Folding bicycles
================

Just finished reading of guofu's post about the Strida. I must say that
it  is very  interesting.  I never  used  such thing  but  the post  is
inspiring.

I once owned  the Sinclair A-Bike. I  wanted to use it  for my commutin
and for shopping (it  was about 7 kg so I felt it  would be possible to
take it  to shops). Well, if  was small but uncomfortable  to carry and
hard to ride.

There were  several issues:  its tiny  wheels (was  it 7"?)  and single
speed gearing made  it usable on almost perfectly flat,  clean and even
surfaces. But  these thing were  not present here.  I sold it  and then
feared to try any small-wheeler for more than 10 years.

The I have bought the Brompton in  2021 for the same purpose. This time
I have been much more successful.  A machine with 16" wheels (just like
the Strida), a 3-speed Sturmey-Archer hub gear and the traditional (but
massive enough!) brakes. And there is 2-speed derailleur, too (so I have 6 speeds in total).

In  theory in  is no  match  for the  A-Bike  in terms  of folding  and
carrying. It is about 15 kg (yes, the Brompton is a traditional British
machine made of  high-quality steel) and it occupies  much more volume,
too. But  it folds  quite smartly  and it  is such  much easier  to fit
almost anywhere and to handle and carry, too.

Moreover, it rides well (no worse  than my old steel diamond frame road
bike). There  is rear suspension  thing which actually works.  Its gear
range is excellent. The funny thing is that I am able to be faster than
most local riders on mountain bikes. These 16" wheels are pretty strong
so it  is possible to use  it on gravel, too.  This is what I  do quite
often as local cycle paths tend to start on tarmac but then they change
to gravel  or even to unpaved  surface at all... (of  course, bike with
such small wheels is not good in sand or mud).

The good thing is that this machine has "normal" geometry. I am not too
tall (just 183 cm) but I have  relatively long legs. I have no problems
here (at all).

I  also have  other bikes  like a  selection of  (mostly aged)  Moulton
bicycles. They also have smaller wheels, too (16"-20") but they are not
"folders". All of them have both  the front and the rear suspensions so
they are  very comfortable (no  match for  the Brompton here,  even the
1960  Moulton Standard  is  much  better -  and  it  surpasses most  on
"normal" bicycles, too).

But I still think I should thy the Strida one day...


References:
[1] gopher://sdf.org/0/users/guofu/phlog/2022/20221129033447.txt