Once the needs and the usage of the bike are determined, the next stage in the hunt is research. Note that during this process, the needs and wants could go through revisions and I will update the appropriate posts as the individual items get clearer.

There are tons of online and offline sources available for getting details. What is needed is a hunger to gather as much information as possible including, pros and cons of folding bikes, how people use it, how easy it is to operate and manage etc… It is possible that you might want to skip this step. But I personally enjoy this process most as I get a good insight into what my money gets me and what compromises I have to live with.

The first few online sources I would go to are forums, company web sites, user reviews, enthusiastic bloggers etc… Some of the useful resources are as follows:

1. Forums:
   • Bikeforums – folding bike forum
   • togoparts – local forum discussing local issues.
2. Company Web sites:
   • Bike Friday
   • Brompton
   • Birdy
   • Dahon
   • carry-me
   • A bike
   • Giant halfway
3. User reviews and bloggers:
   • Vik Tikit
   • Love the Fold
   • Sean Luke (updated) has a very meticulous review of Bike friday and his research. Thanks.
4. Local bike shops:
   • Diginexx
   • Speed matrix

Secondly, I would sync up with people I know who use / own / ride folding bikes. I would make appointments to try their bike out. Friends and family would be more than willing to share their experience and review and that is a first hand source that you can tap on. Further, ability to handle a bike first hand is critical in getting a feel of how the bike handles etc… It is a good idea to spend time with friends bikes as it does not put one under an obligation as it would when you try out at bike shops.

Note, bike shops are generally friendly and let you tryout their products but we should remember that it is a place of business and we should not be conducting fist cut research on their time. Friend’s bikes or at a bike shop, it is important to try out the following:

1. Bike adjustments (seat post, handlebar etc…) to ensure a comfortable ride. Do you need to adjust these every time you fold / unfold?
2. Stating and stopping, trying to break and see if the bike is stable under braking
3. Test rides. It is important to get enough time test riding in situations where you expect to ride the bike. Try out the following:
   • ride in a straight line.
   • make sudden sharp turns
   • Ride out of the saddle
   • try climbing a hill
   • Going downhill
   • try to ride in small circles
   • wobble the handlebar to see if the bike remains stable.
   • try a sudden stop
   • Try riding with one hand
4. Try folding and unfolding the bike. Do it ten times in a row. I think this is critical. If you are not comfortable with the folding mechanism, you might not use the bike or you might never fold the bike. The reality is that non-folding bikes are cheaper and more sturdy and adaptable for a lot of uses. So if you end up not folding the bike much on a regular basis due to the design mechanism, it might not pay to buy a folding bike in the first place.
5. Too many latches and too many intricate moves is a bad choice.
6. Visit more than one bike shop to see the models available.
7. Try test riding a regular bike. It is possible that you do not necessarily need a folding bike after all. visit your needs and be realistic.
8. Rent and ride a bike for a long distance. I know Speed matrix rent Dahon bikes for test rides. Long distance riding will tell you more about the bike than reading about it.
9. Rent regular bike and ride it for long distance. You might actually like the ride of a regular bike.

Try it we shall continue the research in future posts.

Related posts:

1. hunt for a folding bike – part 1
2. hunt for a folding bike – part 3
3. Hunt for a folding bike – addendum
4. Hunt for a Folding Bike – Aftermath – Part 1
5. How to price a used bike

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 at 7:04 pm and is filed under bicycle buying guide, bike. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.