Folding Bike?

jwolf55 wrote:
My wife and I are older and have found most parks have lots of hills and we found ourselves walking the bikes up the hills. So we went with electric folding bicycles. They have non-assisted peddling 7 speeds, total electric no peddling, and 3 modes of assisted, we always use to level 2 of assisted riding at about 15 mph for around 25 miles on a 6 hour charge. They fold but not that small 2 of them take up and entire bay in our Tradewinds, We put them in 2 different bays because it works out better and doesn't scratch them up. We have the cheapest ones we could find under $500 each. No problems yet but this summer will be our first full year of using them.

Just to add to what I have said we do not take a toad with us, the coach and the bicycles are our only modes of transportation unless we take the KLR650 with us if we know well will have some side trips of longer distances. We do not move the coach once we park, most of the parks we stay at have a town with in 5-10 miles and we have no problem taking the electric bikes in for shopping or out to eat. These bike are safe to ride in the rain but my DW isn't so we stay in during the rain. Both bikes have rear racks and we have an old freezer basket we strap on one of them to hold groceries or take the trash bag to the dumpster.

FireRob wrote:
Great advise everyone. I thank you. I honestly didn't do any research what's so ever and had no idea so many "folding" bikes existed. I was interested in very cheep bikes and for just riding around camp grounds with the kids.

Ride comfort wasn't really a concern for me since that is rarely a luxury in anything I buy or use. I have alway been an odd size guy even back when I was an "athlete" and in great shape I was a muscled up bulky guy with fairly short stature at 5'8". Now in the last 7 to 10 years, I'm still rather muscular but have a nice squishy layer of insulation on top so the problems I had before are multiplied.

I'll do some research and see what's out there $100 to 200 is about all I was thinking even though I can see from some of the links y'all provided $400 would get a nicer bike

Thanks again

Was once an amateur long distance cyclist. Did my first century (100 mile run) 3.5 months after the birth of my first son and in fact my initial camping trips were all on bicycles. Imagine my now surprise toting 25 lb bikes and thinking they are lightweight. Way different from weighing a racing bike with 2 fingers, LOL.

No matter what you do a paved road folding bike will have a heavier frame than a racing bike and for this usage it's a good thing. It's easy to upgrade the ride and pedal capability as long as you buy the right frame. It will be rare to find that in a $100-200.00 folding bike unless you can find one used that initially cost more.


Keep in mind that a foldeable bike's ride feels different than a touring or racing bike's. Has a longer front bar, sometimes a lower seat and the wheel base takes some getting used to since it requires more aggressive turning. At least 5 gears are needed IMO to overcome the different seat and ride-ability.

Wherever you acquire your bike from insist on test-riding it in a parking lot so you can get the "feel" first.

HTH and have fun out there!

My wife and I are older and have found most parks have lots of hills and we found ourselves walking the bikes up the hills. So we went with electric folding bicycles. They have non-assisted peddling 7 speeds, total electric no peddling, and 3 modes of assisted, we always use to level 2 of assisted riding at about 15 mph for around 25 miles on a 6 hour charge. They fold but not that small 2 of them take up and entire bay in our Tradewinds, We put them in 2 different bays because it works out better and doesn't scratch them up. We have the cheapest ones we could find under $500 each. No problems yet but this summer will be our first full year of using them.

Before you buy any bike, ride an electric. They are really taking off with boomers.

Great advise everyone. I thank you. I honestly didn't do any research what's so ever and had no idea so many "folding" bikes existed. I was interested in very cheep bikes and for just riding around camp grounds with the kids.

Ride comfort wasn't really a concern for me since that is rarely a luxury in anything I buy or use. I have alway been an odd size guy even back when I was an "athlete" and in great shape I was a muscled up bulky guy with fairly short stature at 5'8". Now in the last 7 to 10 years, I'm still rather muscular but have a nice squishy layer of insulation on top so the problems I had before are multiplied.

I'll do some research and see what's out there $100 to 200 is about all I was thinking even though I can see from some of the links y'all provided $400 would get a nicer bike

Thanks again

Folding bikes are great solution if you want a bike that you can store in a small space.

I'm not sure what Camping World sells, but their stuff is usually relatively expensive, so if you're okay with what something costs at CW, you can probably get something better for the same money elsewhere.

What you get depends, as always, on what you're willing to spend. If you just want to ride around the campground or around town a little, a cheap one will at least get you out there riding. Or you can go high end like we did with this one, which was ridden for thousands of miles on mountainbike trails all over the country:



A folding bike will be more expensive than a regular bike of similar quality, and you'll look stupid while riding it, but if space is the only thing between you and riding, then I think it's a worthwhile compromise.

We have 2 CW 6 speed folding bikes. They are 2 years old. Still work fine and we really like them. I am 6' and the seat adjust fine for me. They have Shimano gears system I think.

If you want to ride 10-20 miles get a different bike. These work great around the CG and short trips.

I have a Dahon 24 speed folder. It has the 3 speed internal hub gearing and 8 sprocket cluster in the back. It is a great bike.the main drawback is the short wheelbase, it feels unstable and a little twitshy until you get used to it. It has narrow 20 inch tires so it is not suitable for gravel and dirt unless you are really careful.
This is a high end bike that I paid several hundred dollars for. If you are going to just use a bike to ride on paved trails it is very nice.
Jesseannie

The seat adjusts to heights ranging 26 to 38 inches above ground (a measurement relative to low pedal position would be more useful). At the highest this is still somewhat below the lowest position for the handlebars (41 inches), how that works for you depends on how you like your bicycle adjusted. This folding bike is pretty heavy, in the 40 pound range.

If I wanted a folding bicycle, I would not buy the ones being sold at Camping World, nor anything from a discount store. At these price points, components are the cheapest possible, and difficult to keep in adjustment. Dimensions are "one size fits all." If the one size is not exactly your size, even occasional short rides may be so uncomfortable that you quickly give up on using the bicycle.

This comes from experience. I regularly used a bicycle as transportation from my teens well into my forties, but never got into bicycling as a sport, stayed 20 years with a single welded steel frame bike that I kept improving and replacing parts, because it fit, as a road bike (long wheelbase, stable at speed, bent over riding position). When I finally got a new bike at age 45, I had a dealer build me a "city bike" (shorter frame and quicker steering, more upright position for traffic awareness) and because the frame was ordered to fit, I can still ride it 25 years later.

But when traveling I've tried "one size fits all" rental bicycles, that would wear me out in a hour or two.

When I lived in Beijing I bought a $20 bike for local transportation (equivalent to $100-150 discount store bike today) but ended up not using it much because it did not fit me like my city bike, and shifters and brakes were constantly going out of adjustment.

So if you ride a lot, or intend to ride a lot, go to a specialist bicycle dealer and talk about what you want to do, and get fitted for a bicycle you can use. I suspect it will cost you upwards of $400 for a good lightweight folder.

Consider the Camping World offerings, or discount store folding bikes, only if you like the idea of owning one, might use it for short trips around the campground, but don't really plan to use it as transportation or for long recreational rides. The 40 pound weight is enough to keep me from choosing these folders.

Lynnmor wrote:
We have a pair of 3 speeds in the hub, 20" Dahon bikes with bags. They fold up real small and have more adjustment than the Camping World bikes. Good old bikes but I might sell them.

Not sure what part of the country you are in but if you do decide to sell the Dahons please send me a PM. Might be the answer to keeping my granddaughter and grand nephew off our bikes when we camp together. Last year, somehow wound up apologizing to one of the kiddos after they crashed my bike for the 2nd time in 4 days :h. Should have brought mountain bikes for them to kill.