Bike Friday

[blackrat]

Absolutely. People who don't need a folder should think real hard before they buy one. My original reason to have a folder was "truck bike", Montague was o.k. for this, but I switched to Bike Friday because I was cycling farther and sought performance, which it delivered in spades, but the fold lacks.
When I was re-entering the military, I decided I wanted a bike I could take anywhere and fly with, without the 20 minute fold time, Brompton.
FWIW I very rarely folded the Bike Friday, it acted like a mini velo fitting into a little less overall space, which was adequate at the time.

I suspect it is more a case of; "wouldn't it be nice" rather than; "I really need this" for the pocket rocket, as cute as it looks.
I real enjoy riding my Scott carbon and I realise now that the inconvenience of packing it away in a bike box and rolling that around between airport/train station/bus depot to hotel to start a ride for the sometimes-maybe air flight is a small price.
Military where? South Korea?

 

[Drago]

It looks racy, but there are even racer folders out there with disc brakes, 9, 10 or 11 speed, 2mpiede deanks, all the trimmings, some for a lot less, some for a lot less and a lifetime frame warranty.

 

[brommieinkorea]

I

I suspect it is more a case of; "wouldn't it be nice" rather than; "I really need this" for the pocket rocket, as cute as it looks.
I real enjoy riding my Scott carbon and I realise now that the inconvenience of packing it away in a bike box and rolling that around between airport/train station/bus depot to hotel to start a ride for the sometimes-maybe air flight is a small price.
Military where? South Korea?

I'm a yank. But I did get stationed in Korea, and it's one of the earlier places that I used the Brompton. I enjoyed Korea immensely.
Funny thing, buying a folder to save on airline fees doesn't really work. Only a couple will go into a small enough box, and they ain't cheap, so the fees aren't so bad when you consider some folding bike prices..

 

[Kell]

It rather begs the question of the best or preferred use or even a 'why' of a folder. I can see the convenience for a train commuter - ease of folding and quickness of doing so of a Brompton, for instance - and the relative collapsing to a smaller profile for air transport rather than lugging a full sized bike box around and to and from an airport. But other than that, why a folder?

The original use for a Brompton wasn't commuting. It was for storing it on your yacht.

So storage is another consideration. Friend of mine bought two folders because he didn't have storage space in his flat.

 

[blackrat]

The original use for a Brompton wasn't commuting. It was for storing it on your yacht.

So storage is another consideration. Friend of mine bought two folders because he didn't have storage space in his flat.

Aren't there homes on islands in the middle of the Thames somewhere upstream where you have to row a boat to get to the mainland? That would be a good use for a folder so you could take the bike on the boat and cycle off to the shops.🚣‍♀️🚣‍♂️

 

[wakemalcolm]

Wrong thread.

 

[u_i]

I have a Bike Friday and a Brompton. Bike Friday is hardly foldable. You gain a little compared to a regular bike when putting it in the trunk of a station wagon. Forget about taking a Bike Friday as a folding bike on a bus or train. With accessories, my Bike Friday takes 2h to dismantle for a suitcase and a similar time to reassemble. I hate even thinking about the process. It rides better than a Brompton and maybe closer to a regular bike than to a Brompton. When going on a trip, I used to take the Bike Friday if the stay at the other end lasted 2 weeks or more, but now I just take the Brompton and put up with a bit of inconvenience while riding.