20" folder for travel bike not commuter...what rides most like a road bike?

[drossall]

My Tern Verge X18 is a lot of fun

[Paul D]

...I'd suggest looking at Rob English's travel bike design...

I know all about Rob English and when I win the lottery I'll put an order in that same day (I don't play the lottery).

Rudge BiFrame (Montague design)...wheels are 559 type, which is nominally a 26" size...the contraption weighs about 28lbs.

I am some way ahead of you. Here is my Ibis Tranny; frame bought specifically as a travel bike as with two bolts - top of the seat stay and behind the bottom bracket - it separates into two carbon triangles and therefore can fit into a S&S backpack case. 30 minute build / dismantle time though.

With fashionable 650 wheels and 42mm gravel tyres (I've ridden a DIY 200km audax around Loch Lomond on this):


As a 69er for the (cancelled) BearBones200 bikepacking event in October (wouldn't fit in a case like this due to front wheel size):


I also have the original 26" wheels and some 1.25" slicks to build it as you suggest (although I've found the 42mm gravel tyres to be fast enough on the road so far).

But taking this places requires two bags as I can't fit two weeks+ of clothes etc in the case with it. Hence the thinking about a 20" wheeled bike that might go in my XL North Face Duffel bag with enough civvies to do a trip and not have to pay for a second checked bag (which invites questions / complaints from work). Drop bar Di2 Ibis gravel bike build is just under 9kg / 20lb, which makes a difference when you're trying to get everything under 23kg in one checked bag plus hand luggage, but space is still my enemy.

[Paul D]

On the subject of checked baggage weight, I was tempted by the sub-8kg claim for this Dahon Mu Uno fixed gear conversion on the LFGSS forum.


Sadly the chap selling it seems reluctant to post it, and there's also a minor challenge of finding / making up a widget to fit a rear brake caliper to the kickstand mount as I'd want to run it singlespeed not fixed. One gear and caliper brakes makes the bullhorn bars conversion easy though.

[drgannet]

I tried out a fixed Mu a few years ago (had one them nice ENO eccentric hubs). Didn't like it at all when having to ride out of the saddle; the front end just felt flimsy and not very stable.

[mzjo]

On the subject of checked baggage weight, I was tempted by the sub-8kg claim for this Dahon Mu Uno fixed gear conversion on the LFGSS forum.


Sadly the chap selling it seems reluctant to post it, and there's also a minor challenge of finding / making up a widget to fit a rear brake caliper to the kickstand mount as I'd want to run it singlespeed not fixed. One gear and caliper brakes makes the bullhorn bars conversion easy though.

Return it to original spec, coaster hub? (Although I would be more inclined to put a 3sp coaster hub on which might not help the weight allowance!)

[Ivo]

My Tern Verge X18 is a lot of fun

One of my projects is changing a Tern P18 to partially such a beast (but then more audax suitable).
I've used it for commuting to get used to it. Rides nice and nimble. Accelearation is definitely better then on a racer. But I doubt if I would feel as safe at +50km/h.

[Brucey]

But taking this places requires two bags as I can't fit two weeks+ of clothes etc in the case with it. Hence the thinking about a 20" wheeled bike that might go in my XL North Face Duffel bag with enough civvies to do a trip and not have to pay for a second checked bag (which invites questions / complaints from work). Drop bar Di2 Ibis gravel bike build is just under 9kg / 20lb, which makes a difference when you're trying to get everything under 23kg in one checked bag plus hand luggage, but space is still my enemy.

I can see where you are coming from. However a bike sharing the inside of a soft bag with other stuff is not a well protected bike, so the thing should probably have to be inherently knock resistant.

Arguably if you had a better case/bag for one of the bikes you have at present, this might also solve your problem.  Or a bike that takes up less room in the case you have, thus allowing more space for clothes etc...?

Things that take up space inside bike boxes/bags include

- fat tyres
- large diameter wheels
- disc brakes
- wide range derailleur gears in the modern vogue (i.e. with large sprockets rather than small chainrings)
- carbon or aluminium frames (which have fatter members than steel ones)
- dropped bars (esp if fitted with modern STIs, which are very bulky things)
- big flat pedals (which are not QD and/or don't fold)

it all adds up.   So something like my clonky old BiFrame or an airnimal will take up less space, but if you want something optimised for compactness, you end up with a Brompton more or less, which has none of the above issues rather than some of them (or most of them as with your current bikes).  All bikes are a compromise, so it is just a question of what kinds of compromise you are likely to be least unhappy with.

Reducing the argument to its essence, if any bike is better than no bike, it is simply a question of choosing the best bike that you can reasonably take with you.

Could you have a clothes bag which was permanently attached to the outside of your bike case? Would this solve the luggage issue?

cheers

[WOT]

There are some beauties of 20” mini-velos in both folding and non folding flavour which can only be found in the eastern markets.

This blog, from Singapore, writes about a number of them and may be worth a read. He modifies almost everything. On on project the goal was to achieve the lightest possible but he finally conceded to more comfortable heavier tyres, a good example of the full cycle.

https://handsonbike.blogspot.com/

What range of gears are you aiming for?

My daydreams on this subject include ti frame, sourced from alibaba, Allfine Di2 11 sp rear gearing (135mm old), disc brakes and drop bars.