JackE

Wondering if anyone has toured on a Joey as I've not read much about them on this forum. I like the idea of 24" wheels with 1.5" Schwalbe Marathons. I would use use it mainly for tours within Europe combined with my (other) love.......train travel.

Experiences/opinions very welcome.

rodar y rodar

Not a whole lot of Airnimals out there, and it looks like Chameleons and Rhinos outnumber the Joeys. Here`s one account of touring on a Joey though:
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/ReiversRoute
If you want to ask the author questions, you can lick the "guestbook" link (kind of hard to find but if you look long enough you`ll see it) to post messages.

brommie

I do ride an Airnimal Joey but only use it for daytrips. Have the Schwalbe marathons on it and never had a flat tyre in about 3000 km's. The ride of the bike is good imo, as I can compare it with "normal " bike and a Brompton.
Take it on a train and the Brompton is the folding winner.But back on the bike the Joey is better if you're looking for a stable bike. My Joey has a hub brake in the front and it brakes better than the Brompton. The Joey has 27 gears, The Brompton 6. These 6 are enough in daily use, but when the hills are there the Joey wins, thanks to the far better gearing. So for touring next time I will take the Joey (did some touring in the past on a Brompton).
But the best advice I can give is try before you buy!

JackE

Thank you both for replying. I've read the Reivers Route journal on CGOAB and have contacted the author. It's reassuring to hear that it compares favourably with a full sized bike. My only concern is the fitting of mudguards as these seem to inhibit the ease of folding (or damage the guard). Am I correct in this?

rodar y rodar

Whoops! I hope you only contacted the authors, and didn`t actually lick anybody!

alhedges

I haven't used them, but I know that Planet Bike makes some quick release fenders that will work on the Joey: https://www.calhouncycle.com/shopcast...chment_id=1442

Tourist in MSN

I have a Joey. I bought it for airline travel, I wanted a foldup that I could carry in an airline compliant case with no surcharge. I was led to believe that the Joey would fit in such a case but it does not fit in the cases that USA airlines specify. If the case is not an issue for train travel, it may work well for you.

I use the 507 size wheels. There used to be a Schwalb Marathon 24X1.5 tire that took high pressure that I bought, those tires are no longer made, fortunately I still have one spare if I need it. Great tires.

Since I could not fit a front deraileur, I had to buy the Sram Dual Drive hub to get a wide range of gearing, I use a 11/32 eight speed cassette. With that my gearing is wide enough for touring on almost any road.

I think that the Joey has been redesigned to fix many of the faults but I am not really sure about that, it might now allow a tire wider than 1.5 inch and it might allow a front derailleur? But, I am not really sure. Make sure it meets your needs before you buy. I was very disappointed to find that I could not fit it in an airline compliant case, I could not use commonly available tires that are 1.75 inch wide, could not fit a front derailleur, etc. If I knew what I now know, I would not have bought it. But, if I was going to tour on a train (instead of airline), I would probably be quite happy with the bike.

This rear fender fits. To be honest, I have only used that fender for one 20 mile ride, so I do not have long experience with it.
https://www.amazon.com/Planet-Bike-Fl...455900&sr=1-20

pacificcyclist

It's a very unique wheel size, but it has since been defeated by the availability and prominence of other bikes that do not have problems fitting into an airline specific 62" linear inches case like bikes specifically designed with S&S couplers and be able to fit in a specially designed case for travel purposes or 20" folding bikes. Plus the Airnimal Joey was designed as a "travel" fold bike, not quick fold. You said specifically train travel. If you do this a lot, you will be better served with a 24" version bike from Tern where it does quick fold. The Tern Eclipse P9 or S11 would be your choice, though they will only fit in oversized suitcase. However, make sure you understand the trains terms on folded bike size too. With 20" and smaller, you'll have no problems achieving those terms.

Hope this helps.

phatjonny

Well - what have you bought?

I also have a Joey Sport with small rims and had to change the original tyres to panaracer pasela - better puncture protection but would like to put Big Apples on in future, but that will require new wider rims. I live in a very hilly country so I dropped the front ring from 52 down to 39 teeth, and added a 11-34 on the rear. Low enough for mountain passes, but not very steep hills. The top speed is comfortable for long rides but maybe no longer for bursts of speed needed in urban riding. The bike really does ride like a big wheel bike, I also agree that the fold is not great, I use mine for car travel and some flight travel. I think it would be ideal for train travel but do get the wider rims and try to negotiate a few changes like lower the gearing if it is a Sport model..

JackE

Thank you for all your replies. Still deliberating, I'm afraid asI want to get this decision right (having bought wrongly several times in the past).
The news about Schwalbe discontinuing the 24" marathon is very helpful.

The current Joey Explore has standard 27 speed gearing, which sounds fine for my type of touring. For the last 4 years I've taken my Airborne tourer in a home-made shoulder bag on the Eurostar train from London to Paris/Brussels. It's become a real pain as it's such an awkward size. The Joey should be much easier to get on and off European trains.