Mastodawn

Phil (ascentale)12h ago

@Brownian_motion @bikenite A5. I have never ridden a Bike Friday*! Nor a Brompton for that matter. I have a Tern folding bike (non e) and I have ridden a Zizzo. I bought the Zizzo for $100 while traveling and it was a great value. It rode really well for the price, and I appreciated the adjustable handlebar height. It wasn't as comfortable for a real bike, but what did I expect?

*Oh, actually now I remember that I've test rode one once. I tried out the Haul-a-Day, the cargo Bike Friday. My partner rode on the back and it was reallly squirrely. We were probably pushing weight limits and it felt flexy.

I was shopping around for the Bike Friday tandem at one point for riding with my kid, but ended up with a different one instead.

Moz 19h ago

@ascentale @Brownian_motion @bikenite A5: Friday's are very cool, more of a dismantleable bike than a folding bike but very good for touring if you need to fit your bike in a suitcase.

I've seen a few of them in outback Australia and they work pretty well as long as you stick to sealed roads.

S&S couplers can be added to turn almost any bike into suitcase-able. There's cheaper versions of those that are heavier and bulkier, my recumbent has them so it fits in a standard bike box.

@moz @ascentale @Brownian_motion @bikenite

NNN 18h ago

A5)

I'm a fan of folding bikes for ability to fit throughout the kid/teen/college/apartment transition. Plus, everybody could use one, for odd times now and then :)

Some Bike Friday bikes have an added plus that you can lengthen the top-tube if the bike is shared between riders of different torso lengths (similar effect can be had with the Tern Andros stem).

@NNN @moz @ascentale @Brownian_motion @bikenite

Captain Button 17h ago

I had an old one that had belonged to my grandmother, but after leaving it sitting in the corner for a decade I left it out for the gleaners. Disappeared pretty quickly, so hopefully someone got some use after fixing it up.

Doug Cutting 19h ago

@ascentale @Brownian_motion @bikenite My brother-in-law has a Bike Friday tandem that he & his wife have taken many tours on around the world. He loves it!

Marty Cormack 19h ago

@ascentale @Brownian_motion @bikenite
#BikeNite A5:
I'm not familiar with Bike Friday.

We did recently purchase a foldable e-tricycle from an Italian company called Di Blasi.

@ascentale @Brownian_motion @bikenite

Amgine 19h ago

A5. I have heard of Bike Friday; I have not looked at them yet.

My fantasy folder was a non-bikey cut frame seen lurking in a West Marine boatique - touted as corrosion-proof.

@ascentale @Brownian_motion @bikenite A5: I ran into a woman in... Othello? on 2 Line Opening Day who had a non-Brompton folding bike, folded up similarly but had way bigger wheels. She told me what it was but I forgot - I do remember the _titanium_ frame, though. Looked pretty sweet!

Raccoons 19h ago

@ascentale @Brownian_motion @bikenite #bikenite #biketooter A5, I really like the Bike Friday bikes, especially the Allpacka gravel bike packing model. I don’t yet own a folding bike but I definitely could see an Allpacka in my future and I like the fact that all the components seem to be industry standard and relatively easy to to service or replace.

f*cking b*tch club 18h ago

@ascentale @Brownian_motion @bikenite When I got my Brompton, someone recommended that I look at Bike Friday. One of my bike friends is getting a BF frame soon, customizing it to what he wants. Another folding brand I’ve heard about is Dahon.

The biggest reason I ended up with a Brompton is that there are several in my town to try out and talk with their owners. Plus the dealer in NYC is easy to get to for test rides, advice, parts, etc.

https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002276.html#Birdy

Edward Hasbrouck 18h ago

@ascentale @Brownian_motion @bikenite #bikenite #A5 - I test rode a Bike Friday, and found the small wheels squirrelly on gravel and the ride harsh on any but the smoothest pavement. On the other hand, the front suspension on a Birdie makes up for the small wheels; my Birdie is my best pothole and pavé bike:

Edward Hasbrouck 18h ago

@ascentale @Brownian_motion @bikenite - A5 - Meanwhile, I saw a Moulton in the wild for the first time ever at No Kings Day 3 in San Francisco last Saturday.

Rhymes with Turkey 17h ago

@ascentale @ascentale @Brownian_motion @bikenite yep! Tern and Dahon both make folding bikes I admire.

I love the look of the Dahon Uno. I am lucky to have one of these which has a similar simplicity: https://www.bootiebike.com/porta_cycle/porta_cycle.htm

(This website has incredible folding bike profiles!)

#BikeNite A5

1950s – 70s Katakura Silk Porta Cycle

vintage small wheelers, folders and other interesting bicycles like Moulton, Raleigh RSW and Royal Enfield Revelation, Brompton

Demian 16h ago

@ascentale @Brownian_motion @bikenite A5. They’ve been around for quite some time. Back in the early 90s working in a shop I occasionally serviced BFs and Dahon. Both seemed like good quality utility bikes. I have very little experience riding them and none living with them.

Frank Bennett 🇯🇵13h ago

@ascentale @Brownian_motion @bikenite A5: I have a Dahon K3 that suits my needs extremely well. It's lighter and more compact than a Brompton, the trade-off being that it doesn't have wheelie rollers when folded, and its wheels are very small at 16". But it fits in the overhead rack on public transport, and since it's small enough to carry into stores, I don't need to carry a lock with it.
#bikeNite

edd 13h ago

@ascentale @Brownian_motion @bikenite A5. I hadn't but am intrigued by different designs! Thanks!

@ascentale @Brownian_motion @bikenite A5. Yes. And I bought a bike from them, their first recumbent and one of the first, if not THE FIRST, folding recumbent bike. The Bike SatRday (Mark I). At that point I was working where I had to commute across the SF Bay yet I had become disabled and needed to ride a 'bent. I was desperate for folding designs so I stretched my budget big time to buy the SatRday. It was an imperfect solution for me, especially because it was not a quick fold for #BikeNite

@ascentale @Brownian_motion @bikenite But it was still potentially useful for having to fly somewhere as it could pack into a Carlton hard-sided suitcase that could turn into a trailer with the special trailer attachment (not included). I never got past the impediment to my hands that folding and packing posed, though. So I only folded it at times I was sending it back to Bike Friday for a tune-up preparatory to trying to sell it.

It was a good bike, but for abled folks. #BikeNite

@ascentale @Brownian_motion @bikenite BikeFriday later tweaked the design for a Mark II version, which I was envious to try (and had the buyer's remorse of the pioneer user...if only I'd waited). But I guess it didn't sell as well as they wanted because they later got out of recumbents altogether.

There was a time there where mainstream manufacturers like Burley were experimenting with offering recumbents, then got out.

Anyway, Bike Friday's owner support is outstanding. I highly #BikeNite

@ascentale @Brownian_motion @bikenite recommend their products if you are not boycotting the US or dealing with tariffs from the US.

The company itself is not Chumpy at all, I think. It's located in Eugene, OR, which is a progressive bastion in OR and a town that's important in cycling history for several innovative cycle businesses.

Bike Friday has wonderful service & support and great designs. #BikeNite