Are Folding Bikes Worth It? Folding Bike Pros and Cons
As you’ve contemplated your bike options, you’ve looked into more unconventional choices such as folding bikes. However, you’ll be the first to admit that you don’t yet know a lot about folding bikes, so you’re not sure if they’re worth the money. Are they?
Folding bikes make for easy and convenient transportation whether you travel by train or by car. You can also store them without taking up a lot of room. However, folding bikes are more expensive, don’t ride as smoothly, and will attract attention.
In this extensive guide, I’ll review both the advantages and disadvantages of folding bikes so you can make a purchasing decision that you feel good about. There’s plenty of great information to come, so keep reading!
Quick Recap – What Is a Folding Bike?
Since you’re still learning about folding bikes, I thought it’d be beneficial to include a brief introduction before I get into the pros and cons of these bikes.
A folding bike, as the name implies, is a type of bicycle that can compress and fold down when not in use.
Here’s how to do that.
The back wheel with the derailleur and the rear triangle will fold below the bike’s main frame.
Then, the top tubed part of the frame pivots on a hinge, allowing the front wheel to move so it can be near the back wheel near the derailleur.
From there, the handlebars will drop near the back wheel, and then the saddle compacts. The saddle locks into position.
Although it can take some getting used to, once you understand how to compress a folding bike and unfold it, it takes about 30 seconds to do either.
Folding Bike Pros
Now that you have a better understanding of a folding bike and how it works, let’s delve into the pros and cons per the intro.
Easy Transportation
When you ride a traditional bike, you’re committing to getting to your destination and back home via your bike.
However, what do you do with the bike in the interim?
Bike racks aren’t always available for parking and locking your bike, so you either have to put your bike somewhere and hope for the best (not advisable) or carry the bike with you the entire time (not convenient).
This can detract you from wanting to travel anywhere long-distance with a traditional bike, and rightfully so. That nature of travel can feel like a lose-lose scenario.
A folding bike makes traveling with a bike a much more realistic proposition.
You can load the folding bike onto your car on a rack if you want or simply compact it and stash it in the backseat or trunk.
You should even be able to bring a folding bike on a train or bus in its compacted form.
It’s easy enough to carry, much more so than a traditional bike. Your traveling options have just opened up considerably!
Can Be Stored Nearly Anywhere
Where do you store your bike when it’s not in use?
Traditional bikes are anything but small even if they are skinny. These bikes are also unyielding, so if you don’t have enough length or width for one, then you can’t store it there, end of story.
You might keep your bike stashed in a garage or shed because where else are you supposed to put it?
Where else indeed? That’s a question that a folding bike seeks to answer.
Since a folding bike can become compact, you have so many more storage options.
You can put the bike on a garage shelf, in your backyard (protected, of course), or even in a back room in your home.
Even better is that storing a folding bike takes up far less room than storing a traditional bike.
More Storage Options Means Better Security
I’ve established that when you want to park a traditional bike, your option is usually a bike rack.
The location of the bike rack means that you will leave your bike outside of your line of sight for possibly hours at a time.
Even if you lock your bike, particularly dexterous thieves might be able to pick the lock. Since you’re not there to see it happen, your bike is gone, and you don’t even know when it happened or who did it.
Good luck getting your bike back from there.
While you should still report the incident to the police, without much of a timeline or a suspect, it can be nearly impossible for the cops to find your bike and return it safely to you.
With a folding bike, you can compact your bike and bring it indoors with you if that’s allowed.
No more trusting your bike to that rickety bike rack at the office when you can keep the bike under your desk in your cubicle.
You won’t have to worry about anyone stealing your folding bike because you’ll be able to keep an eye on it all day long.
You Might Be Able to Take Them on Planes
Ultimately, this is at the discretion of the airline, so you should always check their rules before waltzing into an airport with your folding bike, even in a compressed state.
Due to the size of a folding bike, an airplane may allow you to bring the bike on the plane.
Some folded bikes, when compressed, are 29 inches tall by 32 inches wide.
Maybe that’s bigger than what you can bring on your carry-on, but you should be able to fit the folding bike in your luggage.
Once you arrive at your destination, you can simply unpack your bike, unfold it, and be on your way.
There will be no need to rent a car or figure out pricy train or bus fare when you can cycle around.
Your Bike Will Be a Conversation Starter
As I mentioned in the intro, a folding bike is certainly an unconventional choice, and not only to you, but to everyone you meet.
As you go about your daily life, you might find that more people stop you to ask you about your bike.
They’ll be genuinely curious, as perhaps some of them have never heard about folding bikes before.
You could just convince someone else to try a folding bike.
It could even go further than that. Who knows? Maybe you make a new friend over chatting about folding bikes or you even meet a new romantic interest!
Folding Bike Cons
Now that I’ve fully elaborated on the plusses of folding bikes, it’s only fair to take a full look at all the minuses of these bikes as well.
More Expensive Than Traditional Bikes
If you’ve read other posts on this blog about bikes, then you should know that the further you stray from conventional bike territory, the more expensive your bike becomes.
For instance, a single-speed bike costs about $400 on average and a road bike between $350 and $700, but a mountain bike is upward of $1,000.
Folding bikes, since they’re unconventional much in the same vein as mountain bikes, start at around $230 and can cost up to $1,000 depending on the bike.
Some are even closer to $2,000.
Now, I can’t tell you what’s reasonable versus unreasonable to pay for a bike, as that all comes down to you.
Just be aware that owning a folding bike will be costlier than buying most traditional bikes.
Smaller Wheels Negate Speed
To allow a folding bike to fold smoothly and easily, most folding bikes have smaller tires than what you’d see in a traditional bike.
The tires may be anywhere from 12 to 20 inches.
Some folding bike tires are bigger at 26 inches, which is the standard for traditional bike tires.
If your tires are smaller than 26 inches, the size of the heels is going to make it harder for you to achieve the same degree of speed as a cyclist with bigger wheels.
That’s no big deal if you’re only buying a folding bike for leisurely, everyday riding.
However, if you’re interested in racing or doing other forms of accelerated riding on a folding bike, you might find yourself disappointed.
Another issue with smaller tires is that they struggle more on various types of terrain and could be at a greater risk of popping or deflating.
Less Smooth Ride
The smaller the tires of a folding bike, the bigger that thick tree branch or heavy stone feels.
A bike with larger tires such as a traditional bike can simply glide right over these obstacles without you absorbing nearly as much of the impact, but smaller tires cannot do the same.
You will feel every bump, divot, and uneven part of the road.
This isn’t such an issue for traditional road riding such as on a street or sidewalk.
Your riding experience won’t be as smooth as butter on a folding bike, of course, but it shouldn’t be full of terrible aches and pains, either.
However, once you transition to riding on uneven terrain on a folding bike, you might find yourself out of your depth.
You’ll be so sore after hitting every last bump and curve in the road that you’ll want to go home after only a short ride.
Now, some folding bikes do have suspension blocks as part of the frame, and if not that, then a suspension seat post.
Both are designed to absorb some of the impact so riding a folding bike is less hard on your body.
Without these features though, you’re in for quite the bumpy ride.
Might Be More Attractive to Criminals
Earlier, I talked in-depth about how being able to carry your folding bike with you in its compacted form would naturally deter criminals because they won’t be able to see your bike to steal it.
While that is true, what if you store your folding bike on a conventional bike rack?
Compared to all the other traditional bikes on the rack, yours looks different.
That means the bike can warrant more attention than a traditional bike and may be perceived as more of a target.
Not Very Comfortable for Long-Term Riding
I know I already talked about how a folding bike’s inability to deter physical impacts can make riding it uncomfortable, but it does get worse still, you should know.
For one, riding a folding bike is quite stiff.
The hinges around the frame have a higher degree of flex, and that lends the bike more stiffness that feels impossible to shake.
On top of that, the shape of folding bike handlebars is not naturally positioned to reduce wrist and arm strain and keep you sitting in the proper posture.
The bars are upright and don’t angle far back enough, so you may find yourself hunching when using a folding bike.
There’s pretty much no way around this, either. If the handlebars are positioned too differently on the bike, then the bike not be able to neatly fold up, so it’s one or the other.
These factors, when taken altogether, can make riding a folding bike rather painful!
Don’t Get Much Cargo Room
Part of traveling with a bike involves bringing enough supplies to get you through a day or riding. You need adequate hydration and maybe some snacks too.
You probably also want to bring your phone and maybe sunblock or bug repellent.
Most traditional bikes offer an assortment of storage options so you can carry at least a few essentials like those above.
As for folding bikes? If they had as much cargo capacity, do you think the bike would be able to fold quite as easily? The answer is no, of course.
You can say goodbye to handlebar and saddle bags and even fork-mounted panniers.
You’ll have to store the items you can’t go without in a backpack and wear it while cycling. It’s not very convenient, but what other option do you have when riding a folding bike?
Heavier Than You Might Think
With the way I’ve talked about folding bikes, you might assume that they’re as easy as pie to fold up and tote around anywhere, right?
Ah, but that’s not entirely true.
A folding bike weighs about 26 pounds on average.
For some people, that kind of weight is easy to tote around. For others, it isn’t.
Even if you don’t struggle with carrying around 26 pounds initially, fatigue can build over time.
The last thing you’ll want to do is continue to lug around a heavy folding bike, but it’s not like you can abandon the bike.
Can’t Handle Hills Well
When ascending a steep hill on a traditional bike, you can usually change your gears to help you reach the top of the summit.
The lack of a front derailleur in folding bikes limits how many gears–if any–that you can switch between.
That’s not to say that all folding bikes don’t have a front derailleur, but since the presence of the derailleur would impede folding, it’s uncommon to see folding bikes with them.
Getting up tall hills will require more of your physical effort than perhaps you would like, leaving you winded by the time you reach the summit.
So, Are Folding Bikes Worth It?
Folding bikes are a convenient type of bike if you’re a frequent traveler who prefers to offset their carbon emissions by cycling rather than driving.
You can often bring a folding bike onto a train or bus, and the bike fits into all sorts of vehicles like cars, trucks, and SUVs.
Some planes even allow compacted folding bikes.
However, folding bikes may have more downsides than upsides. These bikes are heavier and more expensive than traditional bikes.
You’re lacking the gears you need for seamless travel up hills.
Once you ride down a hill, you could feel every bump, divot, and uneven part of the road, which can be injurious for riders.
Folding bikes are also rather stiff, have smaller wheels, and feature unyielding handlebar positioning.
For city riding, a folding bike can be a very worthwhile means of getting around.
If you’re looking for a bike that can reach good speeds and ride on an assortment of terrain, a folding bike is not that.
You’re better off with a mountain bike.