Folding bicycles

[GregS]

Anyone have any recommendations for decent quality folding bicycles that aren't too expensive? I know that expensive is subjective, so any ideas are welcome.

I'm thinking of adding a folding bicycle to carry in my vehicle, but I'd also use it when we go camping. I have my get home bag in my trunk and would add racks to any bike I carried.

My commute is from the north Harford county area down to around Laurel, so about 50 miles for my regular commute. If I needed to use the bike to get home, I would not be traveling that same route and likely would need to go all "back roads" to get home.

I figure that the events that would force me to travel by bike are very unlikely, so I don't want to spend a fortune on the bike. But I also don't want to buy a piece of junk that wouldn't survive a possible 100 mile trip that could include some off road travel.

 

[Squaregrouper]

Zizzo seems to be the go to for a reasonable budget.
I looked into them last year but never got one. (My shortest commute is 8 miles through shady parts of Balt City)

 

[toppkatt]

Vintage Pre WWII Folding Westfield Compax Paratrooper Bicycle Original | eBay

In 1938 the Compax Mfg Co. Inc. introduced it’s Compax Vagabond Folding bike. It did not take long for Westfield Mfg Co., the makers of Columbia bikes to take note of this bike and they wanted it in their line of bikes.

www.ebay.com

 

[MaxVO2]

Anyone have any recommendations for decent quality folding bicycles that aren't too expensive? I know that expensive is subjective, so any ideas are welcome.

I'm thinking of adding a folding bicycle to carry in my vehicle, but I'd also use it when we go camping. I have my get home bag in my trunk and would add racks to any bike I carried.

My commute is from the north Harford county area down to around Laurel, so about 50 miles for my regular commute. If I needed to use the bike to get home, I would not be traveling that same route and likely would need to go all "back roads" to get home.

I figure that the events that would force me to travel by bike are very unlikely, so I don't want to spend a fortune on the bike. But I also don't want to buy a piece of junk that wouldn't survive a possible 100 mile trip that could include some off road travel.

****What's your budget. Generally speaking, you get what you pay for with bikes, as well as many other thing in life.

That being said, Dahon and Tern Link make excellent folding bikes that are pretty light, have either Shimano or SRAM components and fold up pretty small so they should fit in a trunk no problem. The better ones have fenders to help deal with wet roads and splashing and versatile gearing for a variety of terrain. There are several different models to choose from in either brand - more money gets you better components and generally just a nicer overall bike that rides like a nice bike and not something cheap that generally just falls apart and is really rough shifting, etc..

Both of the brands above are sold at REI. There are other higher end brands and *much* nicer bikes like Brompton but they are quite expensive and could be used as a daily bike by someone who bikes a lot and be an acceptable substitute for their regular road bike or light gravel bike. They are also much lighter and have rebuildable and serviceable components, etc... Probably overkill for just an occasional bike or trunk bike.

It really just comes down to how much you want to spend. Anything of reasonable quality will not be super cheap. Something too cheap will just fall apart and really just not work all that well and really just be junk and a very disappointing purchase and not a good value at all.

 

[mpollan1]

Must be an election (installment?) year. Get home bike. Get home gun. Things are gonna get real interesting in 5 or 6 months.

 

[gamer_jim]

Must be an election (installment?) year. Get home bike. Get home gun. Things are gonna get real interesting in 5 or 6 months.

Or both:

 

[gwchem]

Max hit it on the head. Brompton is the best. The others will do the job. Make sure you keep a tire pump handle, a flat repair kit, and know how to use it.

 

[GregS]

Brompton, ouch. Yeah, that's out of my price range for a bike that will spend most of its time in my trunk. Zizzo is much better priced, but I'll have to find a local place to try one out. As for budget, I'd prefer to stay below about $500, but I'm flexible, so give or take $200 or so.

 

[MaxVO2]

Brompton, ouch. Yeah, that's out of my price range for a bike that will spend most of its time in my trunk. Zizzo is much better priced, but I'll have to find a local place to try one out. As for budget, I'd prefer to stay below about $500, but I'm flexible, so give or take $200 or so.

****You might want to consider buying used. Unlike a car, airplane, yacht, space shuttle, etc.. - it is reasonably easy to inspect a bicycle and see if it is in proper working order and the overall condition of the components, etc...

eBay and other such sites along with some bike stores might have some used offerings for a LOT less than retail. I've bought used vintage components for older bikes I have and been very very happy with them versus buying new, etc..

Just something else to consider if you want to get more value for your $$$.

Below is a pic of a vintage Gios Torino - a dream bike for me that was made famous by a very famous Belgian cyclist, Roger De Vlaeminck in the 1970's when I was just a really little kid (I'm kind of a big kid now and still ride and race bikes..).

It's not a foldable bike, but I bought many vintage/used components on eBay to finish the project and hang it up on my wall. The bike was/is a work of art with some of the most elegant Italian componentry that was state of the art at the time - Campagnolo Super Record.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

 

[Moonlighter]

****You might want to consider buying used. Unlike a car, airplane, yacht, space shuttle, etc.. - it is reasonably easy to inspect a bicycle and see if it is in proper working order and the overall condition of the components, etc...

eBay and other such sites along with some bike stores might have some used offerings for a LOT less than retail. I've bought used vintage components for older bikes I have and been very very happy with them versus buying new, etc..

Just something else to consider if you want to get more value for your $$$.

Below is a pic of a vintage Gios Torino - a dream bike for me that was made famous by a very famous Belgian cyclist, Roger De Vlaeminck in the 1970's when I was just a really little kid (I'm kind of a big kid now and still ride and race bikes..).

It's not a foldable bike, but I bought many vintage/used components on eBay to finish the project and hang it up on my wall. The bike was/is a work of art with some of the most elegant Italian componentry that was state of the art at the time - Campagnolo Super Record.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

View attachment 461007
View attachment 461008

Couldn't spring for some pedals, ya cheap skate?

 

[MaxVO2]

Couldn't spring for some pedals, ya cheap skate?

****Haha! That Gios Bike was SO nice I actually hung it up on a wall as art. Sounds weird I know but this was before some really cool mounts came out sort of recently that were elegant so as to allow mounting the pedals without them banging up the wall. One of my friends is a professional photographer and he took some pics of a few of the bikes at my old house and they came out nice. To non cyclists a bicycle is just a toy or perhaps a means of transport - but to cyclists there are some bikes that in our hobby are absolutely works of art and are sometimes hung up on walls just for appreciation.

That blue Gios Torino is just gorgeous and was something I could not afford when I was a young kid as it cost about $1500 back in 1978 or so which was a LOT of money back then. I've had other bikes mounted on walls for both space savings as well as just something different decor wise versus just some velvet Elvis painting, or a Tiger, or a Godzilla fighting a three headed Dragon or giant Moth, etc... You know... classy stuff....

Eye of the beholder and all that.... The mounts below are sold on ETSY, or were. Probably other stuff available now that's artsy. Forget pedals, the two bikes below don't even have brakes as those only slow you down!

 

[Growler215]

When I lived in Honolulu I used to carry a regular bike with the wheels pulled off in my trunk. Would ride it home the 8 miles from Pearl Harbor, then ride it back in to work the next morning and put it back in the trunk.

Gotta have QD wheels for that, though.

 

[GregS]

Yeah, I've considered taking the wheels off a bike to carry in the trunk. I'm just exploring the options at this point.

 

[Dovk0802]

Was looking at one last week while at the Rockville Bike Hub Community bike center where they repair and sell donated bikes https://www.rockvillebikehub.org/
Which might be a little far from OP but look around for similar organizations