"A friend of mine wants to buy a folding bike. He wants it to tool around Riverside Park, and he wants a folder so he can store it under the stoop of his building. He doesn't need it for commuting, and it doesn't have to be as small as possible - 26"" wheels would be OK. Seven gears would be fine.
He lives on the upper West Side. He doesn't want to spend anywhere near $1,000, $500 is more like it.
He went to three bike shops. One was fairly nice but didn't have too many folders, one was entirely ignorant of folding bikes, and one, Bicycle Rennaissance was unbelievably snooty, informing him that ""We sell $8,000 bikes, you know.""
Does anyone have suggestions about which bike he should buy and where he should buy it?
Thanks for your help!"
Folding bikes and where to buy them
Wed, 04/13/2005 - 9:41pm
Thu, 04/14/2005 - 4:51am
#1
www.dahon.com (nm)
Thu, 04/14/2005 - 5:55am
#2
Bfold, Larry & Jeff's, NYCeBikes
"Over the last few days I have been actively searching for a folder to commute to work on (down the West Side ""Greenway"").
There are several to choose from and they really ride quite different from each other...wheel size, wheel base (""virtual top-tube"") length, folding vs. telescoping stems...
I had a very useful visit to Larry & Jeff's Bicycles Plus on 2nd Ave and 88th where Casey showed me several Dahons, a Birdy and a Giant. The Birdy seems like exceptionally poor value at the $1,500+ price level. The Dahons are pretty good value (a single-speed Boardwalk at $200ish). The Giant Halfway is about $500 (but it comes with lots of accessories).
I also tried out a friend's Brompton and will be contacting Bfold (a Brompton & Birdy ""boutique"") and NYCeWheels (on York and 84th) which specializes in electrics, city bikes and folders (including Bike Friday). (www.bfold.com and www.nycewheels.com). The C-Type and the L-type are closer to $500ish than $1,000.
If you can deal with ""remove-the-front-wheel-when-you-fold"" designs, the Airnimal Joey (available from CalhounCycle.com) seems pretty cool (24"" wheels). But it's closer to $1,000.
Since wheel size and folding size is not an issue, I would also suggest looking at Montague bicycles (which are available from NYCeWheels).
And Jason at Piermont Bicycle Connection (Tenafly) also carries Montagues and Dahons."
