cheap folding bike?

Stu said:

http://www.poweredbicycles.co.uk/Normal--Bicycles/C17-1-0.htm

Their delivery information is curious: "Free Shipping to UK Mainland &
Scottish Borders".

In any case, http://www.atob.org.uk/price_tag.html might be of
interest.

Colin

On Wed, 12 Sep 2007 05:29:54 -0700

Colin MacDonald said:

Their delivery information is curious: "Free Shipping to UK Mainland &
Scottish Borders".

They've heard of our Simon (and his boat).

IGMC.

--
not me guv

Nick Kew said:

On Wed, 12 Sep 2007 05:29:54 -0700

Colin MacDonald said:

Their delivery information is curious: "Free Shipping to UK Mainland &
Scottish Borders".

They've heard of our Simon (and his boat).

IGMC.

--
not me guv

Take a look at what's on offer on eBay. Loads of folders are not being
used after the intial rush so you might get a bargain. Or try:
www.carackers.com they might have something around your budget, but
don't expect anything too flash for ?150. Brand new you'd need around
?275 or more for a folder that will last.

Quoted message said:

Nick Kew said:

On Wed, 12 Sep 2007 05:29:54 -0700

Quoted message said:

Colin MacDonald said:

Their delivery information is curious: "Free Shipping to UK Mainland &
Scottish Borders".

Quoted message said:

They've heard of our Simon (and his boat).

Quoted message said:

IGMC.

Quoted message said:

--
not me guv

Take a look at what's on offer on eBay. Loads of folders are not being
used after the intial rush so you might get a bargain. Or try:www.carackers.com   they might have something around your budget, but
don't expect anything too flash for ?150. Brand new you'd need around
?275 or more for a folder that will last.

Wahey! There's a Dawes Tourismo on offer on eBay for �99 +p&p "Buy it
now" if you're quick. Might just be what you're looking for.

Stu said:

I am looking to purchase a cheap folding bike for around £150 or
less. just needs to be something that can easily be chucked into the boot
for occasional use.

How about the IKEA-branded Raleigh bikes you'll often find being sold on
eBay by IKEA employees that were given them?

<http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RALEIGH-FOLDING-BIKE-IKEA-AND-AVENIR-COVER-UNUSED_W0QQitemZ230169298291QQihZ013QQcategoryZ33503QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem>
<http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-Raleigh-Promenade-IKEA-Folding-Bike-with-Bag_W0QQitemZ260157611152QQihZ016QQcategoryZ33503QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem>
<http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ikea-Raleigh-Adults-Unisex-Folding-Bike-Brand-New_W0QQitemZ260159133012QQihZ016QQcategoryZ33503QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem>

I read somewhere that they're supposed to be good VFM. eBay prices seem to
range from 50-80 quid.

Quoted message said:

thanks, Stu

HTH,
Alex.
--
Alex Butcher, Bristol UK. PGP/GnuPG ID:0x5010dbff

"[T]he whole point about the reason why I think it is important we go for
identity cards and an identity database today is that identity fraud and
abuse is a major, major problem. Now the civil liberties aspect of it, look
it is a view, I don't personally think it matters very much."
- Tony Blair, 6 June 2006 <http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page9566.asp>

Stu said:

Hi,

I am looking to purchase a cheap folding bike for around £150 or
less. just needs to be something that can easily be chucked into the
boot for occasional use.

so far i have found...

http://www.bicycles4u.biz/

http://www.compass24.com/watersports/abnetshop.pl?wahl=Bicycles_Bicycles

http://www.poweredbicycles.co.uk/Normal--Bicycles/C17-1-0.htm

has anyone brought a bike from any of these sites? or can you
recommend a different bike.

thanks, Stu

Hmm, depends on your pose / anti-pose balance.
I went for a 1970's Raleigh Stowaway type. In fact it is a bsa badged
version. Rock solid frame, steel wheels, 3 speed, £16.85 off ebay, thank
you very much.
Used mine tonight for a dog "walk" - left the full suss specialised in
the shed. Wife thinks I'm mad - what does she know??????
Took it to the inner hebredies and pre-placed it to avoid a 10 mile walk
back to the car following a 4 day circular walk - worth it's weight in
gold that day.
Bit of a cult following in certain distinguished circles though.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/raleigh-twenty.html
Oh, I had to buy a longer seatpost and new tyres / tubes and put on a
spare modern saddle.
Cheers
Graham

Alex Butcher said:

Stu said:

I am looking to purchase a cheap folding bike for around £150 or
less. just needs to be something that can easily be chucked into the boot
for occasional use.

How about the IKEA-branded Raleigh bikes you'll often find being sold on
eBay by IKEA employees that were given them?

Quoted message said:

I read somewhere that they're supposed to be good VFM. eBay prices seem to
range from 50-80 quid.

Good enough ... until the chainwheel folds.

--
Stephen Patterson :: [email hidden] :: http://patter.mine.nu/
GPG: B416F0DE :: Jabber: [email hidden]
"Don't be silly, Minnie. Who'd be walking round these cliffs with a gas oven?"

Stu said:

Hi,

I am looking to purchase a cheap folding bike for around £150 or
less. just needs to be something that can easily be chucked into the
boot for occasional use.

so far i have found...

http://www.bicycles4u.biz/

http://www.compass24.com/watersports/abnetshop.pl?wahl=Bicycles_Bicycles

http://www.poweredbicycles.co.uk/Normal--Bicycles/C17-1-0.htm

has anyone brought a bike from any of these sites? or can you
recommend a different bike.

thanks, Stu

A friend of mine had a cheap bike that folded - it wasn't meant to,
but what can I say - it was cheap. ;-P

David Lloyd (at work)

Stu said:

Hi,

I am looking to purchase a cheap folding bike for around £150 or
less. just needs to be something that can easily be chucked into the
boot for occasional use.

has anyone brought a bike from any of these sites? or can you
recommend a different bike.

thanks, Stu

Stu, bought the compass bike and have been impressed, done about
1200-1300 miles on it, much of which has been on forest tracks and
cycle paths. Its a rebadged dahon of which I have a speed 7 for longer
rides.
Impressions so far:
nice firm dahon frame.
simplicity itself, one gear about 63 gear inches so learn to spin on
it.
Front brake and the rear coaster is a useful combination.
Don't reply on the compass on the handle bars !
Nice sturdy rear carrier, I regularly load my panniers up with 30-40
lbs of glass for the trip to the bottle bank.
The tyres are ok, but when I put my old tyres for the dahon on it, it
made a big difference.
Maybe worth putting one of those kelvar strips in the back tyre, as a
lot of ones weight seems to 'rest' or ride on it.
Hasn't really needed much maintenance, save for moving the wheel
slightly to allow for chain stretch and I now need to take apart and
adjust the bottom bracket.
Wouldn't want to do more than 25-30 miles on it in one go, I took it
out to the Purbecks one afternoon recently and had to push it up some
of the off road tracks, ending up doing 33 miles which was a bit much.
These are excellent city bikes, very maneouvarable, easy to quickly
jump off and on again for negotiating pedestrian areas and complex
traffic systems like Trafalgar square.
I often take it on buses and carry it around shops with no problems
and have only one had one bus driver question me about bringing on.

thanks for the replies so far, still not sure what to get 🙂

rob - is it the 20" wheel bike they are currently selling that you
own, or the older 16" 'Marine' one that they have stopped selling? as
I have read lots of good things about that.

Stu said:

thanks for the replies so far, still not sure what to get 🙂

rob - is it the 20" wheel bike they are currently selling that you
own, or the older 16" 'Marine' one that they have stopped selling? as
I have read lots of good things about that.

Its the £80 20" one, which incidentally weights almost exactly the
same as my Dahoon 7speed.
I can't comment on the 16" ones as I've never even ridden a bike with
that size wheels. Of course the 20" has the advantage theres dozens of
different 40-406 tyres to choose from.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Hi,

I am looking to purchase a cheap folding bike for around =A3150 or
less. just needs to be something that can easily be chucked into the
boot for occasional use.

so far i have found...

http://www.bicycles4u.biz/

http://www.compass24.com/watersports/abnetshop.pl?wahl=3DBicycles_Bicycles

http://www.poweredbicycles.co.uk/Normal--Bicycles/C17-1-0.htm

has anyone brought a bike from any of these sites? or can you
recommend a different bike.

The Raleigh Boardwalks are basically rebadged Dahons at lower prices.
You can pick up a Boardwalk Lite on EBay for GBP 250 and it's not much
below a Dahon Helios which used to sell for GBP 400 plus...

Stu said:

Hi,

I am looking to purchase a cheap folding bike for around £150 or
less. just needs to be something that can easily be chucked into the
boot for occasional use.

Quoted message said:

http://www.compass24.com/watersports/abnetshop.pl?wahl=Bicycles_Bicycles

I've had the silly priced 20" single speed one for over a year now for
taking on the train (6 mile daily round trip); it's very unrefined and
not upgradeable but does the job fine. The only visible sign of wear
and tear is the folding handlebar stem which is a bit wobbly now. A
good buy IMO and one I'd have no qualms in binning and buying another
when it wears out (which it won't for ages for your intended use)