Can a folding bike climb?

[12boy]

I can stand on the pedals with my Brompty and I pull on the bars as well. When grinding up a grade l also like to pull up as push down which works pretty well with SPDs.

 

[a.twiddler]

I can stand on the pedals with my Brompty and I pull on the bars as well. When grinding up a grade l also like to pull up as push down which works pretty well with SPDs.

That'll teach me to generalise!

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good morning,

For me GCN has changed quite a lot, if you go back a few years it came across as light hearted but by and large on the riders side. There were comparisons of cheap and expensive bikes and the conclusions were close to "the expensive bike is better, but by a lot less than you might expect"

Nowadays things seem to be set up to favour the opposite conclusion, that the rider needs to spend some money, possibly a lot.

It also suffers that in many ways it has become like the BBC Top Gear program in the Clarkson/May/Hammond era, it started out with the intent to be fun, but run out of fun ideas and became all about the presenters doing things that were fun for them but were of no interest to many viewers.

GCN has also become overloaded with advertising, not just the features that are clearly marked as AD, but the actual ads at the start and during the non advert articles. Sadly but the content, which seems to be padding if it is not an advert, is not for anymore me and hasn't been for a quite while.

I do look occasionally and Dear Mr Zwift, you are doing so much advertising that you are becoming annoying, we have all heard of you by now.

Bye

Ian

 

[Richard Fairhurst]

I should also point out that the guy in the video was riding a Brompton, not a Bike Friday Pocket Rocket (or it's siblings), an Airnimal Chameleon or Joey or the Berds Folder. The majority of folding bikes are not represented by any of these bikes, though you only have to mention "folder" and the owners of Bromptons, particularly, fill these pages with their replies. It is good to have replies, but let me just put in a word for the apparently disparaged owners of "budget folders" whose experiences are just as valid as anyone else's. Yes! They can climb!

They can! But the difference between a premium folder and a budget one is night and day. I moved from a cheap unbranded folder to a Bike Friday. The unbranded one did its job, but I wouldn't choose to ride it unless portability was essential. The Bike Friday is a fantastic go-anywhere bike which I'll often choose even if I don't need to fold it.

Generally I subscribe to the view that "the best bike is the one you own", but I honestly believe most people don't realise how good the best folders are. (I'd say the same about Airnimals: Mrs F has a Chameleon and it's a beauty of a bike. Apart from the weird wheel size...)

 

[rogerzilla]

I watched as much of the video as I could bear. It looks as if the Brompton was mostly disadvantaged by the flat/downhill bits due to its single speed. Uphill, it wouldn't matter so much as long as the hillclimb specialist could supply enough torque, which he obviously can. Remember that many hillclimbs are won on fixies.

He'd have had an easier time with bar ends and a very firm rear suspension block like the JK one. An out-of-the-box M-type with flat pedals and bouncy rear block would struggle.

 

[byegad]

which version is that? How many speeds?
Mine is the 3x7 - pic below.
I've also cycled the 5 speed brommie to that place.
Both no problems at all.

View attachment 618763

Mine was/is 3 x 8 and perfectly capable of climbing out of the saddle, although I'm not, these days. As I had to give up 2 wheels in 2008 my wife rode it for a while and loved how easy it was to ride, compared to her Dawes Discovery.
These days it sits at the back of the garage. I should get round to selling it really.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I've never ridden my B up anything really steep. Probably only 8% or 10% is the max I've gone up. I'm not sure, maybe steeper short stretches. I find it does get rather flexy when I stand on the pedals. I have M handlebars if that's at all relevant. Also it doesn't quite have the low gears that my grown-up bike has. I'm happy to get off and push.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Cheddar averages around 4-5% with just one short steep bit at bottom around 16%. So it's well within what you've done so far and not in the super steep category.

 

[berlinonaut]

It looks as if the Brompton was mostly disadvantaged by the flat/downhill bits due to its single speed.

It wasn't a single speed but a two speed.

He'd have had an easier time with bar ends and a very firm rear suspension block like the JK one. An out-of-the-box M-type with flat pedals and bouncy rear block would struggle.

I am not sure to which suspension block you relate. The early ones up do 2007 were bouncy (but could easily be tweaked). From 2008 until 2016 there were the coned ones where you could choose between normal and hard. For most grown up male European riders "hard" was the better choice. Since 2017 there is just one suspension block avail. from factory (apart from special ones on the CHPT3, the B75 and now the P-Line) which is in between the former normal and hard ones. With these I've nothing to complain about. The JK one is still harder.

I've never ridden my B up anything really steep. Probably only 8% or 10% is the max I've gone up. I'm not sure, maybe steeper short stretches. I find it does get rather flexy when I stand on the pedals. I have M handlebars if that's at all relevant. Also it doesn't quite have the low gears that my grown-up bike has. I'm happy to get off and push.

The classic M handle bars are clearly less stiff than S (and the traditional P ones are even worse). The M/H bars since 2017 are way better. Still a tad less stiff than S bars but totally acceptable in my eyes. Also, it probably makes a difference if you do a race up a hill and then you are done or if you climb a hill during a tour. With the first option you can use all your power for a short distance, thus you may live with getting out of the saddle and spending all you can give. With the latter you have to sorrowfully deal with your power, so low gears and also low speed are the better way to go and getting off and push is totally valid.

What would be interesting was to see, how things would develop between the two if the race was not a short distance one (the time needed was according to the video 10 mins, so the distance was not very far) but rather something like the Stelvio Climb or the Sella Ronda. Much longer distance with a variety of different gradients - and not possible to do this in continuous full power-mode out of the saddle.

 

[rogerzilla]

It's not so much the stiffness of the bars I'm thinking of: it's the ease of riding out of the saddle with bar ends (bar ends don't really work with M bars). The sideways hand grip is much better when standing.

I didn't find the Brompton "firm" block to be hard enough, even with a jubilee clip around it. The JK one works well for me, although it is so rigid that the rear triangle occasionally, momentarily, separates from the frame when riding over the wrong type of bump, typically tree roots under cyclepaths. I don't use a rear frame clip though, and I suspect most people now do.

 

[T4tomo]

On another cycle forum back in the day, there was a Swains lane hill climb thread (following a HC event up there) . basically post your time and take the same / wave your willy. I and others had a crack on Bromptons and the times weren't too bad. you do get a bit of unwanted bounce from the rear sussy block

 

[nickyboy]

Uphill I guess no big problem. 50mph downhills on a Brompton would be a different matter all together

 

[berlinonaut]

Uphill I guess no big problem. 50mph downhills on a Brompton would be a different matter all together

Done this more than once. Survived and one time even got a T-shirt. No issues at all.

 

[DRM]

Anything with Andy Feather pedalling it will fly uphill, that’s all there is to it

 

[Ridgeway]

We've just bought a factory that's 50km from Monti Zoncolan, i'll need to be there every few months or so... my Brompton often travels with me in the back of the car, guess what's on my 2022 challenge list my legs and back are already complaining

Can't see me making it up but i'll give it my best shot the descent should be fun on 16" Kojaks