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Folding Bikes - Advice sought

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Folding Bikes - Advice sought

Old 07-15-19, 03:32 AM
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J_T
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Folding Bikes - Advice sought

Hello All, Am thinking of investing in a folding bike - am 6 feet tall weighing ~185 pounds and was thinking of a full size folding bike. In addition to daily city commute (2-5 miles), the key objective is to take it long distance (including mountainous drives) - 50+ kms for like 8-10 days..

any suggestions?

1) whether or not should I consider Folding Bikes for such adventures - it's convenient to transport and serves the multi-purpose of city/ daily commute
2) if yes, which one should bike should I consider?
3) Any reviews for Montague? and if to be considered, which model to be considered given this intended use?

Any advice/ inputs/ experience sharing is very welcome !

Cheers
J T
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Old 07-15-19, 04:44 AM
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kayakindude
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Few questions back at you that may help with the advice.

Will your work commute involve a train or bus...or are you folding it at work?

Most folders can handle a 30 mile ride, but you mentioned mountains. Is this paved or trails? If trails are we talking mild dirt packed trails?

I'm 6'2" and have no issues with my folders so no worries there. Sounds like gearing may be a more important factor than the frame for you.

Price range?
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Old 07-15-19, 05:39 AM
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Originally Posted by kayakindude
Will your work commute involve a train or bus...or are you folding it at work?
It's none.. just door to door driving (convenience to beat the traffic). But bus commute flexibility is a big add-on.

Originally Posted by kayakindude
Most folders can handle a 30 mile ride, but you mentioned mountains. Is this paved or trails? If trails are we talking mild dirt packed trails?

Price range?
That's the one-off use and I don't prefer to invest in another cycle for mountains - yes, mostly paved or gravel (mild dirt packed trails) - longer term goal is to cycle on the highest motorable roads in North India - can look up for Manali Kardungla Cycling (since am a newbie, can't post external links)

I'm happy to budget (burn a deep hole, if worth it) up to US$ 1.2k
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Old 07-15-19, 07:04 AM
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You don't need to spend a fortune to meet your mission. Main thing that you gain is better gearing with "better" being subjective. For 95% of road trail conditions, basic gearing will get the job done. Frames are frames (my own opinion only) and I am just as happy with my $300 Dahon as I am with my way more expensive Chameleon. For your 1st I would recommend what I affectionately would call a "beater" or entry bike, so $250-$500. The Dahon is fine on packed dirt and gravel. 20-inch wheels big enough to mostly keep you out of trouble. You might look for more than a 7,8,9 speed depending on those hills, but I did an event in Vermont that was almost all hills and the roads were all dirt. It hurt but I climbed every hill on a 7 speed. A few more gears would make life easier for you.

Things you should look for that I did not know or thing about for my 1st...adjustable stem/handlebars (I got lucky and it came with them), headset that supports a bag (Brompton adapter gives you Brompton carrying ability without the Brompton price), fenders- you will rejoice when you need them, kickstand...I using it when folding/unfolding and when having the Brompton bag on and loaded.
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Old 07-15-19, 08:04 AM
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If you won’t be folding it often for your commute then a montague would probably work well. I used to own one and taking the front tire off and then hauling the frame and tire separately through a crowded train station was too much. I don’t think putting on a crowded buss would be much fun either.

Montagues do ride just like a full size bike though and folding it in a stress free environment like your car garage isn’t too bad. Both dahon and tern make full size folders that supposedly can handle light trails as well.
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Old 07-15-19, 08:23 AM
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Many thanks for the detailed reply.. couple of clarifications... is 20" able to handle the workload of long mountainous travel - my ultimate goal/ objective?

any particular Dahon model you would recommend i.e. "beast" or "beater" model who can manage heavy workloads..
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Old 07-15-19, 08:40 AM
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This one looks promising- Visc D18 Tour P. Not a fan of saying "get this one or that one" That should be something for you to enjoy. I only mention this one because of the extra gears. How strong you are as a rider and how much weight you are adding are obviously going to factor in.
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Old 07-15-19, 11:53 AM
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I don't know about availability where you are but the Bike Friday pocket llama folds well enough for your needs, and people ride them over the Alps. They are steel so repairing can be done anywhere, as opposed to an aluminum frame. The Bike Friday New World Tourist would also work for you, but the llama takes wider knobbier tires. A used one, if you can find it, would be well within your budget, and they last decades (many 20 year old ones still on the road).
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