Do you commute on a Brompton or a similar folding bike?

xxcc

Hi all commuters

We're 3 students at Brighton university doing a project which involves Brompton and similar products. We would greatly appreciate if you could fill out our short survey - it takes less than 1 min to complete! http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/J5RQCGQ

The survey consists of one part for owners of folding bicycles and one part for non-owners. Obviously you only need to fill out the questions relevant to you so whether you ride a folding bike or not, you're more than welcome to respond.

Thanks very much in advance!

shouldbeinbed

Constructive criticism alert:

You don't seem to take account of the fact that many of us folder riders will also have and use full frame bikes too. you're being too rigid and making too many assumptions in your questions.

Page 1 Q4 - not all of us are students/live alone.

you have no option that considers lone adult / family accommodation or even mentions the word House.

Page 3 Q2 Errr. what are you getting at. I ride my folder if I need to ride my folder, the weather is an irellevance - you make it sound as if the ride is planned solely on the weather forecast. I think you've missed the point of cycle commuting somewhat here.

Page 3 Q4: Ah I see. you're busy solving a problem that doesn't exist, think hard and research more before you go any further., make sure that your bag/cover is revolutionary or significantly cheaper/better or you're onto a looser.

Riese & Muller (Birdy) and Dahon at least do a rucsack/ fold out bike cover & carry solutions already and they are more than adequate for wether protection & freeing the hands occasionally . They're also not bike specific so could easily be bought to accommodate a different make or model.

Also, what is so difficult about putting the bike down when you need both hands momentarily, how is it any different to carrying a briefcase or gym bag?

Page 4 Q1: you tell people that do own a folder to skip to the next page and then put an option on there that says I do own a folding bike. errrrr....

you also miss the blindingly obvious and most prevalent (I would suggest) why would you buy a folder option: Convenience for multi modal travel (bike-bus/train-bike)

do you ride bikes either full frame or folder 'seriously' and have you done much in the way of research into existing examples of your product? just asking cos theres some schoolboy assumptions and omissions in your survey.

will your product cover the larger wheel Airnimal and 26" wheel fold along the seat tube mountain bike style folders or Moulton type pull apart ones?

mkchu84

I'd say that even Bromptons are quite bulky objects. If I wanted to buy train tickets, it'd always be easier to put it down rather than have it hanging off my shoulder/back. I also commented that I only fold the bike just before getting on a train/going into the office. The rest of the time it's transported by wheeling it or riding it. I can't really see a need for a bag

mkchu84

I'd say that even Bromptons are quite bulky objects. If I wanted to buy train tickets, it'd always be easier to put it down rather than have it hanging off my shoulder/back. I also commented that I only fold the bike just before getting on a train/going into the office. The rest of the time it's transported by wheeling it or riding it. I can't really see a need for a bag

xxcc

shouldbeinbed wrote:

Constructive criticism alert:

You don't seem to take account of the fact that many of us folder riders will also have and use full frame bikes too. you're being too rigid and making too many assumptions in your questions.

Page 1 Q4 - not all of us are students/live alone.

you have no option that considers lone adult / family accommodation or even mentions the word House.

Page 3 Q2 Errr. what are you getting at. I ride my folder if I need to ride my folder, the weather is an irellevance - you make it sound as if the ride is planned solely on the weather forecast. I think you've missed the point of cycle commuting somewhat here.

Page 3 Q4: Ah I see. you're busy solving a problem that doesn't exist, think hard and research more before you go any further., make sure that your bag/cover is revolutionary or significantly cheaper/better or you're onto a looser.

Riese & Muller (Birdy) and Dahon at least do a rucsack/ fold out bike cover & carry solutions already and they are more than adequate for wether protection & freeing the hands occasionally . They're also not bike specific so could easily be bought to accommodate a different make or model.

Also, what is so difficult about putting the bike down when you need both hands momentarily, how is it any different to carrying a briefcase or gym bag?

Page 4 Q1: you tell people that do own a folder to skip to the next page and then put an option on there that says I do own a folding bike. errrrr....

you also miss the blindingly obvious and most prevalent (I would suggest) why would you buy a folder option: Convenience for multi modal travel (bike-bus/train-bike)

do you ride bikes either full frame or folder 'seriously' and have you done much in the way of research into existing examples of your product? just asking cos theres some schoolboy assumptions and omissions in your survey.

will your product cover the larger wheel Airnimal and 26" wheel fold along the seat tube mountain bike style folders or Moulton type pull apart ones?

Thanks for your feedback!

All assumptions are intentional as they are based on the project brief given to us by our tutors. The question about accommodation for instance, our goal was to be able distinguish single households in bedsits/studios ("space poor", if you want to make yet another assumption) from people who live in more spacious accommodation, e.g. 2 bed houses or 2 bed flats. Whether you live in a house or a flat (i.e. one that isn't a studio flat) or have 5 spare rooms is irrelevant at this stage.

Page 4 q1: this was to cover our backs in case someone had missed the message about skipping to the next page or had insisted to fill out that question anyway:-)

FYI, I personally ride a full-frame XC MTB, never had the need for a folder and as for the omissions, that's down to the restrictions of Survey Monkey (they only let you do 10 questions).

xxcc

shouldbeinbed wrote:

Riese & Muller (Birdy) and Dahon at least do a rucsack/ fold out bike cover & carry solutions already and they are more than adequate for wether protection & freeing the hands occasionally .

Do you happen to have any links for any of these products? Have googled them but not finding anything. Halfords have a bike cover that transforms into a backpack when not in use but it doesn't allow you to carry the bike on your back (point taken, you can put it down - still interesting to see if such products exist).

shouldbeinbed

3rd item down - Rucksack bag- it works as a rucksack but has a bike bag folded down and zippered as the backpiece, you open it out and can fully cover and shoulder carry the birdy whilst also still having the rucksack bit for enough kit for a daily commute. It's also got a carry handle on the long edge to use in briefcase mode.

its rugged, made of cotton duck, waterproof and surprisingly comfortable for such a multi purpose bit of kit - makes your back sweaty though.

http://www.foldingbikes.co.uk/birdy_bags.htm

only a 5 minute look (it is your project after all ) but I can't see the other one, it was a bumbag that folded out to be a similar bike carry/cover, it may be obsolete now or just fallen off the first page or two of Google. I'm sure it was a dahon brand thing but I'd check the other main makers just in case I've mis-remembered

they do seem to do a bag in a bag so that you can carry the bike cover on your back when riding and then have rucksack storage as well as a covered bike off it.

I don't think your tutors have done you any favours TBH - I've got wife, 3 kids & 3 dogs in a (largeish) 3 bed semi - I have about 3 square feet of home to call my own. living alone in a 1 bed flat years back I had far far far more disposable space all for me, even in halls at Uni I had more space just for me.

point taken on survey monkey, but I think if you asked around the (largest i.e. London)folding community multi modal travel would be the overwhelming reason why people have a folder, its a bad omission for a folding bike survey.
I did answer the survey by the way, I'm not griping without giving something back, good luck with it.

xxcc

shouldbeinbed wrote:

3rd item down - Rucksack bag- it works as a rucksack but has a bike bag folded down and zippered as the backpiece, you open it out and can fully cover and shoulder carry the birdy whilst also still having the rucksack bit for enough kit for a daily commute. It's also got a carry handle on the long edge to use in briefcase mode.

its rugged, made of cotton duck, waterproof and surprisingly comfortable for such a multi purpose bit of kit - makes your back sweaty though.

http://www.foldingbikes.co.uk/birdy_bags.htm

only a 5 minute look (it is your project after all ) but I can't see the other one, it was a bumbag that folded out to be a similar bike carry/cover, it may be obsolete now or just fallen off the first page or two of Google. I'm sure it was a dahon brand thing but I'd check the other main makers just in case I've mis-remembered

they do seem to do a bag in a bag so that you can carry the bike cover on your back when riding and then have rucksack storage as well as a covered bike off it.

I don't think your tutors have done you any favours TBH - I've got wife, 3 kids & 3 dogs in a (largeish) 3 bed semi - I have about 3 square feet of home to call my own. living alone in a 1 bed flat years back I had far far far more disposable space all for me, even in halls at Uni I had more space just for me.

point taken on survey monkey, but I think if you asked around the (largest i.e. London)folding community multi modal travel would be the overwhelming reason why people have a folder, its a bad omission for a folding bike survey.
I did answer the survey by the way, I'm not griping without giving something back, good luck with it.

Thanks! That helps.

Why people choose to ride a folder? We were finding the bit about bike-train-bike commuting so obvious we didn't need to ask:-)