Im looking for a bike that can be folded and stored in a car trunk.
I want something that has a very clean and functional system of folding cause Im wanting to keep this bike in my car trunk and go for a ride on it during my breaks at work. So the bike will be folded and unfolded at least twice a day.
I cant leave a high quality bike at work.... no space to secure it safely.... hence the desire to keep it in my car
I once owned an early model Bike Friday but sold it cause it was more designed for "transporting" than it was daily folding and unfolding.
Again.... I need a HIGH quality bike that can EASILY be unfolded and ready to ride on quickly.....and then quickly folded back up for storage in my car
<[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Im looking for a bike that can be folded and stored in a car trunk.
I want something that has a very clean and functional system of folding cause Im wanting to keep this bike in my car trunk and go for a ride on it during my breaks at work. So the bike will be folded and unfolded at least twice a day.
I cant leave a high quality bike at work.... no space to secure it safely.... hence the desire to keep it in my car
I once owned an early model Bike Friday but sold it cause it was more designed for "transporting" than it was daily folding and unfolding.
Again.... I need a HIGH quality bike that can EASILY be unfolded and ready to ride on quickly.....and then quickly folded back up for storage in my car
Again.... I need a HIGH quality bike that can EASILY be unfolded and ready to ride on quickly.....and then quickly folded back up for storage in my car
Tangentially, how about switching over to a vehicle that will hold a regular bike straight-up? ...maybe a mini-van with two rows of seats removed?
My security situation is pretty mellow, so my own solution has been lock/cabling the bike to a rear rack. My current vehicle is coming up on 120k...and if the security situation deteriorated, I'd have to think seriously in terms of: http://www.fl-sprinter.com/Cargo/cargo.html
Again.... I need a HIGH quality bike that can EASILY be unfolded and ready to ride on quickly.....and then quickly folded back up for storage in my car
Tangentially, how about switching over to a vehicle that will hold a regular bike straight-up? ...maybe a mini-van with two rows of seats removed?
My last car (small sedan) could fit my bike (58cm) in the truck by just taking the wheels off.
JT
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My last car (small sedan) could fit my bike (58cm) in the truck by just taking the wheels off.
Don't wanna have to do that each twice a day tho.
At least that's what Im thinking for now anyway
Actually I don't see why not. Having owned a Bike Friday for 10 years and seeing a variety of Bromptons and other folders, I still find that the quickest bike to drop in the trunk of my Toyota Corolla is my standard (60 cm) road bike. Both wheels pop off in a couple seconds and that lets it fit easily while leaving the rear seat up. Of course it doesn't have any 'lawyer lips' or other impediments to proper operation of the quick release mechanism.
Im looking for a bike that can be folded and stored in a car trunk.
I want something that has a very clean and functional system of folding cause Im wanting to keep this bike in my car trunk and go for a ride on it during my breaks at work. So the bike will be folded and unfolded at least twice a day.
I cant leave a high quality bike at work.... no space to secure it safely.... hence the desire to keep it in my car
I once owned an early model Bike Friday but sold it cause it was more designed for "transporting" than it was daily folding and unfolding.
Again.... I need a HIGH quality bike that can EASILY be unfolded and ready to ride on quickly.....and then quickly folded back up for storage in my car
Advice?
Giatex. Technically not a *folding* bike, but a stretching one...well made and built to withstand frequent stretching and compacting, and feels a lot more sturdy to ride than any folding bike i've seen. Unfortunately their site is all flash animation and annoying music, but don't let that dissuade you. Here's a non-annoying site that shows it in various stages of folding/stretching: http://www.libertybicycles.com/gallery/album01 And some more info: http://www.nextten.com/healthwellness/stretchbike.aspx
Tangentially, how about switching over to a vehicle that will hold a regular bike straight-up? ...maybe a mini-van with two rows of seats removed?
Actually, yes, Ive thought abt that as well
I currently have a 2000 Mazda Protege ES. Nice little car but absolutely no cargo space capabilities
So I am kicking around a van but I need to get good gas milage too. Is that possible with a van? Good gas milage?
Yes, mileage should be around 25mpg even for a V6. My 4cyl 5-speed mini SUV gets about 27mpg highway. If you don't want a van or SUV, find a hatchback if they still make them. My '87 Mustang GT hatchback was great for carrying one bike. I think I had to take off the front wheel, but that was all. I bought the SUV just for the cargo carrying capability. For one bike, I just open the back and lay the bike on its side. For more bikes, take the front wheels off and place them vertically. I have also fit bikes in the back seat area of cars by taking off both wheels.
Actually I don't see why not. Having owned a Bike Friday for 10 years and seeing a variety of Bromptons and other folders, I still find that the quickest bike to drop in the trunk of my Toyota Corolla is my standard (60 cm) road bike. Both wheels pop off in a couple seconds and that lets it fit easily while leaving the rear seat up. Of course it doesn't have any 'lawyer lips' or other impediments to proper operation of the quick release mechanism.
Hmm..... you guy shave got me to thinking here
Maybe I just "think" I need a folding bike huh?
My current mt bike does indeed have quick release hubs. And I can take the front wheel off and fit it in the trunk.
My main goal here is to always have my bike available for use by carrying it in my vehicle at all times
By doing this I can then "assemble" it when I get to work and leave it leaning against a wall for use for a quick ride during my breaks and lunch hr.
Im in DIRE need of reg daily exercise. Ive tried riding back/forth to work but it just seems to me that taking my bike with me and riding it during breaks will work out better for me
Giatex. Technically not a *folding* bike, but a stretching one...well made and built to withstand frequent stretching and compacting, and feels a lot more sturdy to ride than any folding bike i've seen. Unfortunately their site is all flash animation and annoying music, but don't let that dissuade you. Here's a non-annoying site that shows it in various stages of folding/stretching: http://www.libertybicycles.com/gallery/album01 And some more info: http://www.nextten.com/healthwellness/stretchbike.aspx
[email hidden] wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:
Im looking for a bike that can be folded and stored in a car trunk.
I want something that has a very clean and functional system of folding cause Im wanting to keep this bike in my car trunk and go for a ride on it during my breaks at work. So the bike will be folded and unfolded at least twice a day.
<snip>
If you have a nice bike already, try just doing the "wheels off" thing for a week or two. My dad does almost exactly what you are describing everyday with his normal 58cm road bike in a saturn SL. He takes only the front wheel off and leaves the rear seats down. He can get the bike out and rideable in about 45 seconds and back in in about a minute. I've done similar things with my Honda Civic but don't need to anymore as A) I bike commute. and B) Even if I didn't I park in a realitively secure place so an external rack and simple lock would suffice. Still, at my best I could get the bike rideable from the civic in about a minute and a half, and back in in about a minute. (it was always hard to get out of the civic for some reason).
Note, both bikes have laywer lips and all. But a practiced few finger spins of the skewer makes them only mildly annoying.
I want something that has a very clean and functional system of folding cause Im wanting to keep this bike in my car trunk and go for a ride on it during my breaks at work.
If it's cleanliness you want, it's hard to beat a chainless:
-- "Bicycling is a healthy and manly pursuit with much to recommend it, and, unlike other foolish crazes, it has not died out." -- The Daily Telegraph (1877)
I've gotten as far as trying on a couple. Windsurfing is my real agenda for something like that. Stashing a bike would just be icing on the cake.
Right now, my main reservations (aside from money and the fact that my current vehicle is holding up well...) are around driver fit (I'm 6'5", long-legged) and the availability of some sort of cargo net so what's inside doesn't hit me and my passenger in the back of a neck in a minor accident.
They have cargo walls, but those limit the backwards movement of the driver's seat. I'm thinking some sort of removable net made out of seatbelt-sized webbing....but haven't seen anything like it yet.
OTOH, I've corresponded with a guy who is 6'7" and loves his. -- PeteCresswell
