Foldable Bike Recommendations

[RogueIT]

We are looking into getting a foldable bike to take with us on trips. Nothing fancy, just something to run up to the campstore with.

Has anyone got any recommendations about make and models? not looking to spend 500 dollars but want something decent.

Thanks,

Scott

[John in Santa Cruz]

I got my wife a 2nd hand like new Giant folder... most of them, especially the cheaper ones, have 20" wheels which means you won't go very far or fast on them. its decent enough quality for light use.

[floyd]

For a pit bike.. Get a Dahon single speed with a foot brake.
The pluses are...
1] Low maintenance these are generally the most neglected bikes on the planet.


2] Simplicity, these bikes get folded and tossed around and the simple ones have no hand brakes or shifters to break.


3] Convenience, easier to fold and unfold than the more complex versions.




4] Cheap, generally not much over $100.


If you just want an easy to ride bike for short rides around the campground mostly on pavement and seldom ride fast or far, then this is the one.
If you can't find a one speed the 6Speed will work.



I have one languishing in my attic which will likely stay there until a time when I am no longer really a bicyclist, It rides a lot like a typical cruiser bike, and is geared for about that speed and effort.

[John in Santa Cruz]

of course, a 1 speed cruiser is murder to ride up a hill.

if you do get a geared bike, internal hub gearing is preferable to derailleurs for this sort of bike. they make 7-8-9 speed internal gears now, not the old sturmey-archer 3-speeds.

[Glenn Baglo]

Who rides up hill?

[John in Santa Cruz]

don't have much choice here, I live 300' up a short hill. and if you keep going, you end up around 3000' a few more miles inland.

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.0540.../data=!5m1!1e4

(if that doesn't come up in 'terrain' mode, select Terrain from the menu under the three bars in the upper left)

[floyd]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

of course, a 1 speed cruiser is murder to ride up a hill.

if you do get a geared bike, internal hub gearing is preferable to derailleurs for this sort of bike. they make 7-8-9 speed internal gears now, not the old sturmey-archer 3-speeds.

In my experience, non bikers seldom shift when they do ride.
I would be more afraid of going downhill with a foot brake than shifting down to go up.

Pit bikes and Cruiser bikes aren't serious bikes anyway, but they are fun to ride, even if they are one small step above a sidewalk bike.


You should see the the condition of the hundreds of bikes which have come through my shop, it usually takes at least on average of about 4 to make 3 rideable bikes, mostly WalMart quality to begin with..



I have eleven bikes for my own use, each modified for a specific purpose.
In my mind the perfect bike is an elusive thing, since my use and opinion keeps changing over time. My 26" wheeled bikes are getting more and more wall time.


I watched a video today of a local bike race where the contestants were riding what I would call road bikes with 700Cs with at most 28s on mostly gravel roads and trails. I can't imagine maintaining speeds in the mid twenties on gravel for 3 hours on a road bike.

Of course I didn't see their best road bikes.
I would be dropped early for sure, but I am about three times their average age.

[John in Santa Cruz]

I had a friend who raced competitively in Cyclocross in the Mens Senior divisions, in his late 50s. a Cyclocross bike *looks* like a classic road bike, typically 10 speed rear derailleurs with no front shifter (and double guard rings to protect the chain ring), and running 700x28 or so skinny knobbies, with cantilever or disc brakes. its a spring sport, they do it in the mud. you often carry your bike nearly as much as you ride it, whatever gets you through the obstacles the fastest.

[John in Santa Cruz]

this is my near-perfect-for-me bike,



although I've since taken off the fenders realizing that I'm never gonna ride in the rain.... tires are 700x38 randonneurs, which are fat enough for gravel and hard pack dirt, but light enough to go far/fast on the road. the flat pedals are bmx 'pin' style so they grip your shoe nearly as well as clips.


I'm wanting to put a TSDZ2 'mid drive' electric kit on it, replacing the front triple with a 48-38 double, as I live up a steep hill and I need the extra help. right now, the triple is a 48-38-28, rear is a 13-28 8 speed.

[John in Santa Cruz]

this is my near-perfect-for-me bike,



although I've since taken off the fenders realizing that I'm never gonna ride in the rain.... tires are 700x38 randonneurs, which are fat enough for gravel and hard pack dirt, but light enough to go far/fast on the road. the flat pedals are bmx 'pin' style so they grip your shoe nearly as well as clips.


I'm wanting to put a TSDZ2 'mid drive' electric kit on it, replacing the front triple with a 48-38 double, as I live up a steep hill and I need the extra help. right now, the triple is a 48-38-28, rear is a 13-28 8 speed.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by floyd

For a pit bike.. Get a Dahon single speed with a foot brake. ... Cheap, generally not much over $100.
....

Where can you get it for around $100? The best prices I see online are more than twice that, and even Amazon's price is just under $300. I could see $100 for occasional use but $300 is a harder sell.

[k corbin]

Too bad you are not in Seattle, right now there are close to 50 folding bikes for sale on craigslist and most of them are less than $300. Some of the higher priced ones are electric.

One reason we have so many here is there are a lot of boat owners who take bikes along. Plus we have lots of bike trails too. Right now my partner has 2 folding bikes of his own (Stridas) plus two more (Bike Friday customs) he partnered up with a friend on to put them on craigslist. But first I have to find out what he needs to order for replacing the cables on them. They were on boats so the cables got rusty.

[thrifty bill]

My go anywhere, camping bike is a 1988 Schwinn Cimarron (back when they were made in USA). Bought at a garage sale for $15. Then I picked up a $65 donor bike, full Deore XT. Swapped the parts and I am ready to roll for under $100.

I collect, restore, and sell vintage bicycles. So I have a lot to choose from. But when I am traveling, the Cimarron gets the nod.


Not a folder.

For a folder, I would watch Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace and budget $150 to buy a geared Dahon. Gears are important, no where is totally flat, and even on a flat road, you can have WIND, which will challenge you without gears.

88 Cimarron 2019 Version by wrk101, on Flickr

[FRED SMAILES]

We bought these in 2013 on sale at Camping World for 170 a piece. Very compact when folded which is necessary as I tow a lot with my classic car and not much camping stuff goes in it. In the second pic the bikes are in the dinette area of our boler.
Have been great for our needs. I have about wore mine out using almost daily at home or on holiday.
Marilyn uses hers less but still enjoys it on holiday.
Fred

[floyd]

Originally Posted by gordon2

Where can you get it for around $100? The best prices I see online are more than twice that, and even Amazon's price is just under $300. I could see $100 for occasional use but $300 is a harder sell.

You can buy the 6speed from Camping World today for $149.
The single speed , if you can find it, is even cheaper.
The last time I saw one it was $125.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

I had a friend who raced competitively in Cyclocross in the Mens Senior divisions, in his late 50s. a Cyclocross bike *looks* like a classic road bike, typically 10 speed rear derailleurs with no front shifter (and double guard rings to protect the chain ring), and running 700x28 or so skinny knobbies, with cantilever or disc brakes. its a spring sport, they do it in the mud. you often carry your bike nearly as much as you ride it, whatever gets you through the obstacles the fastest.

The Rough Road 100 is not a cyclocross race as you describe,but the bikes might be, or most likely "Gravel Bikes".

My point is as always "right tool for the job".


When I ride where those guys rode I use my H400 Cannondale(you would love that one) or my Trek 830. I ride limestone screenings with those bikes,
I don't do mudholes or real mountain biking.


BTW; my new truck is 2WD, bought for pavement, not mudholes or offroad.
I even avoid gravel where practical.




Warning to those who come to Sebring...
Stay on the pavement with anything less than 38s, the sandy, powdery soil can REALLY surprise you.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by FRED SMAILES

We bought these in 2013 on sale at Camping World for 170 a piece. Very compact when folded which is necessary as I tow a lot with my classic car and not much camping stuff goes in it. In the second pic the bikes are in the dinette area of our boler.
Have been great for our needs. I have about wore mine out using almost daily at home or on holiday.
Marilyn uses hers less but still enjoys it on holiday.
Fred

Great choice for a pit bike, I think it would be just right for what the OP was asking about.

[John in Santa Cruz]

oh yeah, I can't even handle beach sand on classic mountain bike 26x2.125 knobbies, you need one of those fat-tire things with 4-5" tires to float over the beaches here. but then you get sand in your chain and everything else, meh.

I got a 4x4 truck so I can explore places like this on vacation... nothing extreme, and with my A/T tires I didn't even /need/ 4x4 but I like having it just in case

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfnZ-CU-zFs

(skip from 0:50 to 3:15... this is unedited dashcam footage, and I stopped and got out to take a picture). This is Cottonwood Rd in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in southern Utah, near Cottonwood Narrows.

[floyd]

If I were buying new today it would be this...

[John in Santa Cruz]

hah, which is, more or less, what I built up myself ok, that looks like carbon fiber, adn a 2x10, while mine is aluminumb, and 3x8, and disks instead of my cheap vbrakes. my straight bars are quite carefully tuned to my taste, stem length and height, and bar width. I do dig the Ergon GP3 bar ends that give me 2/3rds of drop bar riding positions