Since i have mod powers i am just going to try this.
This topic is meant to be a low threshold possibility for all kinds of discussion. It is not meant to keep anybody from creating a new topic, the idea is that it may enable some discussion that would otherwise not happen at all.
Just a test balloon to see if this will get used. Do you think it is a good idea?
So I pulled the trigger on a folding bike. I have always wanted to do some bike touring, but raising kids took precedence and now I should be able to hopefully get out and do some of the things for me. So I decided I would get a folding bike for the convenience of being able to take it places, like on the train and such. I want to take the train up to Washington D.C. and spend a week or so just riding around, seeing various parts of the Smithsonian, and I feel like this would be a great way to make that happen. I will try some shakedown rides, and try and get plenty of riding on this bike so I am comfortable with it. Anyone do their touring on a folding bike?
Follow up post. I took the folding bike with me on a trip last weekend, and absolutely love it. I was able to pack it in the car for the trip ( I was just a passenger for the main trip), then borrowed my daughter’s car to take the bike down to a place I could go for a ride. Just popped it out of the trunk, took it for a ride and back in the trunk when I was done. Super simple. So now the plan is to start test fitting my camping gear and things I would want to take on a tour and doing some test rides. I am pretty happy with the gearing on the bike. Once I get everything tested out I can then start planning a few quick trips.
Nice! What kind of folding bike do you have? Small wheeled one?
I picked up a Dahon Suv D6, which has 20" wheels. For years I had been concerned about the small wheel size, but after watching videos of people touring on folding bikes I decided it was worth giving it a try. So far so good. I have a couple of Specialized road bikes, (allez and roubaix) and on my crappy local roads the ride can be pretty harsh, so I wasn’t expecting much with the new Dahon, but I think the wider tires and lower pressure seems to buffer some of the road bumps better. I am sure the more upright position also has something to do with it. Since all of my kids are grown and out on their own, I would like to do more travelling, and I think being able to just fold up a bike and take it with me will at least allow me to explore a lot more and maybe get in some overnight trips occasionally. I am looking to see if I can find one that might even fold up smaller, which I believe the Bromptons can do. I believe they have 16" wheel standard, which might be a little too small for comfort, but makes them pack up a little smaller. Either way, The plan is to get in more miles and so that when I do get to retire I am not just a decrepit old man.
I have a Brompton, took it from my mother since she didn’t use it. It looks like it folds smaller, but yours looks pretty small folding too. I think it is comfortable and fun to ride, i just kinda feel it is a bit more “dangerous” to ride a small wheeled bike like that, although nothing bad ever happened.
There are certainly a bunch of Brompton fans happily touring with it. My father (82) is also a Brompton fan, he rides it everyday while his “regular” bike is collecting dust for decades now.
Personally, i use it only for getting by train and bike to work, for every other use case i would rather take one of my other bikes.
This is my first folding bike so I am still getting used to how it rides compared to my regular bikes. My plan of taking it on the train to go on a vacation is really what spurred the purchase. I think this bike will be perfect for that and then travelling around wherever I get off the train, or throwing in my trunk and just randomly driving to a small town, pulling it out and riding around exploring. Not sure if that qualifies as touring, but I have wanted to take a full on, stop working, just get out and ride bike tour for decades. Maybe this will help me get closer to that goal.