Originally Posted by
Happy Feet
Mainly, I just want a folder for times when I might want to travel with a bike without the hassle of boxing it or as a carry along on car trips. For CC touring it may also help with taking into hotel rooms if I can fold it into the bag and carry it like luggage. I have a road tourer, an off road tourer and now I'll have a folding tourer. I guess we'll just have to call it whimsy
I have always been kind of fascinated by those, but when I looked in to them never really found them to fit ant real use case for me.
I don't really see any advantage for taking the bike into hotel rooms. I have wheeled non-folding bikes into countless hotel rooms and it has never been an issue, but if you prefer to have it in a bag I guess I can see that, especially taking a bike along on non-bike travel like taking a bike along on a business trip. A couple times the bike was super muddy and I asked if there was a place I could clean it up. I only one time remember being told a a hotel/motel that the bikes weren't allowed in the room, but they had a safe place to lock them up. One other time at a hostel they had the same policy, but since they would have known I arrived by bike, putting it in a bag probably would not have exempted it.
Taking the bike on a transit bus rather than on the rack which may be full or not present may require it being in a bag. These bikes may be an ideal solution for that.
I also have thought they would be nice for taking on board my sailboat back when I had one, but that depends on the specifics of the storage locker or berth you plan to store it in.
Flying with a bike has specific requirements that have changed recently and the reality of Covid 19 has reduced the likelihood of many of us flying any time soon, but back when I looked in to them I needed for a bike to fit in a 62" case to have any advantage for flying and these bikes didn't. OTOH, I never found that I could tolerate my small wheeled folder for much beyond around town errands. The good news was that a full size non folser fit nicely in the seat locker with the wheels removed (strangely enough the folder didn't easily fit when folded because it was too wide to go through the seat locker opening) The tall flexy masts just suck and it was impossible to get the ride position I want/need. Some small wheeled folders are undoubtedly better, but I have my doubts if I'd find them acceptable. Given their price tags and the other compromises involved I am unlikely to find out.