Best folding bikes for day tripping?

deaglan1

Hi all,

I would like to throw a folding bike into the car and on some occasions take it out for a few hours exploration of the countryside -any recommendations - not looking for speed or super fancy gearwork - just a leisurely cycle on standard country roads that won't make me feel uncomfortable after a couple of hours and won't make feel as if I have had a workout pedaling. No interest in an e-folding bike and I am not looking for a standard bike to attach to the back of the car. A "solid" folding bike with perhaps a larger wheel size is what I would envisage. A comfort seat is a must. Weight of bike is not a factor as the bike is not intended for urban commutes with bus/metro carry-ons. Just out of the car, unfold, daytrip, back in car. I am circa 1.75 Meters (5'9") & circa 73 kilo (11.5 St.)

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I don't mind modern or vintage folding bike recommendations.

Eamonnator

Budget?

tomasrojo

Airnimal do performance folding bikes, and they have almost normal-size wheels. They don't fold all that small or all that conveniently, but they seem to fit your requirements better than a Dahon or Brompton, which do fold small and conveniently but have small wheels.
http://airnimal.eu/

I'd be happy to do 50km or so on a Brompton personally, but it's definitely not a performance bike, and I presume an Airnimal would be less tiring over a few hours.

deaglan1

Eamonnator wrote: »

Budget?

Well what would you recommend in following ranges?

500
750
1000
1500

I can avail of bike to work scheme & would consider using for last three km to work to clear my conscience (now & again:-)

JC 3.14159

I can only give an opinion on a Tern Link A7 - it's the cheapest model in their range, I paid around €500 for it (new) and use it for 10-20km commuting a few days a week. Tern are essentially the same as Dahon - 20" wheels, decent but not tiny fold.

I'm not using it for the same purposes as you, but the same benefits/drawbacks apply. I guess this is more of a general review, but might be useful for you anyhow.

I've been really impressed with it. I've done a fair bit of road/touring/commuting cycling so I can compare it to a lot of other bikes.

My only gripes are the unbranded spongy brakes, which I switched out for some cheap but far superior Tektros, and the wide squashy 'comfort' saddle (however I note that you want this).

I'm happy with the gearing - it's very basic Shimano stuff but there's a good range for most hills and plenty of top end speed too for what it is. I was anticipating it to be flexy and 'loose' feeling, but it's surprisingly solid. You can hear minor creaks and clicks but maybe that's unavoidable for something with this many joints and adjustable parts. I haven't tried any of the fancier versions, maybe spending more would eliminate that. I'm 6' 2", 85 kg, probably 95kg with backpack and gear, so I'm much closer than you to its 105kg weight limit. I have long legs and have the seatpost up to it's highest point also.
I wasn't sure what to expect from the smaller wheels, but it's not an issue at all. It doesn't feel jumpy at all at speed, and the small wheels are much better for slow weaving around obstacles and tight turns.

The thing I didn't expect was the 'freedom' that a folder gives you. I'm living in a city with a decent train/tram/bus/cycle path system, and it's awful handy to have flexibility to jump between systems and change plans on the fly - drive part of the way, get on a bus, come back to a different train station, stop into a shop or cafe on the way and just stuff the bike in a corner or wheel it around semi-folded, cycle a bit more or less if the weather changes, etc. Or cycle to meet the rest of the family at the shops or cinema and bung it in the car boot, or drive one of the kids to football training, set up the bike for them and let them cycle it home. It's like a magic missing link that I didn't realise even existed.

You might surprise yourself that you end up using it a lot more than you'd planned - I see from your second comment that you have the option to partly commute on it.

I haven't gone for longer cycles with it, but mainly because I just wear normal clothes on my commutes and bring a backpack. I have other bikes for longer days out that have pannier racks etc. I'd consider it more than acceptable for 50km sort of days out, which seems to be what you have in mind. You would maybe want to stick some more balloony tyres (Schwalbe big apples or similar) on there to give it a bit more float but the standard ones are grand really. Plenty of tyre options available in 20" size. Bigger wheels have advantages but even a 20" folder takes up a fair bit of room in a car boot and is a bit of a handful to manhandle.

Once I got using it I spent some time going through the Tern website looking at the more expensive models - but if I was buying again I'm not sure I'd get anything different. A hub gear is tempting for simplicity and cleanliness, but it adds weight and you lose a few % efficiency. The pricer ones have fancier hinges and look a bit sleeker but what's on the Link A7 is perfectly functional. There doesn't seem to be much difference in fold size. Except the newer BYB models - they do look quite nice but they start at £1200.

At the same time, I wouldn't go cheaper - there are options from Decathlon and some non-brands that look roughly similar. But the Tern is a 'real' bike, and has obviously been made by people who know what they're doing. Anything of lower spec could be crossing into unusable territory, and risks becoming something frustrating that gets stuck in the shed.

CantGetNoSleep

I've owned both a Dahon Speed (20" wheels) and more recently bought a Brompton (16" but much smaller fold).

In terms of the actual folding and unfolding (both the size folded and how easy / quick it is to fold), nothing will come close to the Brompton. I use it around town more than putting in the car but just fold it and take it wherever I am going.

In terms of price though, the Dahon was 250 EUR second hand in very good condition. The Brompton was 1700 new

I struggled to fit two of the Dahon's folded in my (admittedly small) car.

beauf

Lots of stories online of people touring on folding bikes trails etc. Doing massive miles. World tours etc.

I've never done more than about 14k on my 20" 6 speed. Only used it for commuting. Mines set up very much for comfort very upright position and tarmac skinny tyres narrow handle bars. Fast enough to stay with traffic. It's not designed to deal with rougher surfaces though. So you avoid kerb drops and rougher roads. There's a warning on the frame about this.

If I was going to do a lot more miles on a folding Id buy a model thats has higher quality parts and perhaps a more performance sitting position. Wider bars less upright position.

But it's personal choice. For myself I'm actually thinking of replacing my main non folding bike with something more upright as I like that position more. But it will be an electric bike probably.

Hamsterchops

deaglan1 wrote: »

Best folding bikes for day tripping?

Hi all,
I would like to throw a folding bike into the car and on some occasions take it out for a few hours exploration of the countryside -any recommendations - not looking for speed or super fancy gearwork - just a leisurely cycle on standard ............

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I don't mind modern or vintage folding bike recommendations.

(1) Brompton
(2) Tern
(3) Raleigh

Multiple folding variations from all three + several other manufacturers, too many to list ...

tomasrojo

The Brompton Bicycle book has a picture of a couple who went over the Alps on Bromptons, pulling trailers. They did it, but said it was tiring.

This person has some advice on touring with Bromptons, so they can do longer distances alright:
http://www.bromptontraveler.com/2015/08/myths-on-touring-with-brompton.html

I've definitely done over 30km in one day on a Brompton. I was pulling a trailer too, so I reckon they're not bad for fairly long distances.

beauf

Hamsterchops wrote: »

(1) Brompton
(2) Tern
(3) Raleigh

Multiple folding variations from all three + several other manufacturers, too many to list ...

Dahon have a tonne of models. They would be way ahead of Raleigh imo.

deaglan1

Thank you JC for that very extensive response...your have me almost convinced that the Tern Link A7 is a viable option. I will give it a try and see how it compares with the other recommendations

tomasrojo

Speaking of Bromptons ...

https://twitter.com/CyclingTodayEn/status/1213407482544041985

smacl

Montague to a range of full size folding bikes, see https://www.montaguebikes.com/product-category/pavementmulti-use-bikes/ That said, if you're putting it in the car most bikes will fit in the boot or back seat of most cars with the wheels off and taking the wheels on and off is very quick job. (i.e. couple of minutes at most). Last weekend break we had three people in the car, my CX bike, a ton of camping gear, food and clothes all in a Kia Ceed.

A folder is great if you're using public transport but for car and bike a regular bike works fine and gives you better performance at a lower cost.

timmyjimmy

Does anybody know anything about fnhon folding bikes? They seem to be very fashionable in Asia with many customizable options, I've even seen one running an ultegra groupset. The fnhon gust is a beautiful steel frame which can be got for quite cheap from Asia and then built up to what ever spec one would like. I'm considering getting a folder and a Brompton would be my number one choice but I'm wondering would there be better bang for book with these beauties?

Arciphel

Another one to consider is the Giant Halfway, I’ve been riding one of these for about four years now and very happy with it although I did upgrade the saddle.

beauf

timmyjimmy wrote: »

Does anybody know anything about fnhon folding bikes? They seem to be very fashionable in Asia with many customizable options, I've even seen one running an ultegra groupset. The fnhon gust is a beautiful steel frame which can be got for quite cheap from Asia and then built up to what ever spec one would like. I'm considering getting a folder and a Brompton would be my number one choice but I'm wondering would there be better bang for book with these beauties?

Bang for buck....

https://www.bikeforums.net/folding-bikes/956320-what-s-story-behind-fnhon.html

Never seen one. Never heard of them before.

Nothing folds like Brompton. So everything else is a different kind of a bike/folder. I have two dahon like folders. Mine fold neater than most. But nothing beats the compact nature of a Brompton. That said both of mine cost less than half a new Brompton. If I'd had a Brompton I might still be using it on the train. However my train is now too overcrowded to use my folding bikes. There is just no room.


So it depends what you are using it for.