Folding Bikes

[Tomas]

The old man does a lot of k's on a bike, all over the world. He is looking for a bike he can take with him when he goes overseas. He would still have the use of a roadie in Sydney, but something to take overseas is what he is looking for.

So far, we have seen the following brands:
http://www.dahon.com/ (http://www.dahon.com/)
http://www.bromptonbicycle.co.uk (http://www.bromptonbicycle.co.uk/)
http://www.bikefriday.com/ (http://www.bikefriday.com/)

Any feedback on any? Anything we missed?

note: if anyone feels like saying "omgz! folding bikes r shiiit!", fuck of now.

Thanks for you assistance guys and girls

['Ross]

I know a few people who rate the 'birdy' range of folding bikes. (http://www.birdy.com.au/) I see them quite commonly in the city and people riding them on the bike paths near where I live so I think they qould be pretty good. Ive heard they are fairly expensive but Im not sure.

[Mr_hANky]

pretty sure giant make a fold up bike, check their website. They would be much easier to get and judging by how giant price thier other bikes, much cheaper than anything else

[Oddjob]

Nicolai make a folding dually if your dad wants to hit up some trails overseas. http://www.nicolai.net/products/e-frames/e-helius-cc-trv.html

[alchemist]

Depends what he's looking for in a folder.

If looking for something more like a full-sized bike try Airnimal (http://www.flyingfurniture.com.au/folding_bikes.html) or even your favourite frame fitted with S&S Couplings (http://www.sandsmachine.com/) (How cool would a Salsa Ala Carte be with these)

[Binaural]

I hope I don't fall into the "omgz folding bikes are shit11!11" troll category but if taking the bike on a plane is a consideration then a folding bike is likely to weigh substantially more than a good quality road. You can't get away without packaging a folding bike in a box or bag (airlines will not allow it) so there is very little practical difference in portability between a folding bike and a regular bike for your dad's purposes.

On a side note - as someone else who travels OS a lot, I would advise that you choose the simplest possible bike you can since depending on where you are finding basic parts can be a pain. A dedicated singlespeed roadie (http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/07/cusa/road/capo/model-7PR1.html) would be ideal.

If you are still keen... I have seen a Birdy folding bike close up, the build quality looks OK but I remember it was heavier than it looked as well.

[Fusion]

The basic Birdy comes in around 12ish kgs, and costs around $1800. Top of the line monocoque frame weighs about 10.5kgs and will cost you around $2800.

They're a bit of fun to play with, nice and quick acceleration etc, I know a few people who do Round the Bay in a Day on them, and they keep up with everyone else.