What are the best folding bikes?

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TheDoctor

Europe Endless
Moderator
Location
The TerrorVortex
I've got a Decathlon folder, which is a Dahon clone, a Bickerton, a Deawoo Shuttle, and a Brompton M6R. And various non-folding bikes.
The Brommie gets more use than all my other bikes put together. It's not the best at anything except folding up small, but it's OK at everything. If you can get on with the ride and handling (and they're not to everyone's taste) then it's great!
I'd also suggest trying a Mezzo and a Birdy if you can. Both highly regarded and well known folders. The Tern P24h looks interesting too - 20" wheels, 24 gears and set up for touring. It doesn't fold as small as the Brommie, but you can't have everything. I'd like to try one...
 

midlife

Guru
.....You have a Bickerton ? Not seen one since the Bay City Rollers were in the charts. Any pics :smile:

Shaun
 

Kell

Veteran
There's a new Bickerton out. Which looks like a Clone of the Tern 26" folder.

It's the one I almost went for before the Brompton as I'd had three full-size folders prior to getting a Brommie.

Pleased I made the choice I did though.
 

shouldbeinbed

Rollin' along
Location
Manchester way
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 :smile:
To do what with?

Is a small sensible fold with a nice ride that is faster than walking at either end of a public transport journey key?

Is it riding really fast on skinny wheels and drop bars head down, bum up on a bike that will fit in smaller vehicles.

Is it something you want to transport easily to MTB / rougher trails and then have 26 inch wheels to blast around on?

Do you have a price limit or preference for ease of un/folding.

Do you want useful and working suspension

Do you want a good all rounder that folds brilliantly and rides very well or a good all rounder that rides brilliantly and folds very well.

In order of my love for my folding bikes or ones O have had a serious crush on

Birdy
Brompton
electric assist folder my mum has.
BTwin Tilt
Dahon
Unbranded USA cromo early MTB style 26”

Which one would I pick if I absolutely had to have only 1.

Brompton.

Edit: err no Birdy

Errr Brompton

Yeah, Brompton, but I'd always shed a tear for the lost Birdy.
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
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.
A relabelled Dahon is the right answer. I bought it second-hand as an experiment but it has a few niggles (for example, the chain is a bit naked/unprotected/able-to-oil whatever it touches when folded and I think the hinges may corrode easily) - it works OK but I think hub gears make more sense.

As I was cycling home from market yesterday, I met a man from Nottingham who was riding a B'Twin folder to scout out cycle routes from the caravan site he was staying at, to check they had clearance for his wife's motorised wheelchair. I think he was on a http://www.decathlon.co.uk/tilt-700-folding-bike-grey-id_8300175.html - the handlebar folding catch had come loose, but he said they were going to replace it under its lifetime warranty. Besides that, it looked much neater and better thought-out than my folder - but fortunately not as neat as the black roadster I was riding ;)
 

shouldbeinbed

Rollin' along
Location
Manchester way
^^^^ half your luck. I'd love to chat with a real life Tiilt owner to find out how they perform other than on Decathlon's shop floor and if the newer name/number protocol ones have solved the alarming frame hinge flex when applying the front brake.

I am quite taken with the notion of them.
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
I'd love to chat with a real life Tiilt owner to find out how they perform other than on Decathlon's shop floor and if the newer name/number protocol ones have solved the alarming frame hinge flex when applying the front brake.
He said he's here all week so if I pass him again, I'll ask. He'd done nearly 3000 miles on it in under a year, so I think he's quite happy with its performance.
 

John the Monkey

Frivolous Cyclist
Location
Crewe
Define "better value" and state what alternatives are worth researching...

...you may, of course, find, on the other hand, that folk do stacks of research before concluding that Brommie is the way to go.


I know I did.
I was going to buy a Mezzo, right up until I did a comparative fold & test ride of a Mezzo D9 and a Brompton S6-L.

My biggest regret is not spending the extra money for Racing Green paint on the Brompton.
 

Kell

Veteran
Define "better value" and state what alternatives are worth researching...

...you may, of course, find, on the other hand, that folk do stacks of research before concluding that Brommie is the way to go.


I know I did.

Me too - and a fair bit of trial and error.

In fact, I consciously resisted buying a Brompton because I thought they looked ridiculous.

I discounted anything more expensive than a Brompton as that really was more than I wanted to spend anyway.

I discounted Dahon/Clones as I had two and they've both been nothing but bother, with constant attention needed to keep them on the road. And ultimately, both frames snapped. Nothing for less money folds as well. In fact nothing that I could see for more money folds as well either.

Don't get me wrong, I loved riding a full sized folder, but the Brompton has turned out to be more useful, more often. And it's just as quick, as I found out yesterday when I got a KOM on my commute to work. It's not the fastest I've done it (I did that on my road bike), but it's the fastest this year on a folder and that includes times set against both full sized Dahons.

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