#11
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folding bicycles
"F Murtz" wrote Theo Bekkers wrote: You asked for proper, usable, and small. $1800 ain't that bad. I paid more than that for my commuter bike in 1987. But it would buy a lot of bus fares between central and the key in sydney (for a pensioner at $2.50 per day) What? They make pensioners pay for bus fares in Sydney? *******s! In Perth, where I am a pensioner, all bus and rail journeys initiated between 9am and 3pm on work days are free, as is all public transport on weekends and public holidays. And you don't even need to be a pensioner. Just over 600 and working less than 20 hours a week. I'm going to Mandurah for lunch with some old workmates in two weeks time. OK, I have to drive 40 kms to the nearest rail station, but the 110 kms from Guildford to Mandurah is free. Theo |
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#12
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Theo Bekkers wrote:
"F wrote Theo Bekkers wrote: You asked for proper, usable, and small. $1800 ain't that bad. I paid more than that for my commuter bike in 1987. But it would buy a lot of bus fares between central and the key in sydney (for a pensioner at $2.50 per day) What? They make pensioners pay for bus fares in Sydney? *******s! In Perth, where I am a pensioner, all bus and rail journeys initiated between 9am and 3pm on work days are free, as is all public transport on weekends and public holidays. And you don't even need to be a pensioner. Just over 600 and working less than 20 hours a week. I'm going to Mandurah for lunch with some old workmates in two weeks time. OK, I have to drive 40 kms to the nearest rail station, but the 110 kms from Guildford to Mandurah is free. Theo We get two free trips a year any where in NSW but it costs $2.50 per day for a ticket good on govt buses, trains and ferry in metropolitan area. |
#13
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"F Murtz" wrote Theo Bekkers wrote: "F wrote But it would buy a lot of bus fares between central and the key in sydney (for a pensioner at $2.50 per day) What? They make pensioners pay for bus fares in Sydney? *******s! In Perth, where I am a pensioner, all bus and rail journeys initiated between 9am and 3pm on work days are free, as is all public transport on weekends and public holidays. And you don't even need to be a pensioner. Just over 600 and working less than 20 hours a week. I'm going to Mandurah for lunch with some old workmates in two weeks time. OK, I have to drive 40 kms to the nearest rail station, but the 110 kms from Guildford to Mandurah is free. We get two free trips a year any where in NSW but it costs $2.50 per day for a ticket good on govt buses, trains and ferry in metropolitan area. Hehe. I get the two free trips as well, but they're one way trips so really only one trip. Because I live outside the Metro area the State Govt also sends me $500 a year fuel card, to make up for me not having a bus service to my door. Theo |
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On 10/01/2011 8:03 PM, Theo Bekkers wrote:
"F wrote Theo Bekkers wrote: weekends and public holidays. And you don't even need to be a pensioner. Just over 600 and working less than 20 hours a week. Over 600??!!! F^&king hell!! They make yer wait for the freebie in WA, don't they? |
#15
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Having ridden a folder around in the past, I can say that they're more
expensive than a standard bike, and when folded, they're heavier than you'd like and have sharp bits poking out. Their main advantage is that you can often taken them on public transport and you can store them in small spaces - under a table or in the boot of a car, for example. Their main disadvantage is that they aren't as effective as a full-size bike when actually riding. If that doesn't bother you, here's what you should look for in a folding bike, in no particular order: 0. Ease of folding. It should take 15 seconds or less to fold the bike, with practice, and when unfolding the bike should be easy to reset to your riding setup. If it takes much longer than this, there'll be little point to having a folder in the first place. Also, cables, levers and so on should not snag on anything during a fold or unfold. 1. Size when folded. None are as small as you want. Basically, when folded it's going to be somewhat bigger than the wheel size, no matter what. The Brompton is the smallest, but it isn't all that small if you're carrying it. 2. Weight. This seems to bottom out at around 15kg for most of what's on offer. Below 15kg there's much less choice, and every kg saved costs a surprisingly large amount of money. 3. Wheel size. Smaller wheels are, well, smaller... but less stable on the road. I wouldn't go below 20 inch wheels, myself, but I suppose that's down to individual preference. 4. Strength of the hinges. You want strong hinges and catches that close tight, don't creak, and can be easily tightened as they loosen up over time. The weakest link is usually the steering stem hinge. The stems tend to be quite long on folders, and so they cop a lot of bending force. (Which is why you're not supposed to stand on the pedals to push up hills.) 5. Ridability. Most folders are, at the very least, short. They also tend to have very little trail in their steering. Trail makes a bike self-steering to a large extent; small or negative trail has the opposite effect and makes steering very twitchy. Consequently most folders require more attention when riding. If I had to recommend anything in the middling price range, it'd be a Dahon or a Yeah. They're made in the same factory and use the same components, but Yeah tend to be a bit cheaper. They're both fairly common, reasonably priced for folders, and well-made. They also hold their resale value fairly well if they're looked after, which is useful if you decide that a folder isn't for you. -- Phil |
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"Geoff Lock" glock@home wrote in message ... On 10/01/2011 8:03 PM, Theo Bekkers wrote: "F wrote Theo Bekkers wrote: weekends and public holidays. And you don't even need to be a pensioner. Just over 600 and working less than 20 hours a week. Over 600??!!! F^&king hell!! They make yer wait for the freebie in WA, don't they? We live a long time here in the West. OK 60 then. Theo |
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On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 08:25:20 +0000, Zebee Johnstone wrote:
http://www.cellbikes.com.au/Progear-...or-city-riders reckons $350, says light but doesn't give a weight which sounds sus to me... BUt they have a storefront in Stanmore and have at least one Dahon as well. Googling around shows "gross weight 15kg". Assuming the box weighs around 1kg, that's a 14kg bike. Not light, but quite rideable (Most MTBs around that price are probably a similar weight, if not more). -- Dave Hughes - This calls for a very special blend of psychology and extreme violence. - Vyvyan |
#18
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Zebee Johnstone wrote:
In aus.bicycle on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 18:20:31 +1100 F Murtz wrote: Theo Bekkers wrote: "F wrote Zebee Johnstone wrote: On 9/01/2011 8:28 PM, F Murtz wrote: What is the smallest and lightest folding cycle? I mean proper usable ones. The smallest folder is definitely the Brompton. http://www.brompton.co.uk Looks like just the thing,I bought a lotto ticket this week. You asked for proper, usable, and small. $1800 ain't that bad. I paid more than that for my commuter bike in 1987. Theo But it would buy a lot of bus fares between central and the key in sydney (for a pensioner at $2.50 per day) If you aren't going to ride far and you aren't in peak hour, then take a normal bike not a folder. Or a cheap folder. They don't fold small, they don't ride well, and they die relatively quickly but you can get them for $300 on ebay. If you want small and light you pay for it. So get used to buses... You can get them for $150 at Aldi... (We bought 2 because that way we can fit 2 bikes internally in the car when we travel, and cycling 5km on a not-terribly-good bike is still more fun than walking 5km. BTH -- Posted at www.usenet.com.au |
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On 2011-01-16, BT Humble (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea: Zebee Johnstone wrote: If you aren't going to ride far and you aren't in peak hour, then take a normal bike not a folder. Or a cheap folder. They don't fold small, they don't ride well, and they die relatively quickly but you can get them for $300 on ebay. If you want small and light you pay for it. So get used to buses... You can get them for $150 at Aldi... (We bought 2 because that way we can fit 2 bikes internally in the car when we travel, and cycling 5km on a not-terribly-good bike is still more fun than walking 5km. I was looking at their unicycle when I was in there buying my 1/12 scale model of a 650GS[1] a couple of weeks ago (thanks for the headsup BTH!). Looks even more portable and fun than cycling, but since I have no idea about unicycle sizing (other than knowing it wouldn't fit in my panniers and thus I could not get it back home), I didn't buy it. [1] Pity they didn't have any boxer engine'd beemers. -- TimC pivot_root manpage: BUGS: Some of the more obscure uses of pivot_root may quickly lead to insanity. |
#20
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On 17/01/2011 07:16, TimC wrote:
On 2011-01-16, BT Humble (aka Bruce) was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea: Zebee Johnstone wrote: If you aren't going to ride far and you aren't in peak hour, then take a normal bike not a folder. Or a cheap folder. They don't fold small, they don't ride well, and they die relatively quickly but you can get them for $300 on ebay. If you want small and light you pay for it. So get used to buses... You can get them for $150 at Aldi... (We bought 2 because that way we can fit 2 bikes internally in the car when we travel, and cycling 5km on a not-terribly-good bike is still more fun than walking 5km. I was looking at their unicycle when I was in there buying my 1/12 scale model of a 650GS[1] a couple of weeks ago (thanks for the headsup BTH!). Looks even more portable and fun than cycling, but since I have no idea about unicycle sizing (other than knowing it wouldn't fit in my panniers and thus I could not get it back home), I didn't buy it. [1] Pity they didn't have any boxer engine'd beemers. I bought one of their folders a a couple of months ago. Apart from the Huge weight I could not raise the saddle high enough to fit my meagre 5 foot 10 inches. Eventually I took advantage of their money back offer. -- Remove norubbish to reply |
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