Argos £245 folding Bike Improvements

[Ghost1951]

Take what time you need. There is no hurry, in spite of the banter. .

I have been making an experimental blackberry crumble at my partner's place. Made with oats! Picked the berries this morning. Sitting in garden in the sun.

 

[saneagle]

Take what time you need. There is no hurry, in spite of the banter. .

I have been making an experimental blackberry crumble at my partner's place. Made with oats! Picked the berries this morning. Sitting in garden in the sun.

View attachment 59655

Has she got a sister? If so, ask her if she wants to move to Telford.

 

[Ghost1951]

I end up using my (wife's ?) little folder quite a lot, it is ideal for nipping to the shops or for errands. I admit to enjoying the reaction from people of this big burly 6'4" man powering along at quite a speed (thanks to the 11t freewheel and akm 74 motor / KT 36v / 15 amp controller) on this little pink folder with "Summer" and "Bella" emblazoned on the frame. With the Woosh bag battery and akm 74 front hub, it's not immediately obvious that it is electric and when I overtake some lycra clad "roadies" up a long incline they look a bit bemused. It's dead light (16kg) easy to get out and I can also fold it up and take it indoors when I get to my destination. Also , it was the simplest conversion ever !

In my list of builds that I want to do "sometime" is start from a Carrera Intercity disc 9 folding bike which has a 9 speed cassette (with 11t cog) and hydraulic brakes - seen them secondhand on Facebook for £200, and add a lightweight kit with either a Woosh bag battery or (for ease of battery removal and charging) frog battery. Think the Carrera is 12.5 kg + 4kg for a lightweight conversion - ultimate folding e-bike !

Those bikes you write about are about 10kg lighter than the Argos special. I picked it up while standing on a decent bathroom scale a week or two back and i gained 25.6kg all at once. At one time, I did think of fitting an electric kit to the Brompton - front wheel change obviously, ut to be honest, where I ride that bike, I am fine just pedalling it. It isn't hilly and in some ways, it seems a shame to change the light and agile Bromton by adding weight. I'm also not sure how the addition of a motor would impact the tyre life on the narrow Brompton wheel. There is not a lot of tyre contact area as the thing is set up now. I can imagine it spinning in the wet - but I have no experience, so that could be nonsense.

 

[Ghost1951]

Has she got a sister? If so, ask her if she wants to move to Telford.

I thought you had your hands full with all the nurses. You must be getting better after all.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

Those bikes you write about are about 10kg lighter than the Argos special.

I'm not sure it matters that much when you are actually riding it , more carrying it around and stowing it away.

There was this new folder that I thought about as well - steel front forks, so suitable for front hub motor , mechanical disk brakes (which could be upgraded to hydraulic for £30) - 13kg. Or this one - 12kg. I'd have to change to a 11t freewheel though (even if the freewheel only lasted a couple of thousand miles)

 

[Ghost1951]

I'm not sure it matters that much when you are actually riding it , more carrying it around and stowing it away.

To be honest, these days, I am conscious of the need to keep pushing myself a bit as regards maintaining strength. If you don't test yourself regularly with humping weight about, pretty soon the ability to do it leaves you and then what? So I won't shy away from picking it up and humping it about. It isn't any problem anyway, though it is different to picking up the Brompton. I have a mate who is about the same age as me who doesn't hesitate to pick up a ten or eleven stone sheep and put it over a wall or into a trailer. I used to help him on the farm at busy times and I remember having once to get a full grown ewe with a big fleece out of the pond she had drowned herself in and then put the body over a wall so the knacker man could collect her. At least ten stone of sheep and a lot of water .... I was struggling.

 

[saneagle]

I'm not sure it matters that much when you are actually riding it , more carrying it around and stowing it away.

There was this new folder that I thought about as well - steel front forks, so suitable for front hub motor , mechanical disk brakes (which could be upgraded to hydraulic for £30) - 13kg. Or this one - 12kg. I'd have to change to a 11t freewheel though (even if the freewheel only lasted a couple of thousand miles)

That's a good point. You can always overcome weight by adding more power to get more speed uphill, but on a downhill, the heavier bike will always be faster.

Having said that, light bikes are better to ride and get out of the shed.

 

[saneagle]

To be honest, these days, I am conscious of the need to keep pushing myself a bit as regards maintaining strength. If you don't test yourself regularly with humping weight about, pretty soon the ability to do it leaves you and then what? So I won't shy away from picking it up and humping it about. It isn't any problem anyway, though it is different to picking up the Brompton. I have a mate who is about the same age as me who doesn't hesitate to pick up a ten or eleven stone sheep and put it over a wall or into a trailer. I used to help him on the farm at busy times and I remember having once to get a full grown ewe with a big fleece out of the pond she had drowned herself in and then put the body over a wall so the knacker man could collect her. at east ten stone of sheep and a lot of water .... I was struggling.

Yes, I used to do a lot of humping, but I don't get so much opportunity these days. Is that whyI can't pedal as hard as you. The only time I pedal hard now is when I see them, but then I have to slow down a bit to get the most from it.

 

[guerney]

I'm not sure it matters that much when you are actually riding it , more carrying it around and stowing it away.

There was this new folder that I thought about as well - steel front forks, so suitable for front hub motor , mechanical disk brakes (which could be upgraded to hydraulic for £30) - 13kg. Or this one - 12kg. I'd have to change to a 11t freewheel though (even if the freewheel only lasted a couple of thousand miles)

Or you can highly likely get a rear hub motor (definitely a BBS01B mid-drive, my Helios P8 frame is the same shape) into one of these, if you can convince the seller to part with one - I really don't understand why so often sellers insist on selling folding bikes in pairs, they're not kids cats or dogs.

Second-Hand Bikes, Bicycles & Cycles for Sale in Troon, South Ayrshire | Gumtree

Find great local deals on second-hand bikes, bicycles & cycles for sale in Troon, South Ayrshire ✅ Shop hassle-free with Gumtree, your local buying & selling community.

www.gumtree.com

12.1kg, steel frames, reinforcement bar over hinge (which splits when folded to become a handy carrying handle), but no disc brakes. Reportedly a 135mm rear dropout for drop in powerful rear hub motor. Collection from Troon, Scotland. Rare.

World Wheels - The No 1 internet source for Dahon Folding Bikes in UK and EU

World Wheels: Online Retailer of Dahon folding bicycles. We carry Dahon's complete line of portable folding bicycles and folding bike accessories.

www.cyclemotion.co.uk

 

[portals]

Anyone in Coventry?

Dahon III red folding bike | eBay

The Dahon III is a folding bike, probably made in the 1980s or 1990s. COLLECTION DATE TO BE AGREED.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[guerney]

Anyone in Coventry?

Dahon III red folding bike | eBay

The Dahon III is a folding bike, probably made in the 1980s or 1990s. COLLECTION DATE TO BE AGREED.

www.ebay.co.uk

Might be wrong but I've read those and the stainless steel framed versions are seriously rickety rides.

 

[Ghost1951]

Yes, I used to do a lot of humping, but I don't get so much opportunity these days. Is that whyI can't pedal as hard as you. The only time I pedal hard now is when I see them, but then I have to slow down a bit to get the most from it.

I am not sure what to make of this.

I am wondering if some of the medication has disagreed with you.

 

[saneagle]

I am not sure what to make of this.

I am wondering if some of the medication has disagreed with you.

Blue tablets!

 

[Ghost1951]

Blue tablets!

Oh dear - what are they for?

Never mind; far preferable to what you thought they were going to do to you.

I didn't like the sound of a bicycle inner cable attached to a small crocodile trip being sent on a fishing trip up that particular bit of organic plumbing.

A few blue tablets is a really much better treatment.

 

[portals]

Sounds like he's taken the 'red' pill...

 

[joelectric]

This bike is back down to £245 again in Argos if anyone is looking for one.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/1267677

 

[Az.]

This bike is back down to £245 again in Argos if anyone is looking for one.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/1267677

I see OOS. Usual Argos postcode lottery.

 

[Ghost1951]

I think it was yesterday that someone suggested you could go into the Argos shop and that they could perhaps get one delivered to the shop from the central warehouse to the shop and you could then collect it.

This is only an impression - so uncertain.

 

[saneagle]

I think it was yesterday that someone suggested you could go into the Argos shop and that they could perhaps get one delivered to the shop from the central warehouse to the shop and you could then collect it.

This is only an impression - so uncertain.

Yes, if there is any possibility to get any of these bikes, the shop should be able to sort it out. They have access to more info than the Internet.

 

[portals]

Cannot believe how useless Argos website is, you should be able to click a button and see locations that actually has stock...ridiculous...