Securing Folding Bike

[Scotsman58]

I'm thinking of purchasing a folding bike, principally for local transportation at airports that might not have crew or rental cars. I have read the useful comments on the thread on which folding bike to choose -- I am trying to decide between paying up for a Brompton and getting two cheaper bikes (maybe Dahon Mariners) for the same price.

I would appreciate any details on how folks are safely securing folding bikes in the plane. Photos would be most welcome.

Also -- when I bought my DA40, it was missing the cargo net that I understand comes with new ones. Does anyone know where I can get a replacement? (Given my experience with Diamond part pricing, I might do better getting something generic from an auto parts store.)

[ihfanjv]

I have two Dahon Mariners. I bought one on eBay to see if I would like it (it was mint condition), and when I couldn't get another on eBay for a decent price I bought the second one new. The one I got on eBay is an older version and is higher quality than my newer one - it uses more-genuine Shimano gears and shifter, whereas the newer one is more value engineered and not quite as smooth. The newer one uses knock-off gears and shifter. But, they are both awesome bikes and for the price you can't beat them.

I place the bikes in Dahon carry bags made of thick nylon. I place those bags in the back of the DA40 and SR20/22 with the back seats folded down. I wedge the bags together and I use bungees to secure them down to things that I can find to secure them to (things that will not break).

I highly recommend the Dahon Mariner. But, beware they are not super light and they are still pretty big when in the Dahon bags. But, two fit in the back of the DA40 and the Cirrus no problem at all. In fact, I just used them this last weekend for a trip in the back of a Cirrus!

The Bromptons are a completely different class of bike. Way smaller and way better quality, but harder to ride with the smaller wheels, and 3+ times more expensive!

[Tommy]

We love our Bromptons and have no difficulty in riding them. Actually, quite the contrary.
Given how small they are I am amazed at how easy they are to ride.

[Avventura07]

Hi everyone
Very new to the forum although I have gathered a wealth of information from all of you. Many thanks.
I'm a proud owner of a DA40 XLT and I have been doing some research on a folding bike option. After trying the models with smaller wheels I am leaning towards the Montague Paratrooper solution a full 26" mountain bike. Both my girlfriend and I tested them this past weekend and they are pretty impressive.
As far as securing them in the back of the plane I picked up two spider bungee cords and they almost make the netting redundant.
I will probably end up purchasing the bikes this week and will post pictures of them loaded up in the plane soon.

Just my two cents.

[Erik]

Hi everyone
Very new to the forum although I have gathered a wealth of information from all of you. Many thanks.
I'm a proud owner of a DA40 XLT and I have been doing some research on a folding bike option. After trying the models with smaller wheels I am leaning towards the Montague Paratrooper solution a full 26" mountain bike. Both my girlfriend and I tested them this past weekend and they are pretty impressive.
As far as securing them in the back of the plane I picked up two spider bungee cords and they almost make the netting redundant.
I will probably end up purchasing the bikes this week and will post pictures of them loaded up in the plane soon.

Just my two cents.

I have a Montague - but it is branded "Hummer" - same exact bike. To my opinion it is THE best bike from the riding perspective amongst the quick folders. It is 100% a normal 26'' wheel mtn bike and rides accordingly. You can go on real and knarly off road riding with your other mtn bike friends (if you get an upscale enough group which I did - I have Shimano Deore XT full disc brakes, long travel shock). And of course it rides well on the road as well as any mtn bike.

I call it a quick folder since you get a quick and easy fold by pulling off the front wheel, and seatpost, and fold it in half at the hinge about 30 seconds. And that gets it pretty small. If you take off the rear wheel it folds even smaller as that rear pivots around further, and that takes now a total of maybe 45 seconds. That would probably be nesc to load two such bikes, but not to load one.

I also have a pair of dahon like bikes - with mini wheels - they are nice for a 2 or 3 mi jaunt into town but not for real serious riding. But they fold much smaller still and much faster.

Also my road bike - which is just a normal road bike (A Ti rd bike built by L. Zinn) has the S&S couplings so it breaks in half - so it rides as any other high end road bike, but it is not a quick folder since it takes at least 10 minutes to break it down.

I HIGHLY recommend to get the soft case/cover with whatever bike you get since it keeps the bike grease and road grime away from your nice airplane upholstry.

[Jean]

We love our Bromptons and have no difficulty in riding them. Actually, quite the contrary.
Given how small they are I am amazed at how easy they are to ride.

Ditto

[Gary]

I have a couple of full size (26") Swiss Bikes. They are heavy but both will fit in the back seat of my DA40 wrapped in furniture blankets and secured with bungie cords. I have been considering trying a Brompton since they should be easier to load.

[cfiguy]

Having owned a Brompton for several years, I can attest to the quality construction and the small folding size. The Brompton riding characteristics are somewhat squirrelly, but many people (including myself) have used them for longer rides of 20 miles or more.

My current folding bike solution in a BikeFriday Tikit. It doesn't fold into as small a package as the Brompton, but I find the riding characteristics to be superior. One factor may be that BikeFriday has three frame sizes (small, medium, large) while Brompton is one-size-fits all. My Tikit has a Gates belt drive so there's no worry about a dirty chain messing up the aircraft interior (or my right calf).

Another advantage of the BikeFriday Tikit is that folding and unfolding the bike does not change the riding configuration of the seat, a small but annoying part of the Brompton folding process.

BikeFridays are not cheap, but they are made in the US. Whether or not the extra cost is justified over a Dahon or other inexpensive folding bike depends on the rider's preferences, experience level, and how far you plan to ride.

Here's a picture of my BikeFriday Tikit secured in the rear baggage area of a DA40 with a bungee chords. I find the Diamond cargo nets for both the DA42 and the DA40 to be clumsy and hard-to-use. A crisscross arrangement of two bungee chords seems to be more than adequate.

TikitSecured.jpg (24.27 KiB) Viewed 5208 times

John

[dmloftus]

Resurrecting an old thread. I'd like to haul a couple of electric scooters plus a couple of rollaboards and other misc cargo to and from the beach. Probably about 200 pounds. Since my XLS W&B is already a bit tail heavy, I'd like a good way of securing more of the weight over the folded-down back seats, just behind the front seatbacks. But I'm a bit concerned with the weight on the tops of the somewhat flimsy folded back seats. Has anyone ever created a cargo platform that covers the folded back seats? Seems it would be nice to have a lightweight platform with front legs that transfer weight onto the floor between the front and back seats.

[ememic99]

I'd like to haul a couple of electric scooters plus a couple of rollaboards and other misc cargo to and from the beach.

What type of batteries and what capacity?