What are the best folding bikes?

[Alphaman92]

Hey guys,

I'm new here and looking to find out what the best folding bikes are, I was looking at purchasing a bicycle a year or two ago but passed on it in the end. I've been reading reviews which seem to think that Dahon's are the best... I see a lot of Bromptons here in the UK and was wondering if they are equally as good?

Thanks

 

[mjr]

Bromptons fold smaller yet have a longer wheelbase but that means more hinges and smaller wheels. There's not a lot in the choice but whatever make, I'd go for one with a hub gear next time which means less chain to put oil on stuff and a gear cable less likely to self-adjust during folding/unfolding.

 

[Kell]

Anyone with a Dahon, will probably tell you that Dahon is, and anyone with a Brompton will probably say a Brompton is.

I'm on my fourth folding bike and have had two Dahons. Both of which snapped/cracked the frames. Both in the same place on the seat tube. And both just outside of their 5-year frame warranty. Both are now probably in landfill somewhere as I took off anything worth holding on to (not much) and binned the rest.

Consequently, I've recently bought a Brompton and wish I'd done it years ago. It's far more useful (for me) because of the tiny fold size and is as quick as the full sized Dahon it replaced. It's comfortable, quick and (subjectively) it looks good too. For me, it's better than the Dahons, but I'm not sure that makes it the best folder as I've not tried Oribike, Airnimal, Birdy etc.

 

[mjr]

Anyone with a Dahon, will probably tell you that Dahon is, and anyone with a Brompton will probably say a Brompton is.

Really? Can you tell what I have?

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Brommies are the most popular contemporary folding bikes in the UK for good reason.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Depends what you want. If you need a bike you occasionally need to fold (to throw it in a car boot, say) you will be less worried about the fold than if you need to commute with a rail-trip in the middle or fold the bike daily and store it under your desk.

We have two Bromptons in the household and are very happy with them; they've lasted ages and all the bits are backward-compatible so you're not stuck with an unfixable bike a few years down the line.

A Brompton is also just about the only bike you can always legally take on a train (theoretically I think it's supposed to be bagged too) as the folded dimensions agree with the national rail terms of carriage (last time I looked).

On the hub-gear point raised by mjray - we have the 6 speed Bromptons, so have a small dérailleur and a hub gear; it works fine but the hub is less persnickety than the dérailleur esp in winter.

 

[Dirk]

Best folding bike? - Brompton.
Best riding bike? - Not a Brompton.*

*based purely my own experience.

 

[steveindenmark]

Really? Can you tell what I have?

Not really. But you have not expressed a preference yet.

But whatever it is, it does not have hub gears. It does not make a lot of sense to pay £1000 for aBrompton, only to say you prefer a Tern or Dahon. If you do, your initial research must have been useless. So Kells statement has a better chance than not.

Im guessing you have aBrompton. :0)

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Kell, out of curiosity, what was the other bike (one Brompton, two Dahons...one what?)

 

[Kell]

The other one was essentially a clone of the old Dahon Matrix sold in Germany called a Rabbit.de

It actually ran really well and I got great support from them when the adjuster on the main frame went kaput.

Unfortunately, I got side-swiped by a car on Marble Arch roundabout and the cost to repair the bike came to more than buying a new one on the Ride-to-work scheme, so it got binned.

Pictures (not of mine)

 

[Fab Foodie]

Best folding bike? - Brompton.
Best riding bike? - Not a Brompton.*

*based purely my own experience.

I find the Brompton is an utter hoot to ride, other bikes feel like barges in comparison.

 

[srw]

Really? Can you tell what I have?

Something that's not a Brompton, because Brommies have hub gears. Probably a Dahon or clone, because they'll flog their bikes to anyone to relabel.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Well it could be a 2spd Brompton or a single speed (but then no gear cable). Must say my gear cable has never 'self adjusted' while folding/unfolding.

 

[srw]

Hey guys,

I'm new here and looking to find out what the best folding bikes are, I was looking at purchasing a bicycle a year or two ago but passed on it in the end. I've been reading reviews which seem to think that Dahon's are the best... I see a lot of Bromptons here in the UK and was wondering if they are equally as good?

Thanks

A Brompton.

Pound for pound, Brommies are much better at being folding bikes than Dahons. I gather there are some stupidly expensive Dahons which are supposedly not bad, but they're not desperately good at folding.

For a while I had both a Trek (i.e. a rebadged Dahon) and a Brompton. I loathed the Trek and was quietly glad when it was stolen. I love the Brompton, and like @Fab Foodie I love the way it rides.

 

[midlife]

Bickerton . Well it was in the 70's

Shaun