Folding bike info please...

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I have this cable-drive Creative Motion bicycle.
The front wheel comes off and it folds. All power comes from the weight of the rider pushing down on the spring loaded lever-pedals, (not forwards or upwards) you can use one leg or both alternately or together, so it's very easy to propel -- here is all I have found on the internet about it so far:
http://www.delphion.com/details?pn=US04379566__

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Bart, yup it's kinda like that, but the ride is upright, and the foot motion is straight down, so you aren't fighting gravity, and you can use body weight to come down on the pedals instead of mostly leg muscle..
I have had the bike in storage for years since I broke one of the cables; there are two cables though, one for each pedal, so it can still be ridden using one leg.. ( any monopeds out there who would like to drive a bicycle? )
darell, I don't remember there being any gearing - it was unnecessary due to the cable design for some reason..it is a beefy bike, plenty rugged enough for up a 250 pounder, iir the specs correctly..I got it from Creative Motion, 15 or 20 years ago..there is address info at that website (above) I think..I'll see if I can find it..
(added) all I could get was the inventors name and state: Steven E. Titcomb, Stoneham, MA.
Maybe someone with access to that site can get more info..

 

[Darell]

Wild stuff. Next they'll have a bike that is powered by pushups!

 

[Saaby]

Hmm...that'd be about the last bike I'd buy...

 

[binky]

Darell -- I recommend buying not one but TWO of each. Use one as a parts bike for when something breaks on the first.

That Thys is a pretty cool idea. I'm not convinced of the efficiency of "The Snek" on the other hand, but it's always so very refreshing to see new ideas like that. The name sounds like something out of a Monty Python skit ("Don't go near the cave, there's a 'snek' on guard y'know.")

 

[Darell]

I live in the self-proclaimed "Bicycle Capital of the Country." Go ahead look it up - that's what Davis is famous for. More bicycles per capita than any other US city. And to that end, we have some wild bicycle events around here. The stuff that some of these builders come up with is amazing. I recently rode a two-wheeled "scooter" where the large back wheel was not concentric to the axle. You push it to get going, then hop on and jump up and down to the same beat of the bouncing rear wheel. You're just a large crank turning the rear wheel due with the torque offered by the off-centeredness (precise geometric and mechanical terms, ya know). I'm not describing it well, but it was lots of fun. Should have taken pictures. Probably Bart already has one of me on it.

 

[binky]

Originally posted by darell:
I'm not describing it well

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I followed that. Sounds like fun!

BTW: Darell you must own an E-Bike, right?

Hey look they've got a foldable one now! (It ain't cheap, but who said saving the environment would be inexpensive?)

36 Volt Lithium
Power on Demand
Folding Mini E-Bike

• Compact design folds to
32" L x 14" W x 31" H to carry in
a car, RV, boat, plane or bus for easy storage.

• Removable, rechargeable battery with locking cover for security – plug into any
110 volt outlet.

Starting at $1395.00

 

[binky]

Darell! -- THAT'S THE BIKE FOR AN EV-NUT!!!

 

[Darell]

I have a source for them at $1100, actually. But I'm the first one to admit that E-power still takes a distant back seat to H-power. This H being HUMAN.

I can travel faster and farther on a good pedal bike that'll cost me less money, be easier to carry and store... etc, etc. I gave e-bikes a brief moment of consideration early on and abandoned them. Now, I'd LOVE to have a high-performance E-motorcycle. But if you think the bikes are expensive, try the motorcycles!

Nope, folding bicycle for me.

If I can't get there by walking/jogging, I'll take a bicycle. If I can't get there by bicycle, I'll take an EV. If I can't get there by EV, I probably didn't want to drive that far anyway.

 

[Darell]

From the E-bike site:

Created by product visionary Lee Iacocca, E-Bike represents just the beginning of an electric transportation system that will make our planet a better place to live. With all the benefits of clean, quiet, electric power, plus world-class design and engineering; the E-Bike is the world's most advanced new breed of vehicle.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">If electric power is so great, why isn't our buddy Lee out there offering up a full-function EV, I wonder...

 

[Tomas]

Originally posted by darell:
I live in the self-proclaimed "Bicycle Capital of the Country." Go ahead look it up - that's what Davis is famous for.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Well, Darell, Davis may be the bicycle capital, but nothing tops good ol' Eugene, OR for going the "extra mile" with things ...

(From the Eugene Register Guard)

 

[binky]

Originally posted by darell:
If electric power is so great, why isn't our buddy Lee out there offering up a full-function EV, I wonder...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">You mean a car? Maybe it's too expensive to start something like that (is Panoz listening on this board?) and he probably doesn't have much influence at Chrysler any longer. Maybe his mob connections aren't as strong as they used to be. No, only joking.

I guess the E-bike is kinda heavy and not really the portability you had talked about. Oh well. Good reasoning. I was just doing my best to have a bike crush your bank account. Misery loves company, and all that.

I guess if you tried an e-bike you're saying that the writeup about it's being just an electric-on-demand bike is just hype and that it's really too heavy to pedal?

 

[Darell]

Tomas - I hate to rain on your parade, but we have valet bicycle parking at many functions here in town. "Dinner at the Dump" is one of the bigger affiars with said service.

Seriously.

Binky - Actually the electric on demand is pretty slick once you get used to it. The harder you press on the pedal, the more assist you get. Pretty easy to pull the front wheel off the pavement if you really put your foot into it. I look at it as a pretty fun novelty though. Once you consume the meager range (and there is no regen) then you're trying to muscle this monstrosity that weighs double what a regular bike weighs.

Ironically, the reason I don't want a powered bike is because I'm lazy. I don't want to be lifting lead acid batteries into my trunk, or trying to push them under pedal power, or remembering to keep them charged.

 

[Darell]

Well that's a neat little thing. Kinda tough to gear though, huh? Where did you buy yours?

Yeah, Binky. I think I'll take on of the AMP's, and one of the Mercedes and one of the Porsche's. Of course I'll have to sell the house and both EV's to afford them, but sometimes the material things just don't matter.

 

[B@rt]

Cable drive can be highly efficient, there is a Dutch "rowingbike" that uses a form of it.

Thys rowingbike

The cable drum:

Propulsion with the "Snek"

 

[Saaby]

Is an eBike LPI, SPI, or Conductive

 

[logical]

darell- here's one to watch on ebay

2003 Montague HUMMER Folding Tactical Mountain Bike 20 INCH FRAME

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=27947&item=1987079034

 

[Darell]

Dood! Let me get there...

Thanks - I'm the high bidder now. :

 

[Darell]

When I next win the Lottery, I'm getting one of these:

Yes, that is a Ti seat spring tube.

 

[Darell]

Well, I did purchase the Hummer, finally. It is here, and I'm still not sure that I'll be keeping it. I love how easily it folds, but the rest the bike just doesn't live up to my expectations of a $700 bike. The brakes, for example, SUCK. I think I'm gonna keep looking for this little experiment is over...

Here's the hummer in the driveway: