14R 

This is my first post here, so let me take the time and introduce myself.

I am a 30 year old forensic scientist getting ready to survive without a paycheck while attending graduate school. I used to be an adventure racer, doing short expedition races (24-48 hours non-stop) that could include up to 200 miles of road and off road biking.

The time for racing has now passed and it was time to sell my Specialized Stompjumper and get something that would 1) fit inside my sedan and 2) stay with me all the time while in class/lab.

The only folding bike available at the store I got my stompjumper was the Giant halfway, so that's the one I end up with after a little research online (that didn't give me a lot of info) and some comments from the dudes working at the bike shop (they insisted it was a solid bike, that you wouldn't feel like riding a folder).

For my surprise, here in the USA (I am in Florida) the only Halfway available is the one with a hardtail, different from the ones available in Europe and Japan.

To make the long story short, I got my halfway and I was VERY, EXTREMELY impressed with it.

Very solid bike. I did a little bit over 20 miles with it and the only negative thing I have to say about it is that the gear requires a little effort to stay above 18mph, but besides that, everything else is just a matter of adaptation (yes, I felt like a clown with those little wheels for the first couple miles).

Lucky me, I ended up finding one Giant halfway off of E-Bay, straight from Japan (the one with suspention) for 450!

Now I have a brand new US Halfway for my girfriend (Yes, I gave her the new, silver one) and a Japanese Hafway for me (white, with a VERY IMPRESSIVE suspension).

Since I did not find anything positive about the halfway out there, I decided to register into this message board and share my opinion with you.

Any other Halfway owners out there?

Yours,

Rafael

Smile while you ride.

james Haury

i never knew a halfway was available with suspension.

14R 

That's why right after I posted I came back and added the picture. It's called Halfway RS. All the sites I found about them were in Japanese!

ruchai

I have two Giant Halfways, a single speed and the 7 speed. I am very happy with them. The suspensioned model is also available here in Thailand but they are not as popular as the 7 speed. They weigh more than the 7 speed model. I use Brooks B66 spring saddle on my 7 speed which make it very comfortable. I am 74, retired, and ride the 7 speed Halfway 20 kms. every day. Very well designed folding bike. I am very happy with them.

ruchai

Here's the picture of my two Giants.

ruchai

Removing the rack and fenders reduced the weight by 1 kg. It's now weigh 10.5 kgs. (23 lbs.) without saddle and pedals.

james Haury

Does it rain much in Thailand?I guess you are willing to live with a streak up your back when it rains.

14R 

Interesting,

If you take a look at my pictures, you can see that both my halfways do have gears (7 speed) even the one with suspension.

I really like the red one though, even with no speed.

Thank you for your pictures, they look great.

ruchai

"Does it rain much in Thailand?I guess you are willing to live with a streak up your back when it rains."

Yes, it rain 5 months from May to September, that when I'll use fenders.

We have the single speed and the one with suspension available here for 2 years. The 7 speed non suspension only available here this year. The one with suspension does not have single fork at the real so it does not fold as neat as the 'real thing'. As far as I know Giant only market the 7 speed no suspension model in 2005.

What made me interested in the Halfway was because of it's design. I used to own a Vespa scooter with cantilevered wheels and loved it. Easy to clean and change tires. I end up ordered a book, 'Bicycle Designe' by Mike Burrows, the British engineer who designed the Halfway. The book ia just as good as the bike!

spambait11

Are those special hubs or can you use off-the-shelf hubs?

How is lateral stability?

ruchai

Are those special hubs or can you use off-the-shelf hubs?

How is lateral stability?


They are special hubs designed to take cantileve loads. No problem with lateral stability. In fact the Halfway is a very stable folder. I could easily riding with hands off the handlebar.

14R 

Now that I found another owner, here are my questions:

I would love to change my wheels for something like this:



Now that you mentioned that those are special hubs, is it possible to change into something like this?


Also, I noticed you have some nicer pedals, Are those foldable?



Thank you,

Rafael

ruchai

"Now that you mentioned that those are special hubs, is it possible to change into something like this?


Also, I noticed you have some nicer pedals, Are those foldable?"

If the new rims have holes that match the Halfway hubs, I think you could replace them.

The folding pedals that came with the bikes are heavy and slippy. I replaced them with DeoreXT pedals from my Klein mtb. The Giant saddles that came with the bikes are also not up to the Halfway otherwise excelent design. I replaced it with Brooks B66 Champion. With the above modifications my Halfway is nesrly as good as my road bike.

https://www.brookssaddles.com/

14R 

I end up getting a Specialized saddle for US$10.00 from my local Bike store.


I also change the shifter for a "quick trigger", I wasn't really trilled by the rotating handle thing.

Now for the peddals....any folding pedals that are decent out there?


Thank you for your posts, they are really helping me.

wpflem

Sounds and looks good. Thanks for the input.

ruchai

Now for the peddals....any folding pedals that are decent out there?

If you found one please let me know. I can understand why Giant (and other folder manufacturers) use inferia saddles and peddles on their products. They use cheap plastic saddles to save weighs. They can claim their folders are lighter. The same with folding peddles, they can claim that their bikes folded into smaller packages.

I did not find the couple of inches wider of my DeoreXT peddles any drawback. I usually put the folded bike in my subcompack Honda and could not notice any differences between the folding peddle and the DeoreXT. But when biking on the road there are lots of differences.

spambait11

I have both the MKS RR-2 Quick Release Road Pedals and MKS FD-2 Folding Alloy Pedals (here), both of which I used on a Bike Friday and now on a Brompton.

Of the two, the quick releases are lighter and elegant, but it is a pain having to pull them out every time you fold the bike (if you want to pull them out). The folding alloy pedals are wider and heavier, but I bought them because they're about the only folding pedals I've seen which accept toe clips. The only downside, besides the weight, is that I had to do quite a bit of drilling and sanding to get PowerGrips to fit which I prefer over toe clips. But now that it's done, I'm pretty satisfied with these folding pedals.

A couple other issues to consider, however: the cylindrical portion of the pedal lock sticks out because it can't fold, and when the pedal is folded, there is no friction preventing the pedal from swinging back and forth.

ruchai

I tried the egg beater pedals for a while. They are light, small, and easy to clean. Also thieve proofed. Thieves without cleated shoes could not ride the bike!

Finally I switched and sticked to conventional cleat-pedal. They are a little bit bigger than folding pedals but not much. Much lighter too.

14R 

Nice, I will decide about the pedals this weekend.

Now, it is true and NOBODY else owns a Halfway or we just have a lot of shy people here?

grolby

Well... I want one . But I don't have the $500 USD or the justification for one! I already have a lovely Miyata touring bike for everything. Perhaps if I move to the city when I am finished with school - in that case, the Halfway will probably be my first choice... more expensive than the cheapest Dahons, but oh so much cooler!

bigbenaugust 

I have a few questions for the Halfway owners out there, as I'm thinking of blowing part of my tax refund on a folder.

1. How is it for recreational riding? I know Bicycling said it wasn't meant for it, but can y'all offer a second opinion?
2. How hard is it to get? Do you just waltz into your friendly neighborhood Giant dealer and say "Hey you! Order me a Halfway!"
3. Has anyone flown with one before?
4. How do they behave on (nice, well-groomed) trails, etc?

Thanks!

ruchai

Here is what I think about my halfways:

1. I use mine for recreational riding most of the time. They are similar with riding a good quality hi-brid or city bikes but can be folded and put into the trunk of a subcompack car.

2. Here I just phoned Giant's dealer and got mine within a few days.

3. I did not flown with them yet. But they came with nice soft bags with should have no problem with air travel.

4. Very wekll indeed! See below:

https://www.thaicycling.com/webboard/read.php?id=001449

14R 

1-It is perfect for recreational riding. I have over 10 years of "bike experience" and I can easly forget my halfway is a folder. It takes about 10 miles for you to get completely used with the 20" wheels if you are coming from "regular" wheel size.

2-Very simple, any Giant dealer will have the conventional Halfway for you in less than a week. For the suspension one, try E-Bay and pray hard.

3-Not yet, but as Ruchai said, doesn't look like it should be a big deal

4-Again, besides the wheel size, It is a very, very impressive bike.


Rafael Guerra

bigbenaugust 

Thanks for the info, gentlemen. Great pictures, too.

I'm not really interested in the RS, but I kinda wish I could get one in blue (like yours, ruchai) to match my '03 Rainier.

Moe£

The SR Suntour PL-NX150 looks like a really nice folding pedal.

I have experience of the two other Suntour folding models, which are cheaper but certainly not as good. (Lot of rotation resistance on the PL-NX50. and the rubber wear off on the PL-NX100.

The mechanism is good, just "kick and go"..

/Moe£