Folding Bicycles

A folding bicycle is a type of bicycle that folds up for easy storage or transportation. These types of bikes are very common for people who need to employ multiple different modes of transportation during their commute to or from work.

For example, a folding bicycle might be very common for someone who rides a bike part of the way to work, but finishes the trip every day on the subway. While on the subway, it is much easier to fold up a folding bike and just put it under your arm than it is to deal with a full sized bike. In many cases, a regular, full sized bike would not even be allowed on the subway!

Folding bikes usually employ hinges and wing nuts to make them foldable. They usually break down to a compact form in seconds, and can be unfolded quickly for use in the same amount of time. The Westport trike is a type of folding bicycle discussed on a separate page.

One way in which folding bikes differ from regular bikes is in the way that the wheels are usually smaller, even though the bike itself, in seating height and handlebar position, sits and rides exactly the same as a bike with bigger wheels.

These bikes are also more expensive than regular bikes, mostly because they need to be built with special folding mechanisms that cause it to be more labor intensive to build.

There are a lot of times when a folding bicycle could come in handy. They can be thrown into the trunk of your car for easy transporting, can be stored under your bed in your small apartment, and can be thrown together at a moment’s notice to give you a method of transportation when you need it most. They might be a little funny looking at first, but you will soon disregard this as you get used to it.

Additional information on folding bicycles can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folding_bicycle.