fallstorm

I've decided that for some of my occassional trips, including one in August, a folding bike might be the best tool for the job. Some places I go lack public transporation and many do not have bike shops anywhere near the Greyhound station, so it's hard to buy a bike box.

The biggest problem I've found so far is the weight limit. I need a bike that can carry upwards of 350lbs. I'm a heavy guy and I usually carry quite a bit of stuff with rear panniers. I also need a folder that's pretty commonly available because I'm going to have to buy it about a week before I actually need to use it. I wish that wasn't so, but that's how college finances go.

Thanks for any help you guys can provide!

big boy phil

Hi there. I too am a big rider. I have been looking for a folder for a while now, and have had very little luck. The only real option is a custom Bike Friday bike. From the emails I have sent back and forth with one of the sales reps there, they can make a custom folder. What they do is take the front triangle section from one of their tandems, and use a heavy duty wheel and tire set. I don't know the exact costs, because of the drivetrain choices. But it can be done.
I was seriously considering the Xootr Swift, but the max weight is 275lbs. I called and asked where the limitations in the Swift were, and it is in the frame where the seat tube goes through. I don't know if the steel versions have a higher weight limit, but from what I know the Swift steel frames are out of production.
However, I was able to pick up a folding bike anyway. But its an old school bike. Its a Bianchi Milano made of steel, with a 3 speed sturmey archer hub. Its old, beat up, and very heavy, but it folds, and appeals to me anyway. I don't know if it really has a weight limit, but I don't care. I'm gonna ride it till it breaks and in the mean time, i can loan it out to friends if they wanna go for a ride. It really is a lot of fun.
Well, good luck to you. If I can think of any other options, or suggestions, I will be sure to add them here. If you come up with anything, I would love to hear about it also.

fallstorm

That's what I figured I was going to hear. Looks like it'll be plans B or C then. I was thinking about riding my Hardrock the whole way, but I'd be facing near 100 degree temperatures and I'm not sure that'd be a good idea.

big boy phil

ah the sound of discouragement. I hate that sound. Plans b & c don't sound like any fun.
In all honesty, I was still considering picking up the xootr swift and giving it a ride anyway. I mean, I really don't think it will snap on you the first time you hop on it. I could be wrong too. I have no idea. How many miles do you plan on putting on this bike during this trip?
I have my specialized rockhopper. its big, beefy, and gets me from the bottom of the mountain, somewhere near the top, and back down again. I have completely destroyed one rear wheel. The second one I had custom made is just now going out of true. The bottom bracket squeaks and creaks cause its in so much pain, but it still works, and works damn well for me. I have ridden/abused it for a year now for countless miles and don't plan on tossing it aside until it completely fails on me (at which point i have a lifetime warranty on the fram anyway) = )
Point is, its aluminum too, and has held up well to a lot of heavy duty mountain biking. I would be willing to bet the swift may still work well for a while as well. Just a thought, and sorry for the long post. this is all just my opinion (except for my rockhopper holding up thus far) and you can take from it what you will.

fallstorm

I'm not talking about a lot of miles -- maybe 30 miles every month. That doesn't sound like enough to justify buying a folding bike, but I estimate I'd recoop my money in about 10 months of avoiding taxis. I'd like to have a backup for my hardrock (even though I don't think much could happen to that tank, even at my weight) and I'm tired of the frustration from waiting for taxis, finding boxes for bikes, finding taxis that will accept a boxed bike, etc etc. I'm still considering doing all the riding on my hardrock, but we're talking 100 degree weather and no way to take the bus. It'd be tons of fun, but I'm not sure I could handle the heat.

spambait11

The steel Swifts are NOT out of production: CAT
These guys might be able to custom manufacture more durable frames.

There's also these guys: Worksman
They might also be able to customize a frame for you as well.

big boy phil

I cannot get the first link for CAT to work.
The worksman is very interesting. I will contact them tomorrow.
what is the CAT linking too?

spambait11

Sorry - the Center for Appropriate Transport (CAT) in Oregon. The link was to their PDF catalog, but here is the originating page.

bookishboy

"but from what I know the Swift steel frames are out of production."

I have good news in this regard.... well, semi-good. I had the honor to ask Peter Reich this question in person, and he said that the steel frames are currently on a hiatus. Though not currently in production, he is aiming on bringing back steel "Swift" bicycles. He also said something about a slight frame re-design, possibly with a lighter frame. May be available by the Fall.

geo8rge

A Montague might work for you. https://www.montagueco.com . Warning: My CX shipped with a poor parts package and the assembly was not expert. I replaced many of the parts. I use the bike almost daily and do like it.

Another possibility is to buy a smaller regular bike and when you need to, take the wheels off, loosen the head set, remove the pedals, wrap and bind in a painters drop cloth. That might make the bike compact enough for your needs. I have always been able to store my bike in the cargo bay of a bus, they never ask what's in that tarp.

Small Dia tires are stronger than large dia, but transmit more road vibrations and have more trouble with potholes. Some of those problems can be solved with a suspension bike like Downtube (although you may need a better suspension system than the one that ships). Downtube sells their suspension bikes on ebay for $200-$300.

If money is no object https://www.alexmoulton.co.uk/

downtube

Our old steel VI bikes (2 years ago) were tested by a 300lb'er and did very well. I think steel may be best for this application. Unfortunately, all our 2006 bikes are aluminum.

Thanks,
Yan

DaFriMon

Fallstorm, returning to the Bike Friday possibility, this might not be a choice right now, as you mentioned "college finances", and not being able to buy the bike until a week before the trip. Bike Fridays are fairly expensive, and if you get a custom built one, you're probably talking at least a month lead time.

But for future consideration, they can build bikes for heavier riders, although I don't know if they have an upper limit. Besides a reinforced frame, you're probably also looking at stronger wheels, with more spokes than usual. Also, you could look at their travel trailer system, where the suitcase that carries the bike turns into a trailer that you can tow, carrying your stuff that way instead of using panniers. That reduces the weight the bike itself has to carry. It might also make a difference whether you're talking about a 275 lb rider towing 75 lb of luggage or a 300 lb rider towing 50 lbs.

fallstorm

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind for the future. I think for this trip I might just try to ride it. We're only talking 40 miles the first day and 60 the second, and if I start out early in the morning I shouldn't have too much trouble with high temperatures since I'll be off the bike by noon both days. I'm still not sure I can do it, but nothing ventured nothing gained, right?

I'm losing weight at a pretty steady pace, so I think I'll wait until the end of the summer or fall to buy a folder and see where I'm at then. That way I can get something customized to my needs without time pressures. The Bike Fridays look like great bikes and seem to be very highly recommended. I'm drooling over their website...

juan162

Fallstorm,
Although I'm lighter than you are, I'm still a big guy and was up to 257lbs at one point. I'm still north of 230lbs and am trying to lose more weight. I just wanted to add that if you find a folding frame that can handle your weight, you can easily and cheaply buy much stronger, bmx wheels, assuming you are looking at 20" wheel folders.
I also think that if you can, you should look at steel frames. Steel will sooner bend under stress, while the aluminum is more likely to have a catastrophic failure. Better a bent bike than one that will break suddenly and injure you. Good luck,
juan162

big boy phil

Well, Just to let anyone interested know, I called up worksman.
The folding bike they offer only supports up to 210 lbs. On their site, they say that they do bikes for individuals with special needs. I assumed that meant "custom". My mistake, they will only rework the bikes that they offer, to work for your needs.

Also, I have sent an email to CAT to see what the deal is with their steel framed Swifts. I will post what I find out.

Its also nice to hear that Peter may bring back the re-designed Swifts in steel. I will be watching for that too.

big boy phil

I just heard back from CAT. They still offer the steel framed swift, and the recomended max weight is 350 lbs. I sent another email back requesting a lead time for it, but have not heard back yet.

Air

I'm on the bigger side as well (6' 1" ~260 lbs and decreasing ) which seemed to knock the Dahon's out of my range. The Montague bikes are rated up to 350 (when I called and talked to them). Those Dahons look so unstable considering the amount of potholes and stuff I ride through plus the occasional trail.

What parts did you have to replace? I've been thinking about getting just a frame on eBay and adding the brakes and gear ratio I want. That's not a cheap bike to come out of the box with problems!

I know it doesn't fold as small as some of those others - but I usually carry a ton of stuff with me so another big thing isn't going to be that cumbersome. Needs to get inside buildings where they don't want bikes - I can either get or make a bag that can fit it.

Air

My $0.02 after trying out some bikes today:

I tried out the Dahon Speed 7, Dahon Espresso, and Montague CX. All three felt slightly bendy to me when I pushed them. You're also talking about a guy who's 260 and has been able to leg press over 1,000 lbs. Out of the three the Espresso felt a little faster and the Montague was the most solid. The biggest problem I had was the handle bars on all three - they felt a little unstable and twitchy. To qualify that I'm used to riding with bar ends and wider handle bars and wider tires so that could very well be part of it.

I'm in love with Downtube after reading a bunch about it. I'm hoping to try one out soon - they seem to have a stronger frame compared to Dahon and are rated at 245 lbs. You should note that when you compare the Montague folding specs to the Dahon folding specs there's not much of a difference (5" on one side and 3" on the other). However with the Montague you'll have to remove the tire - and man that brake was a pain to release! Wish they had those nice simple center pull brakes...

One more - I found that with suspension (either on seat or fork) I lost a lot of power with my pedalling. I thought at first the rim was spinning inside the tire at first but realized it was the suspension. I probably would rather the bumps but that's me.

I also loath grip shifters.

geo8rge

"My $0.02 after trying out some bikes today:"

You might save $$$ long term by paying extra up front. Consider https://www.bilenky.com/

Air

I tried a few Downtube bikes out on Sunday - the 2006.5 models I guess. REALLY solid and light bikes - couldn't believe how light they were and didn't flex at all for me. They're also rated closer to my weight (rated at 245 - I'm at 260) than the Dahon.

DireWolf33

I am also looking for a heavy duty folding bike. I'm 5'8" and 250 lbs. Let's say 275 lbs with baggage. I need to be able to pack the bike for plane trips in a reasonable period of time, but otherwise I'm not concerned about size or weight. My price range is probably around $600 - a custom build bike friday (or any other custom built bike) is definitely out. My riding would be mostly commuter, although it might be nice to be able to take the bike out on mild trails. I don't know a lot about bike maintenance, so buying a bike and then replacing all its components wouldn't be easy for me.

I'm going to test drive the speed and helios dahons this week, but from what I've read I suspect they won't work out. Have been doing a flurry of internet research and would love to hear about anyone's experiences.

Seems like the Montague/Hummer, Downtube, and Swift Xootr (even the aluminum) bikes may have the highest weight limits of bikes in my price range.

geo8rge

The Hummer could work, it has decent name brand parts. On the CX I basically kept the frame handlebars brakes and derailer. I personally do not think the front shock will help you, and may make the overall bike less efficient.

If you have a regular steel bike you like, consider having it hacked see Sandsmachine.com. It might be the best solution.

Another possiblity is buy a regular bike with a small frame, like a BMX perhaps. Pop off the wheels seat pedals and headset you have a reasonably compact package. An internally geared hub will probably survive plane trips ect better than derailer. A flip flop hub could also replace a derailer system. A cheap BMX might be purchased used or dumpster dived as an experiment, if you like it upgrade or get a new one.

DireWolf33

This is really my first venture into bicycling, so I don't really have any preferred steel bikes or BMX bike experience. I will look into these options though. My first impression is that the cost of the hacking ( $200-$500) is going to outweight the cost of a cheaper folder. The practicality of using a BMX bike is not high, since I will need to be able to store the bike in a hotel luggage room or office frequently.

I know the new DownTube VIIIH has an internal hub, which is definitely a selling point for me.

DireWolf33

I test drove the Dahon Helios P8 today. The 15 minutes I rode it are probably 15 of 120 total bicycle riding minutes I have in the past 8 years, so it's hard for me to comment in any kind of refined way. However, the bike felt quite solid and I didn't feel any "frame flex." I unfortunately only found a very small hill so I wasn't really able to stress the bik much.It took me a few minutes to get used to the 20" wheels, after which steering did actually seem easier than on a regular sized bike. Much easier than on my motorcycle :-)

At the same time that I am looking around for a folding bike, I am also buying ultralight hiking gear to do some solo backpacking. I am starting to suspect that these two hobbies might end up overlapping...

geo8rge

"The practicality of using a BMX bike is not high, since I will need to be able to store the bike in a hotel luggage room or office frequently. "

Montague frames are full sized and do not fold compact or quicky. In particular the front wheel comes off and then you fold the frame then drop the wheel on top. I usually drop the hole thing in a painters tarp and wrap it with a bunge cord. In a pinch I tie it up with my cable lock.

My guess is a BMX bike would dismantle faster and possibly more compact.

Dahon Piccalo has a cross bar that might make it more rigid (or so I say). It is steel (I trust, maybe wrongly, steel more than AL), internally geared hub, but is rated at 230. 16" wheels are stonger, fold smaller, but will give a rougher ride, and must be ridden slower for safety reasons, if the frame were to fail your feet would be closer to the ground (10" or so).

If you do not like the bike, you probably could recover half the price on eBay or craigslist.

The dahon Mu XL/SL might also be strong enough for you, but are expensive.

https://www.dahon.com/us/piccolod3.htm