Folding bikes

[Bd500]

Just joined and had a look at the folding bike page. Yea gods it's all bickerton. I've been bought a second hand apollo tuck which I'm in the process or getting it lighter. (handlebars seat post and crankset horrible thing )I've ridden it a few times and I'm happy with it( post mods)
So why call the bike cheese? Do you have to own a bickerton to get on the web page?

 

[Bd500]

Sorry I should have said Brompton

 

[steveindenmark]

I have 2 Bromptons. I bought mine because they are widely regarded as the best folding bike you can buy.

But anyone who has a folding bike is welcome. Especially if they have a bike nobody has ever heard of.

 

[tinywheels]

there is only one proper folder. Everything else is a poor second.
However, each manufacturer has it's fanboys.
We in the know can only look at them askance and pity them.

 

[chriswoody]

It depends what you need from a folder really. If you need a really small fold, then yes, Brompton have the market sewn up. If like me, the size of the fold is not so important, then there are viable alternatives.

I have a Tern Link Uno, which cost a third of a Bromptons new price. For the last 6 years it's transported me faultlessly to work and back through all winds and weathers, as well as being the general odd job bike at home. Every day I cart it up and down the stairs at the train station and on the train to work. I really couldn't ask for more from a bike and I really don't know what a Brompton would give me that this Tern couldn't, aside from a massive hole in my wallet.

 

[tinywheels]

It depends what you need from a folder really. If you need a really small fold, then yes, Brompton have the market sewn up. If like me, the size of the fold is not so important, then there are viable alternatives.

I have a Tern Link Uno, which cost a third of a Bromptons new price. For the last 6 years it's transported me faultlessly to work and back through all winds and weathers, as well as being the general odd job bike at home. Every day I cart it up and down the stairs at the train station and on the train to work. I really couldn't ask for more from a bike and I really don't know what a Brompton would give me that this Tern couldn't, aside from a massive hole in my wallet.

style old boy, style. That's what a Brompton has in spades. Bit like a Ferrari, it's all about the pedigree.
Some folks are happy with a fast ford or scooby. If you're happy on your tern,fine. But for a bit more, something intangible could have been yours.

 

[matticus]

style old boy, style. That's what a Brompton has in spades. Bit like a Ferrari, it's all about the pedigree.

Is this a bit like the lord of the manor driving a 20-yr old beige Volvo? It looks shoot, but everyone knows he's got money and doesn't need to show it.

 

[StuAff]

Reference to Ferrari brings to mind the issues a certain Italian customer had with his 250 GT back in the late fifties. The gentleman owned a tractor factory, among other businesses, and he did well enough to afford a string of luxury cars, including the Ferrari. There are multiple versions of the story, the man himself told several, but here's at least one. . He kept burning the clutch out, and multiple visits to Maranello for expensive repairs ensued. Eventually, he gets his mechanics at the tractor plant to work on it, and they find the same clutch they're using in tractors (though this part was used in many other sports cars as well). Enraged at such a cheap part being used (10 lire, he was getting charged 1,000), he confronted Ferrari in person and got told he was 'a farmer' and shouldn't complain. He decided he should build a sports car himself. So he did. It worked out rather well.

The name of the man? Ferruccio Lamborghini.

 

[Drago]

Enzo Ferrari, a famously difficult man, actually said words to the effect of, "if you don't like it youre welcome to try and do better yourself". It was that parting shot that prompted Lamborghini to stick the old man's words up his arse.

 

[StuAff]

Enzo Ferrari, a famously difficult man, actually said words to the effect of, "if you don't like it youre welcome to try and do better yourself". It was that parting shot that prompted Lamborghini to stick the old man's words up his arse.

…I did say there were multiple versions! The one I recounted was told by Valentino Balboni…

 

[MichaelW2]

At the car boot sale this Sunday I saw an old Halfords 20" shopper style folder. It looked rather nice!!!!!
Apollo are cheap bikes. The frame is strong enough but weighty and the alignment is often out of whack. The components are made from fairly soft metal and it doesnt take much to round a bolt. Having said that, any bike is 3x better than no bike. I met a big New Zealander touring the UK on an Apollo grade bike. I fixed his machine with a mixture of cunning and brute force and he carried on enjoying his tour.
My own folder is a Dahon that has over 40,000 miles of all weather riding.

 

[tinywheels]

Is this a bit like the lord of the manor driving a 20-yr old beige Volvo? It looks shoot, but everyone knows he's got money and doesn't need to show it.

mmmm sort of.
It's one of those intangibles.