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Can a Montague Paratrooper take a beating?

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Can a Montague Paratrooper take a beating?

Old 05-24-17, 06:54 AM
  #1  
marioval
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Can a Montague Paratrooper take a beating?

I thought Youtube would be full of videos of people beating the snot out of their Paratroopers but all I can find is reviews, unboxings, and casual strollers on calm trails. Can anyone provide a link to a video or first hand experience of whether or not a Paratropper can handle some torture. Thanks. P.s. I am thinking about buying one
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Old 05-24-17, 07:00 AM
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rhenning
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The paratrooper is a nice bike but is not a serious mountain bike any more than a Walmart Mongoose is. Roger
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Old 05-24-17, 07:36 AM
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I do not own one and I have not real knowledge about this bike but my instinct is that a folding bike is a folding bike no matter what shape and wheelsize.
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Old 05-24-17, 07:47 AM
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My daughter had a Montague Boston with an IGH, as I recall an 8 speed. She had a lot of trouble keeping everything lined up when reinstalling the rear wheel, but that is more of an IGH issue then the bike itself. The bike, also, did not fit her well.

That being said, it did sell her on the value of a "travel bike."

I rode, and wrenched, on it a few times. It was definitely better than a Wall-Mart grade bike. If I were looking for a 26" wheel folding bike it would be high on my list.

source

Keep in mind, this is not a paratrooper, it is not even the exact model that she had (It has since moved on to another family member).
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Old 05-24-17, 08:50 AM
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Monte Older types have a full main triangle.. a buddy got one of them cheap, used, in PDX..





....
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Old 05-24-17, 09:01 AM
  #6  
marioval
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Are you referring to the old BiFrame? I don't want one of those. I already ride an old bike. I'm looking for something new. I would love a Change Bike but its not in my budget.

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Old 05-24-17, 11:03 AM
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If you want this to street ride they are a good bike but they are not a mountain bike to ride seriously off road which is what I thought you were asking in the first post. Roger
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Old 05-24-17, 11:30 AM
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I have a Paratrooper .. they were designed to be tough.. but they are a hardtail so won't have the compliance over the nasty stuff a good full suspension MTB would have..


https://www.montaguebikes.com/military-folding-bikes/
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Old 05-24-17, 11:40 AM
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Originally Posted by badmother
I do not own one and I have not real knowledge about this bike but my instinct is that a folding bike is a folding bike no matter what shape and wheelsize.
Evidence against. Birdie thats great off road with sus seatpost.
BMW Q10. Ok its almost not a folding bike. Just has a pivoting rear triangle so it fits a car trunk better.
BMW is obviously a full mountian bike. Anti drive suspension is fab.
I guess it depends on what you call mountian biking.
Been off road on a mezzo plenty and done BMX track riding on a dhaon curve I jumping it.
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Old 05-24-17, 01:04 PM
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Originally Posted by bhkyte
Evidence against. Birdie thats great off road with sus seatpost.
BMW Q10. Ok its almost not a folding bike. Just has a pivoting rear triangle so it fits a car trunk better.
BMW is obviously a full mountian bike. Anti drive suspension is fab.
I guess it depends on what you call mountian biking.
Been off road on a mezzo plenty and done BMX track riding on a dhaon curve I jumping it.
I was actually thinking of the frame hinge first of all.

I have been offroad on my B (me and son) but I would not recomend somebody buying a B if they want to ride offroad. My guess is the OP is thinking of buying a folding mountainbike and give it a serious beating by riding it offroad more than once. It may work but personally I would not do that.
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Old 05-24-17, 02:25 PM
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Originally Posted by badmother
I do not own one and I have not real knowledge about this bike but my instinct is that a folding bike is a folding bike no matter what shape and wheelsize.
Look at the airnimal rhino - looks pretty robust (though a bit pricey): Rhino Black | Airnimal
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Old 05-24-17, 04:04 PM
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I do have a Montague Paratrooper Pro and I been riding many trails and the bike performance very good like a non folding bike
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Old 05-25-17, 01:03 AM
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Originally Posted by berlinonaut
Look at the airnimal rhino - looks pretty robust (though a bit pricey): Rhino Black | Airnimal
Yes, but also this bike has no framehinge.
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Old 05-25-17, 07:32 AM
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I'm not looking to go to crazy, though I do hope to qualify for next years Hell Track ...I'm just looking for something I can take out on some trails with lots of bumps and small jumps. maybe occasionally jump off of stuff like a foot high. Can the Paratrooper hack it? You know military grade and all that jazz.
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Old 05-25-17, 07:37 AM
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The Paratrooper is not a good choice for what you plan to do with it. Roger
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Old 05-25-17, 08:01 AM
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How about the Change Bike? Says it's EN14766 certified which is apparently some sort of European frame strength rating.
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Old 05-25-17, 08:15 AM
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I'd recommend abusing your bike to be not done constantly, but perhaps, on a few occasions.

then be serviced and checked more frequently.
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Old 05-25-17, 08:22 AM
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Rinko.. it's a scheme to make your regular bike frame that does not fold, into something that is convenient,

to take apart and bag , to ride the train (following Japan rail regulations) to where you will start your ride.

VBQ magazine has articles on this..
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Old 05-25-17, 08:42 AM
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The paratrooper is not for jumps (as stated in manual) but can handle a rough trail. I bought one in 2014.

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Old 05-25-17, 09:06 AM
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Originally Posted by marioval
How about the Change Bike? Says it's EN14766 certified which is apparently some sort of European frame strength rating.
The Change bike looks good.. reasonable pricing with free shipping .. certainly a newer design along the same type of thinking with fold around the seatpost as my Paratrooper .. MTB frame certification is a plus.. seems a very good option. If you pop for one, don't forget to come back with impressions..
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Old 05-25-17, 09:16 AM
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Apparently it CAN handle rough treatment,...


The Paratrooper line was developed as a DARPA project, to be used by the military (hence the name PARATROOPER). It's a tough bike,...
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Old 05-25-17, 12:09 PM
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I saw that video. I didn't think the guy at the end of the video gave the bike a proper whoopin but that's still promising to see.
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Old 05-25-17, 01:05 PM
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Everyone here keeps claiming it's not a rugged bike, but it is. There's 2 different types. One is a pavement line of bikes, and the other is for off road adventures. I'm partial to the Paratrooper Highline. All it needs is the rack,...
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Old 05-26-17, 05:17 AM
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@gdlerner and @BruceMetras, do you happen to have any video of you riding the bike on rough trails?
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Old 05-26-17, 05:18 AM
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My main concern is the frame design itself. I'm no structural engineer but the paratrooper doesn't technically have a down tube. It sort of does but instead of going from the crank to the headtube above the fork it goes from the crank right back up to the top tube running nearly parallel to the seatpost tube. This seems like a huge compromise to the structural integrity. It still seems like a great bike for the price though. I'm going to think about it for maybe a next summer purchase.
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