Folding Bikes?

ThePrettyDamned

EricTheWeary said:

There was something on the radio about commuting by bike. One of the guests explained that after having several bikes nicked from the station he bought a cheap one and painted it with pink stripes and that's never been taken. 

Oddly enough a friend of mine had an allotment where there had been break ins and the police gave him similar advice. There was a further break in but they didn't take his stuff. If you're passing an allotment in Wolverhampton and see a  burly skinhead with pink striped gardening tools that's Steve...

The point being that bikes are usually stolen for a quick resell and that if you make it unsellable ( no one's interested in serial numbers) it's less stealable.

Yup, someone I work with has a moderately expensive road bike (about £1k all in, with a few upgrades). 

She covered some bits in crudely applied gaffer tape and repainted part of the handlebars - basically, it now looks like a relic guitar. 

Still weighs nothing and rides well. She is lucky enough to have a mostly smooth ride to work, so a road bike is fine. You'll see a lot of hybrids and mountain bikes in Cambridge because there are a lot of quite not-good roads. Not awful, but bad enough for people to not want to take a risk. 

lloyd

Late to the party but a Brompton is what you want(ed) they're the best by a country mile-engineering is superb and they fold the smallest.

like any folder the ride is hard, but....try and buy a second hand Brompton-they're like rocking horse shit and hold their value ridiculously well-you're better off buying new-people buy them and keep them (although i sold mine...due to change in circs rather than a reflection on the bike) and only lost 20% on a £1000 bike that was 6-8 months old 

57Deluxe

ICBM

I had a Raleigh…

The best thing about it was that with some patience, I managed to get £50 for it on Gumtree.

hotpot

I had a Pegasus folding bike years ago, I think they made it in conjunction with Irn-Bru, because it weighed an absolute ton as though it was made from Girders.

thermionic

Just get a Brompton. £1200 is not much money for a very good bike.

monquixote

Turns out the new office is pretty close to the station so it's not worth the extra hassle of taking something on the train and i leave the bike at the station home side. 

Luckily the station have recently installed a proper bike rack.

strtdv

In that case any old hybrid (or even an old rigid 26" MTB with slick tyres) will do just fine. The nastier looking the better to prevent theft.

monquixote

Yeah i bought a hybrid with hub gears

duotone

My Dad bought one from Halfords, think it's the Carrera brand for £300.  

Like this. http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/folding-bikes/carrera-transit-folding-bike

I've ridden it a few times and it is fine, has 3 hub gears and generally works well. Is a pretty heavy sod though, so I would want to minimise the distance I had to carry it...if possible.  My personal preference is I prefer a full size bike as it just feels "more stable" with the wider handlebars, but I know in your situation this isn't an option.

strtdv

Which hub system did you get? I'm intrigued by them (I like the idea of a belt drive) but have heard mixed reports about the Alfine