Folded bike falling over

[Rochester]

Hello

I own a secondhand B’twin Tilt 500 folding bike (2017), which I use for a short commute to and from my place of work.

When folded, the bike falls over onto the handlebars; it is unable to stay upright. It’s proving to be a problem when storing my bike at work.

Can anyone suggest a possible fix for this?

The newer models of this bike come with a straight-edged bike stand under the base, but the manufacturer has said that the same bike stand cannot be fitted to my (older) bike due to a slight change in the position of the seat post.

I have looked at pedal kickstands, which I think I could apply to one pedal for use when the bike is folded, but my experience here is limited.

I’d appreciate any thoughts/suggestions.

Thanks!

[gaz]

Welcome to the forum.

Are there any other locations you could leave it securely whilst at work, possibly unfolded? (I'm thinking boiler rooms, unused corners under stairwells, etc). Can you bungee it to a wall or post.

Can you leave a "parasol stand" (insert seat post - never done it myself) or suitable box (homemade crate from an old pallet) to hold it upright at work or would that itself cause issues?

[cycleruk]

Following Gaz's lead - can you hang it up somewhere ? (folded or unfolded)

[mjr]

Does the pedal have any position where it acts as another leg? At a guess from looking at that bike, it might be with the left pedal just behind the vertical.

My Dawes has to have the pedal in a certain position but it folds up to a different shape to yours.

[cycle tramp]

H'mmm....
. ..may I ask if the handle height is fully extended when you fold it? If not if you fully extend the handlebar stem upwards, and then fold the bike, would the bike then not fall over, as it is now resting on the handlebars, which are touching the floor?

Admittedly at this point we may be swapping one problem for another, which is when you come to unfold the bicycle you will then have to re-adjust your handle bar height...
....and there may be only a certain amount of times (thousands or tens of thousands) before the metal around the handle bar height adjustment clamp fails from metal fatigue (you'll have to ask Brucey - it's all about the type of metal and its elasticity)

[nigelnightmare]

If you are going to try adjusting the handlebar stem PUT some tape around it to mark the height you have it at normally for quick readjustment afterwards.

[Brucey]

Does the pedal have any position where it acts as another leg? At a guess from looking at that bike, it might be with the left pedal just behind the vertical.....

I was wondering the same thing; the cranks won't turn 'forwards' easily when the rear wheel is on the ground, so this might help you prop the bike up using the left pedal.

cheers

[nigelnightmare]

You could use an old toe strap to hold the right crank to the seat tube so that the left pedal is pointing forward & down for better stability.

[Rochester]

What an incredible forum! Thank you all for sharing your thoughts. Very much appreciated. I will consider some of your suggestions. Thanks.

[Morzedec]

Less red wine ...................

Happy days,