Does anyone out there have a folding bike they like? I've been looking at the Dahon mountain bikes lately, which seem pretty well made. Looking to get around on gravel and dirt roads.

Thanks,

-DP

http://www.bikefriday.com/

I have ridden a couple of these and after I got over them looking funny I found they are great bikes.

The clubs normally can point you towards used bikes. Also there are some rental outfits that make them available so you can try before you buy.

TD

I have a Montague / Hummer folding bike that I like. Bought a
carrying case/bag for it last year which makes it easier to load in
and out of the airplane. They're kind of pricey new, but you can
find them on ePay all day long for 1/2 price or less (some new,
some used).



Only complaint I have is the seat is a joke (I need to put a John
Deer tractor seat on mine to make it more comfortable!).

Now that I think about it, since I rarely ride it on "trails", the
other change I've been considering is replacing the knobby tires
with smoother tires to make it easier to ride around on "improved"
surfaces....

A buddy put a different handle bar neck/attachment piece on
his to bring the handle bars up to a more comfortable position,
but I don't ride mine long distances (just use it to get around
wherever I land at when I take the bike), so I want the bike to
have the smallest "footprint" in the 180 cabin as possible....

A Bikefriday is probably the best folding bike there is, but if you don't want to spend that kind of money a Dahon Boardwalk is a very good bike, if your not a serious bicyclist. I used to be, still have my Lightspeed Ultimate, but a Dahon 6 sp. fit's my airplane bike needs well.

The Bike Friday's are a bit spendy, but be sure to check out the web for used and also look at this location on the company website:

http://www.bikefriday.com/PreOwned

I have a Downtube. They have a full suspension or a front suspension model. The smaller tires are a small disadvantage while riding but a large advantage when packing it in your 170. For $300 you probably can't do better.

I mainly used it on my last flight up the Alcan, peddled back and forth from the airport at each stop.

It's in Talkeetna now but I can bring it back up with me this weekend if you'd like...

Soon as I get the Back Country Banshee dialed in I will be working on the
Two stroke scooter for the Scout. I cant find a bike I can modify to get as small as a scooter.

Beside that I love the smell of 2cycle oil

hello

Here you go, Mr. Scout.

<img src="http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/photos/Guy_on50_2.jpg" width="600">


Anybody have a good way of fitting regular non-folding mountain bikes in their Cessna? I run without the back seat and was thinking it would be cool to mount a bar across the back and attach it to the seat attach holes in the rear door posts. Then use a Yakima fork mount kit or something. Might need to rig something up to extend the front axles point forward.

I have this dream about flying out to Moab with our bikes. But, then I think about M7Flyer and his experience with "real" riding on a flying trip.

1SeventyZ wrote: Anybody have a good way of fitting regular non-folding mountain bikes in their Cessna?

Zane- My friend flew his 170B up the Alcan with a 250 cc Yamaha enduro in back. I never got to see it stowed in the plane, but he made it work somehow.

Also- In looking around I learned of one company that will convert your regular frame into a folding one- They cut the top tube and down tube and braze in some couplers. Almost as much $ as a BikeFriday, though.

Thanks everyone for the insights on this thread. Once&Future: Thanks for the offer but don't go out of our way

-DP

This is the best price you'll find for a motorized folding bike. It's the same one Spruce sells for $900 http://www.fiveflagsmotorbikes.com/GasFoldingBike.htm
The couplers are S&S couplers, I think. A very good product. I've seen Burley tandems with the couplers, they are that strong.
In the 60's the old man cut a Honda 50 in half and would put in in the back of the 182 with the back seat out. My parents flew all over the country and rode the Honda wherever they went. They put stickers on it from the places they visited. Of course it had Georgia license plates. Well they stoped somewhere on the Alcan and were eating and were obviously being watched and talked about by three or four rough and tough looking men. Well one of them got up and started walking over. My Father figured he was fixing to get his a** whipped because he was all of about 5'6" and maybe 150 lbs. Anyway this huge man walked up and said "I only have one question, How did you get that little Lady to ride on the back of that little thing all the way up here?"
They passed away several years ago, but I still laugh when I think of that.

A couple of years ago we bought two Montagues. We love them. Very sturdy bikes. We just got the folding pedals on and that should make them that much more easier to load in the plane. The carrying cases are a nice touch, which we have yet to get.

1954C180 wrote:I have a Montague / Hummer folding bike that I like. Bought a
carrying case/bag for it last year which makes it easier to load in
and out of the airplane. They're kind of pricey new, but you can
find them on ePay all day long for 1/2 price or less (some new,
some used).



Only complaint I have is the seat is a joke (I need to put a John
Deer tractor seat on mine to make it more comfortable!).

Now that I think about it, since I rarely ride it on "trails", the
other change I've been considering is replacing the knobby tires
with smoother tires to make it easier to ride around on "improved"
surfaces....

A buddy put a different handle bar neck/attachment piece on
his to bring the handle bars up to a more comfortable position,
but I don't ride mine long distances (just use it to get around
wherever I land at when I take the bike), so I want the bike to
have the smallest "footprint" in the 180 cabin as possible....

[quote="1SeventyZ"]Here you go, Mr. Scout.

<img src="http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/photos/Guy_on50_2.jpg" width="600">


Now thats what I am talking about

I could strap them to the gear on each side to help roll over the big stuff

denalipilot wrote:Zane- My friend flew his 170B up the Alcan with a 250 cc Yamaha enduro in back. I never got to see it stowed in the plane, but he made it work somehow.

Wow. I'm guessing he must have run with the right seat out? Maybe he pulled the forks and front wheel out of the triple clamps to shorten it up.

I pulled the wheels off and sucked the forks down on my XR400

And hauled it in the 210 several times. I had to pull the door off to get it in and out.

DP-I was looking for a folding bike and thought the Dahon "Jack" might be a good one. It is kind of ergonomic with the seat and handlebars, big tires for the AK Bushwheel look...and good performance in sand/gravel. About half the price of the Hummer. I wanted to look it over and see how small it gets folded. I can pull the front wheel off from our Treks and they fit in the Maule with the back seat out...but not much room for anything else. I've seen the "Hummer" (Montague) folded up tight against the aft bulkhead of the baggage campartment in an M7...that is the ideal configuration I would want. Here's a link to the Dahon's at Chief:
http://www.chiefaircraft.com/airsec/Air ... ycles.html
If I had one of those friday bikes I would always have a grin on my face...thinking I look like a bear riding a bike in the circus. I have used them on pavement and they work well and fold compact. I don't know if Wup has the wide fork and Bushwheels for them, though.

1SeventyZ wrote: ...Anybody have a good way of fitting regular non-folding mountain bikes in their Cessna? I run without the back seat and was thinking it would be cool to mount a bar across the back.....

It's easy, esp with the back seat out. Remove the front wheels- I replaced the axles nuts on my cheapie Walmart mountain bike with wing nuts so no wrench required- put the bikes in the back, facing forward, forks flat on the floor. I secure each bike by running one line to the middle of the airplane (to an eyebolt mounted in the centerline rear seat attach point in the floor) then pulling against this line by bungeeing the bike to the side of the airplane (hooking onto the rear seatback adjust brackets). Then throw the front wheels in wherever they fit best.
Simple, but takes up a fair amount of room-- you can do it with just a pic-a-nic basket, but you'd have to put the bikes in first & pack around them if you're taking a bunch of gear.
The "170 Book" has several articles about guys who put a folding-frame mod on their Trail 90's for taking them along. GA News years ago had an article about a traveling schoolbook salesman (I'm not shittin' ya!) who had rigged up a loading ramp for his 170 to pack along a Vespa scooter. Seems like one of those old Honda mini-trail 50's or 70's might be good way to go if you can find one, if you need to be motorized.

Eric

Hey DP I'll bring back up with me, no problem. PM me if you want to see it this week sometime. I need to clean it up and service it for the summer anyway.

yes, I have seen the mod for the honda 90's. I wonder how well they work and how much they weigh.

Could be cool. Although if one could find one of the old moped that folded.

donknee wrote:DP-I was looking for a folding bike and thought the Dahon "Jack" might be a good one. It is kind of ergonomic with the seat and handlebars, big tires for the AK Bushwheel look...and good performance in sand/gravel. About half the price of the Hummer. I wanted to look it over and see how small it gets folded. I can pull the front wheel off from our Treks and they fit in the Maule with the back seat out...but not much room for anything else. I've seen the "Hummer" (Montague) folded up tight against the aft bulkhead of the baggage campartment in an M7...that is the ideal configuration I would want. Here's a link to the Dahon's at Chief:
http://www.chiefaircraft.com/airsec/Air ... ycles.html
If I had one of those friday bikes I would always have a grin on my face...thinking I look like a bear riding a bike in the circus. I have used them on pavement and they work well and fold compact. I don't know if Wup has the wide fork and Bushwheels for them, though.

I hear you about the bear at the circus thing You notice I'm not looking for a Segway either.

One bike shop in Anchorage carries the Dahons, so there's the advantage of being able to look at them in person. I actually rode one around the block a year ago. Nice detail about that particular model was that it had disc brakes, so no need to unclamp the caliper brakes when dropping the front wheel out.

Thanks everybody for the good feedback.

-DP