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I'm seriously considering a folder for trips to meetings etc about Manchester, I get the train to work and some of the meetings are say a 30 minute walk.
I don't want to spend a fortune, so had a look at the Decathlon ones, but some of the reviews are not very good.
Any opinions from here?
The missus has one, which she bought a couple of years back for a short-ish station to office section of commute in Manchester. My take would be that it does the basic stuff okay in the sense that it folds up, pedals along, goes and stops and doesn't cost much.
But it's quite agricultural and weighs an absolute ton, making it a bastard to carry around for any length of time / stairs / etc. The seatpost is made from something like steel but much heavier and has corroded like a corroded thing, and - in my fairly biased opinion - is quite horrible to ride. It'll work, but not in a particularly pleasurable way.
Personally I'd buy a Brompton on the basis that they're proven, lighter, and have decent re-sale value. I'll ask her if she has any further comments and report back.
Don't know specifically about the Decathlon ones, but Alison swapped from an expensive Birdy to a £50 Apollo Transition from the local bike recycling place. The cheap one gets much more use as it fulfills the occasional fold to go on the train requirement, but also had no value or desireability so can be locked up outside (instead of having to fold and carry the damn thing into every meeting). Decathlon stuff is generally well thought out and good value so guess you might find the same.
Mrs has the 250 quid one, it's very good for what she wants it for - Chucking in the back of her wee fiat 500 (a feat in itself!) and driving off to somewhere for a pedal, generally 15-20 miles.
They're heavy and cheap feeling but I tried a few in the shop and they felt OK. Certainly good enough for riding for 30 minutes around town. Dahon make good bikes but they're also heavy- try the Dahon Mariner maybe? This one is going for around 440 from Cycle Republic.
^that's a viable alternative
Does that fold? The hinge is well hidden of it does... or perhaps it's just a small bike.
I’ve got the £150 singlespeed one. It’s been good, pretty agricultural per the comment above, heavy, but it all works, folds up easily and isn’t too bad to ride. I rode it 12 miles home from the station on the day I got it - probably the upper limit of how far I’d want to go on it, but for spinning round town it’s great.
Been down to Cycle Republic and they've got a nice selection of budget ones. The Raleigh Evo Two has caught my eye, as has the Carrera one with the hub gear, probably a better option.
I had a Kansi 3 twenty which is very similar to Dahon etc, more comfortable than a brompton and not a lot bigger when folded.
Not as easy to maneuver as a brompton though when folded.
i had the singlespeed one when i was in holland for commuting.
rode fine to me , if only slightly short in the bars for me. - maybe some risers could have been fitted.
i paid buttons for mine though
Had an earlier version of the Decathlon one but it was recalled due to a fault in the frame hinge. Didn't like the look of the newer version (the wife has one and it rides ok but is heavy) so splashed an extra fifty quid on a Carerra Intercity (got a discount with CyclingUK which helped 🙂 ).
It's a far superior bike in every area to the Decathlon - better gearing, lighter frame, more adjustability and a more comfortable ride.
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