The Camper Bike

Just found this fantastic bike via Gizmodo.com!

A classic for those cycling holidays…  More at Kevin Cyr’s site.

Another Folding Bike Concept

Here’s another ‘concept’ folder, this time it’s by Dominic Hargreaves and it’s in the running for the James Dyson Award.

Also check out his ‘hoist’ design.

Mercedes Folding Bike

Mercedes have ventured into the folding bike world with their 2009 Folding Bike.  Not cheap at £1,099 though it does appear to be well equipped:

An adjustable gel saddle; ergonomic hand grips; tough Continental tyres with reflective side walls; a slick ’semi-auto’ Shimano sequential-shift eight-speed derailleur for perfect pedalling cadence; folding pedals (reducing the folded width, and protecting shins); and two powerful disc brakes to ensure a high level of safety.

More info on this bike over on AutoBlogGreen.

IF-Mode Folding Bike

Another folding bike in development.  Found this one whilst browsing Treehugger’s bike posts.  It’s a clean looking bike with a great action.  Not one of the smallest folding bikes but it’s pretty impressive and easier to store than a non-folder – it’s a ‘full size bike’ (26″).

Oh, and it’ll set you back around 1,368 GBP / 2,250USD.

More info at Treehugger here.

[Via Treehugger]

Taga – Something A Little Different

Treehugger is one of my regular daily visits, one of the few sites I return to daily to see what’s happening in the world and this morning I found this bike.

A baby-carrying trike from Taga in the Netherlands, it is a “…multifunctional urban vehicle, uniquely designed to suit the needs of today’s parents and children. Taga combines the benefits of a premium stroller and carrier bicycle to create a new transportation modality“.

It’s not cheap at 1,800 Euros (~£1,600) but it does look pretty impressive.

Lots of photos and further information on the Taga website.

[Via Treehugger: The Taga: Part Stroller, Part Tricycle, Completely Awesome]

Interesting Bike/Trike

Found this interesting bike/trike on Flickr over the weekend.  It’s a Catrike and it’s a cool looking machine!

It’s had a fair bit of modification to its base spec and it’s all detailed on the Flickr pages of jalexartis.

I’ve never been on a bike like this but it does interest me.  Looks cool and it has to be more comfortable than a conventional bike over longer distances.  Not sure I’d like to be so low though, especially on busier roads.

Danny MacAskill – Ummm…

Ummmm…  I think I need to work on my cycling a fair bit to be able to copy Danny MacAskill.
(BBC story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8012235.stm)

Dahon vs Trek

As I’ve mentioned, the Trek is bigger and much more difficult to manoeuvre around the house than the Dahon.  As promised, I took some photos of the two bikes this morning after a short ride on the Dahon.

Hopefully these photos will help illustrate how the Dahon is definitely a good choice of bike if you’re short on storage space or if you’re a commuter.

The images are on Flickr so you can click on the shots below or click here for the full set of comparison photos.

The Purchase – Trek 4300 (2009)

This is the second bike I’ve bought since starting this blog last year.  This time it’s a mountain bike and a pretty cool looking one from Trek: the 2009 model 4300.

This is only going to be a summary of the purchase, as opposed to a more detailed review, for the following reason: the Trek 4300 is a mountain bike, popular and widely available and there are many industry reviews available online and in print.

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/trek-4300-8986 (previous model)

http://www.dirtworld.com/productreviews/details.asp?id=3709&rn=9&rt=4 (previous model)

http://www.bikemagic.com/review/reviewproduct/mps/RPN/44930/RER/6/v/2

I put some extra effort into writing my Dahon D7HG review as I couldn’t find many reviews online when I was looking to buy a Dahon so I thought that my experiences would help other people.  The Dahon is a little bit… special! 

I hadn’t bought a mountain bike for probably more than 15 years so buying this machine was an exciting experience.  Quality and technology has definitely progressed over the years and the Trek is certainly much lighter than my old mountain bike (a Peugeot).

I ordered the bike online with Evans Cycles.  The website notified me that the bike would be delivered in 7 to 10 days.  I chose the Ship2Store option and the Gatwick store as my chosen store.  Then I settled back for the long wait for the bike to arrive.

7 to 10 *working* days – they didn’t mention that on the website and I didn’t think about it at the time so was a little frustrated as the days passed by.  But they kept their word and the bike was at the Gatwick store within the 10 working days stated.

During the waiting period I phoned the Order Helpline to get updates on the delivery date and the team were very helpful, talkative and willing to discuss the purchase and answer my questions.  Nice to deal with a company who apparently values their customers as opposed to treating them as an inconvenience.

Picking the bike up from the store was quite exciting and I was looking forward to seeing my new acquisition.

Debbie was my Sales Adviser and she was excellent:  helpful, patient and knowledgeable – another thumbs-up for Evans Cycles.  The Gatwick store was very nice.  Clean, well laid out and plenty of stock.  I grabbed a Cateye Strada Wireless, some Shimano shoes and some Shimano M545 clipless pedals whilst I was there.

The bike itself is very good quality.  The parts appear to be high quality and branded.  Despite it being a 19.5″ frame, it’s surprisingly light and easy to handle.  The suspension in the front fork soaks up the bumps of the road and as a result the ride is noticeably smoother than the Dahon D7HG with its smaller wheels and no suspension.

This isn’t a high-end bike.  The websites, Trek and the staff at Evans Cycles all point this out.  However, at £350 it certainly isn’t cheap (well, it is cheap compared to Trek’s £4,500 top-of-the-range bike!).  Having said that, the 4300 is a well made bike with some excellent parts on it.  I personally do not know what I would get out of a bike costing twice the price or more.  Perhaps I’ll find out at some point in the future.

One of the downsides to this bike, as mentioned in a previous post, is its size.  I’ve recently become accustomed to the Dahon’s small size and convenience so moving the Trek around the house is an eye-opener and a struggle.  I’m going to take a photo of the two bikes next to each other tomorrow to show the size difference and to illustrate how much easier cycling life can be with a Dahon if you’re short of space!

Some photos of the Trek below, more on my Flickr pages.

Trek 4300 – Takes Up Space

Update on the new bike situation: it’s huge and takes up a lot of space!

It’s definitely not a Dahon!  It doesn’t have the convenience of a Dahon.

I keep my Dahon D7HG next to my computer desk.  Tonight, the new Trek is in here too and it’s huge compared to the Dahon.  Having said that, it does look very cool.  It has a matt black finish and looks pretty mean.