More Folding Bike Fun: A Reader Responds

Reader Alex P. (everyone: "Hi, Alex P!") recently contacted The Cycle World Headquarters in response to the folding bike "dorkaleur" (trademark pending) cooked up in our top secret Skunk Works laboratory. Seems our crack team is standing on the shoulders of giants yet again, albeit ones riding on very small wheels:

 Images courtesy of Alex, so please do not hork them.

Rather than jabber on when I know next to nothing about the bike in question (like that's ever stopped me), I'll let Alex tell his own tale:

I built the frame. It's heavily inspired by the Raleigh Twenty, except for front geometry and hinge placement. The front geometry copies the Swift Folder. A couple years ago I took a position at work where I would be traveling a lot. I had built a full size frame the previous year and decided to try making a folding frame before the travel started. For a little over a year I often traveled with that bike (set up as a fixed gear with a front drum brake) packed in a soft bag (this is the bag directly over the rear wheel). I'd get out of the airport or off a train, unpack the bike, roll up the soft bag, tie my backpack up front and cycle away. It's a fine way to travel, although I will say the bike got pretty beat up on a couple flights.

The photos are from a two week tour of Shikoku Japan. I felt I could travel indefinitely with that setup, thanks to the massive cargo capacity of the backpack. Well maybe not indefinitely. I was getting tired of not being able to coast.

Got the touring itch yet? I know I do.

HUGE thanks to Alex for letting me share his words and photos. With reader contributions like this, I'm starting to wonder why I don't outsource this thing more often. Definitely classes up the joint compared to the usual drivel.