Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Gathered from the press

Several things have been happening in the folding bike world recently, according to the mainstream press.

An Indian manufacturer TI Cycles has started producing a folding bike for the home market, seemingly labeled as a BSA (a deceased English brand).

It seems that folding bikes aren't only popular for London commuting. While sales of standard bicycles are reportedly dropping in China, folding bikes seem to be quite popular in Beijing.

Another folding bike has hit the market in America, Mobiky (note: slow loading website) but also mentioned here. We haven't seen one in the flesh but the specifications list 12" tyres, disk brakes and a two-stage chain drive, together with an aluminium frame and Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub.

Several folding bikes have won design awards over the years. The Japanese 2004 Good Design Award winner is the 17bicycle (note: requires loading Korean characters), one of dozens of folding bike designs from the Far East that never seem to make it to Europe. Quite a few of them can be found on Chop's list of folding bikes.