MacRide and Bristol & Bath Ride

Two rides in September on behalf of good causes deserve a mention. On Sunday 9th September there is the MacRide at Stratford-upon-Avon. A number of Folding Society members took part last year - three of them on recumbent tricycles (folding ones, of course), and had an excellent day out. For more information see our Events page, or visit the MacRide web site. On Sunday 30th there is the Bristol and Bath Cycle Ride for Marie Curie Cancer Care - see our Events page for more information.

Brompton New "Clip"

Brompton have introduced a new clip to stop the rear frame folding under the bike. Andrea has posted the details on the Velorution Web Site

Win A Folding Bike

I found this competition for a Raleigh Folding bike in an email from Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative.

Competition

Title: Win a Folding Bike Competition

Summary: The Guardian is running a free-to-enter competition to win three folding bikes.

Deadline: The closing date for competition entries is midnight on Sunday 19 August.

URL: http://environment.guardian.co.uk/competitions/page/0,,2139243,00.html

Good Luck

September Origami ride

Please note that this will be the on the third Saturday in September (ie September 15th), so as not to clash with the Moulton Club Bradford on Avon weekend. The ride will start from Didcot Parkway station. We understand that it replaces Septembers Swindon Smallwheels ride.

The Dahon Vitesse D5

The August Origami Ride (see below) attracted a number of new participants, including Karl Wooldridge who was riding his Dahon Vitesse D5. Karl has now sent us a report on the Vitesse, which you can read HERE.

Origami Report

Frenchie from "Another Cycling Forum" has a short report on the August Origami Ride and some photos here.

Some Snippets

The Guardian newspaper is running a competition until Sunday the 18th of August with three Raleigh Parkway folding bikes as prizes.

The Bicycle Retailer notes that the Santa Cruz Area Transport Management Association has a 'Folding Bikes in Buses Incentive Program', even though Santa Cruz's buses have racks to fit three full-size bikes. They are looking to get more cyclists on their buses when the racks are full.

Pitchfork interviewed electronica band Simian Mobile Disco. James Ford rates his Brompton as his Best Purchase of the Last Year.

'Cycle' reports on 'portable tourers'

The August issue of the CTC magazine Cycle contains a report on 'four portable tourers' - they avoid the term 'folding' advisedly, as two of the machines are separables (Moulton Esprit and Thorn Nomad with S&S couplings), and the Airnimal needs the front wheel removed for even the first fold, which only leaves the Birdy as a true folder!We've reported on the Birdy and Airnimal several times in the past, and also reported on various Moultons, if not the Esprit, but the Thorn with S&S Couplings (and a Rohloff hub gear) was an interesting change. The choice of bikes is in some ways surprising, as the Airnimal tested was not a touring spec machine, A TSR Moulton would have seemed a more appropriate (and much cheaper) choice for a touring Moulton, and a prime contender in this sector, the Bike Friday, was not included.

Tikit luggage update

I've now managed to get clarification on the situation regarding luggage for the Bike Friday Tikit, and the report has been updated accordingly.

Round the Traps

BikeBiz notes that fashion designer Wayne Hemingway has come up with a cheap folding bike to be used by social housing residents.

American Brompton dealer Channell Wasson and his Stanley Steamer are the stars of Palo Alto Online's article on the Vintage Vehicles and Family Festival.

Arabia Online's piece on the Birdy folding bicycle mentioned a rare variant, the Birdy-BionX with electric assistance.

Tikit report update

I have now managed to fill in some of the gaps in the recent report on the Bike Friday Tikit, namely chainring size (52 teeth), weight (24.3 lbs for the small framed version, or 25.9 pounds for the large-framed version), and UK price (£870). The report itself now includes this additional information, plus a comment on the low stepover height of the frame, which struck me when I rode the bike, but which I failed to comment on in the report. I'd like to thank Avon Valley Cyclery for the additional information, and Tikit owners who have also provided more feedback. I'd be very happy to update the report in the light of any more information which owners can offer. At present the luggage options are still not clear.

August 2007 Origami ride - Cromford, Derbyshire

The August 11th Origami ride will go from Wheatcroft's Wharf cafe in Cromford, Derbyshire. More details are here. All are welcome on this scenic and historically interesting ride.

Dahon sales show rapid growth

Latest news from Dahon is that their worldwide sales have grown substantailly yet again. Here in the UK there are certainly a great many more Dahons around than there used to be, but with Brompton still unable to meet demand, and long waiting lists, the growth of Dahon seems to confirm the growth of the whole folder market, rather than sales being gained at the expense of competitors.
Dahon's press release states:
"Dahon, the world leader in portable bicycles, announced record sales for the first half of 2007. Unit volumes of bicycles sold grew by 27 percent to 180,000 units, and revenues increased by 36 percent compared to the year earlier period. Both the unit volume and revenue numbers represent all time highs for Dahon."