Leaving no need for a chain tensioner, this not only cuts weight but looks clean and reduces possible maintenance issues. Easy on your arm and great on the road, its handling is also very nippy, while the fold is excellent too.Īchieved in a minimal two steps, the bike’s aluminium rear stays pivot around the bottom bracket, which means the distance between it and the rear hub stays constant at all times. For one thing, it weighs just 7.24kg only a Mars bar or two more than a Tour de France racer. However, the Hummingbird does a lot to justify its price tag.
This not only leaves it very light but also very expensive.
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The full carbon frame is built by Prodrive, better known for its work in motorsport building race cars for Aston Martin, Subaru and Volkswagen. The Hummingbird is the brainchild of designer Petre Cranciun, who came up with it as a solution to the problem of other folding bikes being too heavy for some riders to carry around. Hopefully, given the quality of its design, along with the brand’s move into the electric market means this will change soon.īuy now from Selfridges for £2,699 The lightest folding bike: Hummingbird However, with sporadic distribution and sales in the UK, its designs are some way ahead of its dealer network. With great ride quality and a moderate weight of 12.9kg, you’d think Vello’s bikes would be a more common sight. Unique in both the way its fork folds backwards and its simple magnetic clasp system, this 11-speed version adds a wide range of low-maintenance internal gears. With a similarly clean running belt-drive and powerful disc brakes, this Austrian-made bike remains a comparatively rare sight on the road. Cramming a near full-size ride into a tiny package, it goes a long way to justifying its premium pricing. With a slim steel frame, larger-than-average 20-inch wheels, and integrated suspension damper, this Vello bike is one of the neatest folders on the market. Still, for the money, it’s unbeatable.īuy now from Decathlon for £499.99 The highest performing folding bike: Tern Verge X11 Closing up to 78 x 66 x 44cm, its fold is slightly basic and its packed size a tad larger than you might expect. V-brakes rather than discs are to be expected at this price, but the superb Shimano Sora 9-speed gearing is a rare treat. Arriving with mudguards and built-in lights, these additions boost its practicality and cut out potential after-sales costs. Medium-sized 20-inch wheels and chunky tyres also mean it handles well. Not only do you want everything you’d expect of a conventional bike, but you want it miniaturised and made to fold.īoth these things place extra stress and strain on the bike, leaving the Tilt 900 the cheapest machine we’re happy to recommend. However, despite its budget pricing, it’s actually a cracking bike.įirst, its aluminium construction leaves it light at 12kg. Some of you might not be thinking that £450 sounds all that cheap, but consider what you’re asking from a folding bike. Welcome to the fold: Behind the scenes at Bromptonīrowse the Brompton range at Halfords The best budget folding bike: Btwin Tilt 900Īt £450 the Btwin Tilt 900 folding bike is the cheapest option in this list. Read our Full guide to the Brompton bike range
To find out why, check out some of our Brompton content below.įind out how we got on commuting by Brompton Easily fitted with a range of equally well-designed luggage and accessories, Brompton’s continue to inspire a degree of enthusiasm that borders on the monomaniacal.įor our money, if you don’t mind the limited range of gears and moderate weight, they’re by far the most dependable and the easiest folding of folders. Now available in a wide range of different set-ups, each retains the same essential design, including the super-compact folded size that remains the bike’s USP.ĭurable enough to last decades rather than years, you get a choice of gears 1,2,3 or 6-speeds, and tall, upright or flat handlebars. With around 50,000 bikes sold around the world each year, the classic design has been much refined over the years. Invented by Cambridge University engineering graduate Andrew Ritchie in the mid-1970s and still built by hand in West London, the Brompton remains a true cycling icon.