Commuter folding bike

[Ck8]

How many members here use a commuter folding bike and your opinion on the make and model?

I started with the Dahon D7 speed and then I bought another, which is my present ride, Claude Butler Cirrus. Both fold to similar size with the handle bar between the two wheels, very compact. I would say the Claude Butler is slightly more sturdier and better designed, plus cheaper to buy.

I would say the folding bike is one of the better gadget ever invented. I should have bought one years ago. It is so user flexible, straight into the boot and drop off and cycle home. Park the car away from the city centre and bike into the centre and no car parking charge.

[Dr.Brian]

2 of the people I work with use them. They have Brompton bikes. Apparently they're the best, with superior design and portability. They both take them on public transportation.

[jyyanks]

I'm a folding bike fanatic. They are all over NYC. I discovered folders in July and since then I bought a total of 4 (did I mention that I'm addicted). I have a Dahon Boardwalk (which I gave to my daughter), a Dahon Speed P8 (love this bike and chose it over the Mu P8) and just bought my husband a Dahon Jack. My daughter had a Citizen Tokyo but now that she has my Dahon, I'm giving her bike to my son.

The Interbike Trade Show (?) was last week and the price of Dahons increased SIGNIFICANTLY. There is also a new player in the market, Tern, which is actually headed up by the Dahon CEO's son. There was a bit of family drama where the son split from dad's company to start his own folding bike company and took his mom with him! The prices for Terns just came out and they are comparable. I will say that the price increase makes Dahon and Tern up there with Bromton and Bike Friday.

I also looked at Brompton and Bike Friday but at the time, they were above my price range. Now that I know that I'm addicted to folding bikes, I may just look into one for next year.

[Ck8]

Originally Posted by jyyanks

I'm a folding bike fanatic. They are all over NYC. I discovered folders in July and since then I bought a total of 4 (did I mention that I'm addicted). I have a Dahon Boardwalk (which I gave to my daughter), a Dahon Speed P8 (love this bike and chose it over the Mu P8) and just bought my husband a Dahon Jack. My daughter had a Citizen Tokyo but now that she has my Dahon, I'm giving her bike to my son.

The Interbike Trade Show (?) was last week and the price of Dahons increased SIGNIFICANTLY. There is also a new player in the market, Tern, which is actually headed up by the Dahon CEO's son. There was a bit of family drama where the son split from dad's company to start his own folding bike company and took his mom with him! The prices for Terns just came out and they are comparable. I will say that the price increase makes Dahon and Tern up there with Bromton and Bike Friday.

I also looked at Brompton and Bike Friday but at the time, they were above my price range. Now that I know that I'm addicted to folding bikes, I may just look into one for next year.

As mentioned my folding bikes were one of the best buys. Now I can cycle and get picked up, dropped off and cycle home and park the car and cycle into the city centre. With the price of petrol at £1.36 per litre I can see more people using bikes as their mode of transport.
Some makes are really too expensive to justify locking it in public. My next one would properly be the Go cycle, a folding electric bike. I just have to fold it and take it with me rather than leaving it in the street.