The Folding Society

More News - pre 2005

(Continued from the news page and more news page)

Christmas Festivities

The Midlands Section of the V-CC regularly holds a ride just after Christmas - on the 27 December this year (I won't start a boring debate on whether it was the 26th or 27th this year that was Boxing Day - 26th fell on a Sunday). A very good turnout of bikes, of which the majority were small-wheelers, and a very small minority were pre-1950. Let me make it clear I'm not trying to score points here - it is to the V-CC's credit that everyone is welcome, and it is about an interest in cycles rather than an obsession with technical issues; I hope the same can be said for The Folding Society. A few of us met up at Paul Evans's house at the start (parking not a problem here), before riding on to the official start point, Sue Thorne's house, which was easily identifiable by the number of interesting bikes parked outside! After partaking of refreshments, we started the ride soon after 11:00 - a largely urban ride, though we did take in Canon Hill Park, and, for those who took the longer ride, some canal towpath as well. The lunch stop was at Paul Evans's house, where Paul, ably assisted by Dave and Susan, provided sustenance. For some of us, this was the end of the cycle ride, while others made their way from there back to Sue Thorne's, or home.  The weather was very good for the time of year - cold, and some very light snow still lying on some of the roads, but bright sun.

Many thanks to Sue for organising the ride, and to Paul and his helpers for the excellent lunch stop. For the record, the folders included several Bromptons, a couple of Birdys, some (non-folding) Moultons, and an Airframe (current version). [28/12/2004]

Photograph: Trevor Batchelor

Another interesting link
Not to be outdone by Dave, Susan Barlow sent me information on another interesting link which she had found, and which was new to me - visit Vaporum Bromptonaut here to see the site, which includes some details of an original 1983 model. [23/12/2004]

Other web site comment on folders
Dave Minter sent me the following link for Australian Cyclist (he is one, even if resident in the UK at present), where there are a number of comments on folders and Moultons: http://www.australiancyclist.com.au/products.php. Interesting reading over the holiday period - or indeed at any time. [22/12/2004]

Stolen Moulton AM7
Stolen on Thursday 16th December 2004 around 8.30 pm in Farringdon, London: Moulton AM7 - silver colour adjustable stem, silver colour straight bars, black thumb shifter and brake levers, white and pink 'barbie' bell, Brooks Professional woman's saddle, R&M Birdy Dotek chainset with plastic chainguards, AM large rear rack, brand new front wheel, new black Shimano rear mech, rear wheel from AM GT with 20 spokes and 8-speed Hugi hub - please call 07870 206 866 or email l.branston@virgin.net with any info. or sightings - cash reward for return. [21/12/2004]

A to B issue 45 arrives!
I was working this morning, so there has been a delay in getting to read A to B - it arrived while I was out. I'm not going to say much about it, as most of you subscribe anyway, and if you don't, you should! (Visit http://www.atob.org.uk for information about A to B , subscription information etc). Actually I've only taken a brief look so far, but there is lots that is of interest, as usual. The Brompton Developments news which I did say I would report here is a bit of an anti-climax. The changes are:

A to B finish their article as follows: "These changes don't sound very exciting, but there might be a tiny clue in the following exchange: 'Is this the 2005 Brompton?', we asked. 'No', they replied. Make of that what you will."

A to B have far better access to Brompton than I do (actually I have none at all, beyond that of any customer); this may mean that they know more than I do, but on the other hand it may mean that they can't speculate because they have inside information! The item I previously published here (see below) contains my own speculation. 

In the 'Letters' section, Avon Valley Cyclery take strong exception to the A to B report on the Birdy Black. I started reading one of the other letters on the subject which appeared under the A to B byline of "Dahon is Better", and then discovered that this letter was by me!! I really must remember to ALWAYS specify if I don't want letters published, which I hadn't done this time. However, with a minor qualification, I certainly stick with what I said in the letter to A to B, and A to B's test - the qualification is that it's always horses for courses; if you have a Birdy and like it and disagree, that's fine, just enjoy the bike. I guess that I will be entirely cast off by Avon Valley Cyclery after this letter - not only do I support A to B, but the final comment about Bike Fridays is bound to cause them offence as well, as they are the Bike Friday distributors. They also sell Dahons and Bromptons though. A to B have tried most folders available in the UK, and I've owned, or own, a lot too, including 2 Birdy Reds (both sold), Bike Fridays, Bromptons, SP, Airnimals, Dahons, etc. Obviously everyone is different, but I try to offer observations which are not too biased by personal preference - readers can accept or ignore them as they wish - in the end, they make their own decision. [20/12/2004]

More thoughts on Brompton and Sturmey-Archer hubs
A to B is still eagerly awaited to shed more light on the Brompton mods, but in the meantime I have received an email from a highly-placed cycle industry insider (absolutely no connection whatsoever with Brompton or Sturmey-Archer) who comments that the "Sturmey-Archer hub is quite a bit cheaper than the SRAM hub", and that "The Sturmey-Archer 8 hub is a ways off. We've been testing it and it's not ready yet." Don't try to persuade me to identify who it is who provided this information - I'll neither confirm nor deny any suggestions! [18/12/2004] 

December Origami Ride Report
The full report on the Origami Ride on 11th December is now available here - apologies for the delay in producing this. [17/12/2004]

Brompton Upgrades? Updated a second time on 17 December
Thanks to Dave Minter for pointing out that the A to B web site is trailing the fact that the new issue of A to B, due out any day now, has exclusive news of some Brompton upgrades. I don't know any more than anyone else at this stage, so I'm eagerly awaiting my copy of A to B - when I get it, I'll summarise any information gleaned. [14/12/2004]

17th December, and my copy of A to B is still eagerly awaited, so I still do not know what the upgrades are. However, one member emailed me with information obtained from an apparently reliable source: apart from some more minor changes, his information is that the rear forks are modified so that they will accommodate a Sturmey-Archer 8-speed hub (a special narrow version), though whether the 8-speed gear option is being introduced as well was not clear. As soon as A to B arrives with the news, or we get authoratative information, we will put it on the web site. [17/12/2004]

And more news - Velovision has a press release from Brompton on its web site which includes the following:

"From January 1 2005, all Brompton three speed bikes will use the new Sunrace Sturmey Archer 3 speed and Brompton 6 speed bikes will use the Sram Sachs 3 speed hub. The performance of the two hubs is similar. The SRAM 3 speed has a gear range of 1.33:1:0.75. The new Sunrace Sturmey Archer hub has a range of 1.36:1:0.73 and is 50 grams heavier. Both hubs fit a newly designed Universal rear frame: dual applicability being made possible through a combination of washers.

Brompton owners or customers considering a Brompton, will need to keep in mind that upgrading from 3 to 6 speed version will now no longer be possible without the expense of buying a new wheel and hub. This is because the Brompton derailleur system does not work with the Sturmey Archer hub."

On the face of it, this is a big anticlimax, and even a step backwards if the ability to upgrade from 3 to 6 speeds is lost. However, it's very difficult to believe they would do this just for the reasons quoted (to reduce dependence on a single supplier). It seems much more likely that the intention is to enable the 8-speed narrow S-A hub to be fitted at some point, and then to offer a 3-speed S-A and an 8-speed S-A hub, perhaps doing away with the 6-speed. There also seems an implication that if this supposition is correct, the 8-speed is still some way off, as one would not expect them to have publicised the change in this way if the 8-speed was very imminent. Perhaps all will become clear when A to B appears. [17/12/2004]

Stolen - Pillbox Orange Moulton APB Special
Frame number:5967. Wheels: Black, with Hope hubs, black spokes. Brakes: Magura, hydraulic, with red adjusters on callipers. Gearing: Shimano 105 groupset, Deore trigger shifts.Handlebar: Easton EA70 with Yeti grips and Short carbon bar-ends. The bike went without the saddle and seat-post. The bike also has DataTag stickers and a Tag, registered to its former owner. Please contact Mark Greene (mark@msg67.demon.co.uk) or Notting Hill Police with details (and quoting ref: BS 5630326/04 to the police). [14/12/2004]

When is a Dahon not a Dahon?
We commented a couple of days ago that the new "Land Rover" bicyle range included a couple of folders which looked like badged Dahons, a fact later confirmed by Cyclemotion, the UK distributors of Dahon. In his email, Mark Bickerton (yes, the son of Harry Bickerton, designer of the pioneering Bickerton folder, if there are any readers who didn't know that!) of Cyclemotion reminded me that their web site contains information on some other names under which Dahons are sold in the UK - the link is http://www.cyclemotion.co.uk/what.htm. This isn't new, but may be of interest to readers. [14/12/2004]

News 11/12/2004
A GREAT Origami ride today - our Christmas Ride attracted a very varied collection of bikes and riders; superb weather, a most enjoyable lunch and excellent planning by Trevor and Irene Batchelor. More details to follow. 

Velovision 16 arrived while I was out on the Origami Ride - not only tests of the Bridgestone Moulton and Airnimal Joey (both very favourable), but lots more of interest to folder enthusiasts. We will have a few more comments on this soon, but of course you really should subscribe to this excellent publication -see http://www.velovision.co.uk for more details. [11/12/2004]

Stolen - Moulton AM 14 (Grey) - now recovered
AM14 stolen from Islington, in London. It happened at night and the thief cut through the lock. Details ( unfortunately frame number is not known):
- dark metallic grey
- stainless steel rear luggage rack
- black, ladies Brooks' saddle
- Ultegra and Dura Ace compontents
- Bar bag fitting
- red drop handlebars with one end gear shifter
Contact Gabrielle Good, email: igab@blueyonder.co.uk or on: 07973 225580/ 020 7862 2306. [11/12/2004]
We are delighted to report that this bike has now been recovered - Gabrielle comments: "... my advice to anyone who has a bike stolen in London is - Go to Brick Lane market on a Sunday morning ..."[21/12/2004]

A new range of "Land Rover" bicycles? [UPDATED]
A new range of bikes is apparently being marketed under the Land Rover name - nothing particularly new, I suspect, but badged machines from other manufacturers (the Land Rover logo is very inconspicuous). The range includes 2 folders, both of which look as if they might be badged Dahons [Now confirmed that they are]. I've been sent a pdf file of the catalogue, but it is rather large, and I have not managed to locate a web site containing the information [A member suggests that you can find some information on www.bikearama.com]. [07/12/2004, updated 11/12/2004]

Coming soon ...
Updates to the site have been rather erratic recently - I don't want to bore or annoy readers with computer issues, but I've been trying to migrate web page maintenance from my main Windows-based system to one of another 2 operating systems. Apart from problems in trying to keep track of where the most up to date versions of the files are located in this transition stage, I have not been able to find a web page editor that is in the same league as the one I currently use on Windows, and the aggravation this has caused has discouraged me from updating the web pages as often as usual.

This year's end of year report should appear soon after Christmas, and in addition to the general review of the folder scene there will be updates on the reports of all the bikes I have used over the year. [07/12/2004]

Origami Christmas Ride
This coming Saturday, 11th December, is the second Saturday of the month, so there will be an Origami ride, and as it is December, our mid-day stop will be for (optional) Christmas lunch. We will meet from 10:30 at the Tearooms in Meriden for a ride starting at 11:00, and will follow a less than direct route to Hampton in Arden where we stop for lunch. I don't expect it will affect many people, but it appears from the train timetables that there are engineering works between Wolverhampton and Birmingham, so anyone planning to join a train at any of these stations will have to use a bus instead, with an increased journey time. Other trains which normally use that stretch of line may also take slightly longer than usual, so please check the timetables. [07/12/2004]

Folding Trailers
We sometimes get enquiries about folding or collapsible trailers, or trailers which are suitable for use with small-wheeled bikes. If you are on the look-out for such a thing, take a look at the Carry Freedom range (http://www.carryfreedom.co.uk) [07/12/2004]

Origami News
The Origami Ride at Milton Keynes on 13th November was blessed by beautiful weather – a bit chilly, but bright sun, good visibility and no sign of rain. Organisers Phil and Lorna Wray had devised an excellent route – quiet, flat and scenic. 13 riders on a wide variety of folders took part, and thoroughly enjoyed the day. Many thanks to all who took part, and especially Phil and Lorna. You can find a full report on the Origami Ride web pages. During the lunch stop the programme of rides for the first part of 2005 was finalised, and you can also find this on the Origami Ride web pages. [14/11/2004]




Classic Moulton poster now available [Press Release]
After several enquiries and suggestions from purchasers of The 'classic' Moulton, Paul Grogan has created a large A3 (420 x 300mm) sized poster based on the rear cover of the books dust jacket. It depicts all of the 16 different U.K. produced machines covered in the book.

Although it may be argued that not all the later Series Two machines are shown, the bikes have all been chosen to show a typical cross-sectional representation of the production years from 1963 till 1974. (Should there be sufficient demand in the future, it is possible another poster could be produced covering the later Series Two's and possibly Moultons with Accessories fitted.) The posters are printed in full colour on 170 gsm white gloss art paper and laminated on the front face.

You can see the finished poster and ordering information on the Classic Moulton website at: www.theclassicmoulton.co.uk
[12/11/2004]

Origami Ride on 13 November at Milton Keynes
It will be the second Saturday of the month on 13th November, so there will be an Origami Ride, open to all folder enthusiasts, Moultoneers, members of the V-CC, and indeed anyone interested in cycling. This month we are meeting at Milton Keynes railway station from about 10:30 for a ride starting at 11:00. You can find more details about this and other Origami Rides, including the plans for the December ride, on the Origami Ride web site. [07/11/2004]

ANOTHER 16 inch tyre?
I'm indebted to Dave Minter for the following, which comes from the September/October Newsletter of Greenspeed, one of the leading manufacturers of recumbent trikes, some of whose models use the 16 inch 349 tyre:

"We are getting some new tyres made which we have designed especially for our trikes. These will be in a new size of 40-349 or 16" x 1 1/2" to give a better ride than the current 16" x 1 3/8" tyres. The 1st samples of the new tyres have been received, and were shown at Interbike. Testing on our rolling resistance machine indicates a better rolling resistance at 100 psi than any commercial tyre. We will be doing more testing as we receive more samples in different versions of this tyre. The tyre will be known as the "Scorcher", and will be available by the end of the year.

We are also looking at a tubeless version of this tyre which should have even lower rolling resistance, and will be more puncture resistant than belted tyres."

This would be an interesting development - not just another tyre in this Brompton/Micro/Airframe etc size, but one which takes a rather different approach to design - wider rather than narrower to achieve good rolling resistance. The main problem I can see is that the miniscule mudguard clearance of the Brompton would probably rule out fitting it to some folders. [02/11/2004]

CycleFeast 2005 - Wednesday 3 August to Monday 8 August 2005 UPDATED
We've mentioned this new event before, but the now have an excellent web site, so you can find out more at http://www.cyclefeast.com - thanks to Seamus King for bringing this to my attention. I've already made my booking for the event, so I hope to see at least some of you there. Update: there is now a section on the web page to show who has already registered (and agrees to be named, so there may be more). Considering that the event is still over 9 months away, the number already registered is impressive. [21/10/2004]

A to B Issue 44 published
There surely cannot be many readers who are not also subscribers to the excellent A to B, but if you are one of the deprived ones, you may like to know that issue 44 is now available (it reached me today - some of you may have had your copies earlier!). Once again it is an excellent issue - congratulations to David and Jane and all the other involved in its production. A few immediate reactions:

I may add more when I have had a chance to read A to B again, more thoroughly. [18/10/2004]

For more information on A to B, see their web site at http://www.atob.org.uk, or email atob@atob.org.uk

October Origami Ride
The second Saturday of the month, so as usual there was an Origami Ride for folder enthusiasts, Moultoneers, V-CC members, and anyone with an interest in cycling. Nowadays our meeting points are quite varied, but this was one month when we were back to our original home, Meriden, chosen by our late founder, John Pinkerton, on the basis that it was easily accessible and would provide for many different rides. For the second month running, Paul Evans stepped in to fill a late problem with the original ride organiser being forced to drop out, and as always Paul found an excellent ride for us, and went to a lot of trouble to plan the route. A number of the regulars were unable to get to the ride this month, but we still had a respectable turnout with 13 riders, a mixture of regulars and some who had never been to one of the rides before (two from Manchester, plus one from Zurich, whose mode of transport to the ride was listed as PLANE and car!). For the first time ever, I arrived by car, which was apparently a very lucky decision, as Paul himself had terrible problems with the trains on the same route that I would normally have used. After a slightly delayed start, while we finished our meals and unpacked some not very portable bikes from cars, we set off for a most enjoyable ride to Corley, mainly along quiet country lanes. Fortunately none of us over-indulged at the pub lunch, or we might have ended up very confused over what we were riding:

The other bikes present included Bromptons, an SP, a Birdy and a Dahon Impulse. It's rather nice to see such a variety of machines, and, for the first time, two Bridgestone Moultons and two Dahons. It was also very good to see two new riders, and one only attending his second Origami Ride, as well as several of the Origami regulars.

As lunch came to an end, the sun which we had enjoyed in the morning disappeared, the wind increased, and some rather threatening-looking clouds appeared. Perhaps with this in mind, Paul's return route was via a shorter, faster, and largely downhill route back to Meriden.

As usual, this was a very enjoyable Origami Ride, and apart from thanking all those who supported the event, I'd like to thank again Paul for organising the ride. Next month's Origami Ride will be in Milton Keynes - please look at the Origami Ride web pages for news of this and future rides - a very interesting program(me) of rides for 2005 is currently being finalised. 

Oh, and if you are interested in my antics, my first experience of a recumbent bicycle, the Bike Friday SatRDay, will be reported on these pages quite soon - my thanks to Susan Barlow for letting me borrow her SatRDay. [9/10/2004]

Stolen - Brompton L5 Frame number 015631
Brompton L5,  black painted frame, brown old Brooks leather saddle, front dynamo, rear battery led. Jubilee clip around rubber suspension block. Non factory r/pedal. Black bell l//h/bar. Old leather toe strap wrapped around saddle. Frame number 015631. Left locked to a cycle stand near the Bentall centre in Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey, between 11:00 and 13:00 on Wednesday 29th September 2004. (Kryptonite Krypto D lock model). Contact: peteriches@hotmail.com. Tel: 0208-392-0217. I suppose this may be a result of the recently widely publicised method of easily opening a Kryptonite (and probably other makes) lock which use a circular type of key - not exactly a new development, as a cycling magazine described the problem back in the 1990s! [30/09/2004]

The GoBike in Europe
One of the new folders to appear during 2004 was the GoBike, launched this year in Canada and apparently due to become available world wide in 2005. Apparently distributors have now been appointed for Germany, Italy, etc, but not yet the UK. One GoBike was at CycleFest this year (see photo). At present the web site is a bit spartan, but we are told that "will be a lot more informative later this year". We'll provide more information when it is available - in the meantime you can find the web site at http://www.gobikeonline.com. [29/09/2004]

Improved folding for Slingshot
Slingshot have sent a press release regarding recent improvements to their rather unusual folder - "Slingshot Bicycle Company will now be specifying Easy Split cable separators on all of their folding bikes. The new components will allow for a cleaner and more efficient breakdown of their bikes for travel." You can find out more about the Slingshot range at http://www.slingshotbikes.com. [29/09/2004]

First impressions of the Airnimal Rhino
We carried some general news on the new Airnimal Rhino earlier this month, plus comments on its appearance at the Origami Ride on 11th September. Since then the owner of that machine, Pat Douglass, has sent some further news of the bike, with some additional photographs. You can find the report and pictures here on the web site. [29/09/2004]

CYCLE SHOW 2004
The report has now been updated to include web page links for the main companies mentioned - my thanks to Mike Roberts for making me aware of this omission! I have also added the special edition AM2 to the Moulton section, and a better picture of the Airframe with 8-speed S-A hub - both provided by Julian Kowalewski. [28/09/2004]

West Somerset Railway - even less folder friendly
Member Chris Eley contacted this railway to enquire about their attitude to bicycles on their trains. This is the answer:

Thank you for your email. We have very limited space on our trains for bicycles as the Guard's van has to be shared with people in wheelchairs.  We will carry them at a quarter of the passenger fare in future if space is available.  The charge will apply to folding bicycles.  We are providing (wherever possible) cycle racks for the parking of bicycles.  These will be available free of charge.

If there is anything else I can do to help please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,

Mark Smith, West Somerset Railway

At least NYMR have now agreed that folders should not be charged. Although the national rail network places restrictions on bikes, most of it does not now charge, and I don't know of any part which charges or restricts for folders. The preserved railway companies generally seem to be less cycle friendly (in my experience up till now the local. for me, Severn Valley Railway seems very cycle friendly). [26/09/2004]

CYCLE SHOW 2004

UPDATE: FULL REPORT WITH PHOTOS NOW AVAILABLE. 

First of all, apologies for the fact that this is only a very preliminary report - I had a dreadful train journey back from London (nearly all my train experiences seem bad at present), this time courtesy of Chiltern, and arrived home MUCH later than I expected, and consequently pretty shattered. I'm posting this preliminary report partly to help those of you planning your own visit, as it may help you to look out for the most interesting items.

The first Cycle Show was great for those interested in folders and other slightly less conventional bikes, in that it wasn't all mountain bikes and BMX. The second and this the third event are not necessarily inferior, but I suppose we now have accepted the format, and there isn't always a lot new to display. This year Brompton and Airframe were absent, along with Carradice and some other companies one would have liked to see.

For me there were really only 4 'must see' stands. It's a bit difficult listing them, as the order may be seen as having significance - well, perhaps it does, but don't make too much of this, as a lot depends on particular individual interests.

1. Mezzo - a completely new folder designed by Jon Whyte. There were lots of machines on the stand - made from production tooling, but hand assembled, and probably there will be minor differences in production models. This is one of the best folder designs to appear in recent years, and it could well pose a threat at long last to Brompton (in the past anything aimed at this market has frankly had little to offer compared with the Brompton unless it was cheaper, and this meant inferior performance too). There are many ingenious features about the design and folding. It does NOT try to copy the Brompton - for example, there is no frame hinge - but it is very compact when folded, weight seems very competitive with Brompton, and the riding position seems good . There are two models - hub-geared (4-speed Shimano) Commuter model and a 9-speed (Capreo) sports tourer. They don't have any suspension, not even the rather basic rubber bung of the Brompton, and don't yet have a quick release luggage system, but they still look very interesting indeed. Production proper is targetted for Christmas, and I hope they are going to let me have a bike to test. Incidentally (!?) 16 inch wheels, and ANOTHER new tyre for this (Brompton) format. By eye the tyre looks a bit bulkier than the Schwalbe Marathon, but if you want a slimmer tyre, the other tyres of this format are of course available. With the standard tyre the mudguard clearances looked a bit tight to me (and the front mudguard is actually a structural member), though a change of tyre would ease the situation (it is OK for road use, but I'd be slightly worried about even Milton Keynes Redways with the current clearance). Price is not finalised, but looks very much in line with Brompton prices. Well worth looking at, and I can't wait to try one (unfortunately when I went down to the test track there wasn't one there).

2. Avon Valley Cyclery - you must all know AVC (under this or other names) of Bath. Officially or unofficially they seemed to be the prime representative of folders. They had Moultons and Airnimals (both companies present themselves - see below), but they also seemed to be the official representatives of Brompton, Birdy, Airframe and Dahon, none of whom were present themselves (in the case of Dahon, apparently there wasn't room on the Fisher Leisure stand for them!). Grahame Herbert of Airframe was on the stand when I was there, though I didn't see reps of any of the other companies. They were also of course representing Bike Friday, for whom they are the UK distributors. Richard and Gary of AVC plus several other AVC people were in attendance, and it was good to see folders so well represented by them, though I must admit there were some pointed questions I would have liked to have asked the companies themselves, and of necessity the model range was generally not the complete one. The Airframe on display was a rather smart black colour, with the new Sturmey-Archer 8-speed gear. Nothing new from Brompton - we all hear rumours, but as yet nothing concrete has emerged.

3. Moulton - Shaun Moulton and Dan Farrell (of Pashley) were manning a stand on which pretty well all the range was represented, including the new twin-pylon model and the Bridgestone Moulton in the latest forms - the sport separable and the reduced price on the less highly specified models.

4. A combination stand - actually there were 2 of them, both featuring the excellent Velovison magazine, ICE (Trice recumbent), Airnimal and the very interesting KMX Karts recumbent tricycles (non folding). On the Airnimal side, the new, and very reasonably priced, Joey was on display for, at least for me, the first time. They also had the Rhino - we mentioned this in another recent report. I bumped into Pat Douglass and John Bradshaw (amongst many other old friends) on another stand, and Pat confirmed how delighted she is with the Rhino - more comments from her on this soon, I hope (and on her KMX!). ICE had their new, low price, T and Q models, not folders of course, but much more modestly priced than previous models, and the basic machine is still made to the very highest quality. They also had their most compact model, the Mini (which rather oddly is smaller than their Micro) broken down and stored in a large suitcase - perhaps I could get the machine sans-suitcase into the Smart - LUST!! Of course, even then the Trice is nearer £2000 than £1000, but the new KMX X-Class recumbent tricycle starts at around £600. It is a much cruder machine - no, to be fair, cheap and cheerful.  It's not as sophisticated as a Trice, and certainly not as stable, but in a way it isn't meant to be. Of course it does not even have the limited portability of the Trice, but if you have been tempted by a recumbent trike in the past, but just could not justify the price, at least until you knew you could live with it, the KMX could well be a good introduction. I tried one on the test track (4 laps of part of an underground car park, and found it fun under these rather unrealistic conditions, though the limitation were pretty evident even in these conditions).

There were other things of course which may interest some of you, including electric folding bikes.

FULL REPORT WITH PHOTOS NOW AVAILABLE. [24/09/2004]

NYMR and folding cycles - the sequel
The following reply has been received from NYMR:

Dear Ms Barlow and Mr Minter

Thank you for completing our comments/suggestions card during your recent visit.

I have noted your comments on folding bicycles and have passed them to the operating department to issue instructions that in the future we should not charge for bicycles that are folded down and do not require storing within the guards compartment.

Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience caused during your visit and I can only presume that the ticket office/inspectors were not fully aware that the bicycles folded away completely therefore charged you for taking them on the train.

Your comments are always appreciated and, as in this instance, wherever we can action them to avoid problems in the future we do so.

Assuring you of our best attention at all times.

Caroline Dickinson, Marketing Dept.

It's good to know that other folder owners should not be charged (though no suggestion of a refund for the 7 who did have to pay on Sunday). However, we did make it entirely clear at the time that the bikes folded, and that we would even put them in bags, but were still told by the Booking Office that this made no difference, and that there would be a charge of £2 for each folder. [22/09/2004]

Stolen - Birdy Red No. P0083949
Riese und Müller Birdy Red, frame no P0083949. Locked to iron drainpipe in Little Stonegate in York on Saturday 18 September at 12:30. Stolen between then and 14:45. Distinguishing features are :-

  1. “Mirrycle” mirror on the right-hand handlebar end.
  2. Aluminium strip over the black fabric chainstay protector.
  3. Paint on the inside of the front forks has been worn down to bare metal by the mudguard, and has been covered with thick clear sticky tape.
  4. Sharp kink in the rear brake cable about a foot from the brake lever, and a split ferrule at that end of the cable.
  5. Circular padlock (with a short curved locking bar that moves in a circular arc) locked around one of the saddle rails.
  6. “CycleHeaven” sticker above the bottom bracket.

If any information comes to light, please contact Keith Bowden, email  keith.bowden@costainhaswell.com, or telephone 01977 521848 (work) or 07764 522815 (mob). [20/09/2004]

Spam and email
The amount of spam and other unwanted email I receive on my usual email addresses has become totally unacceptable, as has the amount of unsolicited telephone traffic. I shall not even look at the old email addresses from now on - apologies if this means you don't get a reply, and it may take a while to work out a solution to this problem. [19/09/2004]

A Starring Role for the Bickerton on TV?
Folding Society member and Bickerton specialist Derek Baker of Poole Dorset has recently supplied a Bickerton Folding Bike to a BBC film unit for use in a new TV comedy series named Carrie and Barry. The star of the show is Neil Morrisey of "Men Behaving Badly" fame. The series revolves around a Taxi company comprising two driver owners and one cab. Hence the Bickerton is used between driver shifts. The bike has already appeared in two episodes and the program goes out a 9p.m every Friday on BBC1. [19/09/2004]

NYMR - The most folder unfriendly railway in the country?
Our visit to North Yorkshire on 18-19th September enjoyed good weather, and an enjoyably, if hilly, ride on the Saturday. Staying at the New Inn, which has its own brewery, at Cropton on Saturday night was a bonus. An exhilarating and mainly downhill ride to Pickering on Sunday morning was to be followed by a ride on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Unfortunately, we were confronted at the ticket office with the news that a single fare was £10, but cycles were £2 extra - this INCLUDES BAGGED FOLDING CYCLES. I haven't before encountered any railway which charges for bagged folders, and indeed you can (or should be able to) get them on Metro/tram systems and perhaps buses as well (somewhat dependent on the driver in the latter case, and the amount of luggage [s]he is already carrying). Reluctantly, the others accepted they would have to pay. As The Folding Society, I declined on principle (it also meant breaking into my last note [£5], which would have left me a bit short of ready money, and cash machines are not easily located), so I opted out and rode to York instead (using the route I took, this a ride to be avoided, at least with the wind in the direction it was on Sunday, and on top of this the views were non-existent, and traffic quite heavy). Despite this setback, this was as always an enjoyable weekend, though 4 hours by train from York to Birmingham New Street did not make me feel any more favourably inclined to the rest of the railway system under current ownership and 'management'. 10 of us took part, riding 5 Bromptons (1 an SP), 1 Dahon Impulse, a Birdy Blue and a Bike Friday New World Tourist. My SP somehow failed to perform properly (apparently something wrong with the cabling since I rode it 95Km a few days ago) for which I must apologise to the riders, and, after folding/unfolding, the gear change of the Newt became unreliable on Saturday - solved very easily on Sunday by a bit of tweaking of the cable adjustment. One Brompton also suffered a puncture - in the rear tyre of course. Thanks as always to Paul Evans for his meticulous planning - I don't think he or anyone else could have expected the NYMR to have such an anti-folder attitude. See update above. [19/09/2004]

Above: 8 folders arrive by train at Scarborough. Neither Midland Mainline nor Virgin had any problem with these folders, even though most were not bagged.
Below: Susan and Dave enjoying lunch soon after we left Scarborough.

Dahon Matrix
Member Colin Tulleth has supplied a test report on Dahon's Matrix. This bike shares the same frame as the Zero G on which we have already reported at length, but is fitted with more basic components, and consequently is substantially cheaper. It seems aimed more at the hybrid/mountain bike market, whereas the Zero G is aimed at the more serious mountain biking market. You can read Colin's report here. [12/09/2004]

New Airnimal Rhino at September Origami Ride
Our monthly Origami Ride for September 2004 took place on 11th, and started from Wolverhampton railway station. I'll list the participants roughly in alphabetical order of the bikes - that way we give pride of place to the brand new Airnimal Rhino (Pat took delivery of the bike less than 24 hours before the start of the ride!):

Airnimal Rhino - Pat Douglass
Bike Friday New World Tourist - Paul Stobbs
Birdy Red - Trevor Batchelor
Bromptons - Susan Barlow, Irene Batchelor, Paul Evans, Dave Minter, Chris Read
Dahon Zero G - Myself
Moulton APB fx8 - Mike Roberts
Moulton New Series - Mark Singleton

What you are all most interested in I expect is the new Rhino, so I'll keep the report on the ride very short, and then say a bit about the new bike. We met at Wolverhampton railway station from about 10:30 and the ride itself started a few minutes after 11:00. Travel arrangements were complicated by the fact that only a few days earlier the railway companies cancelled all trains to and from Wolverhampton that weekend, due to work associated with the new platform at Wolverhampton. Chris Read and Paul Evans travelled from Birmingham via the Metro - no problems reported carrying the folded and bagged Bromptons. Paul Stobbs rode over from Uttoxeter, where he happened to be staying, and I rode via towpath from Tipton, while the others travelled by car. We followed the canal towpath from just by the station firs tot the junction with the Staffs and Worcs canal, and then south along that towpath via Bratch (where David and Susan left us to return to Wolverhampton, as they had other commitments for the afternoon) to the village of Swindon, where lunch was taken at The Old Bush. From there we returned by road to just beyond Trysull, where we rejoined the canal back to Wolverhampton. Rain overnight had left the towpath slightly damp, but no mud, and the weather was good throughout our ride - warm, some sun, and a bit of a breeze at times. All the bikes performed well. Our thanks go to all who attended, and of course especially Paul Evans, who took over as ride organiser at rather short notice.

The Rhino

I think the Airnimal Rhino first appeared at The Cycle Show in Islington in September last year, and the prototype(s) have been seen a few times since (CTC Rally at York, for example). However, production of the bike has only just started, and it is thought this is one of the very first bikes to reach a customer. Pat ordered hers some while back, but has only just received the bike. This was its first outing.

The Rhino is intended as an off-road small-wheeled (20 inch 406) folder. It has full front and rear suspension (suspension forks and a rear shock, with the integral rear triangle arrangement also found on the Airnimal Chameleon. The front forks are designed for conventional large wheels, so there is huge clearance around the wheel. There are two models of Rhino available, differing only in the quality (and thus also weight) of the components used. The bike is finished in a semi-matt black, and looks extremely smart. The integrated rear triangle is pivotted in a similar way to the Airnimal Chameleon, with the bottom bracket forming part of the rear triangle, rather than the main frame. The folding process involves the rear triangle folding under the bike and the seat post mounting folding down, again like the Chameleon. Apart from the other potential advantages of the integrated rear triangle, it means that when the bike is folded, the chain does not go slack, so no additional chain retention equipment is needed, and the chain is not going to come adrift during folding and unfolding. The bike arrived in the back of a Morgan, fully concealed under the tonneau cover - I missed the opportunity to photograph it when folded.

    

The Ahead set has multiple spacers fitted, allowing the height to be determined to suit the rider at the time of purchase, though as usual with this system it can;t be adjusted later (well, it could be shortened further by removing spacers and cutting the steerer tube down). Stem length can be chosen to suit the reach of the rider - Pat had a fairly long stem fitted, and the saddle can be moved backwards and forwards in the usual way to make adjustments to suit the rider (Pat had it set fairly well back). Seatpost height can be adjusted in the usual way - Pat had actually cut the seatpost down a little, as it was extremely long originally. A disc brake is fitted at the front, and V-brakes at the rear - an arrangement which is apparently partly used because of the folding, though experiments are being carried out using rear discs as well. Gearing is quite conventional, with a 9-sprocket cassette at the rear (11-23 on Pat's bike, but 11-32 can be used if the rider prefers), and 3 rings at the front, operated via Rapidfire shifters. Pat had fitted a Crud Catcher onto the frame to catch mud and water thrown up by the front wheel, and had a small plastic carrier mounted at the back which doubles as a rather limited mudguard at the back, and will also take a light load. I didn't check the model of tyre fitted, but it was a moderately knobbly and widish tyre, suitable for general off road and on road use.

The ride along a reasonably good towpath was not really very testing for a bike of this kind. I regularly ride this route myself on a very wide variety of bikes, from conventional tourers and mountain bikes through Moultons, Birdys, Airnimal Chameleon, Bike Fridays, Bromptons and SPs though to the Airframe. All these bikes can be ridden along these towpaths without any real problems, even in the winter when it is wet, but there is no doubt that it is much more comfortable with proper suspension, and on some of the cobbled surfaces larger wheels are appreciated too. The Rhino seemed to take all of it in its stride, and Pat reported herself very pleased with this first outing - she is looking forward to trying it in more testing conditions. Pat very kindly let me take a short ride on the bike during the lunch stop. I rode a total of about 3Km, along the lane from Swindon to Himley. This is a road I ride very frequently (though usually only in the Himley to Swindon direction). It's flat, with a reasonable road surface - no pot-holes, but a damaged top dressing which makes the rider appreciate some form of suspension, at least on smaller-wheeled bikes. The long reach which Pat had set up on the bike made the riding position a bit uncomfortable for me, but the ride quality was extremely good on this surface - the poor top surface was not at all apparent. Everything about the bike worked nicely, and I was very impressed.

I'm not sure about all the luggage options at present - standard seat post or saddle mounted products should be fine for day or weekend rides.

The Rhino is a most interesting new folder for those who want to ride off road. The combination of the long-travel suspension and wide knobbly tyres make it excellent for off-road riding, and it should have quite a compact fold, though not nearly as compact as the Brompton or Birdy in this respect. In really severe off-road conditions the 406 wheels would be at a disadvantage compared with conventional 26 inch mountain bike wheels, but of course help to keep the folded bike compact. Other possible contenders in this category are the Bike Friday Pocket Gnu and the Dahon Zero G, plus to some extent the Birdy and Moulton APB. The APB does not fold of course (separability is optional at the time of purchase), so much less portable, and its suspension, while excellent for road and lighter off-road use, is much more limited in travel. The Birdy does not have the choice of tyres, the wheels are smaller, and the rear suspension is less sophisticated; it's more compact folded, and probably quicker to fold, and handles milder off-road conditions extremely well, but is not as good in rougher conditions. The Gnu only has a suspension seat post at the back, and front suspension travel is probably much shorter than the Rhino, but it is otherwise the closest competitor. I would expect it to have a slight advantage over the Rhino in folding terms, though neither is particularly compact or convenient to fold, but in terms of riding the Rhino probably has the advantage. Here in the UK the cheaper version of the Rhino is substantially cheaper than the Gnu, though in other parts of the world this is unlikely to be the case. The Dahon Zero G is quite a bit cheaper than either of these, and the very similar, but less well-equipped Matrix, is substantially cheaper. Both have substantial front suspension travel, but no rear suspension (a suspension seatpost could be added) - the 26-inch wheels of the Dahons help the ride, and in the most severe off-road conditions would perform better, but the Dahons are bulky when folded (of course partly due to the wheel size), though the basic frame fold is very easy and quick to perform.

Two different approaches to the design of an off-road folder - the Airnimal Rhino on the right and the Dahon Zero G on the left. So why no picture of them folded - neither owner wanted the hassle of folding them!

From what I have seen of the Rhino, it is an excellent machine, and a very interesting addition to the folding off-road bicycle market. - if I hadn't recently bought the Dahon Zero G, I'd be very tempted, the final decision having to be based on the relative importance given to compact folding and proper rear suspension (where the Rhino scores) versus price and the advantages of the larger wheels in the most severe off-road conditions (where the Zero G has the upper hand).

I would like to express my thanks to Pat for bringing her new Rhino to the event, and allowing me to have a test ride on it. [11/09/2004]

PS: You can find out more about the Rhino by visiting the Airnimal web site.

CycleFest 2004 Report Update - more photos
Pat Douglass has kindly sent me an excellent collection of further photographs from Cyclefest, in particular covering Saturday and Sunday, for which I did not have much to show. Some of these pictures have now been added to the report - you can find it here. [10/09/2004]

September Origami Ride
The Origami Ride on 11th September will start from Wolverhampton railway station. As usual, we will meet from about 10:30 for a ride starting at 11:00. There is a car park adjacent to the station, but it is expensive, so we have identified an alternative spot for parking. Note that there will be no trains in or out of Wolverhampton on 11th & 12th September (apparently this was only decided a few days ago). The ride will be about 40 Km (24 miles), and will be on good towpaths and country roads. If you require more information about the ride and travel arrangements, please email origmai@foldsoc.co.uk - those on the Origami mailing list should already have received these details. [Updated 09/09/2004]

New Moultons
A new Dual Pylon Moulton was apparently on show at the Moulton Bicycle Club's (MBC) Bradford on Avon Weekend. In the same way that the seat tube was replaced by a spaceframe structure on the first version of the Pylon (or Speed), the front steerer tube is also replaced by a spaceframe structure in the Dual Pylon. Like the earlier Speed, the frame itself does not separate, though the front an rear parts can be removed to give some portability (though this is a relatively slow and complex process compared with the separable frame of most AMs and the original version of the New Series). A new version of the Bridgestone Moulton has also been launched, and the price of the existing versions of the Bridgestone Moulton has been reduced. You can see some pictures on the MBC website. [Updated 09/09/2004]

Dahon Zero G Test Report update
Now that I've completed just over 650Km on the Dahon Zero G, I've added a short update to the test report - you can read it here. It's still performing very well, and encouraging me to try some new routes. [29/08/2004]

Isle of Wight to Cape Wrath using a Birdy Grey
Member Robert Burn just sent me this link to report on a ride by Duncan Mackay from the Isle of Wight to Cape Wrath using a Birdy Grey http://www.england-in-particular.info/cymac.html - I think readers will find it interesting. You may also want to look at some of the other things on this site - I must admit it's new to me. [27/08/2004]

STOLEN - Black Brompton T5, frame no. 149451
"Black Brompton T5, frame no. 149451 was stolen from the bike rack opposite Post Office in High Holborn, London between 12.00 and 14.30 on 17 August 2004. Standard configuration including all-black zip pannier, except for Selle women's saddle, fitted on saddle adaptor pin, and handlebar brace fitted. Oddly enough, my helmet disappeared too (white Met, hooked through lock), and the Kryptonite Rock Lock was left in two bits without a mark on it, apart from a mashed-up lock mechanism. So I'd be glad of suggestions on what lock to get next. Contact Sally Jeffery, s.jeffery@clara.co.uk." [18/08/2004]

Using a Brompton with a Pantour suspension hub
Our thanks to John Burgess for sharing his experience of fitting a Pantour suspension hub to a Brompton (not to mention a Speed Drive), and using it for a journey from London to Paris. You can read about it here. You can find more information on the Pantour hub at their web site www.pantourhub.com. [17/08/2004]

The Airnimal Joey
The Airnimal Chameleon has been available for a few years now, and has proved popular with those looking for a fast road bike which can be folded - though other configurations to suit touring and off-road use are possible, and have proved effective. In the last few months Airnimal Designs have been working on some new designs, and the first of these, the Joey, is now available. This keeps much of the character of the Chameleon (which is of course still available), but in a simplified and much cheaper form. This is the press release describing the Joey:

"The Joey is an 8 speed folding sports/commuting/utility/leisure bike. It is a fast, versatile bike, and with its easy folding ideal for fitting into a busy lifestyle. It would make an excellent commuter or utility bike, but can easily be used for longer sport and leisure riding. The folding works quickly for car, train or coach travel or it can be folded to go into a protective suitcase for airline travel. In addition its quick release handlebar stem arrangement allows the handlebars to be turned or removed to provide a narrow package for parking, storage or packing. The bike features a frame made from 7005 aluminium and a steel fork and is built up with a combination of Shimano Deore and Sora parts. It costs £695."

You can find out more about the Joey, and the other Airnimal products, on their web site, http://www.airnimal.com [16/08/2004]

Bike Friday SatRday Recumbent
There aren't many recumbent folding (or portable in other ways - ie separable) bicycles (or tricycles) - I've been looking into this recently, without much joy. The Bike Friday SatRday recumbent was/is an exception, and highly rated by many who have owned or tried them. It seems that a major upgrade is planned, and that they are consequently currently unavailable: 
"The Bike Friday SatRDay 349 recumbent is temporarily unavailable while we complete work on a new and improved SatRDay 406/451 model. The new model, under development, will be lighter while easier to fold and pack. The seat is improved, located closer to the ground for easier starting and stopping, and for fitting shorter riders better. The position on the bike is more adjustable than before. In addition, the new model will feature 20-inch wheels, which will allow better gearing and will make finding replacement tires easier. We plan to release the new, improved, sportier SatRDay the first quarter of 2005. We like to make all of our models available all of the time but putting the current bike on hold was the only way we found to get the time and resources necessary to make this upgraded machine available. We feel you will find the new SatRDay worth the wait. Hanz & Alan"
It's sad that this highly-rated machine isn't available at present, but the developments sound interesting, although a change to a larger wheel size means that the design change will be pretty major, and might have its disadvantages. I'll try to keep monitoring the various sources of information on Bike Friday (they don't usually choose to send me press releases etc), and provide more information here when it is available. [14/08/2004]

Origami Rides
We had a great Origami Ride today (14th August), from Meriden to Atherstone, and a small brewery. Many thanks to Dave Minter and Susan Barlow for planning and leading a most enjoyable ride in excellent weather - and of course thanks to all those who supported the event. We will be updating and expanding the information on the forthcoming Origami Rides very soon on the Origami Ride section of the web site. [14/08/2004]

CycleFest 2004 Report
I've now got an illustrated report on CycleFest available on the web site - if you are interested, you can find it here. [12/08/2004]

Dahon Zero G test update
We have added some comments from Joshua Hon of Dahon to our test report on the Zero G. [10/08/2004]

CycleFest 2004
Another brilliant event - thanks to organisers Pat and John Bradshaw. Many thanks to them, and all the ride leaders, speakers, and all the rest involved in organising this memorable event. What a tragedy that this is the last CycleFest for the foreseeable future. But wait, we hear that there will be a CycleFeast in 2005 in Northumberland - unfortunately I did not manage to locate a form to register my interest, and I haven't yet found a way of doing so on the web, but when I do succeed, I'll provide a link and/or news to this event from here. I'll provide a slightly more detailed report on these pages when I have recovered from the journey back, and 'processed' the pictures. Suffice it to say at this stage that the weather was generally kind (forecast on Monday was atrocious, so I did not take part in the Monday ride), the long ride on Thursday was very testing, and the folder ride on Saturday attracted 38 riders (about twice what we expected). Apologies for the poor quality of the leader on the folder ride - a great route though, thanks to Pat who planned it. Personal disappointments were that I had hoped to see the new Airnimal models at the event, and test them and some recumbents. As I was out on the folder ride all day Saturday, and did my own thing on the Sunday, I perhaps missed the opportunity to try some machines I was interested in. Still, the end result was probably that I won't spend the money that I feared I might, so it may be a good thing after all (for me, if not the potential suppliers). [09/08/2004]

PS: Condolences to those who missed Derek's wonderful performance on Sunday evening.

Test report on the Dahon Zero G now available
There are not many 26 inch-wheeled mountain bikes which fold, but Dahon's Zero G is one. We now have a test report available. [04/08/2004]

CycleFest Folder Ride Route
The proposed route is now available on the web page - it's in the form of a Microsoft Word document. Right click here to download a copy. It is formatted for folding into A6 size for use with a mini map holder. Details of the lunch stop remain fluid at present - any local knowledge would be welcome. [03/08/2004]

TWO UNIQUE BROMPTONS STOLEN - HELP US RECOVER THESE BIKES
Dick and Hazel Hanson had their Bromptons (one an SP) stolen during a recent visit to Paris. The bikes were taken on the night of 19-20 July from the Hotel Le Home Saint Louis, 28 rue Saint Louis, Versailles. Apparently it was an inside job and the police know the name and address of the person who took them, but he is now long gone. No doubt the bikes will appear in some dodgy Paris sale, and some innocents may be riding round Paris on them as we speak! Details are as follows:

One black SP Brompton. Frame number unknown
The bike is very distinctive as it has disc brakes, one of only two in the world to my knowledge. I recently fitted a Brompton rear rack which had to have a special bracket as Steve's rear triangle is slightly different from normal. Also I had to cut the rear mudguard and bridge the gap with silver duck tape. The rear mudguard is silver whereas the front is black. The bike has a Stronglight Tarmac chainset with a distinctive light blue drilled alloy chain protector ring. The rear derailleur is SRAM. The handlebars are titanium on the usual Steve Parry suspension seat post and the seat post itself is carbon fibre.

One red and black L type Brompton, frame number 142140
This has had a Brompton rear rack fitted and the rolling wheels on the frame have been changed for green inline skate wheels. The other major modification is the fitting of a double chainring. The chainset is Stronglight Escapade and the front changer is a braze on Suntour XC pro. There is an extra Suntour handlebar lever for the front changer. The lever has a neat rubber cover. When the brazing was done the red paint was burnt on the frame, so the short seat tube is distinctive as it is painted black, as are the front forks and the rear triangle. The rest of the frame is red.

I am sure that all other members will be horrified to hear of this. We can only hope that everyone, especially those in France, will keep their eyes open for the bikes and help to get them recovered. Personally I still have not got over the theft of my New Series Moulton last year, so I can understand how shattered Dick and Hazel must be by this dreadful experience. If you have any information, please contact us asap. [02/08/2004]

CYCLEFEST 2004
This may be the last Cyclefest ever - certainly for the foreseeable future - so DON'T miss it!! The dates are 4 - 9 August - for more information visit the website at http://www.cyclefest.ucsm.ac.uk/. For those who haven't been before, this is an event orientated towards the unconventional cycle - folder, recumbent, Moulton, tandem, tricycle etc, but don't worry if you aren't in this category, as EVERYONE is made welcome. All levels are catered for - whether you are are cycle fanatic, or just thinking about buying a folder, you will find something of interest. There will be a folder ride on the Saturday - details of this ride have not been finalised yet, but should be available within the next 10 days. I hope to see LOTS of you there at some time during the week, and particularly on the Folder Ride.

News of another event
Below is information just received about another event, this time in the USA:

ROUND*UP at the NYC CENTURY: Small Wheels in the Big Apple -- SUN, SEPTEMBER 12, NEW YORK CITY
"Come one, come all on your folding or small wheel bike - Moulton, Brompton, Bike Friday, Dahon, Swift, Breezer, Bickerton, Raleigh, Birdy or what-have-you... STEP ONE: register for the ride (http://www.nyccentury.com - online, before Aug. 28 is best)...

Then - come early to the 7:30 start for the 35 mile ride. Look for the green flag with the wheel on it, fluttering 12 feet overhead. AD HOC MEET POINT-- the 24-hour deli just across from the MAKE MY CAKE bakery. We'll gather up as many folders for the start and ride together!

During the ride, we'll look for other small wheel bikes to roll with. Post-ride, we'll invite folder riders and folder fans for a beer or a tea down in Manhattan.  See properly British Bromptons, Flip-Top Fridays, strange new Dahons and high-tech Moultons ... talk with other folding bike folk and have a nice little time at one of the world's largest bike rides. Bestof all, your registration fee helps support the New York cycling advocacy group Transportation Alternatives.

To arrange meeting up at the NYC Century Bike Tour, email mcget@aol.com -- I'll send you a cell telephone number for ride day. You must register to ride in the NYC Century - go to http:// www.nyccentury.com for more info on the ride.

Michael McGettigan/trophy bikes phila 
producers of the ROUND UP USA SMALL WHEEL/FOLDER BIKE FEST JUNE 3-4-5 2005"

[29/07/2004]

CycleFest 2004 Folder Ride, Saturday 7th August 2004
The folder ride for the Saturday of CycleFest was recced on Tuesday 27th July. Basically the plan is as follows:

10:32 train from Lancaster to Grange-over-Sands, arriving 10:56
Ride generally north to Crosthwaite (lunch somewhere around there)
Ride back via Brigsteer and Levens to Arnside
Train from Arnside to Lancaster, OR continue riding to/past Silverdale and Carnforth stations, picking up train at an appropriate point, or even ride all the way back to Lancaster.

The distance for the ride from Grange-over-Sands to Arnside is 42Km,  or about 47.5Km to Silverdale, 53.8Km to Carnforth, or about 65Km riding all the way back into Lancaster. Those taking the train at Arnside should be back in Lancaster by mid-late afternoon, and even riding the whole way you should be back by late afternoon. There are about 4 sharp, but short, hills on the main ride, but it is otherwise generally easy riding, and much of it is remarkably flat. This will be a social ride, at a pace to suit anyone who wants to come.

Anyone talking part in the ride does so at their own risk, and is responsible for their own actions.

Full details in the form of the route sheet will follow in the next couple of days - the entire route is on Landranger 97 (not that you should need a map if you have the route sheet). [28/07/2004]

Full report on the Dahon Jetstream XP now available
The full report on the Dahon Jetstream XP is now available for you to read - a great bike! [22/07/2004]

Contacting Steve Parry
If you have received issue 71 of The Moultoneer, you will find reference in two places to the telephone number of Steve Parry (of SP, modified Brompton, fame, as well as the special APB rear rack). Unfortunately the number given is incorrect in the last digit (although I'm told the number came from some correspondence from SP himself!). The CORRECT number is 01934 516158, as shown on our web pages. Please correct the number in your copy of The Moultoneer (middle of the first column of page 48, and top of the second column of page 62) now, just in case you ever refer back to it! I'll just add that from my experience it is very difficult to contact him, even on the right number! [21/07/2004]

Choosing a folder section updated
While I was frenziedly making some edits to a lot of our web pages in case I had to move them to another location (see the story 'Don't Panic" below), I realised just how out of date the section on choosing a folder had become. The part dealing with the basic issues hadn't aged too badly, but the comments on some of the marques available was really of little relevance to the market today. Anyway, I've now updated it (one advantage?? of the cold and cough is that I don't feel able to do much riding at present, and so can spend more time on the web pages)! [21/07/2003]

New Airnimals
The Airnimal website (http://www.airnimal.com) now lists three more models in addition to the well-established Chameleon. The Rhino appears to be the 20-inch wheeled full-suspension folding mountain bike seen at Cycle 2003, but details are not yet available. The Joey looks to be a lower-cost version of the Chameleon, with prices starting around £700 - details are again rather thin. Finally there is the Mamba, a 24 inch wheeled diamond frame non-folder, on which the web site only says that more details will be available soon. Perhaps if Richard Loke is at CycleFest in just over two weeks time we shall find out more - and perhaps even see the bikes. [21/07/2004]

Don't Panic!
At 6:30 this morning these web pages were unavailable, and the message suggested that they had been suspended. I've been investigating ever since, but as far as I can tell, it was purely a problem at the ISP's end, and nothing to do with me, as certain other operations associated with using their services seemed acting strangely. I even got as far as editing a substantial number of the web pages with a view to installing them elsewhere using the alternative address http://www.foldsoc.co.uk. Anyway, all seems back to normal (10:30) without me doing anything to fix it. However, I will take the opportunity to mention again http://www.foldsoc.co.uk which I would suggest as the preferred address - both address currently take you to the same location on the web, but in the event of any problems in the future, I can easily re-direct this preferred address to somewhere else, whereas the older .co.uk address is not under my direct control. [21/07/2004]

The Sturmey-Archer 8-speed hub, and 'Cycle', the CTC's magazine
The August/September issue of the CTC's magazine 'Cycle' arrived yesterday. There are a number of items which may be of some interest to folder enthusiasts. Quite a lot of folders use hub gears, and there is no doubt that they have potential benefits for utility and commuter bikes. I don't want to get into a discussion of hubs v derailleurs, but the announcement of the Sturmey-Archer 8-speed hub some months ago was certainly an interesting development. This issue of 'Cycle' contains a report on it by Chris Juden, and it is not very favourable. For a balancing view, I asked Tony Hadland (I hope I don't need to explain who he is!) for his comments on Chris Juden's report, and on the hub itself - he has been using one for a while now on a Moulton APB. Here is Tony's reply:

I've got a few comments in the letters section of 'The Moultoneer', which should be with you soon [Issue 71, which reached me today. As well as some useful information on the S-A 8-speed this contains detailed information about Shimano's competing 8-speed hub - Ed]. You are welcome to report these, which represent my feelings on the hub a month or so ago. Since then, I've done the quite hilly Audax [Uffington - see report elsewhere on these web pages - Ed] and have encountered no real problems. For what it's worth. I'm 55, 6ft 2inches tall and weigh 13.5 stone (150 pounds). I'm not, and never have been, in the pay of Sturmey-Archer, though one year they did send me a Christmas card. They did provide the hub I have been testing - the first sample I have ever received from them.

In all, I've probably done about 300 miles on this hub. I have a major technical article on it coming up later in the year in 'Human Power', the IHPVA mag in the USA.

As for Juden's article, I have a Shimano 7-speed (I did have two bikes thus equipped) and don't feel the Sturmey is any worse, efficiency wise. The Shimano doesn't even have a direct drive, whereas the Sturmey's lowest gear is direct, gears 2, 3 and 4 use only one epicyclic train, 5, 6 and 7 use two, gearing up in compound mode, and only gear 8 uses three epicylic trains in series, all gearing up. Hence the lower the gear, the more efficient with the Sturmey.

Contrary to what Chris Juden surmises, in no gear does the Sturmey drive in compound mode gearing both up and down at the same time.

Whilst plainly not as efficient overall as a well set up, good condition derailleur, I would not have risked using the hub on my first Audax for 22 years if I felt it was like pedalling treacle!

I have some concerns about long-term durability. Shifting is pretty good but could be improved. But on the whole, especially for users of small-wheelers, it has a lot to offer.

Other items I thought of particular interest were:

[21/07/2004]

Longer Rides
Yesterday (Sunday 18 July) I should have done another of my longer folder test rides and reports - the Redditch 100KM Brevet Populaire. Unfortunately, immediately after the last of these rides a developed a cold, and by the weekend this had become a bad, chesty cough. I was in no fit state to do the ride, so very reluctantly I had to abandon the idea. The next one I had originally planned was at Tamworth, but that coincides with Cyclefest, so I won't be doing that either. However, I do have both the route sheets, and I plan to do the rides unofficially (and of course for no credits with Audax UK) in the not too distant future, so I hope that reports will follow in due course. [19/07/2004]

An Airframe at Herne Hill
Robert McCann has sent some photographs of himself riding his Airframe round the track at Herne Hill during a meeting of The Veteran-Cycle Club in June this year. Roberts says: "Although the banking at the ends of the track is very steep, the Airframe held onto the surface very well. In fact, it really flew around the track to the amazement of both onlookers and cyclists alike! It must be very disconcerting to be overtaken by a 16” wheeled bike - especially around the banking!

    

The Airframe and Robert McCann at Herne Hill - photographs courtesy Robert McCann

Stolen - Brompton T5
Brompton, stolen from Billericay Railway Station 3:45 16/07/04 seen being ridden through Shenfield in direction of Brentwood at 4:10. Skinhead riding it with other youth on MTB. Black T5 with upgraded front brake. Upgraded h/bar with plastic bracing strut. Red in line skate wheels on carrier. Front of saddle padding coming adrift. B&M Dymotec 6 to standard front light, no rear light fitted. Blue bicycle bell with inbuilt compass. Velcro material stuck on top of frame tube ( it once had an air zound horn ). Frame number 023688. Contact via email b.spencer3@btinternet.com or 07960442677. £100 reward for return or sufficient info to make recovery. [17/07/2004]

Contacting us
I think the links of the web pages are now all set to point to the foldsoc.co.uk version of the email address, but over the last year I think 5 emails were addressed to the foldsoc.co.uk version of the email address (together with over 1100 emails which were junk, spam or viruses!). Please be aware that if you use that older email address, rather than the new one, or my personal email address, there may be a very long delay before it is answered. My apologies for this, and to anyone who has not received a reply after using the old address, but not only was it deluged with unwanted email, but I have to pay telephone charges to use it, unlike the newer addresses. [16/07/2004]

Stolen - Brompton L3
The bike in question was an all red L3 with a rear carrier, front carrier block and front light post on the handlebars. The bike had the name Andrew Duerden in silver script lettering with a block font underneath (saying the same) on the cross bar. Taken from a guarded (!) security compound at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday July 11, 2004. (I'm in good company - David Coulthard had his scooter taken from the same area!). Contact Andrew Duerden, Leicestershire, Tel: 0116 259 2640 [15/07/2004]

The Dahon Jetstream XP - first part of the test report
I've had this bike on test for about a week. The test is not yet complete, so a full report will not be available for 7 days or so. However, I rode it on a 100Km Brevet Populaire - one of a series of longer rides on different folders - on Sunday 11th July, and the report on that ride is now available, so you can find out a lot about how the bike performed by visiting that report. Overall I found it an impressive performer. When the full test report is completed, I'll provide a link to it on this main News page. [14/07/2004]

An enlightened public transport organisation
Many congratulations to West Yorshire for their excellent support information regarding using folders on the local buses - they even have some informed comment on a small selection of bikes, though they don't mention us, or even A to B! Take a look at http://www.cycletransport-westyorks.co.uk/. Also may thanks to Paul Evans for bringing this to our attention. [13/07/2004]

An Early Brompton
Member Anthony Pearson has just obtained, via the Sales & Wants List, an early Brompton, c 1983. He has created a web site about the bike, with some interesting documents - you can see it at http://www.vaporum.co.uk/bromptonaut [13/07/2004]

Blowingstone 100Km ride
On Sunday 11 July, the day after the July Origami Ride (see below), 5 folder enthusiasts travelled (by car - sorry) to Uffington to take part in a 100Km Brevet Populaire. Dave Minter and Susan Barlow were on their Bromptons, Dick Hanson rode a modified Moulton fx8 (a double chainring bringing it to a total of 16 gears), Tony Hadland had his very interesting APB, fitted with the larger 451 version of the the 20-inch wheel, and an 8-speed Sturmey-Archer hub, while I use the Dahon Jetstream XP which was on test. Despite overnight rain, and threatening skies, the weather stayed fine, which was  relief after the soaking that we had got the day before. The full report, including details of the Jetstream, will appear shortly - watch this space. [12/07/2004]

July Origami Ride
July - so it must be Cheltenham! For once, the weather was not very kind to us, but we still had a grand day out. You can read the report here. [12/07/2004]

Sinclair's A-Bike
The BBC web site is carrying a story (on their News page) about a new folder from Sir Clive Sinclair:

" The bike, which will cost around £170, weighs only 12lbs but is built to support riders weighing up to 17 stone.
It is to go on sale in Singapore shortly, followed by the UK, the US and Japan next year.
Zipped into a bag, the A-Bike resembles a large umbrella when folded - taking up 0.03 cubic metres - and can be stored away under a desk."

The picture shows a rather flimsy-looking machine with wheels about the size of those of a micro-scooter, but very compact when folded. If/when any more information emerges we will let you know. [10/07/2004]

The Airnimal Revisited
Our report on the Airnimal on a Brevet Populaire is now available. Now updated to include some comments on the report by Richard Loke of Airnimal Designs. [08/07/2004]

Origami Ride on 10th July
The Origami Ride on Saturday 10th July will be at Cheltenham, meeting at the station from about 10:30 for an 11:00 start. As for the past 3 or 4 years, Dick Hanson is organising the event, and I'm sure he will have a superb route once again. I am expecting to have a Dahon Jetstream XP on test by then; I'm not sure if I shall be bringing it to Cheltenham, as a number of us will be doing a 100Km Brevet Populaire the next day, so the same bike will have to do both events, and I'm not sure about using an unfamiliar bike for what is a long ride for me. If the presence of the Jetstream is a major factor in whether you come to the ride on Saturday, check with me on the Friday before the event to see if I will be bringing it. A report on the Jetstream XP will appear in the next coupe of weeks, after I have had a chance to test it properly, and a report on the 111Km Brevet Populaire which I rode on Sunday 4th July will appear soon - this was an opportunity to revisit the Airnimal.  [06/07/2004]

Improved specification for Slingshots
Slingshot will be specifying Easy Split cable separators on all of their bikes in the future. The new components will allow for a cleaner and more efficient breakdown of their bikes for travel. For more information on the Slingshot range, see http://www.slingshotbikes.com [02/07/2004]

STUNNING
Steve Parry's latest creation looks absolutely superb - actually, this picture was taken a few weeks ago, so knowing Steve, he may even have something more spectacular by now. Of course, appearance isn't everything, but most SP owners will vouch for how well engineered Steve's bikes are. Purely personally, I remain to be convinced about the Rohloff and disc brakes, but it's significant that Chris Eley, who kindly supplied this picture, now seems to ride his SP in preference to his Moultons, including a New Series model - can praise come any higher than that? Chris has a Rohloff-geared, disc-braked SP, and we hope to have a detailed report from him on the bike in the future - he seems very pleased, and the bike seems to perform well, apart from an extraordinary number of punctures! My own more basically specified SP continues to perform well - even better since Stelvio tyres were fitted - and I have to say that if I could only keep one of my existing bikes, the ***VERY*** difficult choice would be the SP. [01/07/2004]

Thought from the day - Jack of All Trades or Master of ONLY ONE?
or Horses for Courses, yet again
Today's ride (Sunday 1 August) prompted some thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of a bike which is designed specifically to meet a particular need. I woke feeling unusually weary and lacking in energy, even for me, but the weather forecast was good (though likely to get very hot later), and it was too good an opportunity for cycling to waste. In view of how I felt, I decided to make an early start (7:30) to miss the heat later, and to just do a very short version of my favourite ride, limited to no more than 45Km, all on the road, using a bike which would make for the least effort for such riding. In the end, the lovely weather and the joy of cycling persuaded me to extend the ride to 94Km, of which 22Km were off road. Now there are a lot of people whose cycling is just of one type - they only race and/or time trial on the road, they only ride (competitively or for pleasure) off road, they only commute etc. There are a lot of bikes available which are very firmly targetted in terms of specification and marketing to one particular type of use, and from which those who ride in only one way will probably find something suitable. However, there must be a lot of us who enjoy cycling in a whole range of different conditions, and for whom multiple different cycles don't provide the answer either - for reasons of cost, space, or, like my ride today, because a single ride may involve very different riding conditions, or simply we like to be able to alter our plans during a ride. Some of the more specialised bikes can be very limiting in these situations - I have ridden high performance road bikes which are very poor performers in even quite mild off-road conditions - unsuitable gearing, uncomfortable riding position, fragile and rather unstable narrow high pressure tyres. Likewise, some bikes which are designed purely for serious off-road riding can be miserably tiring and lethargic on the road, and not particularly comfortable in such conditions either. Stir in the element of portability, and finding the bike that is just right for you can be a real problem.

Some people of course seem to have no difficulty in finding the perfect bike for themselves - and according to them it would be perfect for everyone else as well, at least until they find something which is vastly superior to their previous favourite, again not just for themselves but for everyone else. Then a lot of us are forever seeking the Holy Grail of the perfect bike, but never finding it. For many of us who look for versatility in a bike (folder or otherwise), machines in the tourer to audax range tend to be most appealing. However, even then a lot of us find that some modifications can improve the suitability for our particular needs, and less versatile machines can often be made more versatile with some fairly minor modifications and customisation. Bear in mind, though, that the more unusual designs of folder usually are much more difficult to customise than ones which use more standard components. Amongst the more enthusiastic folder owners (polite description!), versatility does usually seem an important factor, most examples of bikes showing customisation to suit individual owner preferences, and it's no coincidence that favoured models seem to fall into this category of basically versatile touring machines which lend themselves to at least some degree of customisation. 'Even' the highly popular Brompton, which sets the standard for compact commuting folding, owes a lot to its success amongst enthusiasts to the fact that it is quite capable of at least modest touring and light off road use (some people manage heavy touring and more serious off road use with them!). Although customisation is important, you do sometimes come across extreme examples which seem to fall into the category of "if I were trying to get there, I wouldn't start from here".

Oh, and the bike I rode today, which ended up being used for something different from the originally planned short on-road ride? The Airnimal Chameleon, with Kenda Koncept 26mm 90psi tyres - certainly more at home on the 72Km of road, but perfectly capable of tackling 22Km of dry towpaths on the same ride even on these tyres. [01/08/2004]

Giatex report
Over the last week I have been testing the Giatex S-port 500 Stretch Bike. As you might guess from the name, the main frame member slides to allow the length of the bike to be compressed for 'folding', or stretched for riding, and incidentally in the process allows the rider to adjust the reach to the handlebars to be adjusted to suit. AT £230, its very reasonably priced - so is it suitable for YOUR requirements, and is it good value? Read our report here. [30/06/2004]


Airframe report
I have finally finished the (first) report on the Airframe - you can read it here. I hope to produce a rather longer term report later, but in the meantime I have another 3 folders to report on! [24/06/2004]
IMPORTANT POSTSCRIPT: We hear that a version of the Airframe with the 8-speed Sturmey-Archer hub is coming soon, probably in August!

Why are folders like buses?
The report on the Airframe is at last in draft form, though it still needs tidying up, and I have to do some photographs. On top of this, I have no less than 3 other folders to test and report on. The Dahon Zero G (http://www.dahon.co.uk) is a 26 inch-wheeled folding mountain bike, which I have so far ridden for just over 100Km, including a very enjoyable ride yesterday. The report will probably appear in about 10 days time. I shall also be revisiting the Airnimal Chameleon  (http://www.airnimal.com) - I plan to use it for the next longer ride on 4 July, so a report should be forthcoming soon after that. Finally, I have a Giatex stretching bike for testing (http://www.junglebikes.com), which arrived today, and which I hope to be able to report on within the next 7 days or so. Please watch this space. [23/06/2004]

Choosing a Dahon Helios SL
Folder enthusiasts take the choice of a new bike seriously, and Jacob Kite is no exception, as his in-depth report on how he went about choosing a replacement for his Brompton, and how he finally decided on the Dahon Helios SL. Apologies to those who tried to access this page immediately after the news was published - I was keen to try out another new folder, and the link didn't work - it should do now! [22/06/2004]

Coming 'Real Soon Now'
Apologies if you have been waiting for reports on some new bikes - I hope to have them here Real Soon Now. The Airframe has been on test for a few weeks, though I'm rather selective about the situations in which I choose to use it. I plan to do a first report within a few days, and then at some time in the future a longer term report (if I'm allowed to keep it that long). I hope to be receiving a new Airnimal Chameleon by the end of the week, so I should soon be able to add comments on this high performance folder based on a recent model - our existing test reports were on a fairly early example. I am hoping that the Dahon Zero G will arrive next week, so a report on that should not be too far off, although usually I would tend to use this type of  bike more in the winter than the summer. [14/06/2004]

Impressions of a Dahon Speed TR
A short report on the Dahon Speed TR is now available - thanks to Dahon and Rob Tomalin for providing this. [14/06/2004]

Apology - sort of
Sorry for the lack of updates recently - I went on a (photographic, not cycling) holiday in Scotland. I don't publicise beforehand when I will be away for obvious reasons. I am now suffering from serious withdrawal symptoms - 6 days with no possibility of a cycle ride (one drawback of the Smart is that there is not room in it for a folding bike and all the photographic gear and computers I want to take on such a holiday, although by applying self restraint I used to go there with everything on a bike)! [14/06/2004]

Two Days on a Brompton in Belgium
Member Olivier Sels reports that he recently did a two-day ride in Limburg, Belgium, with friends. He rode a Brompton T5 connected to a Chariot Cougar 2 child trailer for four month old son Jobbe. (Regrettably) his wife and their friends rode 'normal' bikes - interesting though that the Brompton was the choice for the bike to undertake the more arduous task! His luggage was in a Brompton touring bag. They did 55 km each day on what is known as the 'Knooppuntennetwerk Limburg', a network of numbered cycle paths that is numbered (more info on this network is to be found on http://www.toerismelimburg.be/fietsroutenetwerken.html - though only in Dutch). Olivier reports that the Brompton performed wonderfully! You can find some pictures from this ride on http://homepage.mac.com/olidaf/PhotoAlbum14.html [26/05/2004]

Another longer/faster ride
On Saturday 22 May 2004 I completed the fourth of my longer/faster rides on a portable bicycle. The first 3 had been on Moultons, which of course separate rather than fold, so, even though it was not my first choice, I used a genuine folder this time. Overall, I enjoyed my ride, but as the full report will show, I was not entirely happy with my performance, the performance of the railway company, the folder or the organisers. I hope to have the full report available before the end of the week - watch this space.  I expect also to comment in the conclusions on some general folder issues. Report now available. [25/05/2004]

Folding Recumbent Contest 2004
Our thanks go to Peter de Leuw, Rainer Zenz and Hanno Hirsch, who have provided a report on this interesting competition - you can read the report here. [20/05/2004]

50 miles in 4 hours
The full report on the Wombourn ride which I did last weekend is now available. Apologies to readers for the fact that limited choice of suitable bikes meant that I used a Moulton again - though this time an AM7, rather than an APB or fx. I hope to do the 100Km from Meriden on Saturday, but choice of bikes remains restricted, and I haven't yet decided which to use. [20/05/2004]

Four different rides - four different bikes
I still regularly get requests for advice on what is the ultimate very cheap, very light, very compact high performance folder. It's a bit like the answer to life the universe and everything (42), magic elixirs etc, and as these web pages make clear, life, products and even folders are about compromise. Most cheap folders are not very good for riding or folding, and you have to decide your priorities and choose accordingly. 

Four rides in the last week have resulted in the choice of four different bikes to suit the circumstances, plus it has to be admitted, my enjoyment of using different machines, and the wish to provide reports on different bikes.

The first outing was on Wednesday 12th May, and was a visit to the university - ride to Tipton (2.5Km), train to Tile Hill (no need to fold on local services), ride 4 Km to the university. I used the opportunity to try the Airframe which I have borrowed. A full report on the Airframe should appear in the next 10 days or so, but suffice it to say that although it is very flexible compared with most folders (though not nearly as flexible as the Bickerton), I found it not as as disturbing as I had feared, and indeed on the way back I deliberately rode back to Marston Green station, extending the distance for the day to 32Km. I repeated this journey, including the extended ride back, on Monday 17th.  You will have to wait for the full report on the bike though - watch this space.

On Thursday 13th I took a train to Shrewsbury to join the local CTC group there for another of their mid-week rides. Portability was an issue this time, as the trains from Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury have limited cycle space. When I went to one of these rides a couple of weeks previously, I used the SP Brompton, which worked very well. Just to ring the changes, I used the Bike Friday New World Tourist (Newt) this time - the SP had proved excellent on the previous visit. The ride from Shrewsbury to Wem was quite flat, and was done at a very gentle pace, so the Newt was really an overkill from the riding point of view, and much more hassle to fold and bag on the train. The absence of suspension of any kind also made it rather uncomfortable on less than ideally surfaced lanes. The Newt acquitted itself quite well on the 60Km ride, but the SP would certainly have been the better bike for this occasion.

Sunday 16th was the date of the Wombourn 50 miles in 4 hours ride. Although this was not part of my original sequence of longer rides on folders/separables programme, I'll probably write it up fully in that section soon, so this is only a brief report. I reckoned that a ride of this distance at this speed was on my limit, even in the relatively gentle terrain involved. I therefore chose the highest performance bike that I still have (having sold the Pocket Rocket and Airnimal, and having had the New Series Moulton stolen) - a 20 year old Moulton AM7.  Portability was not really an issue (though to avoid having a serious uphill ride back after the event, I weakened and used the car to get to and from the start point, so a non-folder/separable would not have been an option). The AM7, with its narrow dropped bars went into the Smart very easily, and a simple frame split was all that was need, so disassembly and later assembly was very easy and quick. Mine was not the only small wheeled folder on the event - there was also an Airnimal (the same one which I saw at the start of the Hartlebury ride). The gearing of the Am7 (actually now fitted with 8 indexed gears) was more than adequate at the low end, though I could have used a higher top gear (I have fitted a smaller than standard chainring as I would normally prefer to be under rather than over geared) in view of the terrain and the need to ride fairly quickly given the time constraints. Full details will be in a later report (if I summon up the energy to write it), but suffice it to say that I got round in 3.5 hours without too much difficulty, and the Moulton provided a very comfortable ride. I appreciated its light weight, the gear range was adequate, and the portability - for putting it in the boot of a very small car- was quite satisfactory. I was probably on one of the oldest bikes present, with the fewest gears, and the smallest wheels, but these were not really relevant at all, and my relatively slow time was just down to lack of strength of the rider.

Finally, today - 19th May - I went out with a neighbour to cycle from Hampton in Arden to Kingsbury Water Park and back. My preference would have been to take a train there and back, but in the end we used his car - a Ford Focus (it took longer to get there than it would have done by train, though we did get back slightly faster than the train would have done). He was riding a Thorn Audax (non folder, 700C wheels), so just for the hell of it I got out my 24 year old Mercian 27 inch wheeled non-folder! Had we used the local trains, this would not have been a problem, as there are no restrictions or charges on bikes on that route. To fit the two bikes in the Focus meant taking out the front wheels - no more trouble (less really) than any kind of folder. There isn't much else to say really - we rode 53 Km, the lack of folding facilities was not an issue, and the bikes performed well, though it did seem very strange to have to cope with a crossbar after riding step through frames for so many years, the lack of any suspension seemed a bit painful after my recent Moulton rides, and the very limited number of gears and lack of indexing on this relatively elderly machine was noticeable even on such fairly flat terrain.

So, four different rides on four different bikes, ranging from a compact folder to a completely conventional large wheeled non-folder. The non-folder would have been a problem on a train to Shrewsbury, and would not have fitted very easily into the Smart, and the Airframe would really not have been a realistic contender to the 50 mile in 4 hours ride. The AM7 might have been a problem on a train to Shrewsbury (separating to the extent that you can bag it is a 7-minute job). The Newt could have done all these rides reasonably well, though the harsh, unsuspended ride is not ideal on British minor roads, folding for trains is a bit of a pain, and it would have been harder work on the 50mile ride. Most folders I own or have owned could probably tackle all of these rides (though perhaps not the 50 in 4), but I wouldn't regard any one of them as ideal for all these different types of use, so it is a case of horses for courses - you have to choose the folder that best fits the particular combination of requirements you have. [19/05/2004]

Coming Real Soon Now!
If you read not only my Folding Society but also some of my other web pages, you will realise that I have been rather busy over the last few days, so I have to apologise for not keeping this site completely up to date. We had a great Origami Ride at Leominster on Saturday 8th May (the report is now available on the Origami Ride web site), and I completed the second long distance ride (by my modest standards) on a separable on Sunday 9th - report now available. I now have a current Airframe to test (acquired on loan for testing only on Saturday), and I hope soon to have a couple of Dahons (one, Zero G, bought, and one, Jetstream XP, on test) as well. I'll be issuing reports as soon as I'm able to do so, so watch this space. I'm due to do another couple of long ride tests during the next two weeks as well, so I'm not slacking. [10/05/2004]

16 inch (349) tyres
The section of the Moulton Bicycle Club web pages on the 16inch (349) tyres for the old F-frame Moultons (and a number of folding bicycles) has been updated - you can read it here. [29/04/2004]

Report on the Folders on the Isle of Wight Ride
The report on our recent long weekend with folders on the Isle of Wight is now available - sorry for the delay, but other things (producing the video and riding bikes!) stopped it getting done sooner. [27/04/2004]

A to B Issue 41
Issue 41 of A to B reached me today - congratulations to David and Jane Henshaw on another excellent issue. [26/04/2004]

Two great rides
Some superb weather over the last few days must have encouraged many of us to go out on our bikes - folders or others. Today (Sunday) was the date for the Veteran-Cycle Club's Memorial Ride, held annually from Shenstone to Hartlebury and back. This is always a very enjoyable event, but the weather made it exceptionally enjoyable this year. As you might expect from an event of the V-CC, the range of cycles was enormous, and very interesting, and this time small-wheelers were better represented than in the last couple of years. Although there was only one folder (that I saw), in the form of Sue Thorne's Brompton, there were 5 Moultons, with Sandra Evans, Wim Bloemendaal and Mike Roberts on AMs (in the case of Wim, borrowed, as usual for these events, from Dave Westwood), myself on my 'new' Stowaway and one other rider on a non-separable. A number of other regular folder riders were present, albeit on older, non-folding, bikes this time (Paul, Dave, Susan, Dick and Hazel should be ashamed of themselves!). This was a very enjoyable ride, and many thanks are due to the organisers. It's worth noting that the Midlands Section of the V-CC is a very effective group, which has a highly effective organisation in which the role of 'Captain' is usually only held by one person for a maximum of two years - no one ends up being lumbered with the job indefinitely, and everyone pulls their weight. Apart from the Moultons and the Brompton, the bikes that particularly attracted my attention were the 1907 Rudge Racer, ridden very fast by Thomas Kennaugh - this machine was owned by his Great Grandfather (same name), the c1895 front-drive Crypto Bantam of Mark Harrison, the 1898 Alpha Bantam of Malcolm Young and the 2003 Thorn Triplet - the middle position of which was occupied (when I saw it!) by a rucksack, but still had three occupants, as there was a small(er) child ahead of the front rider!

At last year's V-CC Memorial Ride, the new plaque commemorating John and David Pinkerton was unveiled, but was not actually secured in place in the garden at Hartlebury Castle. This year it was to be seen fixed to the wall by the herb garden. Doug Pinkerton pointed out that there is a curry plant near it, which would particularly please John, who was well-known for his partiality to Indian dishes! Our photograph shows the plaque and members of the family.

I should perhaps add that my 'new' Stowaway (2-speed, unlike my other one, despite only 5 weeks difference in the manufacturing date), performed splendidly. It's now undergoing some minor refurbishment, but I'm looking forward to using it again soon.

Earlier in the week, on Thursday, I decided that I would like a mid week ride. However, the traffic and other factors make riding from Dudley during the week very unattractive, so I decided to use a folder to achieve the first stage by train, have a ride, and then return by train. Hampton in Arden is usually the easiest location for this sort of outing, but as it involves riding the same roads I use when visiting the university, and I have ridden it fairly frequently recently, I looked for an alternative. I discovered that the Shrewsbury section of the CTC (the Shropshire and Mid Wales DA may be the official name?) have not merely one but two mid-week rides every week, so I set out to join them. The train journey from Dudley to Shrewsbury is quite simple and quick - nearly half of the just over 1 hour journey time is actually taken up by waiting at Wolverhampton for a connection! I understand that normally these mid-week rides attract rider numbers in double figures, but evidently news of my planned attendance on this occasion had leaked out, and there were only four of us on the ride. Although my local trains have no bicycle restrictions, the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury rail journey does have restrictions, so I chose the SP for this outing. I was the only folder or small wheel rider on the ride, but Bill, from California(!), one of the other riders, owns a Bike Friday New World Tourist, and at least had his BF water bottle on his bike.  We followed a very pleasantly quiet route via lanes to Church Stretton, where we ate our lunches in an attractive local park. The route avoided any serious hills, and was at what, for me, was a comfortable pace, the only downside being 400m or so of the dirtiest lane I have had the misfortune to ride for a long time. The return journey was equally enjoyable, though after the ride I became hopelessly lost in the one-way circuit around Shrewsbury - very cycle-unfriendly, and involving for me a lot of walking and what seemed a very round-about route back to the station. Once again there was a long wait for a connection at Wolverhampton (no doubt the trains are timed so that SOME people make a good connection there, but all my connections there seem to be arranged to be out of synch by the maximum possible time!). I'm lucky enough to be able to fit in some mid week rides, and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Many thanks to the Shrewsbury CTC group for making me welcome on their ride - I hope to be back when I can fit another one in to my plans. 

PS: A word of warning - on the Friday, I set out from the university intending to take the long route home, which involves a visit to Kingsbury Water Park. Unfortunately the road and all access (pedestrian and cycle) on the railway bridge by the Water Works near Shustoke and Blyth End is closed - I did try following an unpleasant main road diversion for a mile or so, but then gave up. Quite what this has done to the North Warwickshire Cycleway, which goes this way, I do not know - but if you are planning to follow this route, be prepared for some diversions. [25/04/2004]

PPS: Yes, I know I have still not posted a report on the Isle of Wight Ride. I gave priority to producing the (very amateurish) video for the participants. Now that I have done that (despite various technical problems, which trebled the time), I hope to produce a short report here Real Soon Now. 

Dahon Speed D6
We now have a report on this Dahon model - many thanks to Andrew Macrow for providing it. [21/04/2004]

Hub dynamos for small wheelers
Thanks to the member who sent the news that "Schmidt have introduced their SON XS, a small wheeler version (16"-20") of the well known SON for narrower forks (mainly Dahon, Brompton and Moulton NS) in 74mm width on the SPEZI, the special bicycles show. A few of them will be made this summer and real production starts in fall. It will be available with 28 holes and later in other hole numbers. It is significantly lighter than the usual SON for 16"-20" wheels, but I've got no numbers yet. [20/04/2004]

Isle of Wight Ride
The visit to the Isle of Wight which a number of us made over the weekend  16-18 April went very well. Four of us met up at Birmingham New Street for the train journey to Southampton, where we were met by the remaining four members of the party for the 20 minute Jetfoil journey to the Isle of Wight. 7 of us were using either Bromptons or SPs, while one had a Micro. On the second day, three locals joined us, which brought some more variety in terms of cycles, with a Birdy Blue and a Bike Friday NWT, plus a conventional non-folding bike. The weather was excellent for the first two days, though it was wet and colder on the final day - less of a problem than it might have been, as on that final day we were mainly using trains, and hadn't planned very much cycling. Apart from 3 punctures and a bulging side-wall on another tyre, the bikes all behaved perfectly. This was a very enjoyable holiday - many thanks to organiser Paul Evans, who, as always, had planned the details meticulously. A slightly more detailed report will be posted in a few days time, with a link to it from here. [20/04/2004]

 

Our ride round the island took us through Ventnor, which many of you will remember as the location for the third, and final, Folder Forum, in 1998. If you were there, you will know that it is hilly, and that Zig Zag Road is quite a demanding climb. Our group stopped for a breather at the top. Left to right: Dick Hanson (Brompton), Susan Barlow (Brompton with some SP modifications), Paul Evans (Brompton), Rosemary Hadland (Micro), Tony Hadland (seated on his Brompton), Dave Minter (Brompton), Hazel Hanson (SP) and local Brian Wey (Birdy), who joined us for the day. I an on the other side of the camera, as usual, my bike for this outing being the SP.

Longer rides on folders
Those of you who have been reading these pages, and the emailed Folding Society News, for some time may recall that a few years ago I did a number of 100Km Brevet Populaires (report here), and used the opportunity to comment on how different folders performed in these circumstances. I'm hoping to do some more such rides this year, and you can read the background and the first report on the web pages here. [05/04/2004]

Origami Ride on 10th April - CHANGE OF LOCATION
As is often the case, engineering work is planned on the railways over Easter, and so the Origami Ride on 10th April is being moved from Tring to Milton Keynes, since some people use the railways to reach the rides. Please note that even with the move, there are problems in travelling there by rail, but Milton Keynes is rather more accessible by other means. Meet from about 10:30 at the railway station for a ride starting at 11:00. [04/04/2004]

Stolen - Brompton T3
T3 Brompton stolen on 17 March 2004 about 21.30 from a train. It was the 21.21 train from New Cross Gate to Sydenham. Description of bike : Black chipped frame, it was about 6 years old and in need of a service. Chain was rusty, right hand peddle squeaks, rear light cracked. Kevlar tyres. The frame has the postcode RG8 9NR stamped on it, silver/white large flexible bike chain was hanging on it. handlebars had the strengthening adaptation. Small black leather cycle repair kit with two silver buckles was hanging on back of seat. Any information please call or email: Caroline Fernandez food@wen.org.uk Tel:0787 6777327 [19/03/2004]

Successful Origami Ride at Stratford
The March Origami Ride was at Stratford-upon-Avon on 13th March, and proved very successful. We had good weather, and an excellent route planned by Paul Grogan. Many thanks to Paul, and to all those who attended the event - there is a more detailed report available through the Origami Ride web site. [14/03/2004]

Folder Sales Boom
Dahon has reported a 118% increase in sales for 2003 in the UK compared with those of 2002. [05/03/2004]

Brompton web site update
Many thanks to Emmanuel for pointing out that the Brompton web site has had a major facelift. No new products there, but well worth a visit for Bromptoneers, or indeed any folder enthusiasts. [03/03/2004]

2nd Annual Round*Up USA - "Three Days to Explore the Compact Bicycle Universe"
We have had some more information about this event, which is to be held 4-5-6 June 2004 in Philadelphia PA - see the events section for further details, including the tentative schedule. [29/02/2004]

Get well soon Chris
We were sorry to hear that folder enthusiast Chris Dent was taken ill at the weekend. We wish you a speedy recovery Chris, and we hope you will soon be back on the bike - but don't try too soon! [25/02/2004]

A Grand Day Out
It's still winter, but you can enjoy riding a folder any time. Our monthly rides at Bristol (first Saturday of each Month), the Origami Ride (second Saturday of the month, usually in the Midlands, but no longer as often at Meriden as in the past), and Swindon (Swindon Smallwheels ride, third Saturday of each month), are well established, but folders meet in other places too to enjoy rides. The picture shows a recent ride in the Derby area - Rhys Jones' report is below. [25/02/2004]

Attached is a photo of a recent ride on our folders, 5 riders in all. We met at Derby station, folded the bikes, and took the train to Leicester, where we got off, unfolded and cycled back to Derby on route 6 of the national cycle network. There were only two punctures, and it didn't rain! 3 Bromptons, 1 Dahon, and 1 Birdy took part. It was a great day out - and to the credit of Central Trains they were on time and we had no problems getting our bikes on the train. 3 Bromptons, 1 Dahon, and 1 Birdy took part, and the riders were Les Sims(taking the photos), Peter Ford (fixing the puncture in the picture), Jeremy Taylor, Neil Fox and Rhys Jones.

The Bliss Electric Folder - another opinion
One of the bikes covered in Issue 40 of A to B, which reached me yesterday, was the Bliss Electric Folder (which I had seen at the Bike Show late last year). A to B were not at all enthusiastic about the bike overall, but noted some positive aspects. Late yesterday I received a report from Peter Bruce who actually owns one of these bikes. Peter, like A to B, has serious reservations about the claimed range, which is a fairly fundamental aspect of the bike. His detailed report is now available on our web site in the form of a pdf file - ie, you need Adobe Acrobat to read it (I'm sure almost all of you have this anyway) - clicking on the link will usually open the reader on the file immediately, or right clicking gives the option of downloading the file and opening it with Acrobat later (specify where you want to save it, then double click on the file name using Explorer or the My Computer feature in the place where you saved it, at least assuming you have your system configured in the usual way). Peter's report is available HERE. This file is exactly as Peter sent it, and of course the Copyright is the author's and not ours. [21/02/2004]

Dahon UK web site update
Dahon's UK web site, at http://www.dahon.co.uk, has now been fully updated for the 2004 range. There are some rather nice looking machines there: the Jetstream XP is VERY tempting, but it's the Zero G I have on order at present. It is not due until April though, but expect reports here soon after that. [20/02/2004]

A to B Issue 40
A to B should be essential reading for all folder enthusiasts, and I can't believe that there are many people looking at our web pages who don't subscribe. However, for those who don't, the latest excellent issue arrived this morning, which meant that all other activities were immediately abandoned for a couple of hours while I completed my first read through - based on my usual practice, this will be followed by a more detailed read spread over the following days. Of particular interest to folder owners in this issue are a test of the Sturmey-Archer 8-speed hub gear (and news of a future, narrower version), and more details on the 2004 specification Brompton, with the new hinge and some other minor improvements. More information about A to B is available on their web site at http://www.atob.org.uk [20/02/2004]

Another Brompton Clone?
Paul Cleary, a  Brompton L6 owner in Auckland, New Zealand, sent the following:

"The  two photographs from a New Zealand online (equivalent of eBay) auction & trading website, and show what appears to be a Taiwanese clone of a Brompton folding bicycle. I asked the seller about the bike and he said it was brand new, made in Taiwan (make was Tanye?) and it was a single speed bike. I have not been able to visually inspect the bike to check out the quality of the frame and components as I would have to bid on it and win it. The selling price is between $150 to $200 New Zealand dollars which puts its cost in English currency at between 50 to 70 pounds."

   

There is certainly a Brompton made in the far east, legally under licence, but restricted to that market, but this looks as though it might be another one - at least the name seems different. If anyone knows any more about this, please let us know. [18/02/2004]

UPDATE: A reliable source in the industry tells me that Brompton's agreement with Neobike, whereby the latter company had a licence to produce a clone for sale in the far eastern market, came to an end two years ago. So the bike shown may well have been produced by that company since the agreement came to an end, but being sold under another name. Generally you get what you pay for, and to achieve a very low price, corners will have to be cut in general construction, components etc. [18/02/2004]

February Origami Ride
This month saw the Origami Ride return to its roots in Meriden - recent months have seen rather more 'away' rides, and this is a trend to be continued in 2004. Despite rather dreary weather, and some mechanical problems, it was a very enjoyable day - you can read a full report on the Origami web pages. Now updated (16/02/2004). [16/02/2004]

An unusual one-off folder
You can see an unusual (very) small-wheeled minimal folding bike on the internet at http://webhome.idirect.com/~outlander/thebikes/diversions/kpr2.html. Elsewhere on the same site there is a folding recumbent on at http://webhome.idirect.com/~outlander/thebikes/recent/cr16.html. [14/02/2004]

Another folder from the Far East
Thanks to Steven Brandist for pointing out a news item - Uri Geller has put his name to a folder! It looks like another badging job on an existing Far Eastern folder design. You can find a report on the affair (not very complementary) at http://www.bikebiz.co.uk/daily-news/article.php?id=3666, and the official web site for the bike is at www.uribike.com. [12/02/2004]

Dahon 2004
Dahon have now updated both their USA and UK web sites to cover their 2004 range of bikes - better than ever. The UK version is not finalised yet, so for the full details you need to check some points on the USA version (though usually the range available here in the UK will be less than in the USA). Joshua Hon tells us  that 

"One particularly neat new component is the custom Stelvio Light that Schwalbe produced for us. It is custom not only for the mango sidewall but also for the Kevlar bead and 120 tpi casing (the standard 20" Stelvio has a wire bead and 67 tpi). That means that our version is even lighter and more supple than the the standard."

Last year I rationalised (slightly) my collection of bikes, but immediately after I had done this one of the key remaining machines was stolen. I can't afford to do a direct replacement, so I'm looking for something suitable, and with the improvements made in recent years, it is likely that it will be a Dahon, when I can make up my mind on which model I want! [30/01/2004]

The Creedy Vale Leisure Trail wants your support
Folder enthusiasts Mark & Celeste has sent us information about their campaign to establish a cycle path from Crediton to Exeter.

"We are trying to muster support for our proposed cycle path from Crediton to Exeter. 5 miles along the valley floor. Following the river and the railway line. As opposed to a dangerously narrow A road. At this stage letters of support, especially if from out out of the area ( shows green tourism at work ) will increase our chances of funding. The web address is http://www.creedytrail.org.uk/index.htm and we hope to update at regular intervals."

This sounds a very worthwhile project, so please take a look at their web page, and if you can provide support, I'm sure they would be pleased to hear from you. [30/01/2004]

Strange goings on ...
A member has reported seeing police investigating a vehicle containing 6 black Bromptons in the E1 district of London yesterday evening (Tuesday 27th January). It may of course have all been entirely innocent, but if anyone can offer more information we'd be interested to hear. [28/01/2004]

The new (hinge) Brompton
Folder enthusiast John Shackford now has one of the latest Bromptons, with the new hinge which results in a slightly longer wheelbase, and therefore a slightly greater distance between the handlebars and saddle. John has already substantially modified the bike to suit his own requirements, but one of the pictures on his web site at http://www.pbase.com/john28july shows the new hinge. John reports that the ride and riding position are much improved. [22/01/2004]

Stolen Brompton L3
Red 1999 Brompton L3 Serial No. 152849 stolen between 19.00hrs and 23.30hrs on 16.12.03 from adjacent to the Institute of Contemporary Arts, The Mall, London. Crime Ref: Charing Cross 6214402/03 Tel. Charing Cross Crime Management Unit on 020 7321 7636 or e-mail me on Andrew.Prosser@pdp.co.uk. I will give a large reward for recovery or conviction. [20/01/2003]

Schwalbe Stelvio for the Moulton AM series
Schwalbe are now listing the Stelvio in the Moulton AM 17 x 1 1/4in (32-369) size on their web sites. It is rated at 85-115 psi. The Stelvio has a reputation as a very low rolling resistance tyre, designed primarily for competition, but also performing well in many other conditions. It is now available in most of the common sizes used on folders and separables. Our thanks to Ralf Grosser for pointing this out. [17/01/2004]

APB front suspension maintenance
I don't very often visit the Pashley web site, but I notice that it has been changed since I last went there, and one feature of particular interest is that there is now a downloadable pdf file dealing with front suspension service for the APB - as it is very similar to the AM front suspension, it is also relevant to those bikes. The web site is at http://www.pashley.co.uk. [17/01/2004]

2004 - off to a flying start!
Only 10 days of 2004 gone, and we have already had two reports by owners on their folders (see below), and our first Origami Ride of 2004, which attracted no less than 20 enthusiasts. You can read the Origami Ride report here. Let's hope that the rest of 2004 will be equally rewarding. [11/01/2004]

The Trek 400e - a new entry in the folder market
Trek is one of the major players in the cycle market, and their introduction of folding models last year is therefore rather significant. You can read a report by Mike Smithson on the Trek 400e on our test reports web page. [09/01/2004]

Origami Ride on Saturday 10 January 2004
The next Origami Ride – the first of 2004 – is to be held on Saturday 10th January. We start from the concourse of Birmingham New Street Station, meeting from about 10:30am. Due to the condition of the towpath to Walsall, the route and destination has been changed from the previously published plan – please look at the Origami Ride Website for more information. [07/01/2004]

Speed Pro progress report
Back in April 2003, Geoff Dabbs sent us a report on his 2002 Speed Pro, and now, with another 9 months use, he's sent us an update - you can read it here. [05/01/2004]

A Bickerton mod
Brian Laffoley has sent us a report on how he modified his Bickerton - you can read it here. Don't try this yourself though unless you are competent to undertake such modifications. [28/12/3003]

Seasons Greetings
We wish all our supporters a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Normally at this time of year I would prepare a review of my cycling year for the possible entertainment of readers. Unfortunately, this is a year I would rather forget from a cycling point of view, so there won't be such a report this year - which will at least please some people. [24/12/2003]

Stolen Brompton
Taken from outside The Old Sessions House, Faringdon Green on 25/11/03. Frame number 141851. Black, old model T3 upgraded to T5, mirror, very old Brooks saddle, Green Party sticker on frame, possibly postcoded OX3 9JQ with fluorescent marker. Contact LeslieHitchins@aol.com  and LeslieHitchins@hotmail.com. [24/12/2003]

Major Brompton Development
Peter Eland's excellent Velovision web site is carrying news of a very important Brompton development - a new hinge! This might sound quite a minor detail, but apparently in making the change Brompton have increased the wheelbase of the bike by 30mm. As many Brompton owners find the distance from saddle to handlebars a bit on the short side, this may well prove to be a significant improvement. For more details, please see the Velovision web site at http://www.velovision.co.uk/cgi-bin/show_comments.pl?storynum=570. [12/12/2003]

Stolen - Brompton L3 – Green
Brompton L3, green frame was stolen from outside the Holy Redeemer Church on Cheyne Row in London SW3 on December 6 (Sat), 2003 between 18:00-19:15. The bicycle was about 1.5 years old and was recently serviced and is in very good condition. Signifying marks include: a white sticker with the word "KALAYAAN" on the left side of the main part of the frame; 2 London cycling campaign stickers, one green and one white; black letter stickers on the top side of the main part of the frame spelling the word "www.byfold.co.uk"; fitted with a Sigma cycle computer which has registered about 3,200 km total riding distance; front wheel is a newly fitted Marathon Schwalbe Kelvar tyre; left side of handle bar fitted with a bell (not working); centre of handle bar mounted with a holder for a front light; lower aspect of right side handle bar fitted with a mount for a mobile phone holder; just below the saddle fitted with a white light powered by 2 AAA rechargeable batteries; back part of the frame marked with paint that has been chipped or scraped off. If any one catches sight of this bike, please call Charlene Ching on 07813071586, email: cdching@alum.wellesley.edu Thank you! [08/12/2003]

Dahon Speed TR Report
We now have a very comprehensive report on the Dahon Speed TR (2003 specification) available. The report comes from Andy Macrow, who is very enthusiastic about the bike. Many thanks to Andy for providing this report. [29/11/2003]

Future Origami Rides
A program for the Origami Rides for the next few months is now available - please see the Origami Web Page for details. Please note that fewer rides will be based at Meriden in future, so if you are planning to come to one of the rides, you should check the web pages for details before travelling. [11/11/2003]

An update!
Sorry for the lack of updates here recently - I have been away on holiday for over a week, and additionally in the light of recent events I'm afraid I'm feeling at odds with cycling and cycles at present (I didn't even take a cycle with me on the holiday!). However, in view of the date, I felt that I should not neglect the web pages any longer. On a positive note, don't forget that 2004 will be a CycleFest year (the last one, it has been rumoured). There is already information about this event on-line at their web site. [09/11/2003]

Dahon Helios 8 - a short report
Rhys Jones has provided a report on the 2003 version of the Helios - you can read it here. [20/10/2003]

Suspicious behaviour and a Brompton
One of our members reports:

"Driving along Essex Road, Islington, last night (16th October 2003) I saw 2 boys - they couldn't have been older than 13 or 14 riding a racing green Brompton, certainly one of the more expensive deluxe models - they saw me watching them and cycled off as fast as they could into the estates near the Sainsbury's Metro. I strongly suspect that they had stolen it. I don't know if this information is of any use to anyone but they were wearing beige trousers, trainers, blue sweatshirt (the rider), and white baseball caps, the rider had blond hair. If you had a Brompton stolen yesterday / recently in Islington this may have been it. I'm writing because if I'd had mine stolen I would want to track down the little oiks armed with a meat cleaver."

If you are missing a Brompton in this area, you might wish to follow this up. [17/10/2003]

Schwalbe Stelvio tyres improved (??)
On the web page http://www.bentrideronline.com/Interbike2003.htm, about 2/3 way down, is a mention that the Schwalbe Stelvio tyre have been subject to some modification to make them tougher and longer wearing. The change is reported to affect all sizes of this narrow near-slick, which gives exceptionally low rolling resistance. Our thanks go to Dave Minter for bringing this to our attention. Update: Rainer Zenz adds: As far as I can see the new Stelvio with "Raceguard" is only available in ETRTO 622. The smaller tyres have the well known Kevlar puncture protection. No changes at all. [18/10/2003]

Origami unusual folders ride
The Origami Ride on Saturday 11th October was designated as an 'unusual folders special'. 18 riders joined the event, with cycles including an early Strida, two Bickertons, a couple of fairly early Dahons, a brace of Micros, a couple of SPs, two Bike Friday SatRDay recumbents (one with over-seat steering, one with under seat steering) and a variety of less unusual machines. Unfortunately Paul Evans' Strida suffered a breakage before the ride started, as he was demonstrating it, but as he had not planned to use it for the ride anyway, he was still able to take part on his Brompton. Paul had brought with him the recumbent conversion kit for the Brompton - a nicely made system which he not yet fitted to either of his Bromptons. Many thanks to all who came, especially Trevor and Irene Batchelor who organised the event and the excellent ride. They have a full program of events planned for 2004 already, so make sure you don't miss any future Origami rides. [12/10/2003]

    
The lunch stop at The Rainbow

    
Left: Paul's Strida, after a test beyond its weight limit! Right: Trevor brought this machine for brave souls to try, but chose the Dahon for the ride!

News of the Folding Recumbent Design Competition
Rainer Zenz has sent us an update on the competition mentioned in the news pages a few weeks ago: "The contest's website is quite complete now both in German and in English (http://www.faltlieger.de/en/). You will find detailed judgement criteria, first jurors and first competitors introduced" [12/10/2003].

Shimano 8-speed hub gear
This photograph was kindly provided by Julian Kowalewski. [07/10/2003]

Avon Valley Cyclery Folder Day
I believe that an excellent day was had by all who went to this event on Saturday 4th October. We had an opportunity to try many different folders - some waverers have still not finally made up their minds on their future purchases, but I'm sure this day helped them. Quite a number of smaller purchases of accessories and spares were made - I'd delighted the my new Brompton bag frame - it really is much lighter than the old one, and an added advantage I've already noticed is that as the handle is plastic, it's more comfortable to carry in colder weather, especially if you have poor circulation and suffer from cold hands as I do. The only slight drawback I would note at present is that the base section is a bit smaller than on the old bag, and that was already a bit shallow for those wishing to mount larger bags on it - I have strapped a large camera bag on it in the past, successfully, but a larger base would have been welcome. As some of those at this meeting commented, the central part of this new frame could be very attractive in its own right, as a basis for a mount for smaller bags. After our test rides and purchases, a smaller group rode up the Bristol to bath Cycleway to the steam railway - there was a "Thomas the Tank Engine" weekend in progress, so there was lots of action! After that we divided into two groups, one continuing towards Bristol and the station or home, and the other returning to Bath to collect motorised transport. 

I think we had a good day, and the weather was fine nearly all the time, despite quite wet and cool conditions when I left home near Birmingham at 6:10. Many thanks to Avon Valley Cyclery for hosting the vent, to Graham McDermott who conceived the idea and set the whole thing up, and to those who took part. and helped to make this a very enjoyable day. [04/10/2003]

Two events in early October
Don't forget that we have events coming up on the first two Saturdays in October. On Saturday 4th October there is a special folder (and Moulton) day at Avon Valley Cyclery in Bath. AVC probably stocks more different folders than any other UK dealer, and, as mentioned below, had an excellent display at the Cycle Show recently. There will be an opportunity to look at and try many different machines, and of course with owners of a wide variety of folders attending the event, you can talk to owners of the machines as well. There will be a ride as well, so we hope that lots of you will be able to attend - last year's event was very successful, and by bringing it forward a month this year we shall have more light available for the ride during the afternoon. We suggest meeting from about 10:00 onwards at AVC (for those of you who don't know, AVC is located under the railway station in Bath). The following Saturday, 11th, is the usual date for an Origami Ride at Meriden, meeting from about 10:30 onwards. This month we have designated it as a ride for unusual folders - everyone is welcome whatever bike they have, but we should have some less common machines to see (perhaps even to ride!) as well as the usual suspects. We hope to see you at Meriden. [30/09/2003]

Test of the KHS Westwood folder
You can now read Andrew Schank's report on this 20 inch wheeled folder in our test reports section. [26/09/2003]

Full report from Cycle 2003 now available
I've now loaded a full report of this event (I might add some web page links to manufacturers later, if I can find the time and energy!) - you can see it here. [26/09/2003]

Cycle - International Cycle Show 2003 - a preliminary report
I visited the trade/press day of the show today, Thursday 25th September. The show will be  open to the public until it closes on 28th September, so I'm rushing out a preliminary report now.

Is it worth going - well, last year I judged it one of the best cycle shows I had been to, with much more of interest to folder enthusiasts and Moultoneers than most current shows. I would judge this year's show as at least as good, and perhaps better. That's my judgement, and you might not agree, but I consider it was worth the journey down there from the Midlands.

As you go in on the ground floor, right by the door is the Specialized stand - not a particularly exciting design, but certainly worth looking at. Once you have had a look around the relatively small ground floor section, and ascend the stairs, you immediately come to the Trek stand, and in front of you are three examples of their new folder. This has an extraordinarily large main frame section. Design is again fairly unremarkable. It is available in several forms, with both hub and derailleur gears. I'd suggest that folder enthusiasts make an immediate turn to the rightmost exhibition isle, and make their way down the hall. On your right you will reach, just beyond a staircase up to the top floor, the Brompton stand. The new lightweight front carrier is on display (this is the chassis on which the bags are mounted - in case you have never realised that you can take the bag off and attach other things to the underlying carrier. It is of course completely compatible with the normal mounting block. These carriers should be available from dealers - I plan to get one, as they are MUCH lighter (alloy and plastic) than the old carrier. There is also a new handlebar clip (for when the bike is folded) which does not need a cable tie to give it the required strength. There were also some colours I had not seen before. During my visit, David Henshaw of A to B was helping out, though I don't know if he will be there on any of the other days. Continue down this isle, and as you reach the far end, on your right is an impressive display of the new Airframes in various colours, folded and unfolded. You may have seen my comments on this bike after a very short ride during the recent visit to the National Cycle Collection (http://www.halffg.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/foldsoc/origami/200309.html). On your left is a very impressive stand by Avon Valley Cyclery (under their foldingbikes.co.uk banner). They have examples of many different folders here, including Birdy (but no Birdy White, although some models do have the Capreo components fitted), a very big display of Bike Fridays, and Moultons, Airnimal and several Dahons. There is also a very good display of Dahons nearer the centre of this floor, on the Fisher stand - the Dahon range is now very wide, and the design and quality is far better than it was 5 or 10 years ago, so they are worth a look. I was pleased to have the opportunity to talk to Mark Bickerton of Cyclemotion, the UK importers, who tells me that the arrangement with Fisher should increase availability of the range in the UK. Near this stand, take a look at the folding electric small wheeler, the Bliss - apparently a new design. Also near the centre of this floor is the Sturmey-Archer stand, with examples of just about all their new range of gears, 3-speed and 5-speed, plus the new 8-speed. I spent some time talking to them about the 8-speed - it seems samples have just gone to some UK cycle manufacturers for evaluation, but it's too soon to predict when new bikes using this hub may appear here. They gave me a copy of the brochure on this new hub - I'll include more information on it in the full report.

If you now go back to the Brompton stand, and ascend the stairs next to it to the top floor, and turn to your right, you will find Airnimal on a stand with some recumbents. Apart from the familiar Chameleon, there is a much smaller-wheeled full suspension machine, with single sided front forks. I wanted to ask Richard Loke more about this, but every time I visited the stand he seemed occupied. Nearby, is the Zero Cycles folder, which, like all the Zero models, uses a shaft drive rather than a chain. In the past, shaft drives have not succeeded, with additional inefficiencies compared with a chain, but the idea is certainly very attractive in a folder and commuting machine. While you are on the top floor you will certainly want to look at the other stands - look out for the folding scooter with a BIG front wheel and fairly small rear one. One of the non-folding equivalents apparently successfully completed the PBP ride this year!

Half way through the return journey from London I developed a splitting headache, so this short report will have to suffice for now. I'll try to post a more detailed report and pictures in the next few days.

Don't forget, the show is still open until 28th September, so it's not too late to go. [25/09/2003]

Birdy White
r&m now include a Birdy White on the German version of their web page, though not on the English one. It uses the Shimano Capreo component set (specially intended for small wheeled bikes) and with a rear sprocket set listed as 9-10-11-13-15-17-20-23-26 with a 45-tooth front ring, if my translation is correct. This gives an overall gearing range of about 81.5 to 28.2 inches, a shade lower than the Red at the top end, and usefully lower at the bottom end, which personally would suit me much better. The price listed is higher than that for the Birdy Red. Many thanks to Graham McDermott for pointing this out. [18/09/2003]

Trek folder
A couple of people have pointed out that Trek now list some folders on their web site. These would seem to be another instance of Dahon designs being sold by another manufacturer. Our thanks to those members who emailed us about this development. [18/09/2003]

Saturday 4th October - Folder & Moulton day at Avon Valley Cyclery
We have arranged a special folder & Moulton day at Avon Valley Cyclery in Bath (probably the biggest folder specialists in the UK) on 4th October. There will be an opportunity to look at lots of different folders and Moultons, and of course compare notes with other owners and try bikes. There will also be a ride in the afternoon. [16/09/2003]

Visit to the National Cycle Collection on Saturday 13th September
Our visit to the National Cycle Collection seems to have been quite successful. The location, at Llandrindod Wells, meant that we didn't really expect very large numbers, and so 19 attendees was reasonably successful. I'd like to thank EVERYONE who was able to attend, and offer condolences to those who, for one reason or another, couldn't make it. Of course especial thanks are due to The National Cycle Collection for their hospitality, and for putting on a special folder display. An unexpected bonus was that John Barnes came with his unique folder designed in the 1960's (see "It's in the Bag!", pp 89-91. There was also a special display of early Airframes, and one of the production models - I took a slightly longer ride on this than I had been able to before. A rather nice feature of the event was that we were able to meet people who are not regulars at our events, especially some Moultoneers, and Mark and Celeste, who came up from Devon for the meeting. Dick Hanson arrived this time on a motor cycle, and brought a number of biker friends - happily the Collection includes some interesting motor cycles as well as conventional bikes, and I think they enjoyed themselves. There were quite a lot of interesting motor cycles riding around while we took our afternoon cycle ride. The full report is available on the Origami Ride web pages at http://www.halffg.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/foldsoc/origami/200309.html. [14/09/2003]

Cycle 2003
I have to admit that I find most cycle shows very lacking in interest, for one reason or another. Last year's Cycle 2002 was therefore refreshing, and well worth visiting, despite the travel involved. I don't know if this year's will be as good for those with similar interests to myself, but there is a reasonable exhibitor list, including Brompton (though sadly lacking Pashley and Moulton). The web site also seemed to upset my computer system, with repeated error messages. The dates are 24-28 September, and the web site is at http://www.cycleshow.co.uk. Amongst those exhibiting are Zero Cycles (Tel: 01454 316 563), who have a new folder, with the following specification:

The bikes are priced at £475.00 (including VAT and delivery within the UK).

[10/09/2003]

News for Brummies - from Mike Paley
The Company of Cyclists are back in Brum on the 21st September with their bike tryout roadshow. It includes trikes and quads - but all pedal powered for kids and adults. Some quite interesting machines among them. Take a look at http://www.pushbikes.freeserve.co.uk/events.htm#TWW for more information. [10/09/2003]

Visit to the National Cycle Collection at Llandrindod Wells
Please don't forget the visit to the  National Cycle Collection at Llandrindod Wells on Saturday 13th November. This will be mainly a visit to the collection, though there will be an optional ride. There is a nice collection of F-frame Moultons, and we are promised a special display of folders on that day, with the prototype and original design documentation of the original Airframe on display as well. All folders, Moultoneers and V-CC members will be welcome. For more details of Origami Rides, including this visit, please visit the Origami Ride web page. [10/09/2003]

Design a folding recumbent!
"In April 2004, the second Folding Recumbent Design Contest will take place at the SPEZI "Special Bike Fair Germersheim" (http://www.spezialradmesse.de). All Designers of foldable or separable recumbents and semi-recumbents can participate, with one-off's, conversions, prototypes or production models. Whereas in 2002 the main emphasis was on the touring qualities of the entries, this time the main virtues of folding bikes are decisive:

All this combined with good ride quality. So this time it's all about integrated transport, not touring. The 2004 contest puts special emphasis on folding concepts and their realization. It doesn't matter if the bike as entered in the competition doesn't comply to traffic legislation, or can't haul home the shopping - as long as the concept does allow for all the required accessories (brakes, lights, rack). The 2nd Folding Recumbent Contest is jointly organized by Birdy-Freunde, Die Bromptonauten and the German HPV. Detailed evaluation criteria and the members of the jury will be published later on." [10/09/2003]

Contacts are:Peter de Leuw (birdy-freunde) [peter@faltlieger.de], Rainer Zenz (Die Bromptonauten) [rainer@faltlieger.de]. Hanno Hirsch (HPV Germany) [hanno@faltlieger.de]

More information will be available soon at http://www.faltlieger.de/" [10/09/2003]

Stolen - Brompton T3 (Serial no 168990), upgraded to 6 speed
CTC special edition – bright yellow with CTC stickers, also Audax UK sticker on rear mudguard. Has bar ends, foam handlebar grips, telescopic seatpost, Cateye cordless computer, Brompton cover bag on saddle and fitted with Marathon reflective tyres. Also fitted with distinctive Schlumpf Mountain Drive – gearing within chainset operated by levers over the cranks. Went missing between the fragile baggage check-in at Nice airport and the baggage hall at Stanstead on 26th August 2003. Please contact John Seton (john.seton@btopenworld.com) if you see or have details of this bike. [02/09/2003]

Visit to National Cycle Collection at Llandrindod Wells
The Origami Ride on 13th September will be a visit to the National Cycle Collection at Llandrindod Wells. This will be mainly a visit to the collection, though there will be an optional ride. We are promised a special display of folders on that day, with the prototype and original design documentation of the original Airframe on display as well. All folders, Moultoneers and V-CC members will be welcome. Our August Origami ride will meet at the usual location - Meriden - as will the October one. Note that the October event is particularly aimed at unusual folders, though of course everyone is welcome as usual, whatever they bring. For more details of Origami Rides, including this visit, please see the Origami Ride web page. [02/08/2003]

Stolen - Brompton L3 Frame Number 182750
Brompton L3, black, taken from Gunnersbury Tube, west London, on Tuesday July 29, between 12.15 and 16.40. Replacement Bontrager womens specific saddle, black with silver rear reflective strip. Black bell on left handlebar. In very good condition as only 5 months old. Frame number 182750, serial number 0302012748. Please contact Mark Henley mhenley@sandlot.com if you see or have details of the bike. [31/07/2003]

Birdy and Bike Friday Special Interest Groups
The ISP on whose site these SIG pages were stored has cancelled my long unused account. I have copied the files to the main location, and the main links to these groups from the Folding Society home page have been updated. However, there may be some other links in other pages which point to the old site - please let me know if you find such a broken link, and state clearly which page it is which contains the broken link, and I will fix it. [24/07/2003]

Bridgestone Moulton Road Test
The Moulton Bicycle Club web pages now contain a road test of the new UK version of the Bridgestone Moulton. Read the report to find out more, including information on the changes to the front suspension compared with the Japanese version. [11/07/2003]

More on the Bridgestone Moulton ...
More details and pictures are now available on the Moulton Bicycle Club web pages. [03/07/2003]

Bridgestone Moulton now available in the UK
The Moulton Bicycle Club web pages report that the Bridgestone Moulton is now available in the UK, in both separable and non-separable form. Full details and pictures are to follow there in the next few days. [02/07/2003]

Bristol and Origami Ride reminders
Please remember that the monthly ride in Bristol (next one on 5th July) has moved from Mud Dock to The Framing Factory. Please note also that the Origami Ride on 12th July will be at Cheltenham, starting from the railway station. [02/07/2003]

Half year report
It's just half way through the year now, so there is a short report available for anyone who is interested covering my personal cycling log for 2003 so far. [30/06/2003]

High Peak Ride Report - A Grand Day Out with The Moulton Bicycle Club
John Kinsey's High Peak Ride has been in the Moulton Bicycle Club ride calendar for some years now. Unfortunately I haven't managed to get there very often, but this year I did. We have a report on the ride for anyone interested. [30/06/2003]

Calling all Brompton owners!
We received this email today which should be of interest to Brompton owners. Please contact Larry direct at the email address below if you interested. [27/06/2003]

"With the steady increase of ownership, perhaps these machines deserve more recognition in the form of a specific club.

Is there anyone else interested in getting one started?

My initial ideas include calling it The Brompton Owners Society (TBOS) with the emphasis on getting members together on a 'bevy of Bromptons' for informal rides. This would give an opportunity to exchange views, ideas and experiences along with some technical help. The method of broadcasting information could be via a website or a newsletter.

For the moment I invite you to email me registering your interest and I would welcome your comments and views on the subject.

Larry 
larrybrompton@btopenworld.com"

Come back Bill Gates & Microsoft - all is forgiven!
This is nothing to do with folding bikes, but fits into our Portable Paraphernalia section.

Probably the vast majority of readers are using a PC, with a version of Windows and Internet Explorer, to view these pages. Microsoft, as a result of its success, collects an unfair proportion of criticism. Products I've tried from other suppliers are generally no better, and often significantly worse. The PC I'm using for this update can actually run Linux as well, but, at least for personal use, installation is far messier than that for Windows, applications software is inferior and flakier than Microsoft's products, and it is far from immune from crashes or other unsatisfactory performance. So, although Linux has not yet been removed, it's back to Windows. Perhaps even worse was the recent experience with Apple - mercifully only an iPod, not a full computer system. This eventually arrived after 10 days - on line order tracking was difficult, as the shipping information involved obscure and unhelpful codes, and it eventually arrive at lunch time on Monday 23 June without any obvious warning. After two hours of unsuccessfully trying to persuade it to communicate with the PC, during which it got progressively sicker, I rang the technical support line. I was told it would have to go back, and it was too late for collection on Tuesday (which, as it happened, suited me), so it would be collected Wednesday. I sat indoors all day Wednesday, but it was not collected. At just after 3:00pm on Thursday my patience expired, and I rang again. This time I was told it needed new packaging (apparently the original packaging is not good enough for returns), and this was coming from Holland, but for some reason had been sent to Paris. I got stroppy at this point - two or three days of my life wasted is significant to me - and asked about a refund. I was transferred back to the Apple Sore, and as things stand at the moment, I'm told to expect a call early next week to arrange for it to be collected, and when it reaches them, I will get a refund. I must say I hold no great hopes. If I ever get my money back, I'll buy another memory card for my PDA and store more music on that instead - not 15G, but enough for a couple of days entertainment. And NO, I will NEVER contemplate anything from Apple again. Make no mistake, Microsoft have many faults, but at least they are not a company dominated by stylists. 

I look forward, weather and everything else permitting, to a relaxing day on a Moulton on Saturday, at the High Peak Ride (mind you, what has happened, 5 years on, to the front carriers for the New Series .... [26/06/2003]

Report on the Dahon Espresso -  a 26 inch wheeled folder
Folders with full sized wheels are rare, not least because the wheel size inevitably means that the folded size is relatively large. However, there's no real argument that in more extreme off-road conditions, larger wheels do perform better than smaller ones, though under other conditions there is little if any difference in overall performance. Member Colin Walker has sent us a brief report on his Dahon Espresso, This is a 21 geared mountain/hybrid style folder with 26" wheels. I'd rather hoped to test a 26 inch wheeled folder myself last winter (which seemed the best time to try a large wheeled folding mountain bike), but it didn't happen. Perhaps this coming winter? [22/06/2003]

A folding recumbent
Well, a semi-recumbent really! The model is the E-FUN BIKE EURORIDER (EF-1620C) - a name which may not encourage the enthusiasts. Details are available at http://geocities.com/efunbike/, or contact efunbike@yahoo.com. [23/06/2003]

New Dahon Community Message Board 
We hear that there is a new Community Message Board at the Dahon web site -  a good place to ask owners for their experience of using this popular range of folders. [23/06/2003]

Folder Rides in Germany
Rainer Zenz reports:

We have renamed the "Bromptonauten-Tour"; it's now "Origami-Tour" (as a bow to the original), and we are cooperating with the "Birdy-Freunde". There is a main website now http://www.origamitour.de and meanwhile more or less frequent tours are organized in Berlin, Germersheim (Spezi), Hanau, Munich, Rüdesheim, Sindelfingen and Zurich. [18/06/2003]

Dahon Teams up with Joe Murray
A press release from Dahon informs us that they have set up "a design partnership with Joe Murray, a two-time mountain bike National Champion and original member of the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. Joe Murray will work with Dahon to design a line of full-size portable mountain bikes. The first bikes, scheduled for 2004 introduction, will consist of Hardtail mountain bikes with classic Joe Murray geometry and design details." [17/06/2003]

June Origami Ride
Please remember that this month's Origami ride will be at Milton Keynes, not the usual Meriden location. The July ride will be at Cheltenham. Full details are on the Origami web page, which you can access via events. [12/06/2003]

Bristol Dock Ride
Please note that this is a notification of a change to the regular Mud Dock Ride on the first Saturday of each month in Bristol.
Folder enthusiasts usually meet informally on the first Saturday of the month at The Framing Factory on the dockside in Bristol from about 10.30am onwards. The Framing Factory is just beyond the Industrial Museum, and there is a small car park between the two sites. For more information about the Framing Factory, including a location map, please see  http://www.artwarehouse.co.uk/bristol.htm. [12/06/2003]

Dahon SpeedPro Photos
We have published a number of very favourable reports by owners of SpeedPros in the past, and now, courtesy of Andrew Teoh we have some photos to go with them - see the Dahon SIG section for more information. [04/06/2003]

Report on ROUND*UP USA Small Wheel and Folder Bike Fest in Philadelphia, USA
Lynette Chiang of Bike Friday has posted a message on the Bike Friday email list: [24/05/2003]

"My coverage of the inaugural ROUND*UP Compact and Folding Bike Fest in Philly is hot off the vine as a cinematic experience here: http://www.bikefriday.com/main.cfm?fuseaction=news.article&ID=76 . But for those with a dastardly internet connection there's a wordy version too. Please share this with any folding fetishists that cross your path - or anyone you talk to that went along."

Dahon's new tyre - sneak preview
This is a first view of the new Dahon tyre which was mentioned here a few days ago. It's fitted to what looks a rather interesting bike! [23/05/2003]

Dahon SpeedPro 2003 model availability
The 2002 version of the SpeedPro attracted some very enthusiastic reports from our members (see the Dahon SIG section of these web pages), but as a limited production run, some would-be owners were disappointed. Now we have news of the 2003 model in the UK - here is Mark Bickerton's news (Mark's Cyclemotion  is the UK agent for Dahon). [19/05/2003]

Having been out of stock since the middle of 2002, we have a delivery arriving and we should be in a position to despatch from around 28th May. That delivery is mostly pre-sold (about 10 left at today's date), although there are some dealers who should have free stock....

Avon Valley Cyclery, Bath,
Gearshift Mail Order, Sheffield,
Ben Hayward & Sons Cambridge.

We have another delivery ordered, which we expect to receive in August. Again quantity is limited so we fully expect to be building an order book on this model.

Thoughts on the Phillips Boardwalk 6
Phillips/Boardwalk 6 owner Mark Thatcher originally found the machine rather low geared, but now that he has solved that, he's very happy with the bike. Read his comments here [19/05/2003].

New Dahon high-performance 20 inch/406 tyre
We hear that Dahon will shortly be launching a new high performance 20 inch tyre, which they claim is lighter and better-performing than the Conti GP. The information we have so far is:

So soon we will have a choice of 3 high performance tyres in this size - the Conti GP, Schwalbe Stelvio and this Dahon one. We look forward to the opportunity to test the new tyre, and will provide more information on performance, price and availability when we can. [17/05/2003]

Update on Dahon Speed Pro report
Nearly a year ago,  we published a report by William Reid on the Dahon Speed Pro. This has now been updated to include a progress report after one year of use - William remains very pleased with the bike.

Woodburn Ride
The ride commemorating 40 years since John Woodburn's record breaking ride on a Moulton from Cardiff to London took place on Sunday 11th May. You can see a brief report on the early stages on the Moulton Bicycle Club web site at http://www.moultoneers.net/woodburnride.html Now includes a very entertaining report by Dick Hanson of his ride on the Steve Parry replica in the company of the real Woodburn bike. [12/05/2003]

System downtime
Apologies for the fact that part of the web site was down from lunch time on Friday 9th until lunch time on Monday 12th May - I initiated an upgrade from 30 to 100M of web space with one of my ISPs, and this had the unexpected effect of making the pages inaccessible. The problem was finally solved by clearing the whole web site and then reloading all the web pages. This was unrelated to the problem with the Moulton Bicycle Club web pages, which, I am happy to report, are now available again. [12/05/2003]

New r&m machine
Steven Brandist reports: "According to bikebiz.co.uk, riese und muller are showing off their 'new' Bichette at the Round*up. Not really a folder as such, more of a seperate and fold. I found info at R&Ms contractors, Pacific Cycles, where the bikes were stickered up as a Peugeot. Birdys stickered up as Peugeots are on the same site also." I believe that outside Europe Birdys are commonly sold as Peugeots - I think the original financial arrangements under which Pacific tooled up to produce the Birdy frame involved the bikes being sold exclusively by r&m as Birdys in Europe, but allowed Pacific to sell the frames under other names elsewhere. [07/05/2003]

SRAM Dual Drive - now 3 x 9
Mike Smithson has submitted a report on the latest version of what was originally know as the Sachs 3 x 7, but has now been developed as a 3 x 9. I still use the 3 x 7 on my Moulton APB - it offers a superb range of gears, and there are advantages in being able to change both sets of gears simultaneously, and change when the bike is stationery. On the whole though I find this is rather negated by the extra weight and losses - the Bike Friday NWT, which I converted from 3 x 7 to a 9-speed Shimano Megarange, certainly feels more lively in its new form. However, from Mike's report I gather that the latest incarnation is more efficient, so perhaps I should revise my impressions, and consider trying one. You can read Mike's report here. [07/05/2003]

A new 16 inch tyre? and a new ride for folders
My apologies for the delay in posting this news, sent to me a few weeks ago by Rainer Zenz:

"We have started a survey to find out how many Brompton users are interested in buying these special puncture resistant "Dutch Perfect" tyres. Perhaps - if enough Brompton users vote for it - we can convince the manufacturer to go into production. Or let's say, the result could give him some hints if the production might be economically feasible. These tyres (37-349 / 16 x 1 3/8") could be also interesting for other special bike enthusiasts. The vote link (in English with some further information) is: http://www.bromptonauten.de/nachrichten/survey.html. 

Inspired from the "Origami Ride" is a new informal folder ride in Berlin, called "Bromptonauten-Treffen". First meeting is on May 10, 2003 at 10:00 near the station Friedrichstrasse. All folders and interested people are welcome. We will see. Some more information (in German language) here: http://www.bromptonauten.de/treffen/berlin.html". [07/05/2003]

STOLEN - Brompton L5 Frame Number: 158270
Bike: L5. Black. Good condition. Racer saddle. Missing circular 'mudguard' on right. SPD pedal on right hand side. Handlebars very slightly bent to the right due to a previous accident. Cracked rear wheel cover. When: Sunny Sunday afternoon 27th April 03. Where: Kings Cross Road WC1X 9LP, where Frederick Street joins it, opposite the old Police station. Thief: White female cyclist. She discarded her old black bike and was seen cycling up the Kings X Rd towards Mount Pleasant. .The bike was left for only 15mins with a £18 lock. [02/05/2003]

STOLEN
Stolen from Leamington Spa Community Arts Workshop on Thursday 1st May between 7:45pm and 9:45pm. Moulton AM5, 17" wheels. Very valuable - can't be replaced for love or money. Painted dark green/grey. Frame number 964404, postcoded CV32 7RN. Please keep your eyes open. [02/05/2003]

Away Origami Rides
The MAY Origami Ride will start from Meriden as usual on 10th, but please be warned that the June Ride will be at Milton Keynes on 14th June (ride starts at 11:00am at Milton Keynes Railway Station), the July ride will be at Cheltenham Spa on 12th July (ride starts from the Railway Station at 11:00am) and the September Ride will be at the National Cycle Collection at Llandrindod Wells on 13th September (mainly a visit, rather than a ride - more details of times etc nearer the date). [29/04/2003]

Another report on the Dahon Speed Pro
Reader Geoff Dabbs has sent us another report on the Dahon Speed Pro (the 2002 model). Limited numbers of this model were imported into the UK, but they seem to have proved very popular. Now includes Joshua Hon's comments. [26 April 2003]

Congestion charges increase Dahon sales
Dahon reports in a recent press release that its UK sales have increased by 40% since congestion charges were introduced, compared with sales the previous year. Certainly the charges must be good news for bike manufacturers in general, and folder manufacturers in particular. If, as has been suggested, congestion charges are introduced in other cities, things should get better still. [25 April 2003] 

The end (?)
[19/04/2003]

Unusual loads
Simon Baddeley sent in this picture of an unusual load on a folder -  it goes to show what versatile bikes Bromptons are! [19/04/2003]

Jack Russell and Brompton in Birmingham. Photograph by Simon Baddeley

Proposed Folding Society Devon Trip : 29th May 2003 – 1st June 2003
Paul Evans has been planning a coast to coast ride in Devon for folders, generally following the Sustrans route. This should be an excellent weekend - Paul's planning is always excellent, and you may have read reports on some of the previous rides which our group has had in the past (eg Welsh Trains Ride). You can find more details of the planned ride on the events page. [08/04/2003]

Airnimal Chameleon v Bike Friday AirGlide
The latest issue of Cycle, the CTC magazine, has as its bike test a comparative report on the Chameleon and AirGlide, described as "Suitcase Sports bikes in the heading" ("Suitcase Sports bikes", Woodford, G & Judden, C, Cycle, April/May 2003, pp 48-51). The overall review is quite favourable, with the Airnimal being judged the better. [04/04/2003]

Update
If you have been wondering why there have been so few updates to the web pages over the last few weeks, I was away in the Lake District from 15-22 March, and inevitably on my return there were many things waiting to be done. I have also been working rather hard on sorting out the house (still in a state of chaos after two floors were replaced and the walls partially replastered about 6 months ago). On top of that, there have been a number of important developments affecting the Friends of Priory Park, of which I am one of the committee members. The net result has been that The Folding Society has been a bit neglected - sorry. For my trip to the Lake District I chose my very early Moulton APB - not a folder, but separable. I did not plan to separate it during the trip, but the ability to do so if the need arises is always reassuring, and in fact I was able to take advantage of the facility to get a lift part of the way to the station on the way back. On the trains, which I am happy to report ran for once perfectly, I had booked the bike and so no dis-assembly was required, which, with a fair amount of luggage, had much to commend it. If you are interested, a slightly more detailed report on the outing can be found on the main Moulton Bicycle Club web page at http://www.moultoneers.net/mbc.html. [02/04/2003] 

14-22 June 2003 - UK Bike Week
Don't forget that it is UK Bike Week from 14-22 June. For more details, visit the web site at www.bikeweek.org.uk. [28/03/2003]

Stolen - Moulton APB
A distinctive APB was stolen from Cross Street, Islington, London last Saturday evening March 22nd about 9pm. Moulton APB Shimano 14 plus in original electric blue colour, flat grey aluminium bars with Shimano rapid fire shifters & Specialized grips, triple front mech. with only two larger chainwheels fitted, front rack [black], Brooks Professional S black leather saddle, green bell with compass fitted to bars. [25/03/2003]

Riese & Muller/Birdy Weekend
There will be another gathering of Birdy owners this year in Darmstadt from 23-25 May. This year the event will celebrate the 10th anniversary. A more detailed program can be found on our events page. [10/03/2003]

March Origami Ride at Kidderminster
Despite the determined efforts of the local train services, no less than 19 riders managed to attend the Origami Ride at Kidderminster on Saturday 8th March. 18 riders started from Kidderminster to ride to nearby Kinver for lunch - 1 gave up on the trains after eventually getting to Stourbridge Junction, and opted instead to ride from Stourbridge to Kinver, and then on from there to meet the main group at Wolverly, before returning to Kinver. Trains apart, the only problem experienced on the ride was on Chris Eley's Moulton ATB, which suffered a rather drastic puncture, despite being newly fitted with some very heavy duty Schwalbe Marathons (Not the lighter City Marathon). Despite a very poor weather forecast, there was no rain until the lunch stop was reached, and even then it was quite light. Nevertheless, the majority of riders used the light rain as an excuse to take the shortest route back to Kidderminster - even Chris Dent taking the easy option on this occasion! Just 2 riders persevered with the long route, and one rider, disenchanted with the railways, decided to ride back home direct from Kinver. Thanks to all those who attended, especially Michael Wolf who came up from London (no, not Michael Woolf!) and Steve Parry, who brought his new SP all the way from Weston Super Mare. Many thanks also to Dick Hanson and Paul Evans for arranging this enjoyable outing - a change from our usual Meriden location. [08/03/2003]

Small-wheeled and folding cycle gathering - 9-12th May
This year's gathering of small-wheeled and folding bikes will be in Exmouth in the second weekend in May, Friday the 9th to Monday the 12th. We will be meeting at the Octagon a small kiosk on the promenade between 10 and 11 o'clock on Saturday and Sunday morning. The contact on this event is Steve Parry. [04/03/2003]

March Origami Ride
Don't forget the Origami Ride on 8th March will be an away event, based at Kidderminster. We meet at the Severn Valley Railway station at about 10:30. More details can be found on the Origami Ride web pages. [28/02/2003]

Dahon Boardwalk 6
Reader Geoff Dabbs has kindly sent in report on his experience of the Dahon Boardwalk 6, complementing the earlier reports on this bike. You can read the new report here on our web site. [28/02/2003]

The ROUND*UP USA Small Wheel and Folder Bike Fest - May 16-17-18, 2003. Philadelphia, PA USA
"Three days to explore the Compact Bicycle Universe."
Some more details of this event appeared recently and can be found here. [16/02/2003]

The new SP
Steve Parry's latest creation has appeared at the Mud Dock meetings. Some photographs appear below - I am indebted to Chris Eley who provided all the pictures.

    

In compressed mode, the height is the only dimension to reduce, and Chris reports that in this form it was too long to fit in the boot of his Renault Clio. We are still awaiting detailed riding reports - the short wheelbase should make for interesting performance. Last week I had some difficulty starting up a steep hill on my Bike Friday due to wheelies, and that has a much longer wheelbase! Chris reports "I tried the new SP, but not on ideal terrain; the Ashton Court car park isn't very flat and a combination of short wheelbase, powerful disc brakes and one gear tested my nerve somewhat!" Apparently a version with the 14-speed Rohloff hub is also planned. [08/02/2003]

Jack Lauterwasser
It was sad to hear that Jack Lauterwasser died just recently. Jack was known to many Moultoneers, having had an involvement with Moultons from 1965. In 1928 he broke the British 50 and 100 mile Road Records Association bicycle records, and he rode with the British team in the Amsterdam Olympics. He was the subject of Tony Hadland's first biographical video interview some years ago, when he was already 92, although he was just coming to the end of his cycling days by that time. [08/02/2003]

Dahon Boardwalk/Phillips 6 progress report
Colin Knox has now supplied a detailed update on his earlier report on the Dahon Boardwalk/Phillips 6. [02/02/2003]

Advance notice of the 8th March Origami Ride - an 'away' ride
We usually try to give warning of Origami rides which will start from somewhere other than Meriden at least 2 months in advance. February's ride (on the 8th) will be to the Museum of British Road Transport in Coventry (if the weather is reasonable), starting as usual from Meriden, but the March ride will be an away event - arranged at slightly shorter notice than usual as we have spotted an event which we think we could include in our ride.  So the Origami Ride on 8th March will be at Kidderminster, starting from the SVR railway station. This date coincides with a model railway exhibition in Kidderminster (http://wyreforestmrc.cjb.net), near the station, so as well as the full size locomotives of the SVR, there will be smaller versions to look at too. We haven't sorted out all the details yet, but we'd hope to include a ride in the very pleasant local countryside, and we'll try to provide some flexibility, so that those not interested in model railways can ride further, or take a trip on the SVR etc. More details will be available nearer the time, but we wanted to give as much warning as possible as this Origami Ride will not start from the usual location. Watch this news page and the Origami Pages for further announcements. Incidentally, a number of other 'away' rides are being discussed for Origami-ists later in the year. [20/01/2003]

Dahon
The Dahon Special Interest section web pages have been live for some time, and now include the prices for the 2003 model range. [17/01/2003]

Happy memories of CycleFest in the Summer 2002
Not really news, but a reminder of better weather during the very enjoyable CycleFest event. We were blessed with superb weather for the day of the folder ride - the photograph of folders in action comes from Tony Raven's web site (well worth a visit). In the extreme background alongside the Voyager you can just see a green blob, which is Paul Evans and his Brompton, who came up for the day for the ride, and arrived on this train. Busy folding are, left to right, Dick and Hazel Hanson. I had real problems identifying the person on the right with the Birdy, and it was only when I came to crop out a bag on the right hand side of the picture that I realised who it was! [12/01/2003]

January Origami Ride
The first Origami Ride of 2003 took place yesterday, 11th January. Despite cold temperatures and rather misty conditions, it was a great success - you can read the report here. [12/01/2003]
Photograph by Trevor Batchelor

Worth a visit
 Paul Evans recently gave me a link to an interesting web site - nothing to do with folders, but some good historic transport and other information -  http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/home.htm. It's a bit difficult to navigate at times - finding the origin address took me about half an hour! Go to the museum, front doors and transport for the section likely to be of most interest to readers, though, if like me you are from that area, there may be other parts of interest as well. [06/01/2003] 

"There's no hold-up with a fold-up"
The Times travel supplement of Saturday 4th January contains on page 3 an article of the above title by Bettina Selby, describing a holiday which she and husband Peter took in Cyprus with their Bromptons. It certainly provides good publicity for folders in general and Bromptons in particular. The text (or part of it) is available on line at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/, and do a search on brompton - though I suspect that they only make articles available in this way for a limited time. Thanks are due again to Paul Evans for bringing this to my attention, and subsequently to Friend of Priory Park Phil Griffiths, who gave me the relevant copy of The Times. [06/01/2002]

A new SP at Mud Dock
Mike Roberts, who attended the Mud Dock meeting on 4th January 2002 reports:

Nine turned up for the first Mud Dock of 2003. Although dry, the day was bitterly cold, so we only ventured three miles to Ashton Court stable cafe (and three miles back).
The talk of the day was Steve Parry's latest creation, which he was riding for the first time. If you discount the tyres, rims and folding pedals, the bike has no Brompton content at all. In fact, the bike is constructed from tubing and loosely based on the Bootie bike (see It's in the Bag! pages 55-57). It is also in the style of Le Petit Bi, in that the bike is very short, with no splitting or folding of the frame, but relying on the handlebar stem and the seat post to compact the bike. The wheelbase was said to be only 31 inches, Steve having spoken to Mike Burrows about reducing any twitchiness to a minimum. Standard fittings include hydraulic disc brakes (front and rear) and titanium for the stem, handlebar and seat post. A Rohloff hub is an option. Steve's single speed version today, was fitted with an ingenious plastic tubular chain guard that completely covered the chain all the way to the rear sprocket, yet allowed the wheel to be removed. A tandem bottom bracket was fitted in order to tension the chain.

Many thanks to Mike for the report - if/when we have any more information on the bike we will report on it here. [05/01/2003]

Dahon SIG
Our web pages include special sections on several leading models, but an obvious omission in this area in the past has been Dahon - the largest manufacturer of folders in the world! The reason for this was that Dahons did not seem to have made much impact here in the UK, and we had almost no material to include on the subject. That situation has been changing though, and particularly in the last 12 months we have received a lot more reports on Dahons, and we have even done our own test of one of their models. Dahon have also introduced new models and improved specifications of existing models, so that the perception of some years back that they catered mainly for the utility section of the market are no longer true - their range now includes models which will appeal to the most discerning enthusiasts. In the light of this we are adding a Dahon section to our web pages - you will be able to access is from the Special Interest Group section on our home page. I hope to have this ready in a few days time - when I get over the current bout of flu and feel a bit more like sitting in front of the computer for a few hours. Watch this space for an update when the new section is available. [04/01/2003]

Welcome to 2003, and a review of 2002
We'd like to take this opportunity to wish all folder enthusiasts a happy, healthy and prosperous new year. As is customary at the end of one year and the beginning of a new one, I've produced a brief report on my own cycling year 2002, which you will find here on the web pages. [01/01/2003]

Dahon Boardwalk/Phillips 6 Updates
The ever-watchful Joshua Hon of Dahon spotted the report on the Boardwalk/Phillips 6 on our pages, and has some interesting and constructive comments to make. As noted in our earlier test of the Helios, it is good to see a manufacturer taking such a keen interest and responding to the views of owners and prospective owners. We didn't bring the report to his attention, so he must monitor our pages closely! You can read his comments at the end of the existing report. [30/12/2002]

The ROUND*UP USA Small Wheel and Folder Bike Fest - May 16-17-18, 2003. Philadelphia, PA USA
"Three days to explore the Compact Bicycle Universe."
We have received information on what sounds like the event of 2003 for folder enthusiasts - the full version of the official new release is available here. We will make more information available as and when we have it. [24/12/2002]

Dahon Boardwalk/Phillips 6 Report
An enthusiastic report by Colin Knox on this reasonably priced folder is now available. [24/12/2002]

Christmas Origami Ride
The ride on 14th December was a great success, with 20 folder enthusiasts turning up to take part, and to enjoy a Christmas Dinner at Knowle.  A more detailed report is now available. [23/12/2002]

Hockenheim with an APB
You can read Ralf Grosser's report on Marco Schuett's ride on the web site at http://www.moultoneers.net/hockenheim.html. [16/12/2002]

Sunday 11th May 2003 - Tribute to the 40th Aniversary of the Woodburn Ride from Cardiff to London on a Moulton
The commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the famous Cardiff-London ride by John Woodburn on a Moulton is scheduled for 11th May 2003. Nigel Sadler has a preliminary draft of some relevant information on the web pages at  http://www.moultoneers.net/woodburn/index.html - this will no doubt be updated soon now that a date has been set, and as more details are finalised. [13/12/2002]

Avon Valley Cyclery/Mud Dock Ride Report
As promised, the report on our 7th December ride is now available - you can read it here.

Special Event on 7th December 2002
Coming  Real Soon Now - a full report on this event. This was an outstanding success, with the bonus of reasonable weather (despite being in December) and a Santa Special steam event at the Avon Valley Railway at Bitton as we rode through (and stopped for refreshments). Avon Valley Cyclery not only provided drinks and mince pies at the star, but also had the new Airframe and r&m Frog available for testing. I'd love to be able to praise the Airframe, but to my mind it is still far to flexible; the Frog is quite rigid, but the handling is quirky and the fat, small diameter tyres leave a lot to be desired: Brompton have nothing to worry about! Big thank you's to Avon Valley Cyclery for hosting the Bath end of the event, and especially to Graham McDermott, whose idea it was, and who organised everything. [11/12/2002]

Special Event on 7th December 2002
Don't forget the special event planned at Avon Valley Cyclery (AVC) in Bath (under the railway station) on 7th December. AVC stock all the major brands of folder, as well as Moultons and many makes of more conventional bikes. There will be lots of bikes available for testing, plus some light refreshment (mince pies etc!). The event starts at about 10:30, and around 11:30 there will be an optional ride along the Bath-Bristol cycle path to Bristol, where we will re-convene at the Mud Dock Café. Those taking part can ride back again to Bath afterwards, catch a train from Bristol to Bath, or head for home. We look forward to seeing you on Saturday 7th December. [28/11/2002]

16 inch Schwalbe Stelvios now available
The 16 inch (349) version of the Schwalbe Stelvio is now available. Westcountry Recumbents now has stock of 16" Schwalbe Stelvio tyres at £13.50 each including postage. They also have the 20" Stelvios at the same price. You can contact them at sales@wrhpv.com for further details. [28/11/2002]

December Origami Ride
The Origami Ride on Saturday 14th  December will start from the usual place at the usual time (Meriden, arrive from 10:30 for an 11:00 start). The plan is to ride to Knowle, where for an Xmas Origami Ride Dinner. [24/11/2002]

Swindon Smallwheels Ride 16 November 2002
Unfortunately I was not able to go to the monthly Swindon ride in November, but Dick Hanson has sent a very entertaining report on the event.

Enter Henry II [stage left?]
However good the design, manufacture and quality control of a product, it is possible that problems may occur very occasionally. Brompton justifiably have a very good reputation for their products, and we don't hear of many problems from owners. However, when a problem does occur with a Brompton, the company has also gained a reputation for the excellent customer service which it offers. We have added a section to the web site on this subject, with examples of a couple of instances of how Brompton has dealt with problems - entirely to the satisfaction of the owners concerned. So what does the heading to this paragraph mean - read the new web page to find out! [12/11/2002]

November Origami Ride Report
As mentioned below, the November Origami Ride was designated, at very short notice, as a 'Moulton Special', to celebrate 40 years of Moultons. You can read a report on the ride on the Origami web pages. [10/11/2002]

CELEBRATE 40 YEARS OF MOULTONS
Tony Hadland has brought to my attention the fact that the Origami Ride at Meriden on 9th November almost exactly coincides with 40 years of Moultons (see the cover of the latest issue of The Moultoneer). ALL Moultons (separable or non-separable) are welcome at ALL Origami rides, but especially this one. If you can't come on a Moulton, you are welcome whatever you ride; or you can just come by car/bus/train/plane/boat/on foot to at least the start of the event. We hope to see you all at The Tearooms at Meriden on 9th November from 10:30 for a (social) ride starting around 11:00. If the weather is good, I shall bring out my 1964 Stowaway (only used for special occasions!), otherwise my AM7 (1984).  [06/11/2002]

Moulton Bicycle Club Stockport Ride Report
The 07.37 from Wolverhampton to Manchester via Stockport was shown on the screens at Wolverhampton as being due first on time, then at 07:57, at 08.04. Then at just after 08.00 it was cancelled. At this stage the 08.11 to Edinburgh via Stockport was already being shown as not due until 09.01. Even if this were not delayed further, I would not have been able to get there in time, so I had to abandon the trip: two hours wasted, plus the aggravation. I would be grateful if anyone who was lucky enough to go on the ride could provide a report. Perhaps my next outing would be most usefully made to the Motor Show, and I should revert to owning and using a car. [26/10/2002]

VOTE FOR THE BICYCLE
Pat Strachan writes:
If you go to the Today programme web page, you can take part in the vote for the favourite and least favourite inventions. The list has already been reduced to the top 10 in each category - but interestingly the bicycle is included - which means by voting for the bicycle we could improve its public status - especially if it were to win. I listened to an interview this morning all about the 'competition' and decided to vote for the good old bike anyway, but have just received a mailing from the cycle planning group suggesting people should do so. So I thought I'd give you the chance too - visit the following web site if you have not done so already http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/reports/science_nature/inventions.shtml. Click on the button to vote, and that's all there is to it.

Frankly, this is a rather grotesque 'competition', typical of the media. Would any rational person vote nuclear weapons as the greatest invention? Nevertheless, of the very limited and bizarre range of choices we are offered on this web site, the bicycle must be a very strong contender whatever your views. Don't forget, it's not just that we like cycles and cycling, but the bicycle was really a major invention which offered freedom not achievable before, and though it may initially have been a rich man's toy, it would later offer liberation to those less well off and to women (not a sexist remark - an observation on the state of society at the time). If today it is less influential, it remains one of the most efficient forms of transport available, it creates no pollution, and it offers pleasure and recreation to many, as well as continuing to provide transport and playing a major role in an effective and efficient integrated transport system. I've cast my vote - though I remain very cynical about the exercise and the choices it offers. Ed. [24/10/2002]

A to B Issue 32 (October/November 2002
Issue 32 of A to B is absolutely outstanding - even better than the usual high standard. There are test reports on the new Airframe, the Gekko and the new r&m Frog (all mentioned very briefly in our own report on the Cycle 2002 Show), plus as usual a collection of other informative and entertaining articles on a variety of subjects relating to folders and transport in general. There are also a couple of additional  articles which are only available on their web site - and you need to read A to B to find out how to access them. If you don't already subscribe to A to B, you really should - their web site is at http://www.atob.org.uk, or you can contact them at 19 West Park, Castle Cary, Somerset BA7 7DB, telephone 01963 351649. You can also subscribe by credit card on line through Avon Valley Cyclery at http://www.foldingbikes.co.uk. A to B are doing such a brilliant job that I'm not sure that it is worth continuing to operate The Folding Society web site! [23/10/2002]

The Slingshot SingleShot Folder
Slingshot Bicycle Company has apparently been around for 20 years, and produces rather unusual machines which store pedalling energy in a coil spring and then released, "effectively increasing the length of the power stroke". Their latest model is a single speed large wheeled folder known as the SingleShot - see pictures below. You can find out more, and judge for yourselves, by visiting their web site at http://www.slingshotbikes.com. [23/10/2002]

New York Times article
The October 11th issue of the New York Times contained an article entitled "Bikes That Collapse For Weekend Getaways", by Suzanne Hamlin. It's quite a positive article, if rather superficial; Giant, Dahon and Bike Friday get mentioned. [23/10/2002]

Ghost Train to the Swindon Ride
We had a very enjoyable ride at Swindon on Saturday 19th October once I had managed to get there! You can read about the event here. [20/10/2002]

Special Event on 7th December 2002
There is a special event planned before Christmas at Avon Valley Cyclery (AVC) in Bath (under the railway station). AVC stock all the major brands of folder, as well as Moultons and many makes of more conventional bikes. There will be lots of bikes available for testing, plus some light refreshment (mince pies etc!). Apart from trying the shop demonstrators, you will be able to talk to other owners of folders. The event starts at about 10:30, and around 11:30 there will be an optional ride along the Bath-Bristol cycle path to Bristol, where we will re-convene at the Mud Dock Café. Those taking part can ride back again to Bath afterwards, catch a train from Bristol to Bath, or head for home.

This promises to be a very enjoyable day, with the opportunity to look at and try lots of bikes, including various models of Birdy, the new Frog, various Bike Fridays, Moultons, Bromptons, Dahons and all the other makes which AVC stock.

To help in planning the numbers to cater for, we would be grateful if you could let us know if you expect to come, though you will still be welcome to turn up on the day whether you have told us in advance or not. You can contact us at mike_hessey@blueyonder.co.uk or graham.mcdermott@btinternet.com.

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday 7th December. [16/10/2002]

Report on the Origami Ride 12th October 2002 - Bike Friday Special
Group photo Origami October 2002Our brief report on this event is now available. [15/10/2002]

Stolen
Brompton serial number 181911 was stolen from University College London on Tuesday 1st October 2002. It is very distinctive, being yellow with red extremities, and has lights and a three speed, standard gear. It is brand new. [12/10/2002]

C'est dans le sac!
The report on our recent trip to France with 5 Bromptons and a Micro is now available. Apologies for the delay - I have had an exceptionally busy and stressful week with the databases at the university. [11/10/2002]

Origami Ride Saturday 12th October
Don't forget that the ride on 12th October has been declared a Bike Friday special - everyone is welcome, but we would like to get as many Fridays as possible. A very good turn out is expected, including recumbents and tandems - if you are a Friday owner, we hope you will be able to join us, but of course all are welcome. The meeting point is the Tearooms at Meriden, from about 10:30 with the ride due to start at about 11:00. If you arrive a bit early, you will have time for breakfast! You can find more information about Origami Rides on our web pages at http://www.foldsoc.co.uk/origami/index.html. [10/10/2002]

Another Folder Special Event in December
There will be a special event for folder enthusiasts, Moultoneers etc on Saturday 7th December. Watch this space for more details in the next few days! [10/10/2002]

Origami Rides and trains
It seems that the reduction in train services to Hampton in Arden (nearest station to Meriden) to which I referred recently only applies Monday to Friday. On Saturdays the trains should still be stopping there every half hour, so Origami riders do not need to modify their travel plans. Note, however, that at least on weekdays most of the trains are now diesels, usually with less space for unfolded cycles, and the amount of space and its location depends on the type of train in use. I hope to see lots of you this Saturday, or at future Origami rides. [09/10/2002]

Five go Folding in France
Well, actually it was five Bromptons and a Micro! We had a wonderful time in and around Abbeville over the weekend of 4-7 October, and a full report (not in the style of Enid Blyton!) will appear in a few days time. [08/10/2002]

Brompton handlebar upgrade
I have finally got round to ordering my handlebar safety upgrade, and I was very impressed by the speed of the service - they were ordered just before I went to France, and arrived on 8th. I opted for the brace to fit to the original handlebars of my 1990 T5, with another set of bars notionally for the SP, to be fitted to the T5 if/when the bars finally fail. The original T5 bars are lower than the current type, which is a big advantage to me, so I do not wish to replace them until I have to. [08/10/2002]

German web site
Those in Germany might like to take a look at Die Bromptonauten, a German site with lots of information, news, tips and forum. Rainer Zenz tells me that "Die Bromptonauten" is a joint effort by himself and Christoph Moder, and they hope to find some more people to establish one centre for Brompton information, discussion and services in the German/Swiss/Austrian community. [08/10/2002]

Origami Ride Saturday 12th October
The Origami Ride at Meriden on 12th October has been designated a Bike Friday special - anyone is welcome, on any folder or non folder, or even without a bike at all, but we would like to get as many Bike Fridays there as possible. The meeting point is the Tearooms at Meriden, meeting from about 10:30 for an 11:00 start, as usual. Please note that the new Winter timetable is now in operation on the railways, and there have been some significant changes in the local service from Birmingham to Coventry which stops at Hampton in Arden (the nearest station to Meriden). In the new timetable, some stations, including Hampton in Arden, only receive a train every hour now on weekdays (but apparently still every half hour on Saturdays), instead of every half hour. My own local station, is similarly affected, and I'm not at all happy about it! [03/10/2002]

C'est dans le sac! - a folder outing to France
A small group of folder enthusiasts from the Midlands will be making an excursion to France this coming weekend - 4th to 7th October - using compact folders (Bromptons and a Micro). We should have a report by the middle of next week. [03/10/2002]

More on the Dahon 2003 range
Dahon Vx 9.0We have now seen the Dahon 2003 Distributor Handbook - a 93 page colour pdf file of 8M size! The document itself is pretty impressive, but the bikes featured in it are no less exciting. Just a few of the interesting offerings are the fully suspended Vx 3.0 (16 inch wheels, presumably the smaller version, not the 349 Brompton/Micro/Moulton size, for which we now have some excellent tyres) and Vx 9.0 (406, 20 inch, wheels) and a special, limited edition of the Helios (which is itself improved for 2003 in many ways). The picture, provided by Dahon, shows the Vx 9.0. The very complete range covers pure commuting 16 inch wheeled compact folders, through some fairly basic 20 inch wheeled utilities to the full suspension models, tourers and even mountain bikes with 'full sized' wheels - and of course they are all folders. The sites to watch for new information on the Dahons are http://www.dahon.co.uk and http://www.dahon.com. [02/10/2003]

Dahon Helios update and 2003 version information
I'm delighted to have received an email from Joshua Hon of Dahon regarding our recent test report on the Dahon Helios. Joshua has a number of interesting points to make, especially regarding changes which will be made to the 2003 version. Rather than give his full response and the changes for 2003 here, I have appended them to the report, so if you are interested, please revisit the test report page. [02/10/2002]

The Brompton 6-speed upgrade kit
We now have some additional comments on the upgrade kit from John Shackford - see the 6-speed report for these additional details. [01/10/2002]

Schwalbe Stelvio tyres
Another report which is long overdue is the one on the Schwalbe Stelvio tyres. Our test mainly refers to the Birdy version, but a 406 (20 inch) version also exists, and there are rumours of a 349 (16 inch) version in the offing for the Brompton et al. All the reports so far have been favourable - you can find our report at http://www.users.mwfree.net/~halffg/foldsoc/stelvios.html. [29/09/2002]

The Dahon Helios
Our test report has been rather delayed due to various other activities, but here it is at last. [28/09/2002]

Cycle 2002 Show
Our illustrated report on this event is now available. I may add a bit more detail later as I recall things which have been missed out! [27/09/2002]

Cycle 2002 Show
I spent today (27 September 2002) at this show - very enjoyable, and if you still have time to get there when you read this (it is open until 29th September), do try to get there. I should have a full report on the show available later tonight. [27/09/2002]

Swindon Smallwheels September 2002 Ride
Regular visitors to the web site may have realised that I have been away for just over a week - a visit to a photographic workshop on Inversnaid, on which I may produce a report later. I got back at 9:00pm on Friday 20th September, and needed to get up early to travel to the Swindon ride the next day. You can read the report on this very enjoyable ride here. [27/09/2002]

The 'classic' Moulton
Paul Grogan's excellent new book is now available, and details can be found at www.theclassicmoulton.co.uk. It is a guide to the catalogue specifications (and known variations) for the UK Moultons of 1963-1974, and includes in appendices some useful service information in the form of reprints of the Masterclass articles which were originally published in The Moultoneer. [26/09/2002]

Moulton Bicycle Club BoA 2002 Weekend
A brief photo report is now available on the Moulton Bicycle Club web site at http://www.moultoneers.net/boa2002/index.htm [12/09/2002]

Moulton Bicycle Club BoA 2002 Weekend
This event took place over the weekend 7-8 September, and was very successful as usual. We hope to have a full report with photographs in due course, but pressure of other work and a visit to Scotland in the near future mean that it may be 10 days or so before the full report is posted here. In the meantime, there is a very short report on the MBC web pages at http://www.moultoneers.net [11/09/2002]

Koga not Kaga
Stef Pluijm from The Netherlands tells us that the new folder referred to in News on 30th August is in fact not a "Kaga", but is manufactured by  Koga Miyata, and the model name is "Founder-S". More information can be found at http://www.koga.nl [04/09/2002]

Tin Can Ten report update
Rather belatedly I have now added some pictures, sent to me some while ago, to this report. [30/08/2002]

Schwalbe Stelvio tyres
I haven't yet completed the report on these new tyres which I am trying on the Birdy, largely because I haven't really thought of any more to say about them than has appeared in earlier notes in this news page and in the CycleFest reports. They certainly roll well, though the combination of narrow width, high pressure and lack of much tread does seem to make them a bit skittish on loose or rough surfaces. As well as the Birdy (355) size, there is also a 406 version for machines with these (20 inch) wheels, including the New Series Moulton - the only tyre other than the Continental GP which will fit in the NS. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has tried the 406 version - although one might expect similar performance to the 359, personally I would not assume that just because the name is the same it will perform similarly in different sizes. Rob Hague of Westcountry Recumbents (curiously they are located in the North East of England!) tells us that he has stock of 28-406mm Stelvios at £12 each plus postage, and suitable Schwalbe Presta inner tubes at £2.50 - attractive prices. Schraeder valved tubes should also be available soon, if not already. West Country Recumbents are at  http://www.wrhpv.com. We also hear that a 349 (16 inch) version of the Stelvio is expected to be launched in November. [30/08/2002]

Kaga Folder
A picture of a new folder by Kaga was referenced recently in the Moulton emailing list. Note the suspension. [30/08/2002]

New r & m folder
For more information on the new riese and müller folder (the Frog, 12 inch wheels and 3-speed hub gear) see Peter Eland's excellent Velo Vision web site.  [28/08/2002]

Viruses
Viruses in email are becoming an increasing problem - I receive on average at least three a day. A particularly unwelcome development are those which infect machines and send emails to others NOT bearing the originators email address, but a random address taken from the address book of the infected machine. Thus you might receive an infected email which purports to come from here (or anywhere else in someone's address book), which has nothing to do with the apparent originator. My system runs Norton Anti Virus 2002 all the time, and I perform a routine scan of the full system at least once a week - the most recent was early evening today, and it gave my machine a clean bill of health. If you receive infected email which purports to come from me, all I can do is sympathise, and assure you that I take all possible precautions with my own machine, and assure you that whatever the message may indicate, to the best of my knowledge the problems are NOT originating from here. [28/08/2002]

Folder news from Eurobike
One of our reporters in Germany tells us that a new!! folding bike from riese and müller has been seen at Eurobike. It is described as looking like a cross between a Brompton and a Birdy, with full suspension and very small wheels. [28/08/2002]

More pictures from CycleFest
You can see some more pictures taken on the folder ride at CycleFest on Tony Raven's web site at http://www.cycling.raven-family.com/Cyclefest/index.htm. [26/08/2002]

New Dahons for 2003 - including Shimano Capreo Groupset
Dahon will be using the new Shimano Capreo groupset (designed specifically for small wheelers/folders) on some of their 2003 models. New models for 2003 will include:

The 2003 range is due to be available in January 2003. [23/08/2002]

Bike Friday in the UK
During CycleFest at the beginning of this month, Hanz Scholz of Bike Friday met Avon Valley Cyclery, by prior arrangement, and now the Bike Friday web page list Avon Valley Cyclery as their distributor in the UK. [21/08/2002]

Another report on upgrading a 3-speed Brompton to 6-speed
Another of our members, Chris Green, has now reported on carrying out this modification, and you can read about it in the Brompton section of our web pages. [21/08/2002]

The DiBlasi Folder
You can read Clive Hogan's brief review of his experience with a DiBlasi here in the Test reports section of our web pages. [21/08/2002]

Swindon Ride Saturday 17 August
The 17th was the third Saturday of the month, so this was the day for a ride in Swindon. Unusually for a ride like this, with a long distance train journey, I chose the Airnimal - simply because I had arranged to lend it to Dick Hanson immediately after the ride! To avoid the possibility of missed train connections, I decided to ride in to Birmingham rather than catch a local train, quite a pleasant experience early on a Saturday and on a performance machine like the Airnimal. Folding was another story - rather awkward and the folded bike seemed nearly as big as when it was unfolded - I haven't folded it for around a year, so I was out of practice! Just before the train was due to depart, I glanced out of the window and saw the rear suspension elastomer on the platform - I just had time to rush out and get it, otherwise I should have arrived with an unrideable bike! The elastomer pushes onto the mount quite firmly, but when folded the bike is liable to rest on it, so that if you deliberately or accidentally drag it along in this state there is a real risk of dislodging the elastomer. It's probably best to deliberately remove it during folding and stow it safely in a pocket.

After an uneventful journey, I rode over to our meeting point, where another 5 folders joined us for the start , just after 11:00am. I think this is the largest turnout yet for the Swindon Ride, which is still relatively new. More unusually, though, everyone was on a different make of machine - at least if we count an SP as different from a Brompton. Organiser Mike Roberts was the dark horse, turning up with a Bike Friday recumbent (SatRday), which none of new he had, Chris Dent was on his Birdy Red, Chris Eley was using his AM Moulton, Dick Hanson was on his Brompton, and Hazel Hanson had the SP.

The slightly dull start to the day rapidly turned into warm sunshine for the whole of our 20 mile ride, with a pleasant lunch stop. The ride turned into a bike swapping session for most of us, though Chris Eley and Hazel stayed loyal to their own machines. Never having ridden a recumbent bicycle, I didn't try the SatRday (much as I was tempted, but my legs are far too short to have ridden it without fiddling about to adjust the seat anyway), but both Dick and Chris did, and Dick seemed particularly at home on it, declaring it far superior to his PDQ.

I don't often get to swap bikes during a ride, but this time, after starting on the Airnimal, I rode first the Birdy and then Dick's Brompton (3-speed with a double chainring) for some distance. Chris's Birdy has just gone onto Stelvio tyres, like mine, and felt quite nimble, though certainly not as speedy as the Airnimal. The Brompton, on the other hand, felt really hard work - much worse than Rosemary Hadland's 5-speed Micro stuck in top gear that I had used on the Origami Ride in July. I ride Bromptons quite often, so I'm not sure if the explanation is that I had actually ridden both the Airnimal and Birdy earlier on this same ride, and they showed up the limitations, or, more likely, that the Raleigh Records which Dick still uses on the Brompton were responsible. All I can say is that I am even more impressed with the way that Dick powers along on that Brompton!

On our return, I quickly demonstrated to Dick how to fold the Airnimal, and then walked back to the station for another uneventful train journey to Birmingham, and then on to Tipton for my final walk home. This had been another excellent day out - thanks to Mike Roberts for organising it, and to the others for coming along too. [21/08/2002]

Web space
Web space is almost completely exhausted, and until this problem can be resolved I shall have to restrict the amount of new material on the site, and re-arrange some of the existing material. Pressure of work and other activities at present is making it difficult to find time to resolve the problem. [20/08/2002]

Sales & Wants List
The Sales & Wants List has been moved to another web site - the links from here should all send you to that site direct, but if you have saved the current address in your web browser favourites, you will need to go to the new address from here, and then re-save the new location in your favourites. In this particular case, the change of location of the S&W list will also save me money, as I can access it via broadband, rather than having to use a dial-up connection. Just for the record, new location is http://www.users.mwfree.net/~halffg/foldsoc/sandw.html. [20/08/2002]

STOLEN
Moulton Deluxe. Black with chrome mudguards. 5 speed SA Sprinter hub and Pitbull front brake. Unique folding joint in main frame, enabling frame to be folded in half. Frame number 240963. Stolen 13 August between 1.30 pm and 2.30 pm in Chelsea area of London. Information to Robert McCann (Moulton Bicycle Club Sales and Wants Coordinator - 38 Stuart Road, Wimbledon Park, London SW19 8DH). [13/08/2002]

Bike Friday SIG pages updated
The SIG sections of these pages don't get updated as often as I would like, but we have just put a few new entries on the Bike Friday section. [11/08/2002]

Origami Rides
A brief report on the August Origami ride is now available. I shan't be able to get to the September ride myself, but of course it will still go ahead - at least if some of you turn up! The October ride has been designated as a Bike Friday special - anyone, riding anything, is still welcome, but we would like to get as many Bike Fridays there as possible. The April ride for Birdys produced 12 Birdys: can Bike Fridays do better? [11/08/2002]

New Schlumpf drive
There is a story about a new Schlumpf drive which may be of interest to folder users, and also a brief report on CycleFest, on the Velovision web site at http://www.velovision.co.uk [08/08/2002]

CycleFest reports
The reports from CycleFest are now complete and available on the CycleFest Report Page. [08/08/2002]

Stolen - Brompton T3 frame number 168700
Simon Baddeley reports: "I had my T3 Brompton stolen from the back of a car last week while parked outside beach apartments in Northern France. I had already removed my saddle extension stem and a Brooks saddle. I am not sure the thieves/thief know what they've acquired. Just in case anyone gets offered a second hand Brompton here's a description: T3 folder, racing green frame, Sachs 3 speed hub gear, includes saddle bag/cover, folding peddle / pannier fixing clip, rear rack and dynamo, (but not saddle and extension stem) purchased 12/6/01 frame number 168700 from Bikefix 48 Lambs Conduit St WC1N 3LJ (020)7405 1218. Simon Baddeley, Birmingham B20 Tel: 07775 655842". [07/08/2002]

Tin Can Ten report
I'm sure that many of you will be wondering how the folder 'team' got on in then Tin Can Ten time trial. You can now read Dick Hanson's full report - both informative and very entertaining - on our website here. [07/08/2002]

CycleFest reports
Some of you will have read the first two issues of our daily report from CycleFest, and will have wondered what happened after that. The third day - Friday- was very wet, and I spent the day (fortunately for me!) setting up computerised 'slide shows' for those attending the event. What with the time spent doing this, and the fact that my notebook computer was then tied up doing the slideshows, and was not available for producing the daily www reports, plus my involvement all day on Saturday in organising the folder ride, the daily reports for the rest of the event just didn't get produced. Apologies for this. I hope to produce the rest of the report soon, and I'll post a link on this home page when the work is complete. [07/08/2002]

Shimano Capreo components for small-wheeled folders
Peter Eland's Velo Vision web site has news of a new Shimano group set aimed specifically at small wheelers/folders. It includes a 9-26 cassette. [29/07/2002]

CYCLEFEST RIDE - UPDATE
I went to Lancaster on Friday 26 July to recce the folder ride which will be held on Saturday 3rd August. Chosen cycle for the recce was the Brompton SP (though I still haven't decided which bike will go to CycleFest). There are still some details to be finalised, but you can read a draft of the route sheet here. Main line trains, steam trains and ferries will be used, or at least are options, on the ride. The distance is anywhere between about 17 and 50Km, depending on the extent to which you choose to use the trains etc (this excludes the fairly short distance to and from Lancaster station). I look forward to seeing some of you on the ride. [27/07/2002]

Cheltenham Origami Report ...
At last, though still minus any pictures -partly due to what may prove to be terminal web space shortage ...
You can read our more detailed report here. [23/07/2002]

More on Birdy Stelvios ...
Andreas Peicke, who has been using the Birdy Stelvios for about 6 weeks, adds that he has found that care is needed in the wet, and that he has so far experienced more punctures than he would expect although recognising that 2 punctures in 6 weeks may just be bad luck! [23/07/2002]

Schwalbe Stelvio tyres on the Birdy - first impressions, and the July Origami Ride at Cheltenham
I fitted the new narrow (28mm) high pressure (up to 120psi) Schwalbe Stelvio tyres to the Birdy on 12th July, and the Origami Ride was my first opportunity to test them. It must be said that I have been using Bromptons for the past 3 weeks or so, with the result that it was not easy to make a direct comparison with the Birdy on its previous Schwalbe Marathon tyres. I decided to ride all the way to Birmingham New Street station (about 16Km) rather than catch a local train, both to give more testing to the tyres, and to avoid any possible problems resulting from train delays (there was engineering work further down the line). My plan to get more experience of the Stelvios on the Origami Ride itself was rather spoilt by mechanical problems - but not on the Birdy. This Origami Ride was one of our 'away' events, organised by Dick Hanson at Cheltenham. Susan Barlow, Paul Evans and I travelled down by train, arriving early enough to take coffee and some sustenance at a very nice French Cafe, before meeting the others at the station for the ride. Excellent weather and Dick's reputation for good rides meant a good turn out, with 18 riders taking part. There was quite a variety of bikes, with good numbers of Bromptons, Birdys and Moultons, and also a couple of Micros, one ridden by Dick Hanson himself and the other by Rosemary Hadland. Our route was through very pleasant country, and did not involve much in the way of hills. Unfortunately just over half way to our lunch stop Rosemary's 5-speed Sturmey-Archer gear started slipping slightly, and during the process of adjusting it the chain connector sheared, resulting in the bike becoming limited to its top, fifth gear. After some discussion there was a redistribution of bikes, Rosemary taking over my Birdy while I took over her Micro. Fortunately the Micro is rather low geared anyway, and though I would have like the full range of gears, I was able to complete the ride with no real difficulty, and without needing to walk - the main problem was that as sweeper I found it rather difficult to ride slowly with only top gear, and hills needed to be taken at a bit of a run. More importantly though it did mean that I did not use the Stelvios as much that day as I had intended. On our return to Cheltenham, Dick and Hazel had cream teas available for us at their house, a really excellent end to the ride. Weather, route and company were excellent - many thanks to Dick and Hazel for organising such a brilliant ride.

Although my tests on the Stelvios were somewhat shorter than I had hoped, I have some first impressions, although, as already mentioned, the fact that I had not been using the Birdy for a few weeks does make it difficult to make comparisons. First, in subjective terms, the Birdy does seem to roll more freely on the road now, and indeed feels at least as free-running as any of my other bikes, whereas in the past it has always felt a little sluggish. Ride quality seems unaffected - with full suspension, you would not really expect any increased harshness to be noticeable anyway. Obviously it is too early to comment on tyre life and puncture resistance - the Stelvio has a Kevlar belt to increase puncture resistance, though I have to say that experience of other tyres makes me skeptical about Kevlar. Although it may be more related to the fact that I had not used the Birdy for some while, I do think that the handling of the bike is rather more twitchy now - ie slightly less stable. We did very briefly ride a length of track which was not tarmac - on this fairly smooth dirt track the narrow tyres coped perfectly satisfactorily.

This morning, Sunday, I took the Birdy out and ran it over my rolling resistance test route. Conditions were sunny but quite cool (6:30am), with no wind. Due to differences in conditions, I never like to make comparisons of distance rolled on different occasions, but rather compare a number of different bikes and tyres. The Birdy/Stelvio was compared on this occasion with the Brompton SP with Primo rear and Brompton front tyre, and the Airnimal on Kendas. The Airnimal has been one of the best performers in the past, and the SP has also been a good performer, though on Primos front and rear in the past. The Birdy was just a whisker ahead of the SP in the tests today, with the Airnimal running about 7 metres further in about 200 metres. Two runs were made with each bike, and in every case the difference between the first and second run was less than 2 metres. Although these tests are a bit crude, they do seem to support the subjective assessment that the Stelvio does improve the rolling resistance of the Birdy quite significantly, and that with these tyres there is no longer any reason to regard the on-road performance of the Birdy as being compromised by its tyres.

A side effect is that the narrower Stelvios are also quite a bit smaller in diameter than the other tyres, and thus the gearing is lowered - measurements indicate that the effect is that of a 4% reduction in the gears. On a Birdy Red, this gives a range of 30.8 - 84 inches, which certainly suits me rather better than the 'normal' gearing, which I find rather high.

A more detailed report on the Stelvios, and another on the Origami Ride at Cheltenham, should be posted on the web site in the not too distant future. [14/07/2002]

Dahon Speed Pro
Just one of the many valid criticisms of this site is that coverage of Dahons does not reflect their popularity, especially outside the UK. The reason is very simple - I've never owned one myself, or had the opportunity to test one, and we don't seem to get many reports from other sources. Happily we can now go a small way to rectifying the omission with this report by William Reid on the Dahon Speed Pro. [12/07/2002]

A road tyre to do justice to the Birdy?
We now have a set of the new Schwalbe Stelvios fitted to our Birdy Red, and it should get its first test on Saturday 13th July at the Origami Ride. The Stelvio is a much narrower tyre with less tread than previous Birdy tyres, rated at 120psi - very much in the mode of the Continental Grand Prix 406 tyre. Tread, width and pressure suggest this should offer lower rolling resistance on the road, although probably only suited to road and light off road use (good towpaths and good bridleways). Expect a report very soon, after we have had a chance to evaluate this tyre. Reports from other sources have been favourable, and the Stelvio is also available in a 406 version, which should fit the New Series Moulton (and other 406-wheeled machines. [12/07/2002]

Tin Can Ten on a folder - preparation
Three enthusiastic folder owners are planning to take part in the 'Tin Can Ten' (a time trial for hub-geared bikes) on 20th July. Dick Hanson is taking the preparation seriously, and we have a report in which he describes his first experience of time trialing - though not on a folder! We hope to have a report in due course on how our 'team' gets on in the event itself.  [09/07/2002]

New SP 6-Speed
No sooner had I remarked in my Lake District report (see below) on the advantage of the wider gearing of my SP Brompton over the Brompton T6 than we hear that SP (Steve Parry) has modified the standard 6-speed Brompton gearing to give a wider range! Mike Roberts reports:

"Hot News from Mud Dock! Steve Parry's (SP) latest modification was demonstrated and working on the Mud Dock ride today (6 July 2002). 
Steve has managed to fit a 12-tooth and an 18-tooth sprocket, operated by Brompton's own standard 2-speed changer. The rear fork requires only a slight modification. The 18-tooth sprocket has the tips removed from 2 opposite pairs of teeth (4 teeth altogether). This gives a good slick change between the sprockets.  Steve says that an 18 tooth sprocket is the maximum that the changer can take. The 12-tooth is modified from a cassette sprocket and possibly stronger than the standard 13-tooth according to Steve. This would give a good wide range of 6 gears, on the standard 3-speed hub. (Steve's own bike has the 2 sprockets on a cut down freehub (no hub gear), and a triple chainwheel which also gives a total of six speeds)."

The standard T6 has gearing of 40.5 to 87.0 inches (40.5, 46.7, 55.5, 64.0, 75.4, 87.0) - rather high at the bottom end, but nice and evenly spaced and with comfortable (for me) gaps between the gears. In 18% reduced gear form this becomes 34.3 to 73.6 inches (34.3, 39.5, 46.9, 54.2, 63.8, 73.6) - a bit low at the top end, and still a bit high at the bottom end for really hilly areas and a big load, but with the same spacing. For comparison, a 3-speed Brompton misses out alternate gears, giving a narrower overall range, and very big gaps between the gears. Steve's 12/18 sprocket gives, by my calculations, a range of 33.7 to 94.3 inches with the standard chainring (52) or 28.6 to 79.8 inches with the 18% reduced gearing ring (44). The range is great, but, at least on paper, there is a down side - look at the table below to see the gear spacing and gear change pattern:

Gear

Inches standard

Inches reduced

% change

Hub control lever

Sprocket control lever

1

33.7

28.6

 

1

Low

2

46.2

39.1

37

2

Low

3

50.6

42.8

9.5

1

High

4

62.9

53.2

24.2

3

Low

5

69.3

58.7

10.3

2

High

6

94.3

79.8

36

3

High

The gear spacing is pretty uneven, with two large jumps (though no greater than with a 3-speed), and to use all the gears involves some rather complex looking change patterns - though I have to admit that the standard 6-speed change patterns look complex on paper as well, but are actually very easy to get used to in practice. I'd suggest that the system would probably be used by missing out gear 3, which would greatly simplify the change pattern, though it would increase the jump from gear 2 to 4 to 36%. Just for comparison, my derailleur-geared SP 7 has gears ranging from 29.7 to 75.6 inches, very evenly spaced. 

Although there's no such thing as a free lunch (Tnstaafl), the SP modification certainly provides an attractive option of wider gearing for 6-speed Bromptons. I'm certainly tempted by the range, but I know my knees would not like the wider gaps between the gears. You can contact Steve Parry at spbicycles@btopenworld.com. [07/07/2002]

Folder in the Lake District
The report on a week in the Lake District with the SP is now available. [06/07/2002]

A week in the Lake District
As you may have realised from the absence of updates to the pages in the last 10 days, I have been away - sorry for no prior warning, but for obvious reasons I never say when I won't be in the house. The Brompton SP was the chosen bike for this outing - a report will follow fairly soon. It may take a while to catch up on things though. [02/07/2002]

Origami Ride 13th July - Cheltenham
Just a reminder to anyone planning to go on the Origami Ride on Saturday 13th July that it is at Cheltenham (meet at the station from 10:30 for an 11:00 start) and NOT at Meriden. This turns out to be rather good planning, as the trains from Birmingham to Coventry are due to be affected by engineering works that day! [02/07/2002]

Another report on the Birdy Weekend at Darmstadt
In addition to our report by Graham McDermott, you can read another report of the meeting at http://www.birdy-freunde.de/treffen2002.html - in English and German. [02/07/2002]

Coast to Coast by Brompton
AND
Cyclists on the Jubilee Parade
Read Dave Minter's reports. [16/06/2002]

The Moultoneer Archive is now on line
Nigel Sadler has done a brilliant job of putting a complete index of past issues of The Moultoneer onto the Moulton Bicycle Club web site - clicking on the topic you want will take you to the appropriate web page to read the corresponding article - including pictures. This is most useful resource for Moulton owners, and we owe a debt of gratitude to Nigel for all the work which must have been involved. Access the archive here, or via the contents references on the Moulton Bicycle Club web pages. [12/06/2002]

Rides
We had another very enjoyable Origami Ride from Meriden on 8th June - a very brief report can be found on our Origami web pages. News of future rides also appears there - and we will take the opportunity to remind readers that the July ride, on 13th, will be at Cheltenham, NOT Meriden. Please remember that next Saturday, 15th June, there will be the third of the new monthly rides at Swindon - see the events page for more details. [08/06/2002]

Birdy Grey report
Coming soon - we hope! [05/06/2002]

Brompton Safety Notice
Owners of Bromptons made pre-2000 should take a look at the safety notice regarding handlebars on the Brompton web site at http://www.bromptonbicycle.co.uk/safety_notice.htm. We have mentioned handlebar breakages on Bromptons before, and that a strut was to be made available to strengthen the bars - this is the official statement of the position. [05/06/2002]

German web site on folders
There is now a new German site concerning folders - especially Brompton and Moulton (Moulton not ready yet). The URL is http://www.rainerzenz.de/faltrad [02/06/2002]

Birdy Weekend Report
We now have a full report and photographs by Graham McDermott from the Birdy Weekend in Darmstadt on 24-26 May. [02/06/2002]

Welsh Trains Ride 2 Report update
The Welsh Trains Ride 2 report has now been updated with a more detailed version and a few photographs. [02/06/2002]

More reading
Want some more reading material? Try visiting the Byke Kultuur Never web site, where you can see issue 13. It's a general cycling site, rather than being folder specific. [02/06/2002]

Brompton T6 report update
The report on the T6 has been updated to include my experience with it on my trip to Skye, and some subsequent commuting. [28/05/2002]

The Handybike
Take a look at http://www.handybike.com for more details on an apparently very compact folder, which looks to be inspired by micro-scooters as much as by other folders. Wheel size is a miniscule 6 inches, with only one gear, which suggests that it would not be very suitable for anything other than the shortest ride on a very good road surface. [26/05/2002]

The technical details from the web site are as follows:

Technical data

Weight:

7.99 kg (frames and parts completely from aluminium)

Power:

Single speed with 52/7 (52/9) gear ratio, max. speed 25 km/h.

Wheelset:

ZZYZX aluminium wheels Standard tires and tubes 6x1¼ up to 6,3 bar (85psi)

Brakes:

Aluminium caliper brakes


Measures

Wheelbase: 75cm
Handlebar height: 77-132cm
Handlebar width: 41cm

Distance from seat to bottom bracket:
53–78cm

Folded Size: 90 X 51 X 35 cm

Birdy Weekend in Darmstadt this weekend - 24-26 May
Best wishes for a really good weekend - sorry I can't be there. We have been promised a report and plenty of photographs by Graham McDermott, who will be attending - watch this space for more information in the next few days. [22/05/2002]

Welsh Trains Ride 2
Our ride in North Wales on 18-20 May 2002, taking in The Welsh Highland Railway from Caernarfon, the Ffestiniog Railway and the Great Orme Tramway, was a great success. We covered about 150Km of riding during the three days, and despite the weather forecasts, we had quite reasonable weather throughout, apart from the first couple of hours of riding, when it poured with rain. Unfortunately we also had two of our three punctures during this wet period, which made patching the tubes on the spot impossible - fortunately we had lots of spare tubes. 7 riders took part - organiser Paul Evans, Susan Barlow, Tony Hadland, Dick Hanson, Dave Minter, Jenny Palmer and myself. I rode the Birdy Red, and Dave started out on a Moulton Stowaway, the rest riding Bromptons. All three punctures were on Bromptons, two with Primo tyres and one with Brompton tyres. Paul also broke a spoke on the rear wheel of his Brompton, and more seriously Dave's Stowaway suffered serious cracking of the rear forks. This resulted in him using a bus for part of the journey on the Sunday, along with Tony, whose knee was troubling him. Later Dave switched to Tony's Brompton as Tony was not able to stay for the Monday. Despite being considerably more eventful than our previous outings, this was a very enjoyable outing, and thanks are in order to those who took part, and especially to Paul for his usual meticulous organisation. A summary of the ride can be found on the event reports web page, and we may have a more detailed report later. [21/05/2002]

STOLEN
Air Friday (model 4975). It was chained to railings (Specialised slimrock rapper lock) outside Euston Tower (a multi-story office block in central London) on Friday 17 May. It was stolen between 10am and 4pm. The bike is dark green and has been modified. There is a rear rack, full mudguards front and rear, Avid 1.0 V-brakes, a double front ring, XT gear levers (8 speed) and rear derailleur, titanium beam (removable), Shimano 600 chainset, a new Bianchi saddle, and H-bars. Any information very gratefully received. Telephone work 01952 295268, home 01588 660714, email: iaincampbell@fsmail.net [21/05/2002]

In issue 19 of Folding Society News I described briefly how I converted my 7-speed Birdy Red to a 9-speed. Now you can read in more detail how Piers Mahon converted his 7-speed Birdy Red to a 9-speed. [15/05/2002]

Titanium SP
Steve Parry is now supplying a titanium-framed version of the (Brompton-based) SP. It is available in 1, 2, 38 and 16-speed versions, at prices between £1400 and £1600. Details from spbicycles@btopenworld.com - be warned though that you are liable to receive an attachment of 6M, due apparently to the inclusion of some excessively high resolution pictures! [14/05/2002]

Schwalbe Stelvio tyres for the Birdy
An ad was recently placed on our S&W page for a Birdy fitted with the 18 inch Schwalbe Stelvio tyre (classed as a racing/fast road tyre, with minimal tread, but most interestingly a 1.25in width rather than the 1.75in of the other tyres which will fit the Birdy). I emailed the seller, and he reckons that they are substantial improvement over the normal Birdy tyres. The problem seems to be finding somewhere that stocks them, or can get them ... [10/05/2002]

Whatever happened to the front rack for the New Series Moulton?
In brief, the answer seems to be *%$£ All. In deciding which bike to use for my recent visit to Skye, I rejected the NS on two grounds - lack of portability and inability to carry the luggage I needed to use. I had enquired about the front rack a number of times since a nice prototype was shown at Bradford on Avon in September last year. Since returning, I've asked again, as I have three other holidays planned for later this year. It seems that there is no immediate prospect of any front carrier - Colin Martin has a version to test on his trip across America (the pictures suggest it is very wide and a distinct overkill for my needs), but the rest of us will have to wait. I am lucky enough to have a Brompton, Bike Friday, Birdy and Airnimal to use as alternatives - this could well be my first year since 1964 in which I won't ride a Moulton ... in fact, would anyone like to make a sensible offer for the NS? [10/05/2002]

Welsh Trains Ride 2
The details of the Welsh Trains Ride (2) on 18-19th May, with an optional extra day on 20th, have now been finalised. If you would like to join us, and have not yet made contact, please email me. Apart from the main line trains we use to get to the start and from the finish, we shall be visiting and riding on the Welsh Highland Railway (Caernarfon), and Ffestiniog Railway, and having some relaxed cycling in between visits. [10/05/2002]

Holiday
As readers may have realised, I have been on holiday for the last 10 days - it will take a while to get back to normal ... [07/05/2002]

Brompton T6 Test
Visit our Brompton T6 page - regular updates. Now includes sections on fitting the 6-speed upgrade kit, differences between 6-speed bikes and the conversion kit, and changing the chainring from 50 to 44 teeth.. [25/04/2002]

An alternative to chain drive?
Over the years many people have tried to eliminate the chain drive from cycles - chains get dirty and oily, and transfer this to the rider, they can fall off, and they require maintenance and replacement. The problem is that they are also very efficient, and efficiency matters for a human powered vehicle. Rubber drive belts have been tried several times in the relatively recent past, but have not proved very satisfactory. Another solution which has been tried in the past is a shaft drive, but these have been inefficient, heavy and costly compared to a chain. A company in the USA seems to have revived the shaft drive idea (naturally using hub rather than derailleur gears!), and their range includes a folder. It certainly looks a rather basic machine, and the web site picture depicts  the machine with the saddles at what appears to be a ludicrous height. Another feature of the web site which does not inspire confidence is that the mountain bike is described as having a 26 inch frame, when it seems more likely that it is the wheels are 26 inches. Still, if anyone could find a satisfactory replacement, it would certainly have attractions. You can find their web site at http://www.chainless.com/foldingbikes.html. [21/04/2002]

First Swindon Smallwheels Ride
A report on the First Swindon Smallwheels Ride is now available - of 3 Bromptons, 2 were the new 6-speeds! Also information on an ingenious Birdy modification. [21/04/2002]

Welsh Trains Ride 2
Last year a number of us spent a weekend riding on our folders and on some preserved railways in Wales - see the report on these web pages if you didn't see it at the time. We plan another outing on the same theme this year, but a different route and different railways, over the weekend of 18-19th May, with an option of an extra day on Monday 20th. If you are interested, email me, and I will pass the enquiry on to organiser Paul Evans. Incidentally, if there are any of you who like this idea but fancy a much more ambitious version, you might like to visit http://www.candflangdon.co.uk/text/wales3.htm for information about a ride for folders covering many of the preserved railways in North Wales at the end of July. [18/04/2002]

The FoxEFolder
Peter Eland of Velo Vision has sent news of a very interesting new portable bike. At present it's still more of a concept and a prototype than a production machine, and although there are some attractive features, there are also some features which would require attention to make it a Brompton beater (or even equaller!). The FoxEFolder comes from advanced composites/Formula One designer Richard Thorpe of Karbon Kinetics, and you can find a very comprehensive description on the Velo Vision web site at http://www.velovision.co.uk. [15/04/2001]

Pocket Gnu
Bike Friday have added the Pocket Gnu to their range. It is basically a Bike Friday Pocket Llama with "a dynamic duo: the Action Tec Front Suspension Fork unit AND Thudbuster Quad Pivot seatpost.". Take a look at the Bike Friday web pages for more details. [15/04/2002]

r&m (Birdy) 2002 catalogue
The Birdy catalogue for 2002 has now reached us (thanks to our chief news ferret). As usual it is a beautifully produced publication, but more to the point it has plenty of pictures and information about the latest model changes and accessories - not just Birdy, but all the models produced by r&m. The text is in German, which is reasonable for a German company, but hard for those of who are not very good at that language. The Birdy Grey, with Rohloff 14-speed hub is the main addition, but new front forks, a narrow front hub and improved mudguards and mountings also feature, and are on all the models. Unique to the Grey is the new rear carrier - it involves new mountings on the frame and rear forks, and these are not fitted to any of the other models (at least at present). Apart from the usual accessories, including a hard case, there is also a picture of the "Birdy-Bag" - it seems to be a tall, fairly narrow rucksack type of bag which mounts at the front, over the front wheel and rising to a point just above the top of the bars at its highest point. [15/04/2002] 

Swindon Smallwheels - new monthly ride for Moultons, Bromptons, Birdys, Bike Fridays - or any other type of bike
Third Saturday of each month. Meet 10:00am onwards at Food Hall, Designer Outlet Village (10 minute walk from Swindon Station - exit station foot-tunnel, turn right) for coffee and a chat, 11:30 for a cycle-path ride and pub lunch. [15/04/2002]

April Origami Ride - Birdy Special - Report
The report on our monthly Origami Ride from Meriden, which was designated a 'Birdy Special' is now available. The turnout exceeded expectations, with 25 riders in total and no less than 12 Birdys. And interest was not restricted to Birdys - there was also one of the first 6-speed Bromptons (the first ones were shipped to dealers only 2 days before), and a record number of Bike Fridays, one being a SatRday recumbent. You can read the report here. [14/04/2002]

'Mon & Brec' Ride Report
The report on the recent (6-7 April) 'Mon & Brec' folder ride is now available. This was originally prepared in 'book' form, and has been exported from there into Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. It's extensively illustrated, and it is therefore quite large - about 750K. If you want to read it, you can download a single zip file containing the complete document. Once you have downloaded it, unzip it in the usual way, and then open it with Adobe Acrobat (on most systems that just means double clicking on the monandbrec.pdf file name). Needless to say, as with all material, and as is clearly indicated, the material (text and pictures) is copyright - you are welcome to download it and view it, but reproduction and redistribution by any means is prohibited without express permission of the copyright holder. Click here to download the zip file. [14/04/02]

6-Speed Brompton
6-speed Brompton6-speed Bromptons are now with (some) dealers - we expect to have a test report by the middle of next week (ie c 18th April). If you are looking for one, Phoenix Cycles (020 7738 2766) have some in stock at the time of writing.  PS: And if you are in Scotland, try www.biketrax.co.uk[14/04/2002]
Photograph: The new 6-speed Brompton has a revised chain tensioner and a small and unobtrusive mechanism to move the chain from the 13 to 15 tooth rear sprocket.

15th & 16th June - Bike Friday Rides from Harrogate
Steve and Ali Mundie are arranging rides on 15th and 16th June - although these are primarily for Bike Fridayists, other folders are welcome too. "The Saturday run is approximately 50 miles from Harrogate to Masham for lunch at the Black Sheep Brewery. It's not very flat but it's not dreadfully steep either. The Sunday run is about 55 miles from Harrogate to Benningborough (the National Trust property for a wander round the gardens or the house and lunch). As Benningborough is near York, this route is fairly flat once we get away from Harrogate." For more information, email Steve at Steve_Mundie@compuserve.com. [04/04/2002]

STOLEN from Shoreditch on 25th March, Green Brompton T3 (SRAM 3-speed), frame number 169945; chrome plated dynamo, telescopic seat pillar (hand made bracket for LED lamp), Minoura tee bar on handlebars. Contact steve.rogers7@virgin.net [26/03/2002]

24-26 May 2002 - riese und muller and birdy-freunde.de folding bike meeting. For more details of this meeting in Darmstadt, Germany (near Frankfurt) for Birdy owners and folding cycle enthusiasts, see http://www.birdy-freunde.de/events/ - the program and registration form are located there, and the text is available in English as well as German. [22/03/2002]

Tony Hadland's web site is always worth a visit, and is regularly updated. In addition to information on new books, videos and CD interviews, there are free supplements for some existing books, including an update to "The Sturmey-Archer Story", with detailed coverage of how the company was sold first to Lenark and then to Sun Race. [22/03/2002]

There are still quite a lot of Bickertons around and in use, but we don't hear much about them usually. Read Brian Laffoley's report on a year with a Bickerton. [21/03/2002]

Pictures and more details of the 6-speed Brompton can be found on the Velo Vision web site - http://www.velovision.co.uk [12/03/2002]

6-speed Bromptons now launched
We have been predicting a 6-speed version of the Brompton for some months, and we now hear that it has been launched. It uses the 3-speed Sachs hub fitted to the current models, but with two rear sprockets (13 and 15 teeth) and a rear changer. We have no details at present, but if we assume (just for the sake of discussion of the ratios) a 50-tooth chainring, this would give gears of about 38, 44, 51, 59, 68 and 78 inches, quite a nice range and comfortable spacing. The only problem, as mentioned before, lies in the gear change pattern, which of course means that every other gear change involves changing both levers - one up and one down, which is not only a bit awkward, but requires the rider to remember where in the sequence they have got to. This is not exactly a criticism - the extra gears will be useful, and there really weren't any other solutions readily available with the demise of the old Sturmey-Archer 5-speed, but it isn't perfect. Still, the new models are undoubtedly welcome, and will further strengthen Brompton's market position. We also hear that there will be an optional handlebar strut available to fit between the two raised horizontal sections, providing extra strength in that area for those who feel it is necessary (sounds rather like the support fitted to later Bickertons!). We have not seen any new models, so this information is only based on a verbal report at present. For those with older models, we understand the 6-speed can be retrofitted to machines with the 3-speed SACHS hub AND the boss on the right hand rear stay, but NOT to other models. More information here if and when we get any. [09/03/2002]

Report on the March Origami Ride now available. [09/03/2002]

The events of September 11th have even affected the folding bicycle business - read how Bike Friday have been affected, and how they are coping with the problems in a recent press release - the text is available on this site, or the full version with pictures can be found on the Bike Friday web site. [03/03/2002]

As mentioned below, the cost of buying a Bike Friday from the USA will include shipping, duty and VAT. We hear from Bike Friday that there is a discount available to buyers to offset a part of the shipping cost, namely £79 for a tandem and £49 for a single machine. These discounts apply with any accessories ordered and shipped at the same time as the bicycle. [03/03/2002]

Further to Gary Thompson's report below, and the news that Bike Fridays are only available here in the UK by ordering them direct from the USA, Gary points out that if you do order this way, you should budget for a hefty additional bill for duty and VAT charge which will you will receive from FedEx some 6 weeks after delivery. [28/02/2002]

Birdy v Bike Friday - Gary Thompson comments on a year of owning a Birdy Red. [24 February 2002]

Readers of Folding Society News will remember that we have reported before on Drew Devereux's folders (eg FSN 59). You can see his latest creation at http://www.sonic.net/~maryking/2.html [22/02/2002]

Folders/separables at the V-CC camp 2001: An Australian view: Dave Minter and Susan Barlow are Australians working here in the UK, and are regulars at the Meriden Origami ride and other events (they also did the Welsh Trains ride in 2001). Read Dave's report to friends in Australia of his experiences at the Veteran-Cycle Club camp in 2001. [22/02/2002]

A warning to those cycling in the Meriden area on Sundays - we hear that the Meriden Tearooms are no longer open on Sundays - it doesn't affect our Origami rides of course, as these are on Saturdays, but if you plan to use this as the start point or a break in a Sunday ride you could have an unpleasant surprise! [22/02/2002]

A good collection of photographs from the NYC Folding Bike Ride and Festival of 13 October 2001 can be found at http://www.pbase.com/santra/the_ride&page=all [16/02/2002]

Additional information on the new Birdy models (mentioned below) can be found on the VeloVision site - http://www.velovision.co.uk [14/02/2002]

Report on my cycling year 2001 now available - not as complete as I would have wished due to continuing eye problems. [14/02/2002]

Updated version of the Moulton Bicycle Club Sales & Wants List now available. [10/02/2002]

Birdy - changes for 2002
There is a new Birdy Grey, with Rohloff hub gear, for 2002. There is also a new model of rear carrier. Other specification changes which will affect all machines in 2002 are a new front hub with narrower flanges, which will apparently allow more compact folding as the derailleur mechanism can fit inside the front forks when folded, and a means of providing 3 mounting points for the front mudguard, which should prevent it waving about wildly as it does on existing models. The date for the availability of 2002 specification bikes is uncertain - apparently the 2001 specification machines are still the current ones. More information on the Grey can be found on the Kinetics web site, http://www.kinetics.org.uk (at http://www.kinetics.org.uk/html/grey.html) and there is also more on the new specifications on http://www.birdy-freunde.de, though this is in German. There does not seem to be anything on the r & m web site yet. [10/02/2002].

Bike Friday no longer distribute their high performance folders in the UK through Vince Mackenzie of Valley Cycles. At present they are selling direct from their base in the USA, and Hanz Schulz tells me that they hope to give their customers here the same treatment that they give to customers in the USA, and by all reports that is a very high standard indeed. Hanz has also pointed out that they do not have information on all the Bike Friday owners who bought their machines via Vince, so if you want to keep in touch with them, make sure you register interest via their excellent web site at http://www.bikefriday.com . The site has very full details of all models, lots of service information, a Community area for owners, and there is even a section for selling used machines. [07/02/2002]

JOHN PINKERTON
It is with great regret that I have to inform you of the death of John Pinkerton, the cycling historian. John was active in the cycling scene for many years, especially in the Veteran-Cycle Club, and he wrote and co-wrote a number of important books on cycle history, including "It's in the Bag! - A history in outline of portable cycles in the UK", which he wrote with Tony Hadland. John was also the publisher of this and several other books on cycle history, and he recently collaborated with Tony Hadland in producing a number of videos of cycling personalities. He had regularly appeared in television programmes over the last ten or more years.  John was also the organiser of the Origami Rides for folder enthusiasts, Moulton owners, V-CC members, and anyone with an interest in cycles and cycling. John was diagnosed as having lung cancer in the middle of last year, but had remained active since then, and his death comes as a shock and a huge blow to his many friends. John put a huge amount into cycling, from which we have all benefited, and his loss will be felt by us all. We extend our deepest sympathy goes to his wife Dorothy and son Douglas. [03/02/2002]
The Funeral takes place at 12:45 on Monday 11 February at St Mary's, Tyburn Road, Erdington, followed by cremation at 1:30, and there will be a reception at a nearby social club afterwards. [07/02/2002].

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible: Due to a problem with my eyes, I am finding it very difficult to read or to use a screen, so publication of a number of reports will be delayed for a few days. [13/01/2002] Update: This is taking longer to clear up than I hoped I'm updating Sales & Wants page as required, but things requiring more time at the screen are being delayed - apologies. [26/01/2002]

Watch the Birdy - Dick Hanson reports on a rather eventful ride on a Birdy Red. [13/01/2002]

Web page re-organisation
A number of changes have been taking place to the the web pages which I maintain, partly because my whooper account at demon is closing - so as advised before, please ensure any email you send me is sent to the address mike_hessey@blueyonder.co.uk (note the underline character between mike and hessey - mike_hessey - which does not always show up very well on some email and browser displays). The changes are as follows:

The latter two changes should be applied automatically if you access those pages from here, but if you go direct to the pages, then please note the new addresses. I hope that all the links affected by these changes have been corrected, but if you do find any that are broken, I would be grateful if you could email me so that necessary corrections can be made. [24/12/2001]

Portmeirion 2001 report now available (at last!). [23/12/2001]

A unique Brompton has been stolen. Cut from railings on Kensington High Street, London on Saturday 15th December 2001, the bike is a red T3, and has the frame number 7088, plus two unusual features: 1) An oval chainring 2) Biogrip handlebar grips. Please contact A to B at atob@atob.org.uk with information, or call Brompton direct on 020 8232 8484. [18/12/2001]

This is an early reminder of the Origami Ride on Saturday 12th January 2002. The location will be at Meriden as usual, meeting at the Tea Rooms from 10:30 for an 11:00 ride. Those attending will get a copy of the Folding Society 2002 calendar! [16/12/2001]

The Moultoneer - issue 63 has now been sent to members of The Moulton Bicycle Club - see the MBC web site for more details and further comments on some of the material contained in that issue. [15/12/2001]

BEWARE OF VIRUSES! As far as I know, my PCs haven't been afflicted (Norton Anti Virus is always running and updated weekly), but I have received a lot of emails from Folding Society contacts, which suggests their machines have been infected. Three of these emails purported to come from Bike Friday, so if you are on their email list, be careful! One effect of infected emails was to make it impossible to download my mail from the old demon address using my PC - finally overcome by using MultiMail on a Palm to access it and clear the offending messages; I'd been going to use a Psion or Pocket PC, but modem faults etc ruled that out. The demon account will close anyway at the end of this month, so please make sure you use the current address if you are contacting me.
Not a computer virus, but I've been suffering from 'flu for a couple of weeks, so cycling has been very restricted, and I haven't felt much like updating the web pages. I hope to be back to normal soon.[9/12/2001]

A growing market - the news in a recent press release that Dahon has moved to a new factory in Shenzhen in China indicates that the demand for cycles, and especially folders, must be good. This is reported to double Dahon's capacity to manufacture frames, components and assembled bicycles. Full details can be found in the press release. [26/11/2001]

Richard Loke of Airnimal Designs tells me that a soft rear suspension elastomer and 28mm wide tyres are now available for the Airnimal Chameleon. Once I have got over a very bad cold and cough picked up at Portmeirion, I hope to get some of these and report on them. [26/11/2001]

PanasonicPanasonic have launched a new folder in the UK. This should not be confused with their ultra-light Traincle, which is still not available here. It doesn't seem to have a model name (other than 'Folding Bicycle'), but does have a model number - B-3PWS27. The brochure implies that the key design criterion was fashion, with nearly half the space occupied with pictures of the machine in all of its twelve colours, and an explanation of how these relate to birthstones. It is a single-gear machine (no information on the gearing), with 12.5 x 2.25in tyres (57-203). The tyre size, and a weight of 13.9Kg (30.6 lb) suggest that performance on the road will be lethargic, and it will be a heavy machine to carry. A chainguard is provided as standard, but there are no mudguards, so the fashion conscious user is not likely to want to go far on it in anything but dry weather. The folded size is quoted as being 630mm x 650mm x 460mm, and the specification suggests it suitable for riders of height 135-175cm, or inside legs measurements of 62-80cm (24.4-31.5 in).  It is available from Panasonic's web shop at http://www.panasonic.co.uk/eshop [26/11/2001]

The November Origami Ride, in superb weather for the time of year, was graced by a Bike Friday Triplet - I wasn't expecting anything so unusual, and took a conventional film camera instead of a digital camera, so it will be at least a few days before a picture is available! [10/11/2001]

The Micro section of the web pages referred to the Micro having been made at one time by T D Cross - it has been pointed out that it was in fact T D Cross & Sons Ltd -  T. D. Cross Ltd is a thriving power transmission manufacturing company which is still operational - on the same site. The Micro section of the web pages has now been updated accordingly - apologies for any embarrassment caused. [10/11/2001]

Bradford on Avon Weekend 2001 - an illustrated report on the annual event of the Moulton Bicycle Club [04/11/2001]

Chichibu by Bridgestone Moulton - a report by Keith Hales on a ride in Japan on a Bridgestone Moulton. [04/11/2001]

New version of the Moulton Bicycle Club Sales and Wants List now available on their web pages - visit the MBC site to see it [03/11/2001]

Report on the Moulton Bicycle Club ride in Stockport on 27th October. (includes more general observations on the Birdy and other folders) [28/10/2001]

Report on the Moulton Bicycle Club ride in Lancaster on 14th October. [16/10/2001]

A Birdy in Scotland - a report on a recent trip to Scotland by train and Birdy. [4/10/2001]

Report on the Bridgestone Moulton now available on the Moulton Bicycle Club web pages. [4/10/2001]

The Moulton Bicycle Club web pages have moved.
The Moulton Bicycle Club now has a more memorable web address - http://www.moultoneers.net. Please change your bookmark/favourites entry to point to this new address. The old pages will remain available until December 2001, but they will NOT be updated, so you will need to go to the new site to get the latest information. The new site will also be getting a major overhaul soon. DO make sure you note the new address as soon as possible, as the old site will no longer be available after December; any email for mike@whooper.demon.co.uk should in future be sent to mike_hessey@blueyonder.co.uk - this is NOT the email address of the Moulton Bicycle Club, which will be found at relevant places on the web pages. [4/10/2001]

Birdy revisited - a report on a new September 2001 Birdy Red. We find it much improved from the last one tested, which dated back to 1998. [26/09/2001]

Please note that the location of our Birdy SIG pages has now changed - it is now at http://www.foldsoc.co.uk/birdy [26/09/2001]

Complete, illustrated, report of the Welsh Trains Ride now available [23/09/2001]

Higher resolution copy of the Folding Society logo now available [05/09/2001]

New video available - ALEX MOULTON: More than just the bikes
This is the third video in the series by Tony Hadland and John Pinkerton of in-depth interviews with key people in cycling history. The subject is Alex Moulton, one of Britain's greatest living engineers, whose achievements go well beyond the bicycles for which he is best known. The interview is illustrated with numerous pictures and archive film clips and is in two parts on one cassette. Part 1 runs for approximately 57 minutes and covers Alex Moulton's upbringing and involvement with steam power, aero-engines, motorcycles and automotive suspension systems. Part 2 runs for 44 minutes, with the emphasis on the development of the Moulton bicycle and Alex's reflections on the highs and lows of his lifetime in engineering. This is an all-digital recording, digitally edited to professional standards.

The video is available from Hadland Books in VHS PAL (UK) format only. This is suitable for the UK, Ireland, Australasia and most of Europe. [NTSC copies for North America and Japan will be obtainable from Doug Milliken at bd427@bfn.org ]. The price per copy for orders despatched by Hadland Books to addresses in the UK and Europe is £15. For orders sent to addresses in Australasia and elsewhere beyond Europe, the price is £17. All overseas orders are sent by airmail. An order form and details of the video can be found on the Hadland Books website at www.hadland.net. [26/8/2001]

Brompton rear triangleBrompton developments?
Graham McDermott has just bought a new Brompton, and sent this picture of the rear forks. Note the mysterious mounting boss. We can only think that this is intended as a mounting for a rear gear changer - perhaps this signifies that we can expect a Brompton with two rear sprockets in the near future. This would give a nominal 6 gears, although it's not clear whether these would really offer 6 distinctly different gears, without overlap, or would just in effect give one extra gear at the end of the range. Assuming double rear sprockets chosen to give in effect gears between the current ratios, the drawback would be that it would mean changing both sprocket and hub to go from one gear to the next. All this is speculation, but we await developments with great interest, and will report if we find out any more. Photograph Copyright Graham McDermott. [23/8/2001]

The final issue of Folding Society News is dated 19 August. The web pages will stay open, at least for a while.

I would like to thank all of you who have emailed me regarding the above notice. I am most grateful for the kind things you have written. Although some people have asked me to reconsider the situation regarding FSN, I am afraid that I am no longer able to continue with it. However, the web pages will remain available for at least a while, and will include the Sales & Wants section and the events listing - these will be updated if relevant information is supplied. Other updates to the web pages will depend entirely on whether there is anything appropriate to report - there may, for example, be a report on the Welsh Trains Ride in the Event Report section around the middle of September. If you want to read anything, feel free to visit these pages and look in this news section to information about the latest updates. If you don't like what is here, or don't want to read the material, I'd suggest you don't visit the site! [19/8/2001]

Folding Society News Issue 81 - 19 August 2001

Moulton Continental tyres for the AM series (17 inch, NOT the New Series tyre)
We hear that there was a manufacturing fault on the first batch of the new Continental 369 (17 inch) tyres for the AM range, and as a result they are being recalled. If you have bought any of these tyres, please contact your dealer. The problem will be solved with the next batch of tyres, which should be available soon, but until then the Bridgestone tyre is available instead. My own pre-production set of Continentals still seems fine, though I did notice that the front tyre seems not to be seating quite right, and runs out at one point, and repeated efforts to seat it better have failed to eliminate the problem. It has not effect on the handling, but it is a bit disconcerting if I look down at the wheel.

WE NEED YOUR HELP. In collaboration with A to B we are in the process of putting together a report on 406 (20 inch) sized tyres. This is not only one of the most popular wheel sizes for folders and small-wheelers, but has probably the widest choice of tyres outside the full-sized 700C and 26 inch ranges. We would particularly like to hear your experience regarding life and performance in extended use, but any views will be welcome. Please email any information to mike_hessey@blueyonder.co.uk - we hope that a joint report on the conclusions will be available in the future.

If you have any news for inclusion on these pages, please contact us.

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Last updated: 24 December 2005