The Folding Bicycle Steps Forward

Folding bicycles seem to be gaining popularity of late. The added versatility of putting your bike in the trunk of your car, carrying it on the train during rush hour, or just storing it in your ultra-efficient apartment seems to be more appealing than ever. The technology and aesthetics too seem to have leaped forward. I remember the Dahon my father had when I was a kid. He bought it to stash in the hold of his sailboat so he could have something to pedal around when he went ashore on new and exotic islands in Boston Harbor. Folding bikes seem to have come a long way in a short time yielding a panoply of choices for different functions, budgts, and styles.

Pictured above is a concept design called the Locust by Czech designer Josef Cadek. The unique feature of the Locust is its circular frame and overhang mounted wheels that would allow for a more compact and visually pleasing folded state. Because folding requires severing the drivetrain, Cadek replaces the conventional chain with a toothed belt system that can be disengaged.

Hard to tell if this will be the future of the folding bike, or even if the folder will have much of a future at all. TreeHugger has covered a host of folding bikes in the past (listed below) and they always arouse people’s interest.

Josef Cadek can be contacted at josef_cadek at yahoo dot com, and his work can be viewed here.

TreeHugger has covered other folding bikes:
A-Bike
The Go Bike
The Di Blasi
Cannondale's Jacknife concept
Xootr Swift
Strida
The very affordable Citizen

When will it be time to get your first folding bike? When will it make perfect sense?