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I've owned a Bike Friday[1] gnu since 2007 and my wife has both a Tikit and larger touring one which I don't think has a name (Edit: she reminds me it is a 'new

I've owned a Bike Friday[1] gnu since 2007 and my wife has both a Tikit and larger touring one which I don't think has a name (Edit: she reminds me it is a 'new world Tourist'). (they are basically custom bikes). I carried mine on Caltrain while commuting, it folds quickly and even if the bike car is full you could easily just stash it in the luggage rack car. They even had a Samsonite suitcase that was the correct size so that you could fold it, put it in the case, and check it as luggage on airplane flights. We both really enjoy them. The Tikit (which is closest to the Kwiggle which is linked here) is similarly quick to fold and unfold, and quite portable. Before the scooter craze people were leery of riding a bike with smaller wheels but for most things it is fine. My general impression has been that if you are worried about how you are going to store your bike when you get where you are going, folding bikes can be a big win. [1] https://bikefriday.com/ https://bikefriday.com/

brudgers 5y ago
Folding bikes are better at most of what bikes do; sitting around waiting to be ridden. There’s no good way to store a regular bicycle. All of them are compromises of convenience, security, floor space and weather protection.
- lmm 5y ago
  Storing vehicles is a social problem not an individual one, given that by their nature people tend to use them to commute, go shopping etc.. (If you live in some crazy jurisdiction that has decided to allocate lots of public space to car storage and not bike storage, then you have a problem, but, uh, don't do that)
  - Leherenn 5y ago
    The issue with bicycles in public spaces is that they get stolen all the time, even the shitty ones. Folding ones neatly avoid that since you can rather easily store them somewhere safe wherever you go.
    - valarauko 5y ago
      Honest Q: where though? If storing outside on a bike rack isn't an option, where can the folding bikes be reasonably stored while out and about? If I go to the store, for example, I see no option but to lug the bike around with me the entire time. At work, sure, I could stash it in the office during the work day, but outside of that I'm not sure storage really works.
      - Leherenn 5y ago
        I would say home/the office is already pretty big. You're right, you probably won't store your bike in the shop, but if you're shopping with a bike, you probably won't stay there for a long time anyway so the risk is quite lower. For what it's worth, I've seen people put them in some corner at the gym for instance, so it's sometimes possible. I'm not saying it's perfect, but I certainly see the appeal for commuters, especially as a last mile option. You usually can't go with a full bike in public transports during rush hour anyway, so the usual alternative is to have one bike at each end, where they are outside all the time.
        valarauko 5y ago
        At my local store(s) there's plenty of parking space, but no bike rack or a railing to lock a bike. At the gym, there's a bike rack right in front but no parking space. For my commutes accessible by bike, a folding bike offers no current advantages. The option of a bike that's easier to take on the subway is certainly appealing though.
  - brudgers 5y ago
    My bike is actual not theoretical. Storing it is very much my practical problem. The solutions are orthogonal to the presence or absence of parking lots, quays, and hangers in my community. For me, folding it up and putting it in a closet seems simpler than changing civilization. YMMV.
    - lmm 5y ago
      I actually did emigrate for the sake of a better life that includes a much better bicycle culture, FWIW :).
      - brudgers 5y ago
        Better bicycling in the public sphere is among the benefits of my relocation. The folding bike improves the situation in my domestic life. In general a bike is a both-and to an automobile not an either-or. Each is a tool that is better for some jobs and worse for others. As tools neither is moral or immoral, virtuous or evil, inherently right or wrong.
        lmm 5y ago
        I'd argue that a tool is inherently immoral to the extent that it tends to impose negative externalities on others.
- locallost 5y ago
  Now do cars.
  - brudgers 5y ago
    I leave my car outside because rain doesn't effect it's powertrain lubricants. It has integrated locks and unlikely to be stolen. It can't be picked up and thrown in the back of a van. Or just ridden off. I come out and the seat isn't wet and the chain isn't rusty. Everything is dry and ready to go.
    - locallost 5y ago
      It's a funny list considering bikes were described as a compromise with floor space. As it's possible to park 10 bikes for one car. As for the rest, I lube my chains rarely and they are rusty on extreme occasions only and stand in the rain often. Belt drives also require no lube at all. A bike can be dried up in 5 seconds or you can use a seat cover which costs around 50 cents on average unless you get it for free. You take it off and the seat is dry and ready to go. And you don't have to drive around three blocks for 10 minutes looking for a parking space. Or longer if you don't find it and drive home and ride a bike instead. So cars are a compromise with mental health and bikes are a breeze. I haven't had to worry about anything or make any compromise with them in so 12 years I've been riding daily. Because even a rusty chain can be replaced for 10-20$. They are basically worry free and almost maintenance free. To call them a compromise is an insult to common sense.
      - brudgers 5y ago
        I don’t need to park ten bikes because I only have one and it folds up and fits in a closet or can roll behind me somewhat like a carry-on suitcase. I don’t disagree with your experience regarding maintenance. Mine has been with a bike in Florida rain, where the streets run yellow with pine pollen in spring, and where the fog is of the Pacific’s salt air. With my folding bike, I just find a place to park the car and peddle the last mile or don’t and just walk. A car doesn’t require me to park close. Car or bike or foot, I tend to maintain my chill about the same frequency. I stopped competing for parking a few years ago. Cannabis helped. YMMV, but it helped on the internet too.
Doctor_Fegg 5y ago
Big fan of Bike Fridays - mine's a New World Tourist too. I wouldn't take it on a crowded (UK) commuter train: the fold is much larger and more ungainly than a Brompton. But you can go touring up hill and down dale on it, on the sort of route that would leave you panting on a Brommie. Plus it works great as an everyday bike even in circumstances when folding isn't important.
- brudgers 5y ago
  Bike Friday is what my friend, Bikeshop Bill, recommended when I called him for advice on folding bikes...he'd told about his father touring Europe on a folding bike. I gave them a serious look and realized they weren't for me because I am not a cyclist. For me, a bike is a tool which isn't to say Bike Friday bikes aren't tools, but rather that looking at Bike Friday made it clear that a Brompton would be a better tool for me...e.g. it has a bell out of the box and doesn't anticipate I own a specialized wardrobe.

brudgers 5y ago

Folding bikes are better at most of what bikes do; sitting around waiting to be ridden. There’s no good way to store a regular bicycle. All of them are compromises of convenience, security, floor space and weather protection.

lmm 5y ago
Storing vehicles is a social problem not an individual one, given that by their nature people tend to use them to commute, go shopping etc.. (If you live in some crazy jurisdiction that has decided to allocate lots of public space to car storage and not bike storage, then you have a problem, but, uh, don't do that)
- Leherenn 5y ago
  The issue with bicycles in public spaces is that they get stolen all the time, even the shitty ones. Folding ones neatly avoid that since you can rather easily store them somewhere safe wherever you go.
  - valarauko 5y ago
    Honest Q: where though? If storing outside on a bike rack isn't an option, where can the folding bikes be reasonably stored while out and about? If I go to the store, for example, I see no option but to lug the bike around with me the entire time. At work, sure, I could stash it in the office during the work day, but outside of that I'm not sure storage really works.
    - Leherenn 5y ago
      I would say home/the office is already pretty big. You're right, you probably won't store your bike in the shop, but if you're shopping with a bike, you probably won't stay there for a long time anyway so the risk is quite lower. For what it's worth, I've seen people put them in some corner at the gym for instance, so it's sometimes possible. I'm not saying it's perfect, but I certainly see the appeal for commuters, especially as a last mile option. You usually can't go with a full bike in public transports during rush hour anyway, so the usual alternative is to have one bike at each end, where they are outside all the time.
      - valarauko 5y ago
        At my local store(s) there's plenty of parking space, but no bike rack or a railing to lock a bike. At the gym, there's a bike rack right in front but no parking space. For my commutes accessible by bike, a folding bike offers no current advantages. The option of a bike that's easier to take on the subway is certainly appealing though.
- brudgers 5y ago
  My bike is actual not theoretical. Storing it is very much my practical problem. The solutions are orthogonal to the presence or absence of parking lots, quays, and hangers in my community. For me, folding it up and putting it in a closet seems simpler than changing civilization. YMMV.
  - lmm 5y ago
    I actually did emigrate for the sake of a better life that includes a much better bicycle culture, FWIW :).
    - brudgers 5y ago
      Better bicycling in the public sphere is among the benefits of my relocation. The folding bike improves the situation in my domestic life. In general a bike is a both-and to an automobile not an either-or. Each is a tool that is better for some jobs and worse for others. As tools neither is moral or immoral, virtuous or evil, inherently right or wrong.
      - lmm 5y ago
        I'd argue that a tool is inherently immoral to the extent that it tends to impose negative externalities on others.
locallost 5y ago
Now do cars.
- brudgers 5y ago
  I leave my car outside because rain doesn't effect it's powertrain lubricants. It has integrated locks and unlikely to be stolen. It can't be picked up and thrown in the back of a van. Or just ridden off. I come out and the seat isn't wet and the chain isn't rusty. Everything is dry and ready to go.
  - locallost 5y ago
    It's a funny list considering bikes were described as a compromise with floor space. As it's possible to park 10 bikes for one car. As for the rest, I lube my chains rarely and they are rusty on extreme occasions only and stand in the rain often. Belt drives also require no lube at all. A bike can be dried up in 5 seconds or you can use a seat cover which costs around 50 cents on average unless you get it for free. You take it off and the seat is dry and ready to go. And you don't have to drive around three blocks for 10 minutes looking for a parking space. Or longer if you don't find it and drive home and ride a bike instead. So cars are a compromise with mental health and bikes are a breeze. I haven't had to worry about anything or make any compromise with them in so 12 years I've been riding daily. Because even a rusty chain can be replaced for 10-20$. They are basically worry free and almost maintenance free. To call them a compromise is an insult to common sense.
    - brudgers 5y ago
      I don’t need to park ten bikes because I only have one and it folds up and fits in a closet or can roll behind me somewhat like a carry-on suitcase. I don’t disagree with your experience regarding maintenance. Mine has been with a bike in Florida rain, where the streets run yellow with pine pollen in spring, and where the fog is of the Pacific’s salt air. With my folding bike, I just find a place to park the car and peddle the last mile or don’t and just walk. A car doesn’t require me to park close. Car or bike or foot, I tend to maintain my chill about the same frequency. I stopped competing for parking a few years ago. Cannabis helped. YMMV, but it helped on the internet too.

Doctor_Fegg 5y ago

Big fan of Bike Fridays - mine's a New World Tourist too. I wouldn't take it on a crowded (UK) commuter train: the fold is much larger and more ungainly than a Brompton. But you can go touring up hill and down dale on it, on the sort of route that would leave you panting on a Brommie. Plus it works great as an everyday bike even in circumstances when folding isn't important.

brudgers 5y ago
Bike Friday is what my friend, Bikeshop Bill, recommended when I called him for advice on folding bikes...he'd told about his father touring Europe on a folding bike. I gave them a serious look and realized they weren't for me because I am not a cyclist. For me, a bike is a tool which isn't to say Bike Friday bikes aren't tools, but rather that looking at Bike Friday made it clear that a Brompton would be a better tool for me...e.g. it has a bell out of the box and doesn't anticipate I own a specialized wardrobe.