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Why are folding bikes more fun than regular sized bikes?

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Folding Bikes Discuss the unique features and issues of folding bikes. Also a great place to learn what folding bike will work best for your needs.

Why are folding bikes more fun than regular sized bikes?

Old 09-23-20, 07:47 AM
  #26  
Geepig
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I find them more fun, particularly standard ones, because no one cares what brakes or wheels you have, no one challenges you, and you can just chuck your shopping in the basket, step through and you are away.

And older ladies on theirs are much more likely to chat with you at the lights.
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Old 10-08-20, 12:25 PM
  #27  
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A Guide To Buying The Best Folding Bike

A folding bike is like your conventional bicycle; the only distinguishing feature is its folding mechanism that allows for great convenience in transport and storage. With people trying to make best use of the space available at their disposal, folding bikes have become the preferred choice.

There is an extensive range of folding bikes featuring different frame designs, wheel sizes, folding mechanisms and gears. The best one for you depends on your cycling profile and needs.

1. Ride type -

The type of riding you do is the most important consideration. Do you use your bike for leisure trips round the corner, or do you use it for your regular commute to office or do you use it for mountain tours? Bikes for regular commute need to be comfortable and lightweight; yet they need to hold up against regular travel. Mountain bikes are designed for off-road travel across an array of terrains.

2. Wheel size -

The next criterion to tick against is the wheel size. It determines how portable your bike will be as well as the ride comfort. 26", 24", 22", 20" 16" and 14" are the different available wheel diameters. Folding bikes in 14" and 16" are among the smallest wheels, designed for leisure rides. Smaller wheel sizes are not as stable when cornering. Folding bike 26" wheels on the other hand are typically fitted to mountain bikes as they offer the highest level of stability.

3. Frame design and material -

The idea of including a folding mechanism is to add functionality to the bike. The frame and build material have a say in it. Aluminum, steel, carbon fiber and titanium are the commonly used build materials for folding bikes. Titanium and carbon fiber are lightweight, but very expensive. Aluminum and steel are extremely durable, but heavier with steel being the heaviest.

The frame design should not make the folding mechanism redundant.

4. Gears or no gears -

Amateur cyclists might ask what difference gears make to the performance of a bike. One, they allow you to adjust the speed. They also make maneuvering tricky terrains like hilly areas a lot easier. The only benefit a non-gear bike offers is that it breaks down less often.

5. Maintenance -

Bikes, whether they are the folding or non-folding type, require regular maintenance for optimum performance. Your bike components such as the inner tubes, tires, rims and other spare parts should be easily available. If not, you will have to pay extra to source them. Not only this, you will be unable to use your bike until it gets repaired.

6. Ease of folding -

How easy is it to fold the bike? Different brands make use of different folding mechanisms. There is the split fold, triangular hinge and break away mechanism. In the spilt mechanism, the bike has a single hinge which allows the bike to be folded in half. It is quickest to fold. The triangular hinge mechanism features more hinges and clasps and enables you to fold the bike into a more compact form. But it's more complicated in comparison. The last lets you fold the bike by disassembling selected parts.

So, when shopping for a folding bike, do consider all these factors. Compare bikes from different brands at different price points to get only the best.
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Old 10-08-20, 02:34 PM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by stellawhite
2. Wheel size -

The next criterion to tick against is the wheel size. It determines how portable your bike will be as well as the ride comfort. 26", 24", 22", 20" 16" and 14" are the different available wheel diameters. Folding bikes in 14" and 16" are among the smallest wheels, designed for leisure rides. Smaller wheel sizes are not as stable when cornering. Folding bike 26" wheels on the other hand are typically fitted to mountain bikes as they offer the highest level of stability..
This is not true.

What defines the stability of the bike is not the wheel size, its the bike frame geometry.

The mostly used commuter folding bikes have small wheels in ETRTO 349, ETRTO 355 or ETRTO 406. So these wheel sizes aren't meant for leisure only.

Globally, big ETRTO 559 wheels aren't better than smaller ETRTO 349, ETRTO 355 or ETRTO 406 wheels.

BTW., inch sizes are meaningless, there are at least 2 different 16" (ETRTO 305, ETRTO 349 and 18" = ETRTO 355 is almost the same size as 16" ETRTO 349, the difference is only 6mm), at least two 20" (ETRTO 406 and ETRTO 451), at least 3 different 24" (ETRTO 507, ETRTO 520, ETRTO 540) and at least two 26" (ETRTO 559 and ETRTO 571).


Originally Posted by stellawhite
3. Frame design and material -

The idea of including a folding mechanism is to add functionality to the bike. The frame and build material have a say in it. Aluminum, steel, carbon fiber and titanium are the commonly used build materials for folding bikes. Titanium and carbon fiber are lightweight, but very expensive. Aluminum and steel are extremely durable, but heavier with steel being the heaviest..
This is also not true.

Aluminum isn't heavier than titanium.

And there are so many alloy of steel that writing steel is meaningless. High end steel is as lightweight as titanium.

High end steel frames are more expensive than most carbon frames.

Besides the weight, the mechanical properties of the material and its durability are more important than weight.
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Old 10-19-20, 01:07 PM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by cubewheels
Even better than Dahon or Brompton (see below). The bike folds at the suspension hingles. This folder is designed to feel and get as fast as a regular road bike.
I don't want any suspension devices, as they steal from the rider's drive effort. Chromoly frame/fork has always provided all the suspension I've ever needed, even on gravel roads, as long as the tires can support being ridden at low enough pressure.
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Old 10-19-20, 02:16 PM
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Lower pressure of tires also steal from the rider's drive effort !
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Old 10-19-20, 04:31 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by Jipe
Lower pressure of tires also steal from the rider's drive effort !
As compared to suspension devices, the difference is not even close.
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Old 10-19-20, 09:42 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by cubewheels
I've tested the hardest elastomer on it which doesn't feel like a suspension system anymore. Couldn't tell the difference between that and a fully rigid bike over good quality roads.

Over rough roads, I'd expect the suspension bike to be less efficient but didn't find that to be the case. I think the improved comfort maybe a factor in maintaining the same performance as I would in a fully rigid bike.
Some slight suspension would make up for the greater impedance (losses from bouncing the bike and rider up and down) from the smaller wheels.
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Old 10-20-20, 03:04 AM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by Kimmo
Some slight suspension would make up for the greater impedance (losses from bouncing the bike and rider up and down) from the smaller wheels.
I fully agree with this: on bad roads and cobbles, a road bike suspension with short travel like on the Moulton or Birdy and nowadays several road bikes (main road bike manufacturers like Specialized, Cannondale, Trek... have now road bikes with suspension systems) make the bike more efficient..

Bouncing from one cobble to the next reduce the bike efficiency !

Note that road bike suspensions aren't the same and behave differently than mountain bike suspensions.
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Old 10-20-20, 02:45 PM
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Originally Posted by cubewheels
It makes sense to have have suspension if it's not too much of an increased complexity or added weight - as in the case of suspension systems that also serves as the main folding mechanism (which kinda eliminates the weight penalty of a suspension since the suspension is also the main folding component). Quite an ingenious concept when I first saw a Birdy folding bike with the rear suspension also serving as the folding linkage.
Yeah, I think the Moulton was the first, or at least the earliest really popular implementation of this idea. Very elegant, I was blown away BITD when I first laid eyes on one.
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Old 10-20-20, 09:34 PM
  #35  
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Storage when folding bike
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Old 10-21-20, 12:00 AM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by Nyah
As compared to suspension devices, the difference is not even close.
Well, any item on the bike will only consume energy when it changes position, and then later returns a portion of that energy. If we are riding on smooth road with no slope at a fixed speed, then the suspension will not be consuming energy, but the tires will. The tires never cease to consume energy, and if we reduce the tire pressure to the point that they can just support us then they will consume a large amount of energy - all the time. If they did not, racers would ride around on fat, low pressure tires. When the suspension deflects it absorbs energy and then returns some of it, when we ride up a hill and have to lift the component's weight, some of that energy is returned when we descend. For tires we expend energy all the time to flex them, and all that energy is lost as heat, and then as we cross bumps the tires, frame and our body still deflect and return energy like a suspension.

The only real question is whether the weight of one's chosen suspension balances out the comfort and the energy input from us, continually and occasionally.
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Old 10-21-20, 02:48 AM
  #37  
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If we talk about folding bikes, the beauty of a design like the Birdy is that both suspensions front and rear have a double use : suspension and folding. So the weight increase of the suspension is only the spring and PU block.
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Old 10-30-20, 06:09 AM
  #38  
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Such bicycles are much more convenient, but still I prefer classic and ordinary bicycles, folding bicycles are not always better than ordinary ones
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Old 11-03-20, 07:37 AM
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Originally Posted by Zize55
...folding bicycles are not always better than ordinary ones
Define 'better'

I suspect my Romet Jubilats would fare very poorly on any poll, but I wouldn't swop them.
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