Folding mountain bikes?

[TheCarFather]

Just looking at mountain bikes as I wanted to get fitter and remembered I used to enjoy it as a kid, I thought I'd treat myself then I realised that a mountain bike may not fit in my car, I have a 3 door hatchback, which actually has a lot of space but I doubt a mountain bike would fit, so how good are folding mountain bikes? Are they a lot worse than a non-folding bike? As a rule do they take much time to take apart/ put together or is it pretty much instant?

My budget would be anywhere up to £300, thanks

[bingybongy]

I think you are onto a hiding for nothing with your request.

If your budget is £300. Spend it at Decathlon, put your back seats down and put the bike in after you have taken the front wheel off.

[davepoth]

It wouldn't work as a mountain bike. For a mountain bike you need a rigid frame, big wheels, and quite a few gears if you want to go up steep hills. Folding bikes (certainly ones in budget) don't have that. Probably best to spend £250 on a bike and £50 on a bike rack.

[bingybongy]

Check this one out.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-53-mountain-b...

[sjg]

I doubt there's many (any?) 3 door hatches that won't fit a mountain bike with both wheels off, and the seats folded down. I used to have a Cinquecento and managed it fine.

[TheCarFather]

sjg said:

I doubt there's many (any?) 3 door hatches that won't fit a mountain bike with both wheels off, and the seats folded down. I used to have a Cinquecento and managed it fine.

How quick/easy is it to take a wheels off/ put wheels on a mountain bike?

My car would certainly manage this I just didn't know it was an option

Thanks

[Bobley]

Front wheel comes off in 10 seconds, both in 30. That assumes disk brakes. If you have rim/V brakes you'll need a bit longer to pop the cables out of the brake mechanism. With both wheels off I can get my medium frame full susser in my mini. With just the front wheel of it goes in a BMW 1 series.

Edited by Bobley on Thursday 9th January 00:31

[Fluffsri]

I had a folding MTB once, it was an Orange E8. Wasn't meant to fold but hitting a tree stump at 25mph saw it fold ;o)

[SkinnyBoy]

Montague bikes

http://www.montaguebikes.com

[nammynake]

As above, removing both wheels takes no more than a minute and will easily fit in your car.

[Sarkmeister]

A friend of mine used to get her mountain bike in a S1 Elise, so you'll have no problem with a 3 door hatchback.

Taking the wheels off takes no more than 30 seconds.

[lestershaw]

i had a folding BMW mtb called a QS 6 I THINK

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=bmw+mountain+bike...

A lovely bike for xc but nothing too gnarly

[Chocolate Teapot]

I've just bought a second hand bike for around the £350 price, if I was buying new though I would definitely go for this one:

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-two-two-alloy-...

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/bikes/...

[richardxjr]

Chocolate Teapot said:

I've just bought a second hand bike for around the £350 price, if I was buying new though I would definitely go for this one:

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-two-two-alloy-...

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/bikes/...

I bought my first mtb secondhand around that price too, but I agree. Shimano hydro brakes are a very good sign, Deore is proper componentry and the XC28 reviews well for a budget fork. I don't think you'd see better this side of £500.

[anonymous-user]

Sarkmeister said:

A friend of mine used to get her mountain bike in a S1 Elise, so you'll have no problem with a 3 door hatchback.

Taking the wheels off takes no more than 30 seconds.

WAIT A MINUTE!

You had a friend?

"She" was a woman?

She had an S1 elise and rode mountain bikes?


WHO is this woman! ;-)

[Gren]

Mine fits in my TTS with the front wheel taken off and the back seats folded down - most hatches will have a much bigger boot.

Bolt through axle means it take around 1 minute to take off or put back on the front wheel. Most will be quick release and take a lot less time.

[TheCarFather]

Thanks everyone! After reading responses I realise how stupid my question was! Will look at all of the suggestions now! are some bikes more customisable than others? Cause i'd want a bike were I could change things as I progress.

Halfords have a better than half price off on a lot of bikes, down from 700 to 350 etc, is it best to avoid halfords? Cheers guys

[HereBeMonsters]

Sarkmeister said:

A friend of mine used to get her mountain bike in a S1 Elise, so you'll have no problem with a 3 door hatchback.

Taking the wheels off takes no more than 30 seconds.

Got any pics (of the bike in the car?)

I'd love to see how it's done, would be very helpful for me!

[richardxjr]

TheCarFather said:

Halfords have a better than half price off on a lot of bikes, down from 700 to 350 etc, is it best to avoid halfords? Cheers guys

Avoid Apollo, Carrera can be alright, Boardman are decent. Staff quality in each branch varies. For comparison with the proper bargain bike quoted above, Halfords offer a "Half Price" Carrera Titan 650B which I suppose looks alright on first impression. But, it has an entry level SRAM transmission, a rubbish fork, Tektro mechanical brakes, no name tyres... It just does not compare with the other bike at all.

Take time to research about components, it really does matter. Then you know what to look for either new or used. Singletrackworld forum is very busy, has good classifieds, and is UK based.

Upgradatis. Usually if you break a component or it wears out, you might want to get a replacement a bit better ie lighter blingier and more expensive. You'd most likely want to get a whole new bike at some point based on what sort of riding you are doing.

[Dave Shaw]

SkinnyBoy said:

Montague bikes

http://www.montaguebikes.com

I have a Montague Swissbike X50 which i got from Evans bit price matched to Halfords £450 offer ( a few months back). It is mainly used for my mixed commute but over Christmas i took it properly off road, through the deepest of mud, up and down my normal route. The bike coped admirably, and i enjoyed having the wider tyres compared to my main (cyclocross) bike.

It is heavy but folds well, and has good brakes/gears.