I am thinking of buying a folding bike and after a bit of research the Brompton seems to be one of the favourites, albeit a bit expensive.

any comments, views or recommendations appreciated.

Iain

Yes. Brompton do seem to be the favourite but be careful there are plenty of fakes out there - if you are getting one, only buy from an authorised dealer. A couple of years ago I bought a couple of folding bikes from Halfords - a Carrera and a Dahon. Not as small-wheeled as the Brompton but easy to fold up and fit in the car. From memory, I paid just under £400 for one and just over £400 for the other. I wouldn't entertain the ones priced lower than that at the time. Halfords have a 20% off sale on cycles at the moment and the folding ones go up to £700+ so some decent stuff there. Past: FL2 TD4 HSE Auto
Evoque SD4 Dynamic Lux Auto
Present: Audi A3 S Line.

thanks Steve, the Dahon gets not bad reviews either.

Iain

I've had a Dahon speed pro for years. Very good bit of kit. Used for commuting/caravan holidays/weekend rides and never let me down. You will find the bromptons fold smaller but are a little hap hazard at speed. I would suggest borrowing or Hiring a brompton first, most dealers do this. If your doing longer rides a slightly bigger wheel will be good. As suggested spend over £400 for something decent.

What kind of riding is the folding bike for?.

Also look at the Tern Link series.

A friend of mine is a design engineer for Bromton, I could have a chat if you like?

To give you some idea, he's also a top designer for an F1 team & the next land speed record car, Bloodhound SSC.. MY2011 Freelander 2 GS Santorini Black
MY2004 Freelander 1 Sport Java Black
MY1986 Defender 90 Stornoway Grey - Fully Rebuilt this Year

thanks guys,

I intend to use the bike for relatively short trips and one of the things that attracts me is the fact you can jump on it without changing into all the cycling gear first.

eg one of my regular trips is to a meeting about 10 miles away.

I could cycle to the train station, about 2 miles, (usually walk )

I would be able to take my bike into the office (folded )

after the meeting I could depending on the weather cycle the 10 miles back home.

this is the kind of thing I had in mind.

Iain

Don't get too caught up in it all.

 Past: FL2 TD4 HSE Auto
Evoque SD4 Dynamic Lux Auto
Present: Audi A3 S Line.

Sounds like a brompton would suit you then if only doing around 10 miles. You get some kudos and a good resale price if you decide you no longer need it. Let us know what you get.

will do, but first I need to butter up the wife

Iain

"will do, but first I need to butter up the wife"

hmmmm... shades of "Last Tango in Paris"  Freelander 2 2012 HSE Auto SD4 Ipanema Sand
Discovery 2 2002 ES Auto Zambezi Silver - Gone but not forgotten.

Iain