Folding Bicycle for the Van / Small RV Dweller

[akblack10]

I didn't know where to post about a bicycle but figured that since bikes are green that it would work here..... maybe we need a section called "cool gear" for the Van Dweller (Small RV Dweller)?<div><br></div><div>My post is on my blog at,&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>www.apocketfullofwanderlust.com</div><div><br></div><div>Pics included!</div><div><br></div><div>Does anyone else have a folding bicycle?</div><div><br></div><div>-AK</div>

 

[She]

No but I do plan to get one. I love riding my bike. No bike should be left at home.

 

[bobbert]

Last year, I purchased a Bike Friday New World Tourist. I paid $1400 total, with some additional accessories. It has a chromoly frame. I'm sure that the price has gone up since last year. It folds in the middle, just beneath the seat post. The rear wheel folds down, the handlebar stem pops off and remains connected with the cables, but can strap to the side of the frame. Also, the seatpost pops off as well, and straps to the side of the frame.<div><br></div><div><img src="http://www.bikefriday.com/images/bikeimages/4f28d990717ab.jpg"></div>

 

[bobbert]

Oh, btw, nice bike &amp; blog you have there, akblack10!&nbsp;<img border="0" align="absmiddle" src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/wink.gif"><div>How do you like the seat?</div>

 

[akblack10]

xj700, thanks for visiting the blog! &nbsp;Bike Friday is the Rolls Royce of folding bikes! &nbsp;I like them a lot but didn't want to spend that much for my first folder. &nbsp;I got the Trek for $200.00 on Craigslist which was a pretty good deal. &nbsp;The seat is ok for short trips but it seems to cause you to sit forward so i'm not sure it will be good for hours of non-stop riding! I'd like to take it to Europe next Fall for a ride around the Netherlands.

 

[Simran]

I have a Dahon single spd. I used to trave with all the time but the folding mechanism is wearing out. I still use it some but now that I have the van I take a full sized bike with me everywhere. I would still like to upgrade my Dahon for trips in my car or flights. A bicycle is something I rarely leave home without; no better way to get familiar with ones surrounding than a bicycle. That's just me.<br><br>gus<br><br>

 

[akblack10]

Gus, Thanks for the post! &nbsp;I agree, a bicycle is a great addition to any vehicle traveler!<div>-AK</div><div><br></div>

 

[Jchapman]

I didn't know where to post about a bicycle but figured that since bikes are green that it would work here..... maybe we need a section called "cool gear" for the Van Dweller (Small RV Dweller)?<div><br></div><div>My post is on my blog at,&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>www.apocketfullofwanderlust.com</div><div><br></div><div>Pics included!</div><div><br></div><div>Does anyone else have a folding bicycle?</div><div><br></div><div>-AK</div>

I have a three speed Dahon and a mountain bike and travel with both because I like to give the appearance that there's two people traveling and also they each have distinct uses.

 

[WalkaboutTed]

Hub and I each have Bike Fridays (New World Tourist). The bikes are built like tanks. Hub's bike is about 10 years old, and mine is about 8. The nice thing about the Bike Fridays is that you can get a suitcase that you can pack the bike in and check it like luggage-taking a bike with you while flying is pretty cost prohibitive. And a pain dealing with a full size bike box. And when you get to where you're going, you can use the suitcase as a trailer. Hub's even taken his to Europe.

He was out on my bike yesterday, rode14 miles (his had a flat). They look funny, but the Bike Friday feels like a regular bike. I've not been a bike tourist, but Hub has been quite pleased with it's performance. And he been a bicycle tourist for over 30 years.

The Dahons fold faster and easier, but don't feel like a regular bike and take up more space than a Bike Friday.

 

[leef]

I've had a Bike Friday. They make a quality bike for sure. I'm now using a Brompton. It's the smallest folding bike I could find, and it folds and unfolds in about 15 seconds, literally. They are expensive, but exude quality. I've been following the English company since the late 70's, and they have kept refining the bike over the years. When they established dealers in the states, I bought one.

It fit inside the back of my Roadtrek 170 where the spare tire goes, when I had my 170. It was the only foldable that you fit nicely in that space. It folds to 23 x 22 x 10. On my transit connect, I built a "bike garage" inside to hold it.

One thing I love about it is the basket/bag system, which is easy to remove and use as a shoulder bag.

http://gregfuller.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2015-02-21-south-pointe-pier-ride-22-1000x750.jpg

Here's a fold/unfold video:



Hope that helps.

 

[RVTravel]

Brompton is the smallest fold for sure. It's more for multimodal transportation and not really for touring. Many Bike Friday bikes are purpose built for road and offroad touring. They are both high end folding bikes in the 1K+ cost range. Less expensive decent brands include Downtube and Origami.

 

[towhee]

I have a friend with a folding bike that he loves. It's a Tern. He will be at RTR.

 

[bobbert]

In early 2014, I splurged & got a Bike Friday Silk. 
It has the internal geared-Rohloff Speedhub 14 (flawless shifting) and Gates Centertrack Carbon belt (zero maintenance / cannot stretch as it's made of polyethylene and carbon fibre).
The rear hub has over 500% gear range than standard external derailleur / cassette system.
The bike has only 3400 miles on it.

I totally h8 the Schwalbe Marathon Supreme (with Greengaurd) tires (shown in the pic). 
I had to warranty-out the original set, and the replacement ones are no better (still produce a slapping feel on newly-asphalted pavement). 
They are decent on gravel, though. My better tires are Schwalbe Touring Supremes. They will replace the Marathons when I feel like doing so.

Sadly, I No longer have the Transit Connect :'(

 

[hepcat]

I've had a couple of Bike Friday NWTs and absolutely loved them, but my days on an up-wrong, even a folding up-wrong have become numbered.  My folder now is an HP Velotechnik Grasshopper fx...  IMO the best riding bike ever built, folding or not.

I tour on an ICE Sprint SE folding recumbent tadpole trike with a Burley trailer as well, but as an all-round utility bike, the Grasshopper fx is, for me, the holy grail of folders.  I don't think I'd get rid of it for even a Mouton!

 

[bobbert]

I've had a couple of Bike Friday NWTs and absolutely loved them, but my days on an up-wrong, even a folding up-wrong have become numbered.  My folder now is an HP Velotechnik Grasshopper fx...  IMO the best riding bike ever built, folding or not.

Just curious to know... Did you cross over to the 'bent bikes due to issues with numbness in hands along with also nether region-areas? I was just wondering. 

Fortunately, I was able to totally defeat my numbness issues by getting appropriately-styled (closer to European style) handlebars (on my Silk shown above post). 
I bought the Nitto Bosco bars from Rivendell Bicycles and it solved all my numbness issues + also made riding more efficient. I had it professionally powdercoated in army green (for stealth camping on my bike tour in 2015).

Interesting how riders in Europe mostly ride with swept back bars. I think that they understand how to do real-world riding where they are not influenced through mass marketed "race" products along with local bicycle shop contract sales (forced to sell race-style components) as opposed to here in the USA.

What's even more interesting is that I've encountered (on my own tour) many long-distance cyclists (passing through the USA) that have rode thousands of miles in plain street clothing (i.e. long pants / trousers). They too rode with swept back bars btw.
On my tours, I too rode with a thin, breathable long sleeved shirt and un-padded long pants (to keep the sun rays off my skin).

 

[hepcat]

I originally started with 'bents because my wife has neck and spine issues and couldn't do an up wrong any more. So we found a couple of Burleys in '08 and absolutely loved them. Then we discovered the tadpole trikes, and as we've aged, she's also lost some of her ability to balance, so they're perfect for her. The trikes are just plain fun for me. I built a diamond-drame tourer in '10 to ride RAGBRAI. It was tricked out exactly how I wanted it with exactly what I wanted, including butterfly touring bars. I found that I couldn't ride more than about 50 minutes without my neck, back and shoulders going into spasm, and my hands going numb. No amount of parts swapping or geometry re-arranging helped... which was the beginning of the end of diamond-frames for me. The last NWT I had I loved because I rode it for 10 minute grocery-getting and errand kind of rides... but the Grasshopper fx has even taken over those duties now. I had H bars on the NWT.

And I ride in street clothes, but I do use clipless shoes and pedals with Crank Bros Eggbeaters.

 

[bobbert]

I originally started with 'bents because my wife has neck and spine issues and couldn't do an up wrong any more.  So we found a couple of Burleys in '08 and absolutely loved them.  Then we discovered the tadpole trikes, and as we've aged, she's also lost some of her ability to balance, so they're perfect for her.  The trikes are just plain fun for me.  I built a diamond-frame tourer in '10 to ride RAGBRAI.  It was tricked out exactly how I wanted it with exactly what I wanted, including butterfly touring bars.   I found that I couldn't ride more than about 50 minutes without my neck, back and shoulders going into spasm, and my hands going numb.  No amount of parts swapping or geometry re-arranging helped... which was the beginning of the end of diamond-frames for me.  The last NWT I had I loved because I rode it for 10 minute grocery-getting and errand kind of rides...  but the Grasshopper fx has even taken over those duties now.  I had H bars on the NWT.

And I ride in street clothes, but I do use clipless shoes and pedals with Crank Bros Eggbeaters.

Thanks for the explanation... 
Those Eggbeaters are killer pedals. I've never met a dissatisfied user! 
Back spasms are a nightmare esp. when riding so I can see where you're coming from! 
I had a Cattrike Pocket (in that nice neon green color) and it was a hoot! What made it even more fun was the fact that if there was a hill that was uber-steep, then pedaling almost to a crawl was easy (due to the balance not being an issue). I could see how your wife benefits with a trike. 
When I was riding up a mountain road in WV, near my land, I was smiling ear-to-ear on the Cattrike. 
Sadly though, because of the coal and logging truckers take delight in driving insanely, and with my low clearance, I got rid of the Cattrike. I felt way too vulnerable.
I just might even get rid of the Bike Friday Silk frame, keep some of the parts and transfer to a large-wheeled frame i.e. cyclocross or 650b.

 

[hepcat]

Thanks for the explanation... 
Those Eggbeaters are killer pedals. I've never met a dissatisfied user! 
Back spasms are a nightmare esp. when riding so I can see where you're coming from! 
I had a Cattrike Pocket (in that nice neon green color) and it was a hoot! What made it even more fun was the fact that if there was a hill that was uber-steep, then pedaling almost to a crawl was easy (due to the balance not being an issue). I could see how your wife benefits with a trike. 
When I was riding up a mountain road in WV, near my land, I was smiling ear-to-ear on the Cattrike. 
Sadly though, because of the coal and logging truckers take delight in driving insanely, and with my low clearance, I got rid of the Cattrike. I felt way too vulnerable.
I just might even get rid of the Bike Friday Silk frame, keep some of the parts and transfer to a large-wheeled frame i.e. cyclocross or 650b.

Yeah, I've got eggbeaters on everything except the one Fuji Tour 62cm diamond frame I still have.  

Trikes are absolutely a blast...  and although you can feel vulnerable, but the truth is that you're actually better seen on a trike.  I've been buzzed and nearly blown off the road countless times on diamond-frame bikes.  When I'm on the trike, everyone passes me like another car.  People smile and wave...  everyone sees me.  On a diamond-frame, you're invisible.

If you sell the Silk, just sell it and trick out a DF the way you want it.  Most of the components on Bike Friday are set up for 406 or 451 wheels and not much of that translates well to 650b wheels, gearing-wise.

P1030788a by Roger H, on Flickr

 

[bobbert]

Yeah, I've got eggbeaters on everything except the one Fuji Tour 62cm diamond frame I still have.  

Trikes are absolutely a blast...  and although you can feel vulnerable, but the truth is that you're actually better seen on a trike.  I've been buzzed and nearly blown off the road countless times on diamond-frame bikes.  When I'm on the trike, everyone passes me like another car.  People smile and wave...  everyone sees me.  

I don't know man... My experience wasn't too great on a trike. 
I've had tons of carbon-emission drivers cuss at me back in the day when I arrived at an intersection, saying that they couldn't see me when they were on a blind drive / hill. Mostly in Glaciated Ohio, some WV mountain roads.

I also had my Cattrike Flag on it. 

But, you know how many drivers are east of the Mississippi... Not courteous at all. They want their "instant pudding"...

Most road rage encounters consisted of people cussing at me for "not riding on a trail". 

Luckily though, riding my Bike Friday Silk, I only had horn honking, the past two years.

 

[hepcat]

I don't know man... My experience wasn't too great on a trike. 
I've had tons of carbon-emission drivers cuss at me back in the day when I arrived at an intersection, saying that they couldn't see me when they were on a blind drive / hill. Mostly in Glaciated Ohio, some WV mountain roads.

I also had my Cattrike Flag on it. 

But, you know how many drivers are east of the Mississippi... Not courteous at all. They want their "instant pudding"...

Most road rage encounters consisted of people cussing at me for "not riding on a trail". 

Luckily though, riding my Bike Friday Silk, I only had horn honking, the past two years.

Oh, I've been told repeatedly (mostly at intersections by people who stop) stuff like "that things too low... I can't see you!" yet, there they are talking to me...  and they really look confused when I ask them "if you didn't see me, how is it that you saw me and are talking to me now?"  That leaves them stuttering and stammering.  I also have a fairly bright headlight I run on strobe during the daytime and I've had people whine at me about that too...  and my reply is always...  did you see it?  And ME?  Then it did it's job! 

Yes, drivers and the general public are pretty clueless most of the time.  I'm not one of those 'militant' bike riders, but I sure understand how folks can turn into one.   You're right though in that areas that don't have many bikes on the road are a lot more dangerous for riders.