Cycling UK Forum

Hello CTC,

I'm a third year Mechanical Engineering student at Queen University Belfast and I'm currently involved in a project where we have to research, design and manufacture a folding bicycle. I was wondering if you could help me out and complete a small survey (8 questions) about folding bicycles, its mainly for people who own one but if not it would be of great help if you could answer as if you were going to purchase one and what you would be looking for specification wise. The link for the survey is below.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/22VQM33

Thanks in advance
Matthew Hyndman

Just done the survey. On the question of aesthetics or function I chose function but really I look for both - it would have been nice to have had that option. Also most surveys include an any other comments box at the end. For reference my folder is an original Birdy Red by Reise and Muller purchased in the late 1990s,

done - jftr mines an Airnimal Chameleon

Another one done - Dahon Helios P8 .

Done... Only had mine a week but am delighted with it. http://bicycles4u.com/products/milan-explorer Particularly impressed with the ride with its 20" wheels it seems to float over poor surfaces. If I were on and off trains I think I would choose a Brompton because of its smaller folded size, but I am not, only the occasional bus or train ride. I will be trying a Brompton for a day soon when the weather gets better.

Al

Matthew - completed your survey. I too would have liked a box to tick to say that i prefer bikes,to be functional and aesthetically pleasing. I have a Brompton.

Done - I have a Brompton M3L

Done but with two Bromptons and a Bike Friday Pocket Rocket its difficult to cover all three within the limitations of the survey.

Worth thinking about the different geographical characteristics. European bikes such as Bromptons are designed primarily for bike/rail travel; US ones such as Bike Friday primarily for bike/plane travel and Asian such as Dahon primarily for storing in the limited space of a typical apartment (not taken on trains or planes). With that home market usage overlay the reasons for the differences in design become obvious. I have one Brompton for work use in combined train/bike travel, one for family outings by train or car and the Bike Friday for travelling by car or plane where I want a good road bike with me at the destination for exercise/leisure.

Yes another Chameleon. As it's purpose is to take on the train around France in a suitcase, functionality is the priority for me
i would have liked a better, stronger, paint finish, such as i've had on my Dawes bikes as it gets a bit scratched when packing:the fit in the case is very tight so a lot of adjusting in the case which causes scratches on what is a very thin paint finish

done;

some comments;

1) you can't quite spell aesthetic (twice; differently each time!)
2) there is no sub £100 price bracket. Some folk buy bikes used.
3) many bikes have a variable fold; i.e. they fold quickly in one direction but then other parts can then be folded which may take longer. No-one folds a bike any more than it needs to be folded at any given time. Really you need to specify a folded size or sizes, mudguards/rack or not etc; a standard racing bike will go into a car boot in two minutes provided it doesn't have mudguards or a pannier rack. It isn't considered a 'folding bike' though. My own folding bike goes to car boot size in ten seconds but smaller again in more time.
4) there is no question regarding usage; specifically how far the bike is to be ridden, how long it should last. My own folding bike doesn't fold that small, but it is durable (and relatively heavy) and I would expect it to last for decades, be repairable, and be suitable for riding long distances. It has hardly any 'folding bike specific parts'. Other folding bike users would have different priorities.

cheers

al_yrpal wrote:Done... Only had mine a week but am delighted with it. http://bicycles4u.com/products/milan-explorer Particularly impressed with the ride with its 20" wheels it seems to float over poor surfaces. If I were on and off trains I think I would choose a Brompton because of its smaller folded size, but I am not, only the occasional bus or train ride. I will be trying a Brompton for a day soon when the weather gets better.

Al

That's an absolute bargain!

Brucey wrote:done;

some comments;

1) you can't quite spell aesthetic (twice; differently each time!)

Sorry I would normally let these things go but for some reason this has bugged me, but I really don't think making comments about spelling is called for or appropriate you know nothing about the OP and to start commenting in the tone and manner in which you did really angered me, I suffer from Dyslexia and this sometimes causes me problems and I do take offence when people start criticizing me when there is no cause to do so. If I were sitting a spelling test then be my guest although it can be very soul destroying! However this is not a spelling test it is simply someone asking for some help, it was clear what was being asked! So dose it really matter how exactly it was spelt?

I agree with elizabethsdad. Mine. Is a second hand Dawes Kingpin

So dose it really matter how exactly it was spelt?

Well why bother spelling anything correctly?

No-one is perfect and we all have our own crosses to bear here (so don't go jumping to conclusions...).

I did notice that you managed to spell everything else correctly (as I would expect a university student to, one way or another).

If written material for public consumption that contains spelling inconsistencies forms part of the examined work for a degree I'd expect it to be viewed in a poor light if it wasn't clear or hadn't been subjected to a spellcheck; from my viewpoint when you are trying to help someone avoid being marked down in their studies it comes over pretty poorly to be criticised for it.

You may think this kind of thing doesn't really matter; but it does.

If you graduate as an engineer you will find that if you cannot communicate clearly with others in writing or otherwise your professional opinions will be more likely to be disregarded, no matter how accurate they might be in content. The education system may forgive such things but real life sadly doesn't. Use a spell check if you have to; and when you do, think of all the poor sods who never had one.



cheers

Done. I also have a Brompton M3L.