Hi all,

I have owned a mountain bike for years and really enjoy riding. I just moved outside Manhattan and now have a much longer commute. I am thinking of bringing a folding bike onto the LIRR and ride from Penn Station down to my office in Soho. My budget is flexible but probably on the low- to mid-range. Ideally something safe/sturdy and fairly compact; gears and speed aren't that important to me.

Location: Queens/Manhattan
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 135lbs

Thanks for any advice!

Welcome. You will get a lot of information from the folks here, but might I suggest that you first take a look at this thread https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ead-this-FIRST , and in the meantime some of our experts will surely come on board and help.

One of the best and most compact folder that I know of is the Brompton. It's a bit pricey, but it's easy to carry on and off a bus/train and will even fit in the overhead compartment of an airplane. Forgive me if I sound pro Brompton, but its because I own one .

Good luck

Wayne

fits in a compartment inside a plane ... depends on the plane .... and it is surely not legal to do so as the Brommie weighs just a little bit more than the allowed 20 lbs. For somebody who has been on a flight where most of those doors opened up and all that stuff was flying around in the cabin it is further of no question to me, to never pack anything hard and heavy in those overheads.
Besides although small it never fits inside the measuring cases which are located on most gates.
But I digress....

You almost want a simple ( but good riding ) one speed ( or two speed automatic ) bike, no thrills very easy to fold, reasonable light.
Dahon Mu uno comes to mind as well as Tern Uno or Tern Verge DUo .... OR a Tern Link Duo custom bike for an attractive price ?
( that would be my choice, but I am biased ..just a little )

thor

Given your location, check out NYCeWheels and Bfold. I've personally never been to either, but heard good things about both.

For that short distance, a 20" wheeled single speed from Dahon or Tern would work well .. Mu Uno, Link Uno, Verge Uno, Speed Uno .. all good fold-in-half bikes that are simple and ride well.. with the Mu or Verge, you could add a belt drive down the rode if desired (I did with a Mu) .. all the bikes listed above will take a SRAM 2 speed easily if you felt you needed another gear.. also, keep an eye out on your local Craigs List .. lots of bikes will get the job done, but if it were me, I'd keep it as simple as possible.

Here's a guy who was able to fit two Brommies in an overhead compartment. One for him and one for his wife. I actually met these fine folks at the bike shop where I bought my Brommie. Two engineers that fly all over the place with the bikes. They mentioned they have had no issues -- so far .

https://instagram.com/p/e2VP2EgZKx/

Here's the website they started: https://www.bromptonmafia.com/ . Just slide down through the photos and you will find a few shots of them on the plane.

Cheers
Wayne

Good idea. You shouldn't be too far from them. Check out their videos on youtube. Peter from NYCEwheels tests out a number of the bikes they sell.

I understand Still Peddling .... there are folks out there who dont think that the rules are for them to follow and dont care if somebody gets killed by a flying brompton.


plain size wise a Dahon Curve does the trick as well, actually a nice 3 speed bike, which also rides surprisingly well. Has good brakes and acceptable weight. https://www.thorusa.com/dahon/technical/brommy.htm

Here's the text from their website .. pretty much what Thor said, it depends on the plane/airline:

[MENTION=52801]tommylane[/MENTION] we’ve found that it really depends on the airline. Southwest is generally great about everything so we usually fly with them.
We’ve had good experiences on American and United Express/Skywest. Even got the captain riding around on the tarmac on a small commuter flight in California.
US Airways this weekend was a mixed bag. In Phoenix they were cool about it, but asked us to gate check with return to the gate on landing which was good. At JFK there was a person posted outside the security line intercepting people who had bags that looked like they wouldn’t fit in the sizer. US Airways charges everyone for checked bags so it appeared to be a fee recovery program there.
In any case the Dimpa bag is a good thing to carry since if the bike has to go below, it has some protection and nice carrying handles. Then when your not using it it’s light and folds up very small. And it’s also totally disposable since it’s so cheap.

I guess they ran into a bit of a bother since I spoke with them. I hate to have a problem at the gate and end up having to check it through regular luggage. It would be worth getting the hard shell case for sure.

Then theres the Tikit, From Bike Friday. Fastest fold with one of the best riding positions for a folder.

Oregon made Tikits have more custom choices than most folders, and are made in a few sizes.

Most companies only make 1.

Warning! My opion of Origami is severly biased.

Take a look at the Origami Crane or Cricket. Both are 20" 7-speed models that should meet your needs. www.origamibicycles.com