Folding Bikes

[TWinter]

Hey Fellow Mooniacs,

I have two folding bikes that I am selling. I bought these about a month ago to put in the Mooney for trips. We like the idea so much we've decided to step up our game and purchased a couple of the Allen higher end folding bikes. The two we are selling are great bikes and a easy way to get into something economically. They are both single speed. The Retrospec was bought used, but is in excellent shape. The Dahon was purchased brand new by me. Asking $225 each shipped to lower 48.

Feel free to save $35 on each and fly out to DYR (Dyersburg, TN) and we can have a Mooniac lunch and talk flying...on me  

-Tom

 

 

Retrospec Speck SS Folding Bike

 

Retrospec Bicycles brings you the ultimate folding bicycle for the always-on-the-go commuting cyclist. The Speck conforms to this California company’s “less is more” mentality with its simple single-speed drive train and its ultra-light aluminum frame. Need to brake? No problem. This bike operates on a coaster brake, allowing you to stop easily by pedaling backward. No worrying about brake cables or shifters, as they’re all unnecessary on this baby. The Speck is clad with ergonomic grips and the famous Retrospec saddle, so you can cycle comfortably. And when you’ve arrived at your destination, fold your bike and hide it away. Ride with ease, maintain with ease, and transport with ease. The Speck is recommended for riders ranging from 4’8” to 6’6”, under 240 lbs. 

 

Dahon Boardwalk Folding Bike, Obsidian

One-speed urban utility bike with frame that folds in less than 15 seconds
Folds to 12.1 by 30.4 by 25.4 inches; weighs 27.3 pounds
Magnetix latch system holds the bike together when folded
Adjustable stem adapts to riders of all sizes from under five feet to over six feet tall
Dahon Neos rear derailleur offers crisp, fast shifting and a low profile design

 

 

[mike28w]

  I've always liked the idea , but didn't really think they would fit in a Mooney.  I have a C....     How do you get them in and how much room is left over ?

Thanks !   mike

 

[aaronk25]

I got Dahon a8 it fits by about 3/4". When being loaded in rear baggage door.

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[TWinter]

11 hours ago, aaronk25 said:

I got Dahon a8 it fits by about 3/4". When being loaded in rear baggage door.

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Yep, It's close, but doable. The baggage hatch is tight, but works. Through the door an into the backseat is very easy. I just bought us the Allen XWay and Allen Ultra 1 Carbon to save even more weight. Really anxious to take them on a road trip and give them a try. We tried the ones I have posted for sale around the neighborhood to see if I could fit on one comfortably and not look like a monkey riding a football. It felt pretty good so we went all in and got the new Allens.

[jonhop]

On 2/9/2016 at 6:49 AM, TWinter said:

Yep, It's close, but doable. The baggage hatch is tight, but works. Through the door an into the backseat is very easy. I just bought us the Allen XWay and Allen Ultra 1 Carbon to save even more weight. Really anxious to take them on a road trip and give them a try. We tried the ones I have posted for sale around the neighborhood to see if I could fit on one comfortably and not look like a monkey riding a football. It felt pretty good so we went all in and got the new Allens.

TWinter, so how big are you? I'm interested but at 6'5" and 250lbs, I just don't know if these folding bikes will hold up to my frame/punishment...

[aviatoreb]

8 hours ago, jonhop said:

TWinter, so how big are you? I'm interested but at 6'5" and 250lbs, I just don't know if these folding bikes will hold up to my frame/punishment...

Most of these bikes have a published weight limit.  I have seen 180, 200, and 230 on a few different folder models I have looked at.  At 250lbs, I would recommend you look at bike friday because they are a custom folder bike builder and they will build a bike that will meet the weight needs.  I am 6'4'' 215lbs and I have broken a few bike parts over the years that were under engineered, including 4 different crank arms that have snapped in half...which is very scary when it happens.

[TWinter]

I think these two bikes I have are rated @ 230 pound max.. I've been on a mission this past year to change my workouts and get back on the healthy wagon. I've got my bodyweight down form 250-260s to about 238 right now..Goal is to get back to 225-230 (my before moving to Tennessee weight..got to love southern fried foods) . I'm 5'10 so I think these bikes will be okay. I'll try these new Allen's and see how they work. Just gives me more incentive to keep my workouts to more of a overall fitness routine and lay-off heavy powerlifting style.

jonhop, At 6'5" and 250 you would probably be more suited for the "Paratrooper" folding bike or one of the styles with a heavier frame or a suggestion like aviatoreb said, maybe a custom build from Bike Friday.

 

-Tom  

[Marauder]

Why do I have this mental image?

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[Marauder]

The biggest problem I see with all bike manufacturers is that even for the bigger frames (like my 63cm), they design them for the 6'1" 155 pound rider.

I have broken two frames, one a Trek and the other a Cannondale as well as two sets of Mavic wheels. The frames both cracked at the rear chain stay and the wheels cracked at the insertion point of the spokes into the rims.

Both manufacturers stood by their products. Trek gave me a credit towards a new bike and Cannondale gave me a new CAAD 9 frame and paid to have my Durace components moved over. And that was a bike I had 18,000 miles on.

The wheels were a different story. Cost me $150 per wheel. After going through 4 repairs, I moved up to Shimano tubeless. Got 4K on them and they are holding up well.

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[TWinter]

14 minutes ago, Marauder said:

Why do I have this mental image?

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Or this? This was what I thought I might look like riding a folding bike..Yikes!!

[TWinter]

2 minutes ago, Marauder said:

The biggest problem I see with all bike manufacturers is that even for the bigger frames (like my 63cm), they design them for the 6'1" 155 pound rider.

I have broken two frames, one a Trek and the other a Cannondale as well as two sets of Mavic wheels. The frames both cracked at the rear chain stay and the wheels cracked at the insertion point of the spokes into the rims.

Both manufacturers stood by there products. Trek gave me a credit towards a new bike and Cannondale gave me a new CAAD 9 frame and paid to have my Durace components moved over. And that was a bike I had 18,000 miles on.

The wheels were a different story. Cost me $150 per wheel. After going through 4 repairs, I moved up to Shimano tubeless. Got 4K on them and they are holding up well.

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This was my second choice.. Not sure how well they would fit in the Mooney once folded. Might as well go with a full size non-folding road bike if you are going this big. Heard much about them?

[Marauder]

14 minutes ago, Marauder said: Why do I have this mental image?

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Or this? This was what I thought I might look like riding a folding bike..Yikes!!

Hey! Where did you get a picture of me out for a ride?!

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[Marauder]

2 minutes ago, Marauder said: The biggest problem I see with all bike manufacturers is that even for the bigger frames (like my 63cm), they design them for the 6'1" 155 pound rider.

I have broken two frames, one a Trek and the other a Cannondale as well as two sets of Mavic wheels. The frames both cracked at the rear chain stay and the wheels cracked at the insertion point of the spokes into the rims.

Both manufacturers stood by there products. Trek gave me a credit towards a new bike and Cannondale gave me a new CAAD 9 frame and paid to have my Durace components moved over. And that was a bike I had 18,000 miles on.

The wheels were a different story. Cost me $150 per wheel. After going through 4 repairs, I moved up to Shimano tubeless. Got 4K on them and they are holding up well.

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This was my second choice.. Not sure how well they would fit in the Mooney once folded. Might as well go with a full size non-folding road bike if you are going this big. Heard much about them?

I haven't. My wife and I committed to travel with our bikes this year and I am trying to find a solution. I have a second bike that is aluminum that I could do what Erik suggested (cut it in half). The other thing I'm working on is figuring out how my rear seats come out. I had them out years ago and I think if I remove them, I can get our road bikes in the back.

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[aviatoreb]

2 hours ago, Marauder said:

I haven't. My wife and I committed to travel with our bikes this year and I am trying to find a solution. I have a second bike that is aluminum that I could do what Erik suggested (cut it in half). The other thing I'm working on is figuring out how my rear seats come out. I had them out years ago and I think if I remove them, I can get our road bikes in the back.

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I have one of those bikes - branded Hummer but it is a Montague.  They are very nice. They ARE a full size 26'er mtn bike, and legit to ride off road and rides as any mtn bike on the road, so perfectly fine on travel, although not a road bike.  It is well up to strength to handle me and my weight.  I put 200mm cranks (as I do on all my bikes) so with that I get enough saddle height for my long legs with a 400mm seatpost.

It is a VERY good Mooney bike because with both wheels off, the seatpost off, and the stem off, the back part of the frame swings around tucks under the downtube and it then slips nicely into the rear baggage door.    I like it a lot.

Many of the folders which are smaller are still too big to fit into the back door, and then so folded they are actually WORSE than a regular full sized bike as far as putting into the back through the front door since once folded a folder is fat - a full size bike with the seatpost and wheels off and pedals off (and in a BBQ bag) slips into the back seat easily if the back sets are out.

BTW, the main thing about seatpost off is to retain your seat height marked well - to make it quick and easy, I use a hoseclamp to mark the position so I just drop the seatpost back in place and it finds the right position.

As for my Montague, taking of the stem off is a nuisance normally since in the newer style headsets, when you remove the stem it takes compression off the headset which then needs to be readjusted carefully.  SO to avoid that I use one of those adjustable stems that then can be broken in two and then put back together in 30 seconds without removing hte tension preset on the front fork.  So all told, I can get my montague into pieces, into a bbq back and into the back door in about 5 min, and back together in the same - and without removing the back seats.  I have one for my wife two - with my mid body Mooney I need to remove one seat to get them both back there - I suspect with a long body I would get them both in the back.

Oh dont forget the wheel bags for the wheels - so you don't get grease on furniture.

[TWinter]

1 hour ago, aviatoreb said:

BTW, the main thing about seatpost off is to retain your seat height marked well - to make it quick and easy, I use a hoseclamp to mark the position so I just drop the seatpost back in place and it finds the right position.

Erik, That's one of the best little tips I've heard in a while.. Never thought about marking the seat posts..thanks. Obviously, I'm a rookie biker.  I'm going to try these Allen bikes and see how well they work for us. If I find it feeling small I'll take a look at the Montague or maybe look at taking the backseat out and using our road bikes. The other half is not a real happy flyer so I'm hoping the bikes will entice her into wanting to take more trips by plane and then do some bicycling after we get there..if not I guess I'll have plenty of bikes for sale and plenty of room for just Me, Myself and I and just one bike.  

[aviatoreb]

4 hours ago, TWinter said:

Erik, That's one of the best little tips I've heard in a while.. Never thought about marking the seat posts..thanks. Obviously, I'm a rookie biker.  I'm going to try these Allen bikes and see how well they work for us. If I find it feeling small I'll take a look at the Montague or maybe look at taking the backseat out and using our road bikes. The other half is not a real happy flyer so I'm hoping the bikes will entice her into wanting to take more trips by plane and then do some bicycling after we get there..if not I guess I'll have plenty of bikes for sale and plenty of room for just Me, Myself and I and just one bike.  

Thanks.

Back in the day, I used to race on teams that we would travel around and on airlines, and bring our bikes in bike boxes.  We used to put tape to mark the seat post position, electrical tap.

But for a folding bike that you want to quickly put the seat post back to the correct position, the hose clamp can't be beat.

BTW, folks who are not too big might like the airnimal brand of folding bikes.

Mostly I feel that bikes with wheels smaller than 26'' ride like clown bikes.  So....for very short distances I bought a mobiky because its speed of folding and unfolding cannot be beat - 10 seconds. And good for say a 1 or 2 mi jaunt into town.  But if I am going somewhere to ride, I want a real bike - at least the Montague, but often just my normal road bike.

BTW - big folks - check out Zinn bikes are super for tall peaple, and they make S&S coupling bikes which I have in Ti.

[Seth]

With the extra 4" on the door of the ULTRA, as well as the open ends at both sides to work with, loading bulky items just became slightly less difficult (not easy at all) in the Mooney line.

 

-Seth

[aviatoreb]

I am able to load my 62cm full sized road bike into the old school Mooney doors.

One more trick I think I never mentioned.  Of course rear sets out/down.  Bike in bag, wheels off, seatpost off, and preferably pedals off - 

Here is my little trick - bungy cord!  I use a bungy cord wrapped around the metal post part of the headrests and then down to the set forward-back lever of the front right seat - that pulls the seat down as far as it can go.  Plus full forward, it really isn't crazy hard to get a bike into the back.