Airnimal Joey or similar

cjcp

Moving office this weekend, and no secure bike parking at the new gaff.

I'm not putting up with SW Trains on a long term basis (cancelled a train this morning with a minute's notice; no reason - I mean, why would they give one, right?!). So I'm not giving those clowns my money, and am looking at a decent folding bike as a possible alternative.

I know there was that monster who commuted along Embankment and through RP to Walton or somewhere on an Airnimal a few years back, but is anyone currently riding one of these or something similar?

How I get this past my domestic Head of Credit is another issue, but I'll worry about that one later. As they say, forgiveness is easier to obtain than permission.

Cheers.

meanredspider

Had no idea what a Joey was so had to look. According to the following review, the Birdy Light is a good alternative

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/reviews/ ... ey-commute

itboffin

Where have you moved too?

asprilla

I was riding back the other day with a chap on a Chameleon. I didn't even notice for the first few km. They are supposed to be excellent and occasionally I have a look on eBay for them.

Might be expensive but still cheaper than an annual ticket with SWT.

jedster

I've contemplated them in the past and see a couple regularly - they look a good ride. What held me back is that they look a bit too much of a faff to fold unfold on a daily basis. But then I'm lazy

In your shoes I think I'd get a stealthy second hand road bike (better than it looks to thieving gits) and a decent lock and leave it on the street.

j_mcd

I've got a Montague which is a full size folder.

It's perfectly good if a little on the heavy side. My advice would just be to buy the frame and then build it yourself as the kit you get on it is a little lackluster.

But, if it's just so you can take it in the office, I'd follow the previous advice and get an second hand bike and a couple of meaty locks.

Sharkyssurfers

Asprilla wrote:

I was riding back the other day with a chap on a Chameleon. I didn't even notice for the first few km. They are supposed to be excellent and occasionally I have a look on eBay for them.

Might be expensive but still cheaper than an annual ticket with SWT.

as you were riding/racing was he singing come on come come chameleonnnnnn :P

rower63

jedster wrote:

In your shoes I think I'd get a stealthy second hand road bike (better than it looks to thieving gits) and a decent lock and leave it on the street.

Bring the old Sigma back into service, prob won't even need a lock TBH

elbowloh

I had a Dahon Jack 7. Full-size hydrid.

Yes it was heavy, but it was good for getting across town and rode over pot-holes well.

Cheap as chips too. I bought second hand for £130. I don't think they sell this model any more, but i'm sure they have similar.

FoldingJoe

I used to ride one, CJ, hence the forum name.

They're not a great folder, to be honest, and ride wise they are OK. To be fair I've got bad memories of mine as I got rid of it for a road bike shortly after coming off it and breaking an arm and ribs on the way to work.

If you need it just for folding when you get to the office, then it should be fine (although I would agree with Chris and probably opt of the Chameleon over the Joey), but if you want to transport it then forget it, they are heavy and cumbersome. The Joey is also limited in it's gear range, but is fine for commuting around London.

walkingbootweather

Sharkyssurfers wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

I was riding back the other day with a chap on a Chameleon. I didn't even notice for the first few km. They are supposed to be excellent and occasionally I have a look on eBay for them.

Might be expensive but still cheaper than an annual ticket with SWT.

as you were riding/racing was he singing come on come come chameleonnnnnn :P

Assuming, as you suggest, they were riding back through the 80's I'd imagine they were singing "Karma, Karma, Karma, Chameleon"

If I saw you riding a Joey I'd have to ask "How you doin?"

tgotb

If you want to borrow my souped-up Brompton in the meantime, let me know; I can bring it round this evening. All the go-faster gear, as raced to top 5 in the World Champs :-)

whitecot

I have a Chameleon. It's a great ride. I took it to Australia and cycled with a local cycle club and had no problems keeping up. However, it's not a simple fold. It's easy but it's not quick and I would not want to do it on a regular basis. For convenience you can't beat the Brompton and possibly the Dahon/Tern but if you are cycling any real distance I would go for the Montague.

cjcp

Dammi! I meant the Chameleon. This is what happens when you travel by trains: they fill your head with squashed flies and you're no good to anyone.

Cheers, all. Will check out the recommendations. TGOTB has kindly offered me a test ride on his Brompton. I've seen a few people come in from Kingston on a Brommie, so might be doable.

@itboffin - off to Strand.

@rower63 - the Sigma *is* back in service you cheeky sod, and is getting some admiring glances with its 14 miles of Cateye wiring wrapped around the cables.

stuaff

Chameleons are great bikes, but as others have noted the fold isn't that quick or compact. Bromptons are the best fold, bar none, but I think you'd probably prefer something a bit nippier (though they are quick if the rider's strong enough!).
I'm on my third Dahon, a Speed Pro TT. The first was an old Jetstream XP (nice bike but I just stopped wanting to ride it), the second (nicked) was a 26" wheel Cadenza- my commuter until it was nicked- foldable only with the aid of an allen key, bulky, not always train-friendly, but I did like it. Neither, frankly, are a patch on the TT. It's a very, very capable bike- I've done three centuries on it, I'll be doing another on it in Belgium Saturday night, and it'll be going touring at the end of the month. Barely slower than my roadies, compact enough to get on any train as luggage (it's sparing me £50 in Eurostar bike fees!), and foldable in 30 seconds. It doesn't get ridden that much, but when it does it puts a grin on my face. Discontinued model and the equivalent current one (Vector X27H) does not seem to be available in the UK at all, but Tern (run by former Dahon staff) has the Verge X18, and last year's Verge X30h (same drive train as my bike and the Vector) is being listed on eBay by a German dealer. Dahon have messed up their UK sales and distribution in the last few years- few stockists, limited range- but a few UK models might interest you. Evans are the biggest Tern dealers in the UK, but I'd recommend going to Fudges on Harrow Road for the best choice- they stock Tern, Dahon, Montague (like my Cadenza, heavy....), Brompton and Pacific. Helpful people, the previous owner of my TT got his there.

cjcp

Cheers, Stu. Looks like I'll find out tomorrow whether I'll need a folder...

The bar set-up on the Verge is an eye-opener. Price: veeeeeeeerrrrrry unlikely to get that past Head of Credit

veronese68

I've got a folder buried in the back of the garage you can use, looks kind of like this:

But unfortunately without the tartan, or the basket.

cjcp

Currently on a train. Give me a couple of days of this and I'll ride most things...

il_principe

FWIW I used to work on the Strand and then in Covent Garden. At both offices I had to lock my bike outside, never had any issues. Just invest in two heavy duty D-Locks.

itboffin

I would say park your bike next to something much more expensive but in your case that would be anything else :twisted:

Ian.B

CJ, if you're still looking at a Chameleon I was just in On Your Bike and they have one reduced from £1499 to £999. It's fixed, but with vertical dropouts and a hanger fitted, so the standard frame - seems to be a 10th anniversary special edition. At half the price of the basic geared version, you surely can't say no?

mroli

I've got a mate that used to commute in from Reading with an Airnimal - he had a 8 mile ride on the other side so wanted a "proper" bike for that bit. He always claimed it was ok - but telling that when he got it nicked (and if you leave it out, it will get nicked), he didn't replace it.

I (like StuAff, who I once met riding to the Nocturne many moons ago), have had Dahons and rate them. The MuSL is, once you get used to it being a bit "twitchy" an excellent bike. Fudges are/were a great place to go - the owner was very knowledgeable and had a love of foldies - they used to do some "exciting" (if you like that kind of thing) custom bikes and the 20" wheels are better than the smaller wheels of the Brompton.

The Brompton has the fold, but the Dahon has the riding edge.

cjcp

Cheers, gents. I'm going to pass on the folding bikes for the moment. I'd potentially have an issue even putting a wet folder in the office, particularly if it's wet - newly refurbished etc. So I'm leaving it outside for now. Hopefully, there'll be a bike park in the building by the end of the year...

itboffin

And folding bikes are just wrong