The Cheap Folding Bike Thread

[jet-ski]

what do you think about the Revo shifter? I had one on my Oyama and didn't like the feel of it, much prefer the SRAM gripshifts I have on my Bike Friday, less plasticcy and the body is smaller which is better for my tiny hands

[cyclotaur]

Seems an appropriate thread ....

Behold - the BSA Collapsible Airborne Bicycle ... !!

[Pax]

what do you think about the Revo shifter? I had one on my Oyama and didn't like the feel of it, much prefer the SRAM gripshifts I have on my Bike Friday, less plasticcy and the body is smaller which is better for my tiny hands

I have never had a bike with grip shifters of any kind before...so it feels weird. None the less it seems good enough. The shifts are nice and positive, and the size is fine for me.

[Pax]

First test commuting by train with the Giant Expressway ("cheap folder").

Unfortunately Mrs Pax has been in hospital for a week, so I drove to the hospital before work with the Giant folded comfortably in the boot (bad photo in the half light):



After the visit to the hospital rode to the train station, re-folded the bike, put it in its bag & trained to Central. Then at lunch rode to Woolies in Spring Hill to buy the mandatory fruit etc for Mrs Pax (round trip 15 mins including shopping, so much faster than walking there . After work it was back onto the train :



out to Mitchelton station & rode back to the car & then to the hospital.

A fun little experiment, that went without any major hitches. The bike in its bag is comfortable enough to carry for a reasonable distance (approx 300m) including up about 40 stairs between Central and our office at Wickham Tce. We move to Petrie Tce soon and I will start using it daily then I think.

[Pax]

Quick update on the cheap folder.

We have moved into the new office a bit out of the cbd. The folder has worked well for the train, and it makes a lunchtime trip into town from the office a breeze. So I'm pretty happy with it.

None the less, it is definitely under geared. I run out of gears long before reaching a good speed .

It is good fun to ride though, and the quick city trips have convinced me that the hipsters are onto something with the skinny legged jeans...they are fantastic for cycling in the cool weather on the folder.

[Pax]

Ha, just found this old thread and I have to say that my opinion has changed.

I used the cheap folder a few times on the train but it ultimately proved to be pretty cumbersome because it didn't fold very small and didn't lock together when folded. Consequently I pretty quickly stopped using it and it has been relegated to spare-bike status.

I recently replaced it with a Brompton...definitely NOT a cheap folder but what a delightful bike to ride and "multi-modal-commute" on. I really enjoy the commute with the Brompton (morning = ride - bus - train - ride & then fold it and put it under my desk....then reverse the trip in the afternoon). With its 6 wide spaced gears it isn't under geared like the Giant is.