Help - 20" Wheel Folding Bike

[secret_squirrel]

Dahon is probably the best on a budget. Secondhand you will find one under £400. You will struggle to get a brompton or a birdy under that. The one big advantage of the latter two is a more compact fold. Don't expect too much room left in the boot for anything except a brompton. My birdy takes up at least 1/3 of the boot in my merc estate!

Generally you can fold a folder in the time it takes to release the front brake and unspin the qr's on an mtb. Also bear in mind they may only fit with the back seat down.

I don't know if a train is involved but officially you are only allowed to take 18" wheels and under - I've never seen it enforced though.

A wild card choice would be a strida looks silly and basically folds into a long pole but I see 2-3 on my commute regularly chasing down brommy's.

 

[hamster]

Mezzo is also recommended. CTC gave a good write-up compared to a Brompton, especially for a taller rider.

 

[secret_squirrel]

The other suggestion I would have is stay away from anything with dérailleur gears - they just maximise the opportunity for the chain to fall off - and oily hands ruin your working day. If you want gears go for hub gears but be aware that the current newish (alfine, imode etc) range of hubs don't have the best road range as the have too many high gears as they are aimed at the offroad/hybrid market. The sturmey archer hubs are a far better choice.

 

[Chute55uk]

get one of these (seen at cycle surgery)

 

[secret_squirrel]

Dear Lord that looks heavy - and at £700 is straying into Brompton territory.

Strida pic for giggles. Cannondale Leftie owners take note at the red hot dual disc singlesided hub action.

 

[Chute55uk]

pretty sure the original strada's that halfords sold were made from plastic, they were epic in a kind of sinclair c5 way

 

[dyna-ti]

Take a gander at your local bike recyclers,bound to be one somewhere as theyre all the rage these days.
These recyclers get a lot of peoples 70 and 80's bikes and a lot of folders amongst them.

 

[velomaniac]

70's/80's folders do tend to be heavy, fold in half only and be crude. Bickertons are oldschool and very compact but are an aquired taste as the handlebars move around in use.
Stridas are a great laugh and handle quite well but tend not to be good for taller riders. The seat moves up and forward shortening the cockpit of the taller rider which is counter intuative.

 

[KDM]

You could always go for one of these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Moulton-New-S ... 338495574a

But in the real world Brompton are like Apple, hugely overpriced but they have a fanboy following who will pay the over the top prices. Your need will decide your budget and then the bike

 

[secret_squirrel]

the real world Brompton are like Apple, hugely overpriced but they have a fanboy following who will pay the over the top prices. Your need will decide your budget and then the bike

As someone who didnt chose a brommy I dont agree with that.

They have the smallest & quickest fold of anything in their size range. Weight wise they are competitive and they are made/assembled in the UK.

The only below par thing about them is the gearing, more accurately the shifter, which was the only thing that put me off them.

They are a good price for what they are - unless you go for the Ti models - but Ti anything commands a hefty premium.

And just like Apple they hold their value well - you will get 50-60% of your price from new back on Ebay. Anything you pay up front you more than make up for on resale.