Folding bike Airnimal Joey suitable for rush hour in London?

the watcher

Hi.

I am currently looking into folding bikes to help save some money on a commute, but still provide decent speed etc for local use (6-5mile radius).

I live in Zone 6 (London!) and was planning to cycle 20mins to just within zone 4, use the tube to get to zone 2, and then use the joey to get into zone 1 and around the rest of london. I calculated that this would save me at least £1000 a year and also help me to start the day/wind down nicely.

I was initially considering a Birdy Rohloff, but the price seems prohibitively expensive. My LBS recommended the Airminal Joey (I was initially just asking about a bike which would allow me sit completely upright), but I gathered that it's aimed more for flyers than commuters. The dimensions for the Joey when folded are:
29cmx80cmx90cm.

Whilst the Birdy bikes are only:
28x58x76

I imagine Bromptons are slightly less than this.

I was wondering if you all think the joey is really suitable for carrying (folded in the bag) on the tube during rush hour (even if it's only for 3-4stops). I know some passengers get irate enough at people with suitcases...

Many thanks


p.s. while using the search engine, I find pages of results with Airnimals for sale. Should I take this as a bad sign?

ris

i use a joey for my commute, mainly on an intercity for one stop, journey time of about 10mins. when i got the bike i thought that i might use the soft (carradice) bag daily, but i think in two years i have used it less than half a dozen times.

as you've pointed out the foded size is a bit bigger than a brommie or bidy, but there is a bit more to it than that. the front wheel and bike are seperate objects, so the bulk is a bit greater. airnimal do a commute strap which ties the handlebars to the downtube, and the front wheel can be added to that assembly, but i found it very unweildy so still carry the wheel when transporting it.

i love using my joey but think i am probably at the edge of what it can be used for at times. on the train it is a bit too big (it only just gets in the luggage rack of the intercity), and finding a corner to wedge it in on a packed train is quite tricky. ride-wise it is fabulous, and fun, but on poor roads it can be a bit of a bone shaker. i took it round central london once and it felt great zipping around on good tarmac.

i would love to be able to say go and get one, you'll not regret it etc, but the best will in the world the carry bag is a bugger to use and the joey might just be too big and cumbersome when folded to use on a crowded underground.

to get the best out of it the trains would need be a bit less than sardine like, although with the joey what's to stop you going another stop up the line!

- i wouldn't pay attention to the sales of airnimals on the interweb - they only come up on ebay once in a while that i've noticed, while the world is saturated with hand-carved cast-iron framed brommies

the watcher

Thanks for the straightforward advice and honest remarks.

From what I have been reading, the Airnimal Joeys are probably one of the fastest rides around for folding bikes, but most the users seem to use them on trains rather than on tubes.

I already read one story on another forum about a person on the tube at clapham junction with a bromley. Apparently he was squashed against a wall trying to minimise the room himself and the bike (folded) took up, and still some lady, upon leaving, stamped on his foot with her high heels and said that from for bringing a bike on the train and calling him a selfish bast*rd!.

It's these kind of things that put me off getting a larger folder. I did even consider cycling all the way into London (I'm still job searching for my "city job" having just finished Uni), but I'm pretty underweight from an illness and am trying to build myself up. Cycling 15+miles twice a day would probably not aid my recovery. However a mix of tube and cycling would be ideal

ris

i'm sure the brommie was just an excuse! whenever i'm ona crowded u/g it seems to be full of miseryguts intent on being unpleasant to each other, it just needs an excuse.

i think you are right about the airniaml for trains rather than the tube. i can't imagine carrying it up the stairs or through some of the longer changes at stations. i find it easier to carry the bike as a bike than as a folded package. from experience i can confirm you can't get it through standard tube barriers! :oops:

is there a regional / overground that serves the outer part of your commute instead? if you can cycle out to an overground you might find the joey better suited.

the joey is such a fun ride that i've been doing 15mile each way trips 3 days a week over the summer, although the roads don't do it any favours. i now actively look for excuses to go further; rail trips where i can get off a stop early to cycle further or like today where the wife's car needed a service so i bunged the joey in the boot and did the commute fo and from the mechanics instead of my regular route.

woodford2barbican

How far is your total journey is you cycled it all, maybe that is an option.....?

Plenty people here do 20+, 30+ miles a day.

Then you could get a proper bike and avoid the evil of those that have a bend in the middle!

the watcher

I have only just finished university, so my current commute for work/leisure is within a 4 mile radius. However, now I am looking for jobs in London, according to googlemaps, it would be 12miles to Euston Station (just inside zone 1), 14.2 miles to Waterloo (perhaps as far south as I would work?), 15 miles or so to Liverpool Street.

So it looks like a maximum of 16miles or so. However, this is the problem with looking for my 1st job in the city/after uni: I have no idea where I will be based. Also, applying with temp agencies also means I am clueless about location. One possible one was in Hammersmith which would have been 9-10 miles, another possible one turns out to only be 5miles away, so if that became permanent, I would wonder why I ever bothered getting a folding bike.

Like I said, I am underweight, only weighing 50kg at 5 foot 6.5 inches.
Since my illness 2 years ago, I have only now managed to stabalise my weight, and am reluctant to exercise so much that I start losing weight again. I will probably be working 6 days (1 day local) and also continue volunteering on Sundays which means 2.5hours of pretty intense conservation work (plus 1 hour cycling/3hours walking to get there & back). I am trying to be realistic which is why I think a folding bike with part tube-part cycling is ideal.

Also, I value my leisure time. It's not like I come home and watch tv or anything, but I do have a few hobbies/studies which I am pursuing in my spare time. 6.5days working won't leave me with much time as it is. So perhaps cycling the entire way is too ambitious.

But I NEED a new bike at any rate since my old one is unusable now. However, I would rather get one good quality folder/fullsized(or moulton!) than 2 average bikes. Call it a graduation present to myself hence me wanting a relatively top spec model, albeit one I can sit perfectly upright on to offset back/neck issues.

Incidentally, about the overground, there is one which takes me 12mins from zone 6 to Euston, but it is always really packed since it starts at Milton Keynes. Also, going from zone 6 to zone 1 kind of negates much of the money saving...

By the way, TFL journey planner says it takes about 90mins for my longest trip. According to one calorie calculator, this equates to about 600 calories of energy required at my weight going at 12-14mph. Does that sound about right to anyone? I don't think I could increase my intake by 1200 calories.

el_presidente

re spare time - 16 mile cycle will take you say 90 mins max - you won't be any slower than getting the tube.

There is a fairly decent second-hand market in decent bikes so if you do decide you need to change it shouldn't be too much of an issue

ride_whenever

Have you considered getting a 'proper' bike and cycling in one day, back the next, that's 15miles a day, which is quite doable (considering when I started my new job i cycled 30miles in and the same 30 back until i organised a lift) A non-folder will be more convenient, faster and more comfortable hopefully.

Bodhbh

I have a Joey Explorer, I've enjoyed riding it immensly and the folding functionality has proved very useful, but it's not something I'd want to be folding x2 or more a day on a commute. It's great for getting on trains when the guard is being a jobsworth, or the tube when you have to, or throwing in a car boot, but not really for lugging about a tube station or multiple folds aday.

Like has been posted, I mostly use it as a folder on long train journeries and tend to shave a change or two off and save some money there. Plus you start adding a rack or mudguards the fold gets bigger still, still find for the above uses, but not for commutting i would say.

FlatEssexSociety

I've got an Airnimal Chameleon Ultima that I moved onto from a Dahon.

This beast rides like a real bike and has actually made me fitter and encouraged me to ride further.

My commute is 2 miles to the station, train, then 5 miles to work.

However, I now get off a station before on the way home and do an extra 20 miles each day.

Don't try this on a Brompton / Birdy?

However, slight caveat - I get the Airnimal on the train unfolded, and don't use the tube. the only reason it folds is to get it past our neanderthal security at work and fit it under my desk. The Airnimal's aren't easy / fast folds.

the choice is, ease of fold or fun to ride.

Sorry, don't think you get both

ris

FlatEssexSociety and Bodhbh, i think i do a 6 fold a day at the moment when i use the train! i've got the fast fold / unfold down to about 20-30secs, if i use my raceblades then it adds a few mins to the unfold time.

last time i used the carradice bag it took 5-10mins in all and i was getting pretty irritated with it by then. my mood wasn't helped when i took it out and found my lights on, brakes and gears a bit mangled... :twisted:

the watcher

Nice advice. As someone else observed, it's far easier to take an airnimal on an overground train than the underground. Although, most people I have spoken to said they haven't seen many folders in general on the underground. Like I said, I will only be using it from zone 4 to 2 on the tube, regardless of where I get a job.

Just spoke to my uncle, the only cyclist in my family and he too seems to be thinking like most of you, which is that I should just cycle all the way in. Still, it's different: him doing an 8 mile commute 2x a day in leicester along canal paths etc, and me commuting into london through A-roads.

I test road the Birdy Tourer today, and it seems to fullfill one of my main criteria when purchasing my new bike, which is that I get a completely upright ride. I was slightly bent forward, but the model I used was the all purpose stem whereas the comfort stem would be 4 inches closer to me. It seemed pretty nippy, comfortable and responsive. However, I was going to treat myself to the Rohloff version. I want to decide soon they have a 2-4week waiting time to get them in. Same is the case if I decided to go against my better judgement and order a Moulton tsr30 and cycle all over London as so many people suggest (Also about 2-4weeks waiting time if I want it in a black colour rather than the maroon standard).

Just out of interest, does ANYONE here see folding bikes on the tube during rush hour? Albeit it within zones 4-2?? I've seen people riding them in zone 1, but never on the tube.

andrewc3142

I have a brommie which I use from time to time to go in from Woking, eg if I have to go straight to a meeting, to a dinner, etc. It's also useful to take on the Eurostar without endless messing around booking it in, or to chuck in the back of the car when I'm working away in the UK. I may look a prat but I hate, hate, hate going by tube or bus.

But, to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't fancy taking it on the rush hour tube. They may be foldable and compact, but after a short while in a crowded long tunnel it'll feel distinctly heavy and bulky!

I usually cycle in all the way on my road bike and find this best, cheapest, and most enjoyable plus it gets my miles in at 55m round trip.

If you really, really feel you need one, try one first (they don't feel like normal bikes at all) and then look on ebay. Other makes are lighter but be aware that some do NOT fold down small, certainly not for the tube.

the watcher

If i were to get a folder, I would rather purchase a performance folder. I have already tried the Bridy and I love it. While I do like the idea of commuting all the way by bicycle, I don't see it being best for me. I feel EXHAUSTED after work and actually enjoy sitting on the train for a while resting my eyes after a day stuck in front of a computer. Plus there's the issue I pointed out earlier that I don't want to exercise too much. I am underweight, and on the road to recovery still.

If people are saying that even a Brompton is too large for commuting on the tube, then I'm guessing the Birdy is a lost cause. Incidentally, I managed to walk from Euston to Holborn in 20 mins today without even trying. Maybe I could use part train, part walking? :P

Bodhbh

ris wrote:

FlatEssexSociety and Bodhbh, i think i do a 6 fold a day at the moment when i use the train! i've got the fast fold / unfold down to about 20-30secs, if i use my raceblades then it adds a few mins to the unfold time.

last time i used the carradice bag it took 5-10mins in all and i was getting pretty irritated with it by then. my mood wasn't helped when i took it out and found my lights on, brakes and gears a bit mangled... :twisted:

Eek! I've never timed myself, but I think I take a couple of mins to fold it. That said, I've never folded it as part of a regular commute so have never made any attempt to be fast or got into a regular drill.

I used to the carradice bag once, directly after I bought it when I was too chickens**t to cycle from the shop back home, having zero cycling experience of london traffic at the time.

Found it an *extremely* tight fit to get into the bag, a faff tbh. This is without any stuff on the bike, no way would it fit with a rack etc. Also it's not a particularly comfortable carry in the bag, and moreover you tend to end up poleaxing people as yoiu turn or walk down the street, the bag suprisingly wide and out of your line of sight.

In the end just fold it up, bungee it together, and just carry it by the top tube - much easier.

ris

Bodhbh, have you tried the commute strap which fixes the handbars to the downtube? it's a nice bit of kit that airnimal sell for about 12quid. in theory you can add the front wheel to the folded package as well but i never use that bit.

i've had mine a year and its getting a bit knackered (velcro ripping, that sort of thing) but for the price i'd happily get another.

Bodhbh

ris wrote:

Bodhbh, have you tried the commute strap which fixes the handbars to the downtube? it's a nice bit of kit that airnimal sell for about 12quid..

No, I did have one, but it got lost when it fell of the back in a saddlebag. In anycase I assumed the handlebards went along the top tube, I'll try it the otherway next time I fold and see whatsup.

woodford2barbican

the watcher wrote:

Nice advice. As someone else observed, it's far easier to take an airnimal on an overground train than the underground. Although, most people I have spoken to said they haven't seen many folders in general on the underground. Like I said, I will only be using it from zone 4 to 2 on the tube, regardless of where I get a job.

Just spoke to my uncle, the only cyclist in my family and he too seems to be thinking like most of you, which is that I should just cycle all the way in. Still, it's different: him doing an 8 mile commute 2x a day in leicester along canal paths etc, and me commuting into london through A-roads.

I test road the Birdy Tourer today, and it seems to fullfill one of my main criteria when purchasing my new bike, which is that I get a completely upright ride. I was slightly bent forward, but the model I used was the all purpose stem whereas the comfort stem would be 4 inches closer to me. It seemed pretty nippy, comfortable and responsive. However, I was going to treat myself to the Rohloff version. I want to decide soon they have a 2-4week waiting time to get them in. Same is the case if I decided to go against my better judgement and order a Moulton tsr30 and cycle all over London as so many people suggest (Also about 2-4weeks waiting time if I want it in a black colour rather than the maroon standard).

Just out of interest, does ANYONE here see folding bikes on the tube during rush hour? Albeit it within zones 4-2?? I've seen people riding them in zone 1, but never on the tube.

Your commute does not have to be on A roads - and even if parts of it are they are often the best bits of the route!