Folding Bicycles?

Hello,

Given that we're apparently headed for recession, blah blah blah and the price of petrol is becoming ever higher (if we're going to stick to easily comparable values, it currently stands at around US $7.80 per gallon here), I'm considering leaving the car at home when I go to work.

It's four miles between my house and my workplace and two-thirds of that is urban. To this end, I've been seriously looking at getting hold of a folding bicycle to ride during the summer months. These are quite compact and would allow me to store the bike inside as opposed to tethered outside where unscrupulous types can pull things off it. The only downside is the price. I mean, I'll make substantial savings by not driving to/from work but can a bike, folding or not, really be worth over £200? :eek:

Does anyone do this already and give me an idea of what it's like? Even if you ride a standard bike. Specifically anyone who's actually given up the easy ride for it. If you have a folding bike, is your model any good?

Where i stay people are switching over to CNG compatible cars to save money on fuel. CNG is quite cheap compared to petrol or diesel.

You can get a perfectly adequate bicycle for £100 at Halfords. It's not foldable - if you are not going on a train or living very compact (no garden) then I would recommend a non-foldable bicycle - they are simpler [fewer things to go wrong] and more robust [less risk of something going wrong].

A mountain bike with road-tires [slicks or mildly treaded] are the best option if you have anything hilly on the way to work.

I used to cycle 12 miles each way every day a few years back. That got me very fit. Not so fit now, using a train for 45 minutes with 5 + 5 minutes of walking either end.

Once you know you like riding a bike, you may find that having one with more advanced features [better gear-selection, better brakes, lighter] is worth it. But start "simple".

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Mats

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PING

Where i stay people are switching over to CNG compatible cars to save money on fuel. CNG is quite cheap compared to petrol or diesel.

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I think CNG is what's called LPG in the UK, and whilst it's about half the price of petrol, it's also less calorific, meaning that you use more of it for the same driving distance, making the saving much smaller. Combined with the fact that only about 1 in 5 petrol stations carry this, I would say that getting a diesel car is a much better option, although that's probably best for the longer runs, rather than a 4 mile run.

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Mats

Whilst I do think that alternative fuels are a growing market, the fact that very few petrol stations outside of of London actually carry them means that for now they're a waste of time. Given the current options I think cycling is best.

The main problem I have is although it's a relatively short distance I spend a lot of time stuck in the morning traffic, so going onto two wheels should allow me to stretch the usual amount of petrol that I put into my car over two weeks or more. But how practical is it to wear work clothes and work the pedals? :o

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SMurf

The main problem I have is although it's a relatively short distance I spend a lot of time stuck in the morning traffic, so going onto two wheels should allow me to stretch the usual amount of petrol that I put into my car over two weeks or more. But how practical is it to wear work clothes and work the pedals? :o

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Depends on what your work clothes are, and how hard you push them pedals. I used to go over 160 bpm heart-rate for about 20 of the 35 minutes it took me to get the 12 miles to work. I definitely needed a shower at work. But for 4 miles, you can take it at a leisurely pace (10-15 mph) and keep the heart-rate under 100 bpm, which should be OK for someone who is not completely unfit. Make sure you have either tight trousers or a chain-guard to prevent "trouser/chain-ring interference" [that causes either black marks or torn trousers].

If you sweat easily, a change of clothes would be recommended.

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Mats