Dynocoaster 

I have owned a truck load of folders and for an hour, a day, several days it is exciting and then I am ready for something else. The truth is I like folders but dont really need one. I just like the different models and I have purchased folders that I didnt even ride and moved on to another. My situation has changed that I dont have the funds to play around with trying different folders. I have a 2007 MUXL, 2009 Curve D3, Boardwalk, Raliegh Stowaway and Neobike built Brompton. I would like only one and again I rarely use it. Which one would you keep and why?

puppypilgrim

For me, I would choose the one with an aluminum frame, the stiffest handlebar setup and was capable for a rear rack and front basket. I would convert it to a singlespeed of about 65 gear inches (no higher). The aluminum frame would resist rusting. Singlespeed makes maintenance as easy as oiling the chain and adjusting the brakes. I just remounted a rack on my singlespeed converted Dahon SL and strapped my bag on it and rode to my kickboxing class. 8.5 km in 24 minutes door-to-door (obeying all traffic rules) which is an average of 21.25 km/h (13.2 mph).
This provides the cargo carrying capacity I need, the size of fold where I can put the bike in the trunk of a car, and enough speed so I feel like I'm getting to places at a reasonable time.

Dynocoaster 

I would like to see a photo of your converted SL. I had wanted to do that to the MUXL as I like the MU Uno.

nekohime

Of the folders you have, I'd keep the MuXL and the Brompton, as they seem to be the best all-around bikes in your stable. What are the specs on those two bikes?

I found the perfect folder that met my needs and desires by asking lots of questions and thinking really hard about what I want in a bike. I analyzed my riding style (pootler all the way), what I would use it for (commuting, shopping, and general pootling about), and where I would need to keep it (onboard transportation, and in small spaces), and the M6L Brompton was the folder that was right for all my needs. I would like to put a Rohloff on it eventually to make it the ultimate bike for everything ever, but right now it suits me just fine.

kegoguinness

I have a Bike Friday Pocket Crusue and a ticket. The Crusoe is custom built, 24 speeds; the Tikit is off-the-shelf 8-speeds. If I had to do it all over again, I might go with a custom Tikit to combine the fit and speed (number of gears) of my Crusoe, and the excellent fold of the Tikit. I like to keep things simple and uncluttered. One bike to rule them all...

vmaniqui

that's a really good question. up until now i am still finding my real folder. but of all your bikes, keep the MU...

Dynocoaster 

Just curious but why the MU? I find the design great but hate the color.

nekohime

It is super light and rides like a dream. Plus it can always be painted, if you want.

ddez

Had a couple of other folders first,both far too fiddly folding and also too flexy feeling. Went to my regular LBS to visit and he had just got dealer rights to sell Brompton. I rode one and ordered after some research. Liked that i could order how i wanted it,and i also like the Brompton way of doing things,re:not changing for sake of change and all new stuff can fit older models as well. etc. Actually im not much for high tech,i like things simple,so Brompton which isnt high tech works for me. I like that its solid feeling and steel.
My only other contender after the above fiddly bikes was the Bike Friday. It was a close decision. I would still entertain owning a BF if i needed two folders. But would not change my first choice Brompton.

vik 

I would keep the bike you like and use the most.

Personally I bought a Dahon..rode it...figured out what I liked and didn't like then solved my dislikes with a Bike Friday Tikit. Since I've been very happy with my Tikit I haven't felt the need to switch brands/models. If I hadn't liked the Tikit I would have sold it and tried something else.

If you are just picking from bikes you own then you are the best and only person who can pick the bike you should keep.

BWP

It was a dark and stormy night. I was at the back of the bar as usual. Gleaming and black, she rolled in and leaned up against one of the booths at the front. I asked the barkeep' to send her a drink...

John Cook

How do you pick a pet cos thats what it becomes..Had my red basic model brommie for 10 years..Better models are around inc upgrades of the same but wouldnt swap.inspite of age faults and annoyances and the desire of the Bike vet to have it put down...I would advise anyone thinking of a Brommie not to buy second hand they are hard to come by and a go for silly prices on ebay etc..A service to make as good as new could bring it up to new price

SesameCrunch

Direct answer to the question posed in the title of this thread - Trial and Error.

That's been my method for choosing folding bikes.
Not the most efficient, but certainly fun.

PS: I'm still trialing and erroring.

vmaniqui

updated. wrong post.

Sammyboy

In your scenario, I would keep the Brompton. If you don't really NEED a folding bike, it's hard to fit one to your needs, but on the day you do need one, you'll never wish it folded bigger. I'm happy to be keeping my Downtubes and Raleigh 20 when I buy my Brompton, cos they're great for a variety of occasions, but foldability is the big thing a folding bike has to offer, and if I had to have only one, it'd probably be the most foldable.

rhm

From the ones you list, I'd probably keep the Brompton. But I'd have to try them all first.

Leo H.

Based on what you wrote, I think you have 2 decisions to help you choose. Why do you have a folder and all those different folders? FOR ME, I bought one for the occasional putt around town and to have handy in a car to extend or cut off further car travel on certain trips. That is my motivation for the purchase. However, I wouldn't dream of having an ordinary bike, so I ended up purchasing a Bickerton and I'm tickled with my out of the box choice. I like the novelty of it, the story behind the bike and for my uses, it fills the bill. If I had the money, after watching a program about the designer, I'd have bought a Biomega Puma 8 spd.
To my way of thinking your choice is, do you prefer the performance and utility of one bike over the others or do you want the looks and comments possible from any of the other choices from a stable?

folder fanatic

Actually I am in the process of elimination of 2 of my folders right now. One (my 2006 16" Piccolo) is even put up for sale here right now at Craigslist: https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/bik/1854470295.html

The other (the Boardwalk) will become a "donor" bike for my Raleigh Twenty very soon. Afterwards it will be donated in parts to my local Bike Co-op. That will leave only 2 bikes (one will be my "main" bike & the other will be my "back-up"). This will be a manageable arrangement for me right now and in the near future both financially & space wise. I would say please do not to be in a hurry to send off your collection until some time passes and you will see which ones(s) have to go or stay and why. I took around 2 months to give it some careful thought of what bikes stay or go and how I wanted to proceed with the elimination part of my project. Don't have any regrets that you cannot change or undo.

When you buy another folding bike in the future (or anything else for that matter), think on the lines of keeping it for a long period of time. That is like a "cold shower" in not getting a bit overboard with these little gems. I know I want to take home all of them, too!

P.S. I would vote for the Brompton as mine will never be sold off. I love it so much as my forever main bike! My recently purchased & currently in restoration & updating Raleigh Twenty will be my back-up.

bored117 

I took a little different approach on mine. I read here for about a month. Couldn't decide, etc. Grabbed a real cheap folder (freebie from friend... which used to sell at $50 or so from e-bay while back). Rode it for commuting for about a month noticing what is missing, what is good, etc.
Once my requirements were better defined, I test drove 2 primary candidate I had in mind after browsing here for nearly 2 months... Tikit & Dahon Speed TR.
Did like them both quite a bit but the scale of economy (comparably equipped tikit with hyperfold vs speed tr 2008 was about 3 times off in price difference brand new) and the availability of TR just sealed the deal. It indeed suits my need and desire. I fold it unfold it 2 or 4 times a day typically and ride about 50 miles a week (increasing as I am getting back in shape) for commute/pleasure.
One thing for sure is, I did catch folderite in that short time and now desiring after tikit now (probably with upcoming 11 speed hub). Maybe when I regularly ride 100 miles a week it may be justifiable...

badrad

i did the wallyworld thing, i saw it one day while shopping and thought it might be cool and neat to have a folding bike handy in the trunk. nah - it rode like crap, and not knowing any better at the time, and so it sat in the basement for those rare occasions that a folding bike might come in handy. it was a crap bike, so those times rarely came. then one day a few years later another sale - at canuck tire and there was a folding Schwinn. like i learned my lesson? no, bought another crap bike, but hey - it was on sale. so then i had 2 crap bikes sitting in the basement. the gears were horrible - i pedaled like a hamster in a wheel - going nowhere, brakes rarely stopped me from piling past intersections. only thing nice were the boing boing seat springs, which kept boing boing even at full stop.

fast forward a few years, a couple dahon jacks later, to my current commuter - the MuSL which rarely sees an idle day. so i learned my lesson. try to be realistic and identify why you need a folder, do your research on all possible models that fit your need and then buy the best you can afford at the time.

Dynocoaster 

Or a Rohloff 14 speed and 2 speed crank set.

Dynocoaster 

Thanks for all the replies. The Mu is staying and the rest are going. I am going to order a 2 speed SA hub and swap out the 8 speed hub. I will keep you posted on how that works out.

lawrencehare

My story? Why I ride a Moulton! For two reasons. First, I remember my love for them so well.

I grew up in the south of England, Sussex, and when my learn-to-ride Raleigh gave up the ghost Dad bought me a Moulton F-Frame, I rode it everywhere, I lived on it. 3-speed Sturmey-Archer, plastic saddle, saddlebag - the giant one that came with the F-Frames in those days - and I loved it totally.

Then I went to Italy and from there to California and my F-Frame languished in the garage back home. Eventually my parents gave it to the cleaning lady and - I think (hope) - it resides in her husband's garage from where I am trying to recover it and rebuild it. She is long since gone but her husband still wanders around the old village doing jobs here and there for beer money.

In California I bought a 1974 Mondia Campagnolo, 10-speed, which I belted around on, jarring my old bones and commuting. And then, ten years ago, I moved east, got married, and found myself in a job where I can commute again after a period of years where my office was too far to get to on a bike.

And so the second reason, I decided my bones had been jarred enough and wondered if I could get a Moulton again. Indeed yes it turned out. The company had been sold, folded, restarted and a new line of bikes created, so I found a US dealer and got a TSR 8.

It is not strictly a folding bike, it is classified as a separable, and indeed I do separate it and stick it in the trunk of the car for various reasons. But it is my main commute bike. It is rigid, solid, very comfortable with its suspension and Brooks saddle. The Sturmey-Archer 8-speed is adequate although I sometimes wish for a wider and closer range, but I have always liked in-hub gearing and the ability to change gears whenever I wish. I have an Arkel Trailrider on the rear rack with a Brooks Glenbrook hanging from the saddle - and that latter with its straps takes me back every time I use it!

I have a 28 mile round trip and find the Moulton with its combination of bags perfect. I miss the Mondia and very nearly sold it last year, but when push came to shove I could not part with it. I ride it on occasions, but the Moulton and me are joined at the hip...

Well, saddle - as it were...

Urbanis

Like SesameCrunch, I find it's still trial and error for me. In 2 years I have owned and ridden 6 different folding bikes--a Downtube 8H, Downtube Mini, 1980's Peugeot, Downtube Nova, Dahon Speed P8, and (since Friday) a Xootr Swift. I have noticed that over those 2 years my needs have shifted. At first, a compact fold was important, as was a price point under $500. As time has passed, I find I'm more concerned with how powerfully and quickly I can travel on my bike, and less concerned with how small the bike folds, as long as it can fit in a car trunk. I'm also willing to spend more on a bike.

I have great hopes that the Swift may be my perfect bike--I have loved riding it so far, and I am quite entranced with its robust, simple, and elegant form. It is also the lightest folder I've owned to date.

A couple of years ago I tried a Brompton. It has an amazing, compact fold, but truthfully I didn't like how it felt to ride.

As I said earlier, trial and error. If at some point, I feel the folding bike is no longer meeting my needs, I sell it and find a new one. There are so many different types of folding bikes out there, each engineered to solve a specific problem, that it can take awhile to find the one that makes the right trade-offs for your situation.

But, to play devil's advocate, Dynocoaster, if you really *don't need* a folding bike, why clutter up your life with one (unless it's a back-up bike, or a guest bike)? Over-consumption of resources is killing our planet.