7 folding bikes - what can you buy?

Chris Hogan, 17th September 2015, Travel

Cycling is getting more and more popular and taking a bike around with you is a great idea. Folding bikes aren't as good to ride as full size tourers, racers or mountain bikes but for short trips they're great, and they'll fit in your boot, in your caravan or boat or even in your home, if space is at a premium.

You can take ordinary cycles with you, of course, but then you have to transport them - with a folding bike it's just easier.

There are many variations on the small-wheeled folding bicycle theme but what do you get if you spend a lot of money? At the top of the price range there are bikes like the Birdy Touring Disc at an eye-watering £1700 or more, then there's the Dahon Jifo and Strida SX at around £600.

Cheaper folding bikes - beware

These days there are quite a few cheaper folding bikes on the market, but be wary of what you are buying. Some makes, Strida and Brompton in particular, are being targeted by fakes from China which are not well made and in some cases actually downright dangerous.

A recent BBC Fake Britain programme discovered that cranks and pedals were loose and brakes terrible.

There are better built bikes in mainstream shops that cost less though. Let's take a look at some of the choices available today.

Strida - UK design
Dahon Jifo
Birdy Speed Disc
Brompton - the Rolls Royce
Tern - new boy on the block
Compass Northern
Bicycles4u Milan Explorer

Strida - UK design

The Strida is a UK design which re-presents the traditional small-wheel in a more up-to-date format. It's very well-made and it's best advantage is that you can fold it into a sort of stick with a wheel at the bottom - perfect for trundling down the aisles of trains and buses.

Strida website

Dahon Jifo

The Dahon is very light, quick and easy to fold and is one of the most popular makes worldwide. This is a more expensive models and there are cheaper ones available. The website is global but the are available at bike shops all over the UK.

Dahon global site

Birdy Speed Disc

The Birdy is more of a specialist, high quality machine, from Germany. It's said to be capable of longer distances and has folding front forks to make it even smaller when folded up. Again this is a more expensive model but the cheapest Birdy is around a thousand pounds!

Birdy Global site

Brompton - the Rolls Royce

Probably the best-known and most popular folding bike in the UK is the Brompton. Prices range from around £750 to nearly two thousand but you get a well-built machine, made in the UK, with plenty of support and accessories.

They also fold to a size that smaller than most other cycles, certainly smaller than the cheap alternatives, so would be worth considering if space is at a premium. Because they are well-regarded they hold their price very well too.

Brompton website

Tern - new boy on the block

This is a relatively new company set up in competition to Dahon, by the Dahon founder's son. The bikes have a reputation for being very easy and intuitive to fold and unfold. You can currently get a low-end model for just under £300

Tern global site

Compass Northern

Cheaper brands never seem to stay around for too long and are often versions of older models from better established brands, made under licence. One of the Apollo or Raleigh Evo ranges in Halfords can be had for under £200 and at the moment you can get a Compass Northern from GO Outdoors for around £130. We couldn't find any reviews for the Compass apart from the one on the GO Outdoors site though.

Compass Northern at GO Outdoors

Bicycles4u Milan Explorer

The Bicycles4u Milan Explorer is sold online at under £200 and although it's heavier and more awkward than more expensive folders, if you don't want to spend more it does at least have everything you need and it will work.

Bicycles4u website

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