Two years ago in the summer, I finally fulfilled my dream and bought a folding bike. We used it right away on a trip along the coast of Poland</ a> and since then it has become our main means of urban transport. Why is it cool?
I’ve always liked bicycles, but after our honeymoon in the Americas, I became more interested in them, and if possible, I have several different types and special designs at home… So far I have our Rusty and I fulfilled one more dream: to have a folding bike – we named it Frog</strong >.
Which folding bike to choose?
After hours of googling and thinking, I decided to buy a new one and some tried-and-true brand. I got advice from my friend Honza from Azub, who has a lot of experience with folding bikes, and decided for Tern Link D8.
The arguments for D8 were:
- stem that can be set so low that even a bigger child can ride it (originally we took it to Poland for our 7-year-old Janko) but at the same time it can be easily adjusted for adults of different heights
- components good enough that I won’t have to think about something better in a few years
- simple and durable (no disc brakes, chain gear with derailleur) at a normal price
- sufficiently wide and large wheels to handle even worse roads – unlike, for example, Brompton (btw, I’m glad that they chose Schwalbe Big Apple tires, which we also had on Rusty and even at that weight they really lasted a lot)
How is the ride on forlding bike?
Right at the beginning in Poland, it got a real hard time – I rode it on various gravel, forest and even sandy roads and it did quite well. My weight is almost at the 105kg load limit, but it didn’t seem like it was struggling, only something in the handlebars started to creak a little after being shaken on bumpy roads. When you switch from a normal mountain bike to a folding bike, you feel that it is a little softer and the position is different, but I don’t mind it at all. One can ride it fast, it is geared more for speed than for hills (I would prefer one more lower gear), but in normal use it is OK. It is smaller than a classic bicycle and, for example, it can fit in a elevator across without folding it (into a smaller lift it is a matter of seconds to fold it in half). You definitely need to have mudguards and rack – the mudguards work really well and you can comfortably drive over puddles, and the rack can fit loaded panniers or a backpack-pannier. It’s also a great addition to the fully loaded Rusty, which is already a bit clumsy, and when we had to go from the campsite to go shopping or arrange something in town, the Frog is perfect for that. Of course, we still stay loyal to mountain bikes for single trails in the forest and pump tracks :)
How is it folded?
In all the videos there is a demonstration of folding in a few seconds, but you will believe it only when you try it yourself. It’s really quick and easy, and the bike can then easily fit in a car, train, bus, elevator or any small place (e.g. even in the office). You can travel with it by train like with normal luggage (but it’s heavy to carry in your hand – it’s really worth taking folding it back in 10 seconds and pushing it around the station like a bicycle). I was a little worried about how the folding pedals would last, but the original ones work surprisingly well. We used the Frog, for example, so that we drove somewhere with a car and a bicycle and then I was independent, or on the contrary, I was picked up somewhere in the city by car and put the bike in the trunk. After 400km cycled in Poland I needed to return for the car, so I spent half a day on trains and then rode another 20 km on a bike – it would have been almost impossible without the folding bike, because those trains were quite crowded, but the folded bike fit comfortably and I didn’t even need feel guilty that it took up too much space.
Maintenance
In two years of almost daily intensive use, I washed it about twice, lubricated the chain regularly, adjusted the derailleur and brakes about once, and changed the brake pads on the rear wheel.
Other plans
In the summer we are going on a cycling trip to Austria and we will also take Frog to Croatia to the sea, because it fits easily in the trunk of the car and we can ride around – a bicycle is the best means of transport after all ;) And when we get folding friends for our Frog, I guess we will also make a combined trip with cycling and transfers by other means of transport without stress, whether it will be a problem to take a normal bicycle.
Conclusion
Folding bike is a full-fledged and practical bicycle not only for the city and commuting to work, but also has the potential for longer touring. And so that I don’t forget – that yellow-green color is really great and because of it it’s called Frog :)
One more link to more detailed comparison of versions of Tern folding bikes.