Stephen0556

Hi everyone,

I really want to buy a fold up bike for general commuting around my area. I do not have any space for a regular bike. I am 6ft 2" and am finding it hard to find a cheap and cheerful bike for around the price of £200 that has the right size frame for me. I found an ecosmo fold mountain bike online for this price but the frame is only 17.5" and I am worried this will be too small. I would really appreciate it if anyone had any suggestions for the sort of fold up bike that would be good for me.

I live in the UK

Thank you for any responses you have

ttakata73

I don't think any of the cheaper folders were designed for tall or heavy people. They seem to be mostly for shorter and lighter people under 6'/200lb unless you go with a Western brand like Brompton H or Bike Friday. Even the German designed Birdy maxes out under 2 meters. You'll definitely want to check the weight limit or risk injury. Reason why everyone in the UK has a Brompton is you can take it inside with you and it won't snap in half like a cheaper bike. Anything left outside you know will be stolen. I'd save up for a used Brompton H or get a complete beater bike, paint it pink, and hope it doesn't get stolen outside.

linberl

Doesn't the UK have a program that helps you pay for a bike? I thought I read that somewhere. Get the Brompton B75, it's very reasonable in cost. I've always found if you buy "cheap" you end up spending more later than you would have if you had bought "quality" first.

Nyah

I just checked out Bike Friday's extensive offerings online. That route is certainly more expensive than a Dahon Speed 9, but BF's large list of choices get me so much closer to what I want, that I think I'd increase my budget to go with BF. Bike Friday works with the customer by asking their height and weight, in order to ensure that the most appropriate frame/fork/components are chosen for the bicycle. The fact that Bike Friday is the only brand I've seen so far that offers triple chainwheel cranks, also has something to do with them being my preferred brand.

kayakindude

I'm 6'3" and fluctuate between 190-200 pounds between winter and summer riding. My low end Dahon fits me fine. Folders have adjustable handlebars and seats, so frame size really doesn't matter. Upgrades are cheap and in my 3rd year of beating on mine and other than a busted spoke no issues. For your 1st folder don't go too crazy. Beat on it and see if it fits your wants and needs. If it does you will find yourself buying more...I have 4 now, including a top end Airnimal.

Reddleman

On eBay UK there’s a few secondhand Tern Link A7’s for sale within your price range. My Tern Link D8 fits me with plenty of seatpin left and I’m a long legged six footer. I would get one of those and give it a thrash, see how you get on before spending out more.

Bonzo Banana

Raleigh do a model around £200-250 which is ok. Seems to have higher weight limits compared to many competitor's models and seems like a good option at around that price point. Only a few years ago there were many more models available and seems like many now are going for folding e-bikes and they have pushed out the standard folding bikes to a degree. If you are a tall rider be careful of the weight limits many suppliers are importing folding bikes designed for the Chinese market with very low weight limits rather than the more expensive versions with slightly beefier frames and higher spoke count wheels. I've seen some folding bikes rated as low as 65kg riders but the highest top out at about 120kg which is a huge difference.

The Carrera Intercity I think is about £350 at Halfords but if you can buy it on the cycle2work scheme it can knock off about 40% of that cost in real terms or maybe you have a local bike shop that offers the cycle2work scheme on the Raleigh Evo.

Personally I don't recommend buying a bike on ebay, the warranty in real terms is only about 3 months with ebay and even if the seller states they have a longer warranty if the seller is based in China there isn't much you can do. There is also the factor that if you pay with paypal the credit card company isn't jointly responsible for the purchase paypal is and they are based outside the UK and don't operate under UK law. You'd probably have to make a complicated small claim to an EU address. Effectively you are buying a bike with a very short warranty. Amazon customer service can be a lot better and at least 1 year warranty I think especially if Amazon is the seller and not a marketplace purchase.