Folding Bikes

[sparrowhawk1]

Thank you so much. I guess bioshield wasn't as bad as I thought, I think I was surprised it wasn't the winner. I now have CRC heavy duty on my list.
And by the way the Loctite extend rust neutralizer is like a watery paint that is easy to apply and dries in minutes

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by sparrowhawk1

Did you get the bike? And what did you think? I checked out the link and they look reasonably priced or maybe too good to be quality.

They preform reasionably for a 100 dollar bike. The handlebars were made.from thin wall aluminum tubes and bent quite easy . I replaced them with some stainless tube I had left from a job to make new ones. I have put around 500 miles on the bike and a few hundred stored on the boat. But I have changed back to a dahon. A friend offerd me a stainless frame 3 speed one for $15 bucks I couldnt open my wallet fast enough. That was last week and already have 50 or so miles on it.

[sparrowhawk1]

Stainless frame wow ! You can send your old bike to PO box....... 😊

[roverhi]

Spent most of the last two months getting around by bicycle while prepariring the new to me Sabre 28 for delivery from Alameda to Oceanside, CA. A few thoughts on my experience.

My trusty Bike Friday NWT was in Carlsbad and would have had to fly down there expressly to get it for use. Couldn't justify the airfare so looked for other options. Wanted to try a recumbent and saw a folding BikeFriday 'Saturday Recumbent' on Ebay so went for it. It looks much like the Linear Recumbent that others are praising except for a smaller rear wheel. As advertised, all but the seat folded into a suitcase which cured the storage issues. The big problem is it's a bitch to ride a recumbent. Getting started on level ground took much practice to get it going without falling over and then with only moderate success. With a little downslope it was easier but forget anything with an upslope. Just couldn't get the hang of getting the bike moving with a half revolution of the crank with one leg and getting the other leg, that had been holding me up for the start up, onto the other pedal and cranking before all forward progress ceased and I fell over. Fell over a ton of times and eventually gave up before I broke something other than the bike. I'm 72 so the reflexes aren't all that good but have no problem riding my Bike Friday NWT or other normal bike. Before you put down your money for a recumbent, be sure you can ride one.

That left me in a pickle as I didn't want to have to rent a car when a bike would do everything I needed. Blue Pelican Consignment Marine Store came to the rescue. Someone had given them a couple of 20" wheel folding bikes that they were selling for $70. Cosmetically they were in good shape but someone had cannibalized a few parts off them so needed a bit of bike mechanicing to get up and pedaling. A metric bolt, a little work with a Dremel tool and I had a working bike. There wasn't any identifying labelling on the bike so can't tell you who made it but it looks much like every folding bike coming out of China. The riding position was terrible. Too little distance between handle bars and seat made for a bolt upright riding position. That acted on me like a spinnaker in reverse riding into even a moderate wind and the position was very uncomfortable and inefficient. For proper body mechanics you need a bit of forward lean to get the muscles of your upper leg and buttocks to help your screaming thighs when riding a bike. Doesn't have to be a full tuck but a little forward lean which I find the most comfortable riding position. With everything adjusted out to the max was at least able to ride the bike. Bike weighed a ton probably well north of 40# but it did fold easily once I figured out it's foibles. It did need to be tied up in it's folded condition to be able to load it on the boat and stow it. About the only good thing I can say about the bike is it did what I needed it to do out of necessity but certainly not love. Was able to ride several miles without cramping up or suffering any other maladies. Would never buy one and seriously reccomend that you thoroughly check out any folding bike to be sure the design isn't an ergonomic POS.

Because of lack of interior storage space, stored the bike on the foredeck for the delivery south which was a big mistake. It grabbed the lee sheet on every tack so forced to have someone forward to clear the hang ups. Worse, it rusted badly. Only surface rust on the short first days sail but it washed off the bike onto the deck and left large rust stains. An ospho based rust stain remover has had little effect in getting rid of the stains. In the bikes defense, we got the sh** kicked out of us the first day with solid water coming aboard from every direction so the bike got thoroughly soaked.

Because of the bad conditions, shredded the main, broke the mainsheet traveller and had one of the cap shrouds come off the spreader so decided to head into Monterey for repairs. To add insult to injury, the formerly trusty Garmin GPS lied to us about our position by more than 40 miles. Instead of 10 miles off Monterey, we were 40 plus which made for a much longer tight jaws power with the mast above the spreaders whipping around.

Once safe in Monterey Harbor, unloaded the bicycle, washed it off with fresh water and sprayed it down with WD40. Other than its new patina of rust and corrosion causing the rear brake cable to stick, it was back in service. West Marine was at least a 1/2 mile away and Cannery Row further, so the bike got good use again. After a couple of days making repairs and waiting for the winds to die down, loaded the bike into the V berth and motored the whole rest of the way to Oceanside in very light to no wind condtions.

Once the boat was home in Oceanside, was able to pull the BF suitcase out of storage, unpack my trusty BikeFriday NWT and enjoy the pleasures of riding a real bike again. What a relief to have a real bike to ride again. We have a small condo in Carlsbad that we stay in while visiting the Grandkids. The slip in Oceanside Harbour is 6 miles away. Ride the BF there and back almost everyday. Good source of aerobic exercise and leaves the car free for my wife to use. We're in Downtown Carlsbad so the BikeFriday gets used for trips to the grocery, hardware, etc store on an almost daily basis. In short, an ideal set up to keep a REAL bike where you have limited storage.

Originally Posted by jongleur

I have an earlier version of this:
2016 Folding Roadster -

It folds up surprisingly small. Have
never put them on my boat, but I carry
two of them inside my compact car,
with 2 people and all our luggage for
extended trips. No need for racks.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by sparrowhawk1

Stainless frame wow ! You can send your old bike to PO box....... 😊

Would be cheaper just to get yourself a new one delivered. Just put a piece of 1/2nch conduit in the handlebar and secure it with a bit of spray foam before riding it to far.
Yep the dahon has stainless frame and I pay for that the bike weighs right at 40 pounds.

[sparrowhawk1]

I'm still shopping but I'm thinking of getting this one

[Meanderthal]

Husband found a De Blasi folding scooter for $350 on craigslist. I think we have a folding scooter now🙄

[WindJunkie]

Have you considered a Paratrooper by Montague? 26" wheels make it a fantastic mountain bike. It doesn't fold as small as the dedicated folding bikes, but it's basically a full-sized mountain bike and far more stable when riding. I made a bag and a shoulder strap for mine. They weigh about 28 lbs stripped, cost about $850-$950 new, have front and rear disk brakes, 24-speeds, excellent components. I think I can cram mine in my engine room (41' Gulfstar Ketch) but haven't actually tried it yet...it might require removal of both wheels. One of the nicest features is that when folded, one of the handlebar ends allows you to lift it just like a suitcase, though you wouldn't want to carry it very far that way...hence the shoulder strap I made. BTW, when folded, use an adjustable strap or three with plastic buckles to hold things together.

[sparrowhawk1]

Wow I just bought one off of Craigslist. It's the nicest riding bike I've ever owned

[WindJunkie]

If you don't mind, where did you find it and how much? I found mine on Craigslist for $475 (plus about $60 in shipping) in Corpus Christi, TX (and shipped to Fort Myers FL). I have put almost 6,000 miles on that thing and it still looks just like the day I got it.

I would highly recommend a set of Cygolite lights for it, even if you only ride in daylight. Both their front/white and rear red have strobe modes that vastly improve your visibility to others during daylight. My front white light is the Metro 420 and it is amazingly bright...it really lights up the ground in front of you so you can truly ride fast at night without worrying about hitting something. It's USB-rechargeable (mine's been going strong since 2013), about the size of a D-cell battery, and only cost $45 when I bought it in 2013. The rear is also USB-rechargeable, has 5 or 6 different modes selected with the left button (one steady-on, the rest various forms of intermittent), and you can change the speed of the intermittent or the intensity of the steady-on by holding the right button. These run about $25 to $29, and I really think they are the best lights on the market.

Enjoy riding that bike...take the 30 seconds to fold it up and put it in your shopping cart and it will never get stolen!

- Jeff.

[sparrowhawk1]

Believe it or not I got it for less than $200 in Miami on Craigslist but I've been shopping for close to a year. Those lights seem nice but if you add them together they're about half the price of my bike.( Amazon sells the headlight for about 70 bucks)PS years ago I bought a very expensive case-hardened chain to lock my bike. I've always bought an old clunker I just left it out but this bike I will be taking home with me every night.

[WindJunkie]

Oh, that's an awesome price...is it the one you pictured in the post? With disc brakes front and rear and the luggage rack? If so, so much the better, and if not you still got a fantastic deal. I did see one there recently, but they wanted around $500 for it...I'm wondering if you got that one for such a great price...hope you did!
- Jeff.

[WindJunkie]

Oh...BTW...don't consider the cost of the lights in relation to what you paid for the bike...remember you looked for a year, think of it more in relation to what your bike is worth (but far more importantly...what your life is worth). Bright lights, even in daylight, could very well save your life, as most drivers will not intentionally hit you, but the way they are distracted these days with their phones, it's far more likely that someone will not be aware of your presence.

[sparrowhawk1]

For some reason when I try and send a picture of the bike I'm told my file is too large. My bike didn't come with the luggage rack or rear disc brakes but while I was test driving a car stopped in the middle of the road and actually started backing up when I was going really fast and let me tell you the brakes work great. I almost went over the handlebars but the front disc brake allowed me to have total control.
I did a front wheelie for what felt like 10 feet but was probably only two on a bike that I was riding for the first time

[sparrowhawk1]

well here's a photo of it in the back of my friend's car and for those considering a bike like this it takes up a lot more room without the front wheel taken off.