folding bikes

"aj" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

just been to see a physio about my dodgy knee & she recommended I take up
regular cycling to build up the muscles around it.
rather than cycle from my house straight onto dangerous main roads IM

taken

Quoted message said:

by the notion of getting a folding bicycle to keep in the car boot &

driving

Quoted message said:

into the lake district to ride forest tracks/quiet roads.
is there a mountain bike type folding bicycle for reasonable money..to me
£300/400 ?

Dahon do some 26" wheel folding MTBs. See
http://www.dahon.com/folding-bicycles-intl-26.htm.

aj said:

just been to see a physio about my dodgy knee & she recommended I take up
regular cycling to build up the muscles around it.
rather than cycle from my house straight onto dangerous main roads IM taken
by the notion of getting a folding bicycle to keep in the car boot & driving
into the lake district to ride forest tracks/quiet roads.
is there a mountain bike type folding bicycle for reasonable money..to me
£300/400 ?
thanks.

Need it be a folder? I used to take both wheels (QR) off my mountain
bike and stuff it in the boot of my car without any trouble.

"aj" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

just been to see a physio about my dodgy knee & she recommended I take up
regular cycling to build up the muscles around it.
rather than cycle from my house straight onto dangerous main roads IM

taken

Quoted message said:

by the notion of getting a folding bicycle to keep in the car boot &

driving

Quoted message said:

into the lake district to ride forest tracks/quiet roads.
is there a mountain bike type folding bicycle for reasonable money..to me
£300/400 ?
thanks.

Unless you have a very small car I suggest you get a normal bike and take
the wheels off to get it in the boot. The seatpost and saddle will come out
quickly to make it even smaller.

Then you have a very wide choice of bikes for your money. If you live in an
area devoid of any quiet roads then you must have a lot of bike shops in
your area.

If you ask round (at work?) you may find a nice second hand bike - that will
save you 40% or so on a new one.

I take it you will have to ride regularly to mend your knee, possibly having
to drive to your cycle tracks may prevent you getting regular exercise. Ask
round and see where local cyclists ride.

John

Have a look at some of these
http://www.dahon.com/folding-bicycles-intl-20.htm
You may find something here.
For the sort of riding you are intending I do not think you need a mountain
bike.A compact folder with 20" wheels will cope with most smooth tracks and
you can get some nice wide and tough tyres for it.
I have a Brompton but it's more suitable for urban use on roads, although I
have done a lot of tow path riding on it's 16" wheels, so 20" should be fine
for you.

"aj" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

just been to see a physio about my dodgy knee & she recommended I take up
regular cycling to build up the muscles around it.
rather than cycle from my house straight onto dangerous main roads IM

taken

Quoted message said:

by the notion of getting a folding bicycle to keep in the car boot &

driving

Quoted message said:

into the lake district to ride forest tracks/quiet roads.
is there a mountain bike type folding bicycle for reasonable money..to me
£300/400 ?
thanks.

Quoted message said:

I take it you will have to ride regularly to mend your knee, possibly
having to drive to your cycle tracks may prevent you getting regular
exercise. Ask round and see where local cyclists ride.

on that note, you might like to look in to joining your local cycling
campaign to meet some more cyclists. i joined mine to meet some 'regular'
people as i was a bit scared of hardcore cyclists.
www.cyclenetwork.org.uk has a good list.

Tom

"eatmorepies" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"aj" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

just been to see a physio about my dodgy knee & she recommended I take

up

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

regular cycling to build up the muscles around it.
rather than cycle from my house straight onto dangerous main roads IM

taken

Quoted message said:

by the notion of getting a folding bicycle to keep in the car boot &

driving

Quoted message said:

into the lake district to ride forest tracks/quiet roads.
is there a mountain bike type folding bicycle for reasonable money..to

me

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

£300/400 ?
thanks.

Unless you have a very small car I suggest you get a normal bike and take
the wheels off to get it in the boot. The seatpost and saddle will come

out

Quoted message said:

quickly to make it even smaller.

Then you have a very wide choice of bikes for your money. If you live in

an

Quoted message said:

area devoid of any quiet roads then you must have a lot of bike shops in
your area.

If you ask round (at work?) you may find a nice second hand bike - that

will

Quoted message said:

save you 40% or so on a new one.

I take it you will have to ride regularly to mend your knee, possibly

having

Quoted message said:

to drive to your cycle tracks may prevent you getting regular exercise.

Ask

Quoted message said:

round and see where local cyclists ride.

John

thanks for advice so far I have a small car so would have to fold rear seat
down & take some stuff out of the boot to get a normal bicycle in, even with
the wheels off,I thought a folder would be much more convenient.

tom said:

i was a bit scared of hardcore cyclists.

Was it the tight lycra or the shaved legs that scared you off?

Pete.

aj said:

just been to see a physio about my dodgy knee & she recommended I take up
regular cycling to build up the muscles around it.
rather than cycle from my house straight onto dangerous main roads IM taken
by the notion of getting a folding bicycle to keep in the car boot & driving
into the lake district to ride forest tracks/quiet roads.

Just a thought: if your knee is dodgy already then be warey of grinding
up hills in big gears which might make things worse... Might be better
to start off somewhere a bit flatter than the Lake District, at least
until the muscles start to develop.

Pete.

[QUOTEj

thanks for advice so far I have a small car so would have to fold rear seat
down & take some stuff out of the boot to get a normal bicycle in, even with
the wheels off,I thought a folder would be much more convenient.[/QUOTE]

The problem is that folders cost more (cost of bike is inverse to the sixze of teh wheel, well sort of). To get a folder that would cope with moderate off road you'd have to look at a Birdy or Bike Firday (yes Brom's can do it to as Pete will tell us). If there is only you in the car then it's easy to take off wheels, lower the saddle, and then, if necessary fold down tehrear seat and put the bike in, alternatively get a bike rack for the roff/back of the car, cost of bike + rack should be a lot less than a new folder.

Bryan

in message <[email hidden]>, aj

(') said:

just been to see a physio about my dodgy knee & she recommended I take
up regular cycling to build up the muscles around it.
rather than cycle from my house straight onto dangerous main roads IM
taken by the notion of getting a folding bicycle to keep in the car
boot & driving into the lake district to ride forest tracks/quiet
roads. is there a mountain bike type folding bicycle for reasonable
money..to me £300/400 ?

No. Folding mountain bikes which are any good at all cost very serious
money. But you may not need it to fold, anyway; with the wheels off (a
matter of a couple of moments) a mountain bike will fit easily into
most small hatchbacks with the back seats down.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; all in all you're just another click in the call
;; -- Minke Bouyed

in message <[email hidden]>, aj

(') said:

thanks for advice so far I have a small car so would have to fold rear
seat down & take some stuff out of the boot to get a normal bicycle
in, even with the wheels off,I thought a folder would be much more
convenient.

Well, if that's what you want, here it is:
<URL:http://www.airnimal.com/Rhino.php> - but it's not cheap.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they
;; do it from  religious conviction."          -- Pascal

Pete Bentley said:

tom said:

i was a bit scared of hardcore cyclists.

Was it the tight lycra or the shaved legs that scared you off?

it was all the chatter of headsets and chainsets i think.

Pete Bentley said:

tom said:

i was a bit scared of hardcore cyclists.

Was it the tight lycra or the shaved legs that scared you off?

A visit to any of the cycle rallys would show that lycra is always baggy
on hardcore cyclists.

Tony ;-)

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, aj wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

taken by the notion of getting a folding bicycle to keep in the car
boot & driving into the lake district to ride forest tracks/quiet
roads. is there a mountain bike type folding bicycle for reasonable
money..to me ?300/400 ?

Quoted message said:

No. Folding mountain bikes which are any good at all cost very serious
money.

But are irrelevant if all you want to do is "ride forest tracks/quiet
roads". You can do that with no particular trouble on just about any
bike. For gentle trundling about there's not much point in a Serious
MTB, or any sort of MTB at all, for that matter. And there's plenty of
folding bikes in that general price range. Dahon do several, so are a
good place to start.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

aj said:

just been to see a physio about my dodgy knee & she recommended I take up
regular cycling to build up the muscles around it.
rather than cycle from my house straight onto dangerous main roads IM taken
by the notion of getting a folding bicycle to keep in the car boot & driving
into the lake district to ride forest tracks/quiet roads.
is there a mountain bike type folding bicycle for reasonable money..to me
£300/400 ?
thanks.

be warned, getting a bike is like getting the internet. When you
don't have it, you have quite a limited idea of what you'll use it
for. Once you start getting the hang of it, your confidence grows and
you see all sorts of possibilities you never even imagined.

You might think now that you don't want to cycle on main roads and
only want to potter around quiet tracks, but once you start cycling
you might find yourself using your bike to pop to the shops or go to
the cinema on. Before you know it you'll be using it more and more
often, on normal roads as well as off road, and wondering why you
spent the money on a folder.

I'd go with the advice to get a normal bike with quick release wheels.
But have fun whatever you decide.

Audrey

Pete Bentley said:

aj said:

just been to see a physio about my dodgy knee & she recommended I take
up regular cycling to build up the muscles around it. rather than cycle
from my house straight onto dangerous main roads IM taken by the notion
of getting a folding bicycle to keep in the car boot & driving into the
lake district to ride forest tracks/quiet roads.

Just a thought: if your knee is dodgy already then be warey of grinding
up hills in big gears which might make things worse...

A very good point. I've got a knee problem at the moment, and I'm thinking
of changing my gear ratios so that I've got a much larger range of low
gears to choose from.

Gear ratios are often measured in inches; if memory serves the number of
inches represent how far the bike will travel for one full revolution of
the pedals.

I'll be looking for my lowest gear to be lower than 20 inches, preferably
round about the 17" mark, when I modify/change my bike to help my knee
problems. And it's not as if I live in massively hilly country, it's just
that when I do get to a short hill I don't want any progress that I've
made building my knee up to be undone by some over zealous pushing.

As far as the folding vs non-folding thing goes, I'm surprised nobody has
mentioned bike racks. You can get some racks that fit the back of a
hatchback fairly cheaply (they go for less than 50 quid on eBay). That way
you don't have to worry about emptying the boot, getting the inside of the
car filthy, etc. You can also put more than one bike on most of them, and
therefore go with friends should you find the opportunity....

As others have pointed out, if you don't get a folder you get much more
choice, and I would suggest that you'd get higher quality parts for your
money (though I've never had a single folder, so cannot be considered an
authority on how much you have to pay to get a good one).

Graham

Graham Ashton said:

Pete Bentley said:

aj said:

just been to see a physio about my dodgy knee & she recommended I take
up regular cycling to build up the muscles around it. rather than cycle
from my house straight onto dangerous main roads IM taken by the notion
of getting a folding bicycle to keep in the car boot & driving into the
lake district to ride forest tracks/quiet roads.

Just a thought: if your knee is dodgy already then be warey of grinding
up hills in big gears which might make things worse...

A very good point. I've got a knee problem at the moment, and I'm thinking
of changing my gear ratios so that I've got a much larger range of low
gears to choose from.

Gear ratios are often measured in inches; if memory serves the number of
inches represent how far the bike will travel for one full revolution of
the pedals.

<pedant> Not quite. The measurement in inches equates to the diameter
of an Ordinary (or penny-farthing).

This morning I went out on an equivalent of a 9 inch high ordinary :-)

Seriously, go for the lowest your bike can accommodate - but remember
that you can never have a gear that is low enough ;-)

John B

"JohnB" <[email hidden]> wrote

[snip]

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Gear ratios are often measured in inches; if memory serves the

number of

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

inches represent how far the bike will travel for one full

revolution of

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the pedals.

<pedant> Not quite. The measurement in inches equates to the

diameter

Quoted message said:

of an Ordinary (or penny-farthing).

But the French/metric system does measure travelled distance. Thus,
when converting from inches to metres ("development" - ?sp) you need
to multiply by pi as well.

Jeremy Parker