The Joy of Folding Bikes

I own what could possibly be the coolest folding bike ever made: the Bike Friday Tikit Hyperfold. It has a folding mechanism with an extremely high nerd quotient. It has a reputation as the fastest bike to fold and unfold, requiring no latches, safeties, or adjustment at all. But more importantly, unlike many other exotic folders (ahem Brompton) it largely uses standard parts. You can fit it with whatever drivetrain, brake system, handlebars, pedals, and seat you want. Though it has the same 349 wheel size as a Brompton, it rides much, much better. It was designed by in conjunction with Bike Friday by Rob English, a mechanical engineer who long was (maybe is?) the British speed record holder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQscBxx7wLE

But Bike Friday no longer manufactures it: the frame design is so exotic and weird that they had a number of frame issues and failures they had to overcome in the field, and Bike Friday has a lifetime frame warranty. It was a very popular bike, but by the time they had worked out all the kinks the value of them continuing to sell the bike had probably gone negative. The Tikit was just too bleeding edge for its time.

The Tikit relies on a special part in order to be ridden: its hyperfold cable. This cable is no longer being manufactured for Bike Friday and cannot be obtained anywhere. When my cable gives out, and it'll happen sometime soon, my Tikit will probably wind up on the display wall of a bike store. And I'll be searching for something to replace it. But there is no folder even close to the Tikit in sheer engineering prowess, which depresses me to no end as a tech guy. Bike Friday itself replaced the model with the Pakit, a decidedly inferior bike. I'm not sure what to do.

I'm all for more submissions about manually-operated things on wheels.

Like "Rediscovering the Handcart"

https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2026/04/rediscovering-the-...

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47873192

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47870694

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47862913

I ride a Reise & Mueller Birdy Mk3 mostly because I think folding bikes are neat and the Birdy has my favorite fold. The other rationale was that I wanted a nice bike I'd never have to lock up outside in NYC. The intention was to use it as a commuter since not spending on the subway would pay for it pretty quickly but shortly after I got it I started working remote so I've only done commutes on it for a couple weeks of gig jobs and it's mostly a recreational bike.

I went through an extended project to make it faster and wound up with a loop handlebar for body position, replaced the wheelset to move from 355 to 406 for tire selection and did the drivetrain at the same time to accommodate a 9-32 cassette. Between the wheels and the sub-11 tooth sprockets I can pedal up to ~26mph instead of ~20mph on the stock setup (good enough) and the low end is about the same. It doesn't perform like a race bike but it's pretty close to an endurance road bike. I do 20 mile rides a couple times a week on it and I've done a couple centuries.

The Birdy is my main bike but I'm a folding and recumbent enthusiast in general. The addition of the fold or moving the cranks in front of the rider means the obvious solution diamond frame doesn't work and I like seeing the creativity of the solutions. I've also owned a Xootr Swift that I gave away to my nephews, a Bike Friday Sat-R-Day folding recumbent for riding slowly in the parks, and a Baron Optima lowracer recumbent that I prefer for rides over 90 minutes.

The article touched on it, and I agree, the biggest benefits for me are the portability and storability.

I can easily fit my folding bike into my car trunk, and very easily fit another one in the back seat. This enables you to drive to the start of a distant cycling route without having to deal with bike racks behind or on top of your car. So much less friction to you just going somewhere and cycling around.

And the small size means I can skip the common bike storage in my complex and store it in my apartment and it doesn't take up as much space as a full-sized bike. In my city, like most major cities, bike thievery is rampant. And if they can't steal your bike, they strip it of parts.

There are some drawbacks though. You can't really use them for hauling heavy loads, so forget bicycle touring or pulling a little trailer for kids or other things. They are also quite slow. And maybe some models have lots of gears, but the ones I checked out (in my admittedly limited search) did not, so they are not suited for very hilly routes.

I got mine used for $200 off FB Marketplace, it was in great condition and ready to ride. It is some generic brand that was sold in Walmarts a few years ago and I could not find any other information on it. I don't really care though. It got me out and cycling again!

I use my Brompton in ways which are not on its label.

Besides rides in the city, I take it on long 100+km rides on the road, on gravel, forests, rocks, mountains.

It has taken me on every street of Barcelona and around it many times over. I've had it for 14 years.

Because of the small wheels it's extremely agile and allows you to go really slow without losing balance. This makes it like a sharp knife in the city but also off road on rocky trails, steep climbs, eg. in places where you'd never think of going with a Brompton.

If the trail is impossible, I can just lift it up and climb with it on my shoulder. Or I can fold it and carry it like a bag, on the metro, trains or in the trunk of the car.

As I understand, I'm not the only one using the Brompton as a gravel/mountain bike, so they released the G-line, which I still haven't checked out, but it's on my bucket list.

If I were to write one eulogoy for a piece of equipment in my life, the Brompton is definitely it :).

I don't fault OP for this, but it's pretty frustrating to me as someone who's quite attached to his non-folding bike that the main benefit of folding bikes is that, unlike regular bikes, they aren't banned from pretty much all public transport

I know it's not for everyone, but it is also a reasonable touring bike if done within its constraints. I've probably done closer to 40 days on my 16" Brompton, longest was a two-week 1000km ride. On the topic of leaving the bike out-of-sight: In those 40 days I've left it locked a total of 20 minutes, otherwise it comes with me into restaurants, supermarkets, public restrooms, hotel rooms..

The biggest downsides are speed and climbing ability. 80k or so has been a reasonable max distance on tour (I've done one 100k day, it was long) and I wouldn't take it to the Alps.

Like the OP, I run Schwalbe Marathon Plus which has been good. But I have had one catastrophic puncture after riding over a particularly nasty piece of glass that cut straight through the tire. After that I bring a folding backup tire.

They're obviously great for commuting.

For general use, they are in theory thief-proof because you can take them everywhere with you. The downside is they're expensive so you HAVE to take them everywhere with you. Leave them out and they'll get stolen. For that reason I think the happiest I've been is with a dirt cheap bike in Japan. Didn't even lock it properly (just a key built into the frame) and could park it outside any old shop or restaurant for hours. Super convenient.

Piling on with the Brompton love here. Apartment friendly. Car trunk friendly. Motorcycle sidecar friendly. Their hardcase makes it airplane friendly. Theft-resistant, since it's carried and stored next to you more often than most bikes.

The Brompton luggage system (its mount and low, forward position) is amazing. Bags can be massive and carry a lot of weight and the bike still feels great to ride.

For pedals, I use MKS EZY Superior Lambda pedals with street shoes. Long but not wide metal platform. And they're quick release. The stock Brompton pedals are clever, but not awesome for long distance or hammering. I've spun SPD clipless pedals on for spirited riding and those are, of course, a joy.

The Brompton design is genius but if I could improve one thing, it would be to allow slightly wider tires into the frame.

I'm 15 years into owning a Brompton and I know I'll never get rid of it. and I'm still finding useful and/or hilarious new places to take that might otherwise not allow for a bike. e.g. I had to ride a cargo bike across town for service last week and taking the Brommy in the box so I could ride something home was just so nice

Surprised more people aren’t aware of Montague.

https://www.montaguebikes.com/

Even if you ride it a full 2 hours every day, storage still accounts for more than 90% of what you do with your bike.

Where do I keep it is the problem Brompton’s solve really really really well. And incidentally, if you don’t ride a Brompton, the tires don’t get flat spots because when folded the tires don’t touch the ground.

They are amazing pieces of engineering.

I had a Brompton in Boston. It makes absolutely everyone happy. It's been a conversation starter with everyone from 15 year old kids dressed to give a don't start anything vibe to 75 year old retirees.

As TFA notes, they're allowed on trains even during rush hour when full-size bikes are not. They fold effortlessly; folding and unfolding a couple times a day at the station is no hassle at all. They ride much like a full size bike, with the exception of the fact that if you pedal through a turn, you're much more likely to strike a pedal into the ground.

The only downside is that the 16" tires are murder on bumpy roads, of which Boston has many.

I think of my Brompton as an unbelievably well made tool. It fits so well into London with public transport and the general consciousness of the U.K. traveller. You’re not going to get a squiff glance from a train conductor or cab driver if you lug one onboard. The ride is more comfortable than a racing bike. Compartments fit, gyms have storage for them and it’s also a beautifully constructed item. It just solves a part of the transport problem so well.

Have a foldable bike as well, but in Japan, generally you have to put the folded bike in a bag as well. So it’s always just a little bit of extra friction.

Then again, taking the front wheel of my road bike takes an extra minute. Then i can put it on the train as well. That’s when I start questioning my decisions no matter whether I took the foldable one or non foldable one.

I really wanted an e-scooter to help my shorter routes here in Germany, but the legislation is quite unfriendly to it now. I need insurance and can't carry it in public transport. Maybe a folding bike would be great.

Seth from Berm Peak "Why Brompton is the King of Folding Bikes": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLg0NNjDBMQ

Start: "I paid over two thousand dollars for this, used! Why are they so expensive? Other folding bikes are half the price and offer more, the gear shift is confusing and doesn't work properly, all the parts are overcomplicated and proprietary, >:-("

End: "I really like this bike. I'm so impressed with the build quality."

Comment a year later: "I've owned my Brompton for well over a year now, and absolutely love it. It's one bike I will absolutely never sell. The gear shifting was indeed a point of confusion for me, as there were two variables. 1. I had zero experience with Sturmey Archer hubs 2. The cable needed tightening. .. I'll often choose to bring my Brompton places not because it's portable, but rather because the bag and rack are so functional. Having your cargo down low makes it really stable, and being able to remove the bag so easily is super convenient."

There’s something mind-boggling about the prices that get charged for these things. $2k-$3k for a not particularly complicated array of steel and plastic. I bought my (used) car in that price range, a big intricate machine with way more engineering and way more physical mass. Isn’t bicycle design is a mostly solved problem problem by now?

The reality is that all bikes can be folded once. The magic is in those that can be reliably unfolded for reuse.

When I moved to downtown a big city, I bought a Chinese folding bike and it was awesome tool, replacing a good deal of e-scooter and taxi rides. The one I bought in '23 cost ~€250, plus ~€50 for a sprung saddle, long saddle tube and minor accessories. Works very well. Taxi here is cheap, so I haven't yet saved much -- roughly it just broke even, but it saves me the pain of some routes where public transit is inconvenient, and taxi gets stuck in traffic jams.

I remember having mountain bikes and the lycra cyclist fashion norms -- like no road bicycle fenders, no basket -- it looks ridiculous in retrospect. When I lived in a 80K ppl town with fields 5 min ride away, and almost never used bikes as a transport -- almost exclusively for leisure.

Can confirm, they're great! I will sometimes take a day trip from London to a different town, and it's nice to take the bike with me on the train, disembark, and be able to cycle around without worrying about which bus to take, how to pay, etc. But I can still take the bike on the bus if needed!

Brompton is probably the #1 brand bike thieves will target though, everyone I know who has one never leaves it out of their sight. That's way too stressful for me, I don't want to take it with me in the supermarket or watch over it at the pub. I just got a cheap Decathlon with very low thief appeal.

I cycle 60 mins per day along the tow path in London on my Brompton, put it under my desk in the office, and then get the train back in the evening. No issues handling that distance.

I'm in the market for one as well, but am only interested in an electrified, gravel-capable Bike-E-style [1] recumbent layout.

1. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recumbent_bicycle#/media/File:...]

My fiancee and I just bought two used Brompton P-series foldables this week. Use case: commuting in San Francisco, as well as weekend trips around the Bay Area. We live in SF in a 2-bedroom apartment and don't own a car. I had a locked bike stolen out of a college dorm bike room before, and we like the convenience of having the bike with us 99% of the time instead of locking it outside.

Those Brompton P-lines were expensive even used (around $2000), but thanks to the brand value, we believe that we wouldn't lose too much money if we ended up not liking the hobby and wanted to resell. It's more a question of: do you want to lock up cash and get most of it back when you sell, or do you want to spend less now but lose more on the sale? Typical dilemma with high brand-value products.

What I appreciate about Brompton is there is a well-established hacking culture. This is true for bikes in general, but because the design is so specific, it's great to know there is a strong community on Reddit, YouTube, etc. to get inspired and ask questions.

The Brompton community seems to have no shame in using unofficial AliExpress parts, especially if they are better in some way (lighter, better roller rack balance, etc.). This is additionally true because many official parts are expensive and often out of stock.

There are a bunch of Brompton clones out there, especially copying the old-school C-line. I have mixed feelings about clones in general, especially when they are straight knockoffs. With that said, if I really got into the hobby, perhaps I'd try to hack together an ultralight custom "BrompNot," something like the T-line but customized to my own needs.

One more thing: if you ever take the EuroStar, get a bag for your folding bike! We saw someone almost miss the train in London because they didn't have a bag for their Brompton. I assume this may also apply in some transit scenarios where bikes are not allowed; even folding bikes might be gray area. The IKEA DIMPA bag is cheap and works well for this purpose.

What I've always thought was interesting about folding bikes is that it doesn't seem like it's possible for it to be done elegantly. It's been 150 years since the "safety bicycle" was invented, yet folding bikes are the exception and not the norm - even though it would be really handy if every bike could be easily shrunk down and packed up as easily as a baby stroller or a wheel chair.

Maybe it's just my experience, but every folded bike I've seen in the wild looked more or less like a bundle of bike parts, with bits sticking out here and there. You'll never look at a folded bike and think, "Hey, what's that?", because it always looks exactly like what it is.

It seems like there's something about a bike's geometry and mechanism which doesn't lend itself to symmetry and easy compaction.

I love my Brompton. I've had mine for 12 years that I bought back in LA and brought it with me when I moved to Tokyo. It's such a great commuter for getting around the city and easily fits in my trunk when I want to take it with me for a trip.

Tokyo also has a couple of great Brompton shops for maintenance and parts.

I have a Tern Eclipse P18 24" folding bike which I like a lot. Tern and Dahon are related. Wasn't cheap and is hard to find. I literally drove to Vegas and met an IT sysadmin in a casino parking lot at 2am. He was coming off shift. It was legit (found it on EBay and he had the manuals) but it looked+felt like a drug deal.

I have upgraded the Tern. The original FSA crank would come loose and so I replaced it with a Shimano 105 part which required a Wheels Mfg 386 EVO Adaptor. I've never had a problem with it since. I also replaced the front derailleur with an SRAM Yaw which is just perfection.

It's great out to about 20 miles and you can't go up anything really steep because the shorter wheelbase just pops a wheelie. Tires and tubes are hard to find. But it's an awesome bike to have around.

I used to catch a train with a cheap folding bike every day. I was always envious of this other guy with a Brompton who took the same train. The worst thing about mine was that by carrying it by the only convenient place, you got oil on your cuff from the chainring!

My partner cycled 3400 km through Japan on a Brompton last autumn (I can't ride a bike so I ran instead). It turned out to be a great choice of bike for travelling around slowly on.

We had a couple of issues finding replacement tyres, but only two days out of 80 where we had any issues - and both were avoidable/our fault.

Here's a short showing off the bike if anyone's interested. (one day we'll make a full length video!)

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AJlo3Jbaxk0

If I ever learn to ride a bike... I'm pretty sure it will be on a folding one.

One of the fun things about these bikes is you’ll get many curious onlookers in the US and delight them by showing them how it folds up. Kids seem to love the demonstration and it’s cool explaining how bikes work, especially the hub gear.

I live in NYC and I was tempted to buy a Brompton but ended up not doing so in the end. A friend of mine that always lives in the city said he regretted his because it's surprisingly heavy and bulky even when folded.

The first time I went to the US I saw a foldable electric bike, in target, I think. Being someone who likes to explore the city (burning calories) I thought to myself: I can cover a way bigger area by bike than by foot. I can carry this with me to my travels and goodbye Uber. Thankfully I called United before buying it to ask If would be able to bring it home with me. The answer was no, of course. No eletric vehicles of any kind on a plane. What a shame.

I extracted a lot of utility out of a folding bike during university in Korea. The smaller wheels are indeed a tradeoff for space vs. comfort but all in all it was a useful purchase.

As someone who rode a folding bike for several years as their primary mode of transportation, I personally found no joy in it. It was simply the only option for being allowed on the commuter rail into the city during "rush" hours. I eventually got fed up with it and gave it away and chained up a full sized beater bike at the city limits and rode that the last few miles after getting off the rail. I'd prefer to never ride one ever again tbh

This is a high quality video of a guy reviewing his own Brompton, but generally showing around it, the features, the fold, the kickstand mode with the rear wheel folded under, the rolling wheels to wheel it around when folded: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6bmuJ98Zc8

It's his bike, he loves it, it's not an unbiased independent review.

I've used a Dahon Speed P8 extensively in Asia. In China you can just put a folding bike inside a large tarp bag and just get on any high speed train and then bike away when you reach your destination. It's awesome.

The only "gotcha" is how you deal with luggage. I've used a seatpost rack, but I've also had a seatpost rack fail on me one time.

a bit nitty, but "never get punctures" is just an attribute of the tires, not the bike. if you stick Gatorskins on a Tarmac SL8, you'll also never get punctures. but that's like putting tractor tires on a sports car, and you'll be slower and have a less comfortable ride than you would with GP5Ks.

Many HNers will enjoy this book about the company’s maturation from a hardware startup founded by one difficult genius to an institution that had to be rebuilt as it scaled: https://bookpeople.com/book/9781615199563

I've lived in the UK as a student in 1997 and it was hell owning bicycle then. People threw stones at me from cars while I was biking on the side of the road.

Glad to hear biking has gone mainstream. Don't forget to pay respects to many of us pioneers, some whom survived some who didn't.

I'd like to try a folding bike but (1) bromptons around here are filthy expensive and cheaper options (that can be found around 1/20th the price of a brompton) are really low quality, and (2) none of them come with big gears that I'd need to get home, with sections that can reach 22%

I love Bromptons and they fold down into the tiniest package of any folder but my god they've gotten expensive in the last couple of years.

I've been eyeing an Urtopia Carbon Fold 2 as my next folding bike. It's electric but I prefer those nowadays.

I love my Brompton, expensive as it was. Every time there is a break-in in the bike storage room, I am grateful I can store mine inside.

Still, even though I've had it for years, I always feel awkward about bringing it in to a cafe or similar, and almost never do it.

There was a Palo Alto-San Jose-Los Gatos homeless OG who went by "John", had a Southern accent, and a neckbeard who rode a red Dahon because it was easy for him to get on and off VTA buses and light rail. He was kooky but a nice guy.

my wife and I discovered Brompton's here in Berlin and now we have 2. we love them. we wouldn't travel around teh city without them. they're amazing. expensive, but well built, and hold their value like crazy.

I loved my Brompton. I used to keep it in my car when visiting clients so I could take a ride at lunch time or in the evening. Once I changed career I dumped the car and didn't really need the Brompton any more so sold it.

I used to own a dahon that I got from a guy on craigslist back in like 2011/2012. Incredible bike. After moving further out of the city for cheaper rent I sold it to help pay rent. Really wish I could have kept it.

Over the years I’ve acquired road bikes, MTBs and time travel bikes. Of all of them the only little kids regularly tell me is “sick” is my Brompton.

It paid for itself in saved fuel and parking fees in the first year I had it.

My ‘low stakes conspiracy theory’ is that adults enjoy the Brompton more than you’d think, because it’s too small for them, so it feels more like a BMX for sensible professional adults who would never think to ride a BMX or want to be seen on one.

I’ve been eyeing up Bromptons for years, especially the new G (gravel) line which has 20” wheels up from 16” and chunkier tires (for ride comfort on potholes and rough asphalt, and being able to ride down a trail). But I have no need for one, and they’re not cheap to buy on a whim.

I’d really like to try a Kwiggle folding bike, too, just for fun. The standing-riding position might feel less like riding a bike and more like ‘accelerated walking’. And it folds smaller than a Brompton tri-fold.

[1] https://www.kwigglebike.com/en_US/

Recently I tried out Brompton Bike Hire in London for a week. Can recommend the bike, and the price is reasonable. The bikes are hired from automatic storage lockers, which makes sense as a concept. The app is atrocious though, and I had a lot of trouble returning the bike at the end of the week.

That’s a fascinating design trade-off.

Folding bikes always seem to push engineering into very unusual directions compared to regular bikes.

I agree with the article but "Never gets punctures"? How's that possible? OP installed some solid tyres?

I dunno about elsewhere but in Ontario the legality of a bike being on a sidewalk is based on wheel diameter to permit kids bicycles. So there ends up being kinds of adult bikes with intentionally tiny wheels, and it creates a real menace to pedestrians. Some municipalities also have age restrictions to combat this.

What are the more legitimate reasons for little wheels on bikes? I guess the goal like with this one is to have the least amount of bike as necessary?

I was excited to see a picture of the bike folded up, but I didn’t see that in the article.

You could just always buy a cheap one on Amazon and then make a real investment if you like

These are the same reasons I have an EUC. Extreme portability.

A smaller alternative is a half bike, though it’s really a trike