The bike shop guy much preferred it over the Dahon Speed TT.

While I ride on platforms, I second the MKS quick-release pedals if that's your think.
Only downside is that it folds sort of big, and I've been rejected from muni with it.

Sorry, back to your question. Yes it probably is possible to put drops on your bike if:
1. you can add a compatible stem.
2. you use LP brakes or ProblemSolvers (for STI)
3. you have a pair of drops, and some shifting system compatible with yours (I use barends)

-matt

Another vote for Bike Friday. You can definitely get drop bars, and spec out whatever parts you want, with the BF.

A bike with S&S couplers or the Ritchey Breakaway frame is a good option, but my understanding is that the cost is about the same, and a BF is easier to pack. In your case, I'd only go with S&S if you really wanted (and have the budget for) a carbon fiber travel bike.

The only hitch is that doubles and triples don't really work well on BF's. If you want a decent gearing range, you should opt for the SRAM DualDrive.

I have a triple crank and a Capreo cassette that create a wide gear range suitable for loaded touring if I ever do it. Something like 21 to 106 gear inches

Where do you get that from? I have a triple and it works flawlessly and all parts are easily available at any LBS. Fixing a flat on the rear is easy and conventional because you can remove the wheel much easier than the duel drive. A friend of mine has the NWT with the sram and he now wishes he had gotten a FD w/triple.

The attached picture below was posted by msincredible with a Birdy in a Samsonite 29"Oyster suitcase. She does slight disassembly by removing the pedals, wheels and seatpost . Take her 10 mins or so to pack and a bit longer to set up. Very nifty and protect the bike very well.

https://paularickert.net/albums/userpics/packbike21.JPG

This may give you some aspect to think about before deciding which bike to get. I find packing a bike on airlines is a major issue .

I got it from Vik and other posters here, actually. IIRC he recently did up a BF NWT, and switched to the SRAM DualDrive due to issues with the triple.

While MsIncredible does a lot of travel with her Birdy, I would not recommend the Birdy for someone trying to replicate a roadie bike ride.

You can put drop bars on all Dahons easily. The Mu Ex, for example, comes with Syntace VRO. Just take care that diameter is MTB standard, not road standard.

As well the cranks and pedal holes are just standard. You can use any you want. If they have an Allen hole, you can detach one pedal in 10 secs for traveling. Total suitcase disassembly takes me 2 min (Dahon Mu SL). Packing into the suitcase can take another 5 min because of tight space (depending on suitcase) & proper padding.

There are also MKS quick release clip pedals available, but I prefer just standard to be screwed off.

If you want a bike that would be on par with your road cycle assuming your into performance then you should go with either the Bike Friday Pocket Rocket Pro or one of their Air Bikes. You can spec them exactly with the same components as your road bike. For instance mine an Air Bike is all Shimano Ultegra. However if you go this route the down side is that your wallet will hurt......ouch!!!!!!

Where did you get that from**********????

I have 2 Bike Fridays one with a SRAM Dual Drive and the other with a Triple. I have never had any issue what so ever with the triple on my BF. From my experience with both;the big down side with the Dual Drive is the lack of a quick release and weight penalty.

As others here have said, they work just fine. Nothing wrong with the function of them at all.



However ... when folded the derailleur is susceptible to being knocked out of alignment, which can definitely be a hassle.