A New Pair of Giants
 

Last Friday evening my lady and I visited the LBS. The owner had mentioned a few weeks ago he would love to make a deal on a "Halfway" he had in the shop. My wife and I have been enjoying our el cheapo Schwinns for a few years and decided it was time to treat ourselves to some new folders. Mr. LBS was happy to oblige.http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=264804http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=264805http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=264807

I now have a black "Halfway" and Ms.browngw has white "expressway". Now we have to get them rigged with racks and bags for what we call light touring (mostly daytrips) and find a good home for the Tangos.

Nice! They look sturdy, how do they ride?

Only had a few rides so far but am really impressed. They are stiff and handle more like a longer wheelbase bike. When we test rode them, we immediately were surprised at the ease we gathered speed. Our LBS offered to let us try them for the weekend, but we were sold after a test ride in town and onto the local rail trail (crushed limestone).
The "Halfway" has higher end components than the white "Expressway" but both are a very solid ride. I havent weighed them yet but suspect they each weigh around 25lbs.

I was recently turned on to a website dedicated specifically to 1-2 day bike tours. It lists suggested rides for all over North America, but I included the S. Ontario one in the link just for you: http://bikeovernights.org/post/a-dad...uthern-ontario

Enjoy your new bikes :)

Doesn't the Halfway only have one front fork arm (tine?)? Is that true? Do you notice any difference?

Certainly found it to be at least as solid feeling as the conventional Expressway. The big advantage is in how neatly and tight it folds. I'm a fairly large guy 6ft 190lb and the bike feels really rigid. If you expand the thumbnails the pictures show both the mono fork and mono chainstay.

Congrats to your new toy. I have been eyeing the same bike (Halfway) to replace my Schwinn Tango.

I'd be very interested in a bit more details about your Giant Halfway. Does it have any mechanism to hold the bike together once it is folded (magnets like Dahon and Tern?), and if so, how well do they seem to work when rolling the bike? How well aligned are the wheels when folded? I would love to see some more detailed shots of the bike when folded. Congratulations on your new additions.

I tried taking a few shots last night. The ball/clip joint that holds it folded keeps the wheels in alignment and rolling easily.

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The flat clamshell folding pedal seems really solid. The final pic is the whole works in the supplied bag.

Thanks, that helps a lot. I had a feeling that the little piece off of the axle was to clip the wheels together. That sort of securing method with the perfectly aligned wheels look really well thought out.

Touring with the Giants
 

Thanks for the link. Lots of interesting places to travel!

Have started to get the bikes ready. We found some "Voyager" seatpost racks that can accomodate our existing Louis Garneau 16 Litre bags or the smaller top bag. The racks are adjustable, removable and can carry 10Kg/22lbs.

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how heavy is the giant halfway?

With rack and lights about 26 lbs.

That is slick (the narrowness of it). It appears that the wheels are aligned so that you can wheel the bike around without it leaning to one side while folded, yes?

Not so solid I am afraid, unless they make them different now. My son broke one just after we bought it (he is a "masher"). First we had some problems with opening and closing it. I lubed it and it worked for a short time. Then it broke.

Yes.

Interesting view on halfway, never riden one but knew an owner of one well and he said brakes were poor. But his was an older model, how are brakes?
Often its a case of upgrading pads and cables if problem.

Brakes are better than expected. My wifes Expressway uses V brakes similar to our giant hybrids. The halfway uses a road style caliper. The levers are cast with a nice rubber insert.
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