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.

As Usual, I Have Baggage

In case you couldn't tell from posts like this humiliating review of a whole lot of bags, I have serious issues when it comes to bike luggage. There just isn't a biking bag out there I've been able to walk away from. The latest addition to the shameful collection is a Jandd Duffel Rack Pack.

The concept is just a little gym bag with added Velcro straps so it can be mounted to a rack (plus some added reflective stuff and a blinkie clip for good measure). Easy peasy. Of course, if you happen to buy it on the day that you're riding the one bike that has no rack, you're going to be stuck with some kind of low-budget "superlight touring frame bag" setup like this:



Just a note -- nylon brushing against one's fat calves for several miles will eventually wear a hole through one's skin. You have been warned.

Here's what the bag looks like sitting on a rear rack, as Jandd intended:

Of course, that's way too easy for our crack staff of bodgers here at The Cycle. No, we want to mount this thing on a FRONT rack, and a tiny one at that. And we will not be denied:

Of course, that looks like crap. The ideal solution would be to turn the bag 90 degrees and mount it across the rack, but the spacing of the Velcro straps doesn't allow that. Are we daunted? No! We are, in fact, UNdaunted!

Couple loops of high-test elastic (which was all of two bucks at ye olde fabric and sundries store) and we are good to go:

 

The bonus of the elastic is that the bag goes off and on the rack much quicker -- a nice benefit if (like me) you want to be able to transition from "bike guy" to "walking into work guy" with the speed of an Indy 500 pit crew. It seems pretty stable so far (no unplanned bag ejections), but time will tell.

Outsmarted By My Readers Again

Quickie update on the Raleigh 20...

Not only did Sir Tarik correct my blatant misinformation regarding the Raleigh tubular fork crown, but he photographed and blogified a headlamp made to fit the bracket that so mystified yours truly.

And not to be outdone, my other reader Steve K sent me some information on what appears to be an even older oil lamp for just such a bracket that he's updated with an LED. Why? Because... well, because he's Steve, and that's what he does.

Observant readers may have also noticed a new addition to ye olde blogroll, too. A net-friend tipped me off to Chuck Glider's Bicycle Workshop as another good source of Raleigh 20 information. I don't know who Mr. Glider is, but after reading his entire blog (seriously), I'm convinced that he's my brother from another mother on the other side of the pond. When it comes to bikes, there seems to be very little "well enough" that he's satisfied to leave alone... much like your humble narrator here at The Cycle.

The new-old 20 in our fleet still needs some better brake levers and fresh rubber before it can get a legitimate test. Patience, dear reader. Patience.

Another Micro-Bike In The Fleet

This is a red-letter day here at The Cycle: Our fleet has a new addition, and it is not (repeat, not) intended for our Chief Word-Dork. Instead, this one will be piloted by our Maker of Graphically Designed Stuff. And, seeing as it will be a part of our little Island of Misfit Toys, it's a bit... well, weird:

That, for those who don't know, is a Raleigh 20 folding bike. Cosmetically rough, but as far as I can tell, all original and mechanically solid as a rock -- which is especially important considering some of the oddball proprietary parts. I'd be lying if I claimed to have any knowledge about these things, but thankfully, I can rely on the late, great Sheldon "Who Else?" Brown.

Looking at the joints, you can see that this is a worker, not an elegant show bike:

 

Still, she's been getting miles (if the patina's to be believed) for almost as long as I've been on the planet, so the ladies and gents in Nottingham clearly knew what they were doing. This one also features Raleigh's tubular fork crown (shown here with more of that patina):

 

My understanding is that these were just made from tubing scraps, though that could be apocryphal. (Update: I recant! 'Tis a real fork crown, though an unusual one, per the comments of ever-wise Tarik of Moscaline, who has/had his own seriously pimped Twenty). When we brought the bike home, it was still wearing original brake pads (which the new owner described as "Fred Flintstone Brakes"), so I dug some Kool Stops from the stash. Had to run the front ones backwards due to tight fork clearances, but they work much better and don't squeal.

As I've already proclaimed my ignorance about these bikes, I'll spare you my drivel and just show off some gratuitous detail shots. Headbadge? Check:

Box lining? Oh, we got box lining:

Chainrings full of herons, and a pump peg behind (historical re-enactors should disregard the not-period-correct pedals):

Since this is our graphic designer's bike (and she's a giant typography nerd) , I'll throw in a "cool old logotype" shot:

Even the giant, dorky chromed mirror rocks a pretty cool reflector design from another era. I've yet to figure out how to adjust this thing so it reflects anything happening behind the rider, but it adds so much killer mod-scooter-style to the bike, it has to stay:

And, being a Raleigh, it has one more heron. My laughable research tells me this doohickey is a "lamp bracket", though I don't know what sort of lamp fits on there:

Since I can't resist trying out everything that comes near the top-secret laboratories here at The Cycle, I gave this one a very short spin. My first impression? I get why these bikes have a bit of a cultish following. It's certainly not as nimble or light as my Xootr Swift, but it wasn't intended to be. These were supposed to be a more compact version of the workhorse Raleigh Sports 3-speeds, and given that design brief, I'd call the bike a success. It is surprisingly solid -- if you didn't see the hinge, you'd be hard-pressed to tell that it folds.

Once I get some fresh rubber on the hoops (time has not been kind to the original tires), I'll feel safe turning our design staff loose on it and getting a report from the intended user.