

Inventor's Bike Folds Into Its Own Wheel - mlLK
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Student-Invents-Bicycle-Which-Folds-Into-26-Inch-Wheel-Circumference-For-James-Dyson-Prize/Article/200908115353249?lpos=UK_News_First_Home_Page_Feature_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15353249_Student_Invents_Bicycle_Which_Folds_Into_26-Inch_Wheel_Cir

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sammyo
I did not see him pedling at all, deal breaker if it's just a scooter. Looks
like a prototype that will never get further, the cost for that many high
quality hinges will put the manufacturing price way past a reasonable price
point.

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CamperBob
What I _did_ see were more cuts than in an average Bruckheimer flick. I'm
skeptical.

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krschultz
He doesn't have a chain connecting the pedals to the rear tire so its not
really functional. Check out the video - he never pedals, and when he folds it
you can see there is no chain.

You can't have a joint that changes the geometry between the rear hub and the
pedals. On this bike there is a hinge and they end up being next to each
other. On current folding bikes the hinge is forward of the pedals - the
locking mechanism is usually the weak point, spend time improving that.

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adamhowell
Not only does it not have a chain, it only has one pedal.

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didroe
12 seconds in you can clearly see two pedals.

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jeffesp
If you look closely when it is folded, it only has one.

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thesethings
(Wowza, if this guy completes his proof of concept, it would rock the foldable
bike world.)

I just wanna jump in here, while our brains are thinking about foldable bikes,
and say I have a foldable bike, and in less than 3 weeks it has already
changed my life for the better.

I don't even have the nicest foldable bike, and I'm not what you would call a
bicycle enthusiast.

I just completely get off on the extra independence the foldable bike gives
me.

Basically foldable bikes allow for a lot more spontaneity than regular bikes:

* They are allowed ON Amtrak (US train system), like regular luggage. (If you have a full-sizes bike, you need to check to see if there is a special bike car, or worse, a box you need to use that requires removing some bike parts to make it fit.)

* They are allowed on every public bus system that I've tried in Oregon and California. Usually buses make you put your bike on the rack in front (oh yeah, check to make sure your route HAS a rack, and there aren't special rules.)

* They can easily fit into your friends' small cars without disassembly.

* You can bike yourself to exhaustion without worry if you have the energy to make the round trip, just put bike on any of the methods of transportation listed above.

* Depending on the bike you get, you can carry it into places that you'd never get away with.

* (This one is good or bad, depending on how you look at it. I'm more introverted, so i wish it weren't so true.) Foldable are bikes are quite the conversation starter, young and old alike.

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nazgulnarsil
I want to see the hinge that allows the front wheel fold up close. looks like
a potential weak point.

I wonder how much he spent making the prototype.

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jacquesm
Fold up bikes are a great concept. There is one 'but' though, they are not
nearly as robust as a regular bike and hopping a curbstone or a pothole can
have serious consequences.

The pedals are usually a little lower over the road surface than on regular
bikes and the wheels are small. They are also less rigid.

When I was a kid I would ride a fold up bike to school every day, for two
years without incident, then one day one of the hinges suddenly gave way. It's
very surprising to find yourself on two half bikes in the middle of a busy
city intersection!

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jrockway
It all depends on how much folding you want. If you just want to be able to
travel with it a bit more easily than a full size bike, you can do something
like this:

<http://www.surlybikes.com/travelerscheck.html>

Edit: After doing a bit more research, I learned that bikes built like this
can fold into a case that's the size of their wheels:

<http://sandsmachine.com/>

So basically, this is as good as what's in the article, but available right
now.

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rdouble
S&S couplers are necessary for bike travel these days. Bikes now incur a $175
surcharge on any domestic flight I've been on in the past year. If you can get
the bike into a suitcase you avoid the charge.

However, couplers on a real bike are nothing like a strida, brompton or bike
friday tikit. These bikes are designed to fold up and unfold very quickly.
They are also much smaller and can fit on public transportation where you're
not allowed to take a full sized bike.

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FiveFiftyOne
No drive? The reassembly part of the video a reverse of the disassembly? I
have an awesome gadget which refuels my car as I drive, or I will, as soon as
I locate a black box with some wires and pipes sticking out of it, and splice
together some video that shows the rev counter and speedo going the right way,
while super-imposing the fuel gauge returning to full. Maybe I'm just a cynic
and the video doesn't reveal all the secrets.

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sgoranson
Folding bikes are nothing new, but if he's right about this one being able to
'take punishment', I'd buy one. My current folding bike is handy for taking on
the T, but besides that, I call it the clown bike because of how it looks and
how it handles.

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Devils-Avacado
This bike design is so bad, someone has written and recorded a mock commercial
for it:

<http://www.supload.com/listen?s=FKrRVn>

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jenhsun
Here is a Taiwanese site called international bicycle design competition
<http://www.ibdcaward.org> (Sorry, this site doesn't show enough information
for bike design), Anyway,we already have similar bikes in production for
people who take to the train and subway. More information at
<http://www.brandingtaiwan.org/eng/index.aspx>

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pbhjpbhj
Can't view all the details from this browser - don't the handle bars project
outside the wheel cicumference, or can they be folded further?

Personally I think the emphasis on folding bikes which seems to there appears
to be at the moment is wrong. We should be looking at properly connecting the
bike with mass transit - trains and buses that are easily accessible for
bikes/cyclists.

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die_sekte
To sum this up: This 'bike' has neither a chain nor driveshaft nor belt, thus
you can't pedal it. It also lacks the necessary structural integrity and -- as
seen on reddit -- at least the rear brake most likely doesn't work. But hey:
It has a neat design and you can pull it around when it's folded. What is
this? A parody?

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I_got_fifty
No, it's a £10.000 competition.

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silvio
The IF Mode bike (<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD2lFgMfh2k>) folds much
faster and the pedals actually connect to the wheel. I've been told that they
started selling them already, but they seem to be a bit pricey.

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abl
I used to have a folding bike made by Kama. Can't say it was very convenient.
To get it inside an elevator, it took more time to fold it, than for the other
kids to fit their regular bikes in. And the small wheels made the speed a lot
slower.

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jcl
Really slick... I especially like that you can wheel the whole package around
while it's folded up. It looks like the chain is somehow internal to the
frame?

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uybuyvg
No, the chain is internal to the designer's head. If you can't do the tricky
part, just ignore it and hope for the publicity.

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smithjchris
Looks like it has too many points of failure i.e. the design ultimately
sacrifcies rigidity and strength for convenience. Bicycles have to be
extremely strong, or this happens:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe6KqdJndcU>

I'll stick to my dawes 531 tourer and the train nazis thank you :)

