Folding bicycles
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Just finished reading of guofu's post about the Strida. I must say that
it is very interesting. I never used such thing but the post is
inspiring.
I once owned the Sinclair A-Bike. I wanted to use it for my commutin
and for shopping (it was about 7 kg so I felt it would be possible to
take it to shops). Well, if was small but uncomfortable to carry and
hard to ride.
There were several issues: its tiny wheels (was it 7"?) and single
speed gearing made it usable on almost perfectly flat, clean and even
surfaces. But these thing were not present here. I sold it and then
feared to try any small-wheeler for more than 10 years.
The I have bought the Brompton in 2021 for the same purpose. This time
I have been much more successful. A machine with 16" wheels (just like
the Strida), a 3-speed Sturmey-Archer hub gear and the traditional (but
massive enough!) brakes. And there is 2-speed derailleur, too (so I have 6 speeds in total).
In theory in is no match for the A-Bike in terms of folding and
carrying. It is about 15 kg (yes, the Brompton is a traditional British
machine made of high-quality steel) and it occupies much more volume,
too. But it folds quite smartly and it is such much easier to fit
almost anywhere and to handle and carry, too.
Moreover, it rides well (no worse than my old steel diamond frame road
bike). There is rear suspension thing which actually works. Its gear
range is excellent. The funny thing is that I am able to be faster than
most local riders on mountain bikes. These 16" wheels are pretty strong
so it is possible to use it on gravel, too. This is what I do quite
often as local cycle paths tend to start on tarmac but then they change
to gravel or even to unpaved surface at all... (of course, bike with
such small wheels is not good in sand or mud).
The good thing is that this machine has "normal" geometry. I am not too
tall (just 183 cm) but I have relatively long legs. I have no problems
here (at all).
I also have other bikes like a selection of (mostly aged) Moulton
bicycles. They also have smaller wheels, too (16"-20") but they are not
"folders". All of them have both the front and the rear suspensions so
they are very comfortable (no match for the Brompton here, even the
1960 Moulton Standard is much better - and it surpasses most on
"normal" bicycles, too).
But I still think I should thy the Strida one day...
References:
[1]
gopher://sdf.org/0/users/guofu/phlog/2022/20221129033447.txt
