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< ><B>Why choose a folding bike?</B></P>
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<P>Folding bikes used to be crude, heavy, hard to ride, slow to fold, and once in a while they collapsed in a heap. But in the early '90s that all changed as rail operators and airlines began to tighten restrictions on bike carriage. Fortunately, bikes that could be treated as hand luggage continued to travel free, and so the concept of a super-compact folding bike caught on. Today there are more than 50 folding bikes, and thanks to developments in small tyre technology and frame materials, the weight, ride quality and performance of the best is similar to that of their rigid cousins. Folding bikes offer five primary advantages over conventional machines:
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<B>Free & unrestricted carriage on public transport</B>
<B>Almost thief proof</B>
<B>Space-saving at home and elsewhere</B>
<B>Multi-modal travel (such as rail/folding bike) is usually cheaper than a car</B>
<B>High resale value
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<P>Not all folders fit in a suitcase, or fold in seconds, but they can be made significantly smaller when you're not in the saddle. And they generally travel free and without booking restrictions on rail, bus, underground, ferry or air services. It's that freedom to travel anywhere with your bike that gives folders a magic quality. A folding bike can open up entirely new ways of travelling.
<B>Choosing a bike
</B>The more you pay, the lighter the machine. Expect to pay £200 or less for a 14kg clunker, £450 for a mid-range 12kg machine, or £1,000+ for something close to the exotic 10kg mark. That might sound expensive, but folding bikes keep their value. A second-hand Brompton, Birdy or Bike Friday will cost almost as much as a new machine, so it's generally better to buy new if you can afford it.
Folded size is important too. If you are just carrying a couple of bikes into the country at the weekend by car or train, almost anything will fit the bill. But if you expect to commute by air, rail, bus, or metro, you'll need a really compact machine that folds quickly. And to keep ahead of bike thieves it needs to be light, compact and quick to fold, or you'll soon give up and put it back in the garage.
Small wheels usually give lighter steering and a harder ride, but forget all the stories about wobbly handling, hard work and unusably low gears. Folding bikes tend to be more manoeuverable than traditional bikes; they're lighter; and most offer a low step-thru frame. They also tend to come in one size suitable for all the family, with a few quick adjustments.
<B>Full-Size Wheels
</B>If you really can't live with small wheels, there are a few folding bikes around with conventional wheels, such as the <B>Dahon Mountain Gold</B> MTB. The Mountain Gold costs from £270, although it's sometimes available for less under a variety of brand names. Other good full-size bikes include the <B>Montague</B>, and the <B>Redlof</B> range. Not currently available in the UK, the Redlof is widely distributed in the USA as the <B>CariBike</B>.
If you insist on a 'conventional' machine, why not make your own bike separable? It's not as difficult (or as dangerous) as it sounds. US engineering company <B>S&S Machine</B> produces a range of frame couplings that are claimed to be stronger than the original tubes.
<B>Grand Tourers: 20-inch wheels and above
</B>The real 'compact' folding bikes have wheels measuring 20-inches or less in diameter. As a general rule, bikes with 20-inch wheels perform well, but fold slowly, and produce a large package. The best-known 20-inch bike is the <B>Bike Friday</B>, made by Green Gear in Oregon, USA. The company build custom-made MTBs, tourers, racers, triathlon machines and a new recumbent, with prices starting in the region of £700 or US$700.
A cheaper option is the Taiwanese-made <B>Dahon Boardwalk</B>, currently sold as a Phillips in the UK. It's heavier than the Bike Friday and it doesn't fold or ride with the same finesse, but it costs only £300, or about US$400, which gives some compensa |
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发表于 2004-5-12 00:52
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发表于 2004-5-12 01:05
